Share your “If I had to do it again, I would have got this dive computer" Stories

[TSandM]

Hatul, no, I am not getting paid anything to promote the X1. I may get a little more prompt customer service, but I don't even know if that's true. I do really like the computer. The display is easily readable for old eyes, the organization of the display is intuitive, the tap interface is easy, and the VPM program tracks so well with what I am doing anyway that I have never turned it off. The size is lovely and there is a DSS boot for it. The only downside is the price.

I am a total believer in OLED displays, and I don't think I would ever buy another gauge without one. Making that decision shortens the list of possible computers quite a lot, and then you are dealing almost totally in very expensive units which are mostly designed for technical diving.

 

[dmoore19]

If I had to do it again, I would buy a Datamask to start with. You don't have to worry about seeing the display, it is right there. It is easy to keep an eye on your depth, pressure and dive time with just a glance. When ascending you can have both of you hands free for whatever task you might need to do without losing sight of the display. My dives can be downloaded for careful study. it is IMO the best computer for me.

I also have a BUD as a backup and there is a SPG in my bag in case the mask has a problem. I am completely pleased with my Datamask and would replace it with another if something should happen to it. I have never lost link with the AI for more than 3 or 4 seconds. I have no problems with it connecting when I turn my air on.

The worst thing that has ever happened was when I forgot to defog the display, it didn't take long to figure out what to do and only once have I forgotten to put defog on the display.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

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[eelnoraa]

Features I would look for if I were shopping a recreational computer: nitrox, gas switching, audible alarms, and a backlight. I would avoid console computers and air integration of any kind.

Why gas switching for recreational computer? Skip that part as well. Audiable alarm, it is nice to have, but chances are you can't hear it under water anyway, still nice to have.

 

[ajtoady]

I have an Aeris XR-2 and it serves well. I wanted a computer that would do both air and nitrox with an adjustable PPO. I also wanted a computer to extend my bottom time and not get me bent. It does all of the above along with a user replaceable battery that will hot swap without info loss. I am a recreational diver but I value my diving trips wether local or distant so as a backup system I wear a watch and a spg with depth and tank pressure. I review the diving tables often and can make an educated guess as to my requirements related to the dive. Even if I had a AI unit I would still carry a spg as a backup. Hey s--t happens.

 

[jar546]

I have 2 with wireless capability (I still use an SPG) and have the following observations:

Suunto Vyper Air: UPS: Nice print out after the dive (DM3), pairs easily with the transmitter, conservative but adjustable. DOWNS: backlight too dim, way to conservative on repetitive dives, especially multi-day dives, quiet alarms

Uwatec Galileo Luna: UPS: Good software, pairs even easier with the transmitter, very customizable for conservativeness or not, bright backlight, large characters easy to read, loud enough to hear alarms. DOWM: None


I like the wireless air for two reasons. 1) I don't have to keep reaching back to look at my SPG as often. I still do but not as often.
2) Works great for your dive log and print out as your gas consumption is already recorded and you don't have to remember pressures

I like the wrist computer because: 1) Ease of viewing and it is right there all the time, especially when you are concentrating on depth/ascent rate

 

[BabyDuck]

to anyone reading this (since i bet the op got something! ), i think the decision breaks into 'buying what i'll grow into in the next year or so without buying where i want to end up in 5 years'.

by that i mean yes, get the nitrox computer even if you're not nitrox certified yet if you intend to in the next year or so. yes, consider a two-gas computer if you're planning on doing o2 deco in the next year or so. yes, get a trimix computer if you're planning on a mix class in the next year or so.

but *not* buying the trimix computer now because that's where you hope to be in five years. by then, you might not be diving at all, you might have totally changed your mind about your direction, or you might be stuck with what in five years is 'old' technology & want a new one anyway.

i personally bought a puck air computer with a console, then fairly quickly bought the nitrox version, then a nitek plus. gosh, i loved that plus. it would still be my backup computer except a friend's hubby needed a computer for a vacation so i sold it to her. i also got a vr3 after the plus, which i didn't need yet & didn't like because i couldn't figure it out at all, and now have a shearwater that i love love love. would i have liked the shearwater 6 years ago when i started? nope. overkill.

so yes, think a step ahead when you're buying a computer, but don't think of the total end plan.

 

[vancouverdiver]

I like wrist mounted computers, because they're easy to watch, and I like to keep a weather eye on my depth and time. You CAN clip a console off so you can see it easily, but it's kludgy. But if you decide on a wrist unit, then you are looking at a transmitter for air integration. That tends to be more expensive, and also can be fallible, so you end up with an SPG anyway. So I think it makes more sense to save money, use an SPG and a non-air-integrated wrist unit. I had, and liked an Aladin Tech 2g, which is a reasonably priced Nitrox computer with a stopwatch and resettable depth averaging. The display is not as large as the Vytec, though. The download software for the Aladin is the best I've used, hands-down, but the IR interface is annoying.

The "I wish I'd just done this in the first place" computer I have is a Liquivision X1, and is rather out of your stated budget.

Hi Lynne, I came across your old post. Just curious, with your preferred X1, do you and your dive buddies routinely dive computer mode or gauge mode? I've always dove gauge mode, but I recently received a XEO to replace my XEN. The XEO currently doesn't have gauge mode , and I'm debating whether to install the gauge mode software which will toast the computer software. Thanks.

 

[TSandM]

I have found the VPM software to be so non-annoying that I just let it run. I don't pay much attention to it at all, but when I check it or download the computer, any deco obligation I have incurred has always cleared with the deco schedule I come up with by other means.

 

[BDSC]

Just to jump in I have a Sherwood Wisdom which is AI and would buy another one if this one quits. I had a Cobra and when my wife got certified we got her a Wisdom. I liked it so much I sold my Cobra and got a Wisdom as well. It's the best computer I have owned. Never a problem in over 400 dives or so. I did take off the compass so it would be a little smaller. Wish I had done that to start with.