So many questions....

[BDSC]

You will find that the diving on Bonaire is going to be some of the easiest you will do. I would suggest that if you are a little uneasy about diving by yourself, perhaps hire a dive guide for your first dive or two. I think you will find that you won't need one after that.

Bonaire would be a good place for your daughter to get addition certs if that's what she wants to do. There is a popular wreck called the Helma Hooker where she could get her Wreck Diver and if they allow, it's deep enough to likely get Deep as well. Not sure if you can work on two certs at the same time though.

 

[dmaziuk]

I thought the Cressi Leonardo was a winner, but from what I gather it does not time safety stops (or perhaps I am reading that wrong).

You are reading it wrong. If you get above no limit depth and spend a few minutes there, the 3/3 icon disappears. I haven't watched it too closely so I can't say exactly at what depth & time it considers your safety stop "obligation fulfilled", but I can tell you it's not dead set on 3 minutes at 3 metres. Generally, the more time you spend at shallow depth (above, say, 20 feet) at the end of a dive, the happier it is.

It does beep a lot. That can get annoying but OTOH it teaches good habits.

We don't need high tech but something reliable and on the lower end of the cost range. Can someone recommend a few computers that might fit the specs?

Mares Puck, Cressi Leonardo, Suunto Zoop, Oceanic Veo 100/180, Hollis DG02. Either of those can be had for under $200, $150 would be a good buy. Under $250 with PC cable is OK too but you only need one cable. If you're buying e.g. 2 of the same computer.

Watch-sized models are more expensive, rumour has it if you call LeisurePro they may offer you a deal on Geo 2.0.

Don't worry abut the algorithms too much

Also, we are heading to Bonaire in April for our next vacation. I hope to take advantage of the shore diving, however, it will be the first time (my husband and I) will will have dove without a DM.

Go on a couple of boat dives. There's Klein Bonaire and last April DFB ran night dive to Salt Pier on Saturdays. Other than that read the brochure and talk to the person in the shop about the sites you plan to go to.

Bonaire shore entry hint: hold on to each other and waltz in and out of the water. Have fun.

PS. While TBone is usually always right, Deep 6 gear was supposed to be available "in a few weeks" in December. At this point nothing in past history suggests it will arrive by April.

 

[casts_by_fly]

I'll echo dmaziuk about the leonardo. My wife and I both dive that computer. I have no issues with it whatsoever. It does display the 3min/5m safety stop and it does count down the time in 1 minute increments. As noted, if you drop below 6m or above 4 then it pauses the countdown until yo uget back into the range. If you are deeper than the depth range for too long then it resets and you have to start again. It isn't a short time though. In my experience, it means dropping below 7.5m or being below 6m for more than 3 or 4 minutes.

If you want a deep stop you have the option to include a 12m deep stop. If you incur a deco obligation it will immediately tell you depth and time (and then count down when you're there, again in 1 min increments). I am purely an NDL diver but I did incur a deco in cozumel last fall when we stayed quite deep for a while and I was a bit below the group for too long. It was purely my fault for not paying enough attention but the computer ran the numbers and I did the time.

thanks,
rick

 

[MyDogIsDoug]

Thank you everyone for your replies. It was all very helpful information and I have a better idea on the route I want to take for the dive computer.

 

[diversteve]

Also, we are heading to Bonaire in April for our next vacation. I hope to take advantage of the shore diving, however, it will be the first time (my husband and I) will will have dove without a DM. Would it be suggested to hire someone to lead one shore dive with us to review the proper procedures?

When you do your BMP Orientation Dive some of the shops will actually still provide a DM on request so ask about that - I think Dive Friends does. If you want a guide to show you the trickier parts of the entries consider hiring Bas - www.basdiving.com

My daughter is on the road to accumulating PADI certifications. She has a goal to work her summers as a DM once she reaches college. She has Advanced and a few other certs already. The resort we are staying at offers several but she is trying to determine if Bonaire would be a better place to become certified with Deep Diver or Wreck Diver. Could anyone offer specifics to compare the two relating to the atmosphere on Bonaire?

Personally I'd do wreck diver somewhere else. This is a list of most of the wrecks on Bonaire except for one small sailboat in shallow water off Harbour Village - Mari Bahn (Windjammer) is a tech dive only. The Bonaire Shipwreck Expo Directory Capt. Dan Berg's Guide to Shipwrecks information

But resorts there do offer it. Here's a few deep/wreck options - there's others:

Specialty Dive Courses - Buddy Dive Resort
Bonaire Specialty Diver Courses - Dive Friends Bonaire
Bonaire Dive and Adventure
Dive - Education - Captain Don's Habitat - Bonaire

For wreck diving there's a lot of them off the south side of St. Thomas - Blue Island Divers Dive SItes - they also offer all the PADI specialties.

Or Bermuda has something like 200 diveable wrecks - they even mention a dozen+ on their official website: Things to do in Bermuda | Bermuda Activities | Bermuda Tourism IDK any shops there.

Or Florida...lots of wrecks in the Keys.

 

[XS-NRG]

I dive with two computers. Suunto Zoop which is a good starter and now backup computer and my new main is a Suunto EON Steel and I absolutely love it. The price tag is not so nice but you get a nice piece of gear for the money. It's air integrated and I love it. There will be many opinions on AI but to each their own. Eventually they will all fail. I'm enjoying it while I have the feature

 

[scubadada]

I will go out and say I recommend against beeping computers, especially loud ones. The issue is that if a computer starts beeping you have no idea whos it is, or why it is beeping... Better to have a color screen that starts flashing at you to get your individual attention. That said, that removes the cost advantage, because they are all fairly expensive.
Perdix and Seabear H3 are certainly the best options out there, however the Oceanic Geo 2.0 is probably the best budget friendly computer out there. At some point in the next few weeks, expect a lot of hype when the product for Deep6 comes out and that will be the best budget friendly computer out there.

But, the initial Deep 6 offering will be running another of the infamous RGBM variants, personally, I would avoid it. Perhaps they will offer an acceptable algorithm in a future product.

I've been diving an Oceanic Geo2 as a backup to my VT3 for more than 4 1/2 years, more than 500 dives. As mentioned, dual algorithm is a plus, I dive DSAT rather than PZ+ as my VT3 is pre dual algorithm. Though a little smaller than my VT3, the Geo2 is at least as easy to see. The battery is a cinch to change. You can disable the audio alarms and avoid most of the alarms altogether. And...the Geo2 is available from LeisurePro for $250. The download cable is an additional $65, you would only need one. The Oceanic Veo3 is a nice, puck, wrist computer, and is only slightly more than the Geo2

Bonaire is a great place for less experienced divers. It was my wife's favorite when she was a newer diver. Navigation is very easy. You could always hire a DM for your 1st couple of shore dives to help build your confidence. You can take a few boat dives to Klein Bonaire and more difficult shore sites also. Bonaire would be a fine training location though, I agree, wreck would be best elsewhere.

Best of luck, enjoy

 

[halocline]

We need a computer that has large numbers, easy to use, logs dives, beeps loud, times safety stops and has a good backlight. I am having a hard time wading through online sites to determine which watches support the wish list.

Also, we are heading to Bonaire in April for our next vacation. I hope to take advantage of the shore diving, however, it will be the first time (my husband and I) will will have dove without a DM. Would it be suggested to hire someone to lead one shore dive with us to review the proper procedures?

Starting with your second question first, it's entirely up to you, but I would consider going without a DM initially on a very easy shore dive, maybe just the house reef where there will be several other divers around. If that inspires more confidence, then off you go on your own. Diving without a guide is an important step (IMO) to having greater responsibility for your diving. Bonaire is an ideal place to take this step.

Regarding the computer, nowhere is there more hype and unnecessary nonsense in the dive gear world than in recreational computers. The best way to learn about them is to first learn the basics of what they are used for; that means getting a basic grasp of decompression theory. It's not that complicated. There's a good chapter in the PADI encyclopedia on it. I'm not talking about understanding detailed technical diving information, just the basic idea of mathematical "compartments" that governs how computers calculate the NDL and N2 loading data. You'll also learn that incidence of DCS is very very low in recreational diving, and there are lots of factors that the computer has nothing to do with. As a result, no dive computer can demonstrate that it is "safer" than any other, even if it has a really conservative algorithm. Computers should be regarded as a convenience primarily.

I wouldn't put too much stock in the safety stop timer, although it is a useful feature and I can't imagine any dive computer not offering it. But in Bonaire, much of your diving will be really shallow, and you could easily trigger the safety stop timer while you're still in the middle of a dive. I would simply monitor your depth carefully and make sure that you complete each dive with a good long stop at 10-15 feet, followed by a very slow ascent to the surface.

I agree with tbone that the audible alarms are bothersome and not nearly as useful as you might think. There is an exception, for new divers it's nice to have the ascent rate alarm, until you get the hang of controlling your ascent. But in a crowd of divers, those alarms are the underwater equal of cell phones going off in restaurants. So whatever you get, make sure you can turn off the audible alarms, or you'll regret it eventually.

Have fun, and don't get talked into anything expensive.

 

[dmaziuk]

But in a crowd of divers, those alarms are the underwater equal of cell phones going off in restaurants. So whatever you get, make sure you can turn off the audible alarms, or you'll regret it eventually.

The problem is you can't turn off other people's alarms. The real advantage of turning it off is that then you know it's not yours that's beeping.

 

[Frosty]

my dogisdoug Our family are using Sherwood Wisdom 3 computers for the very reason you are concerned--big easy to read information.
Regarding a local dive at a new site-That is ALWAYS recommended practice.
Regarding your daughter-Please understand the following is MY personal opinion expressed as a fellow diver.
I would recommend your daughter gets out and dives in as big a range of conditions as possible.Boat,shore, lake,open sea etc.There are a minimum number of dives she needs to have signed off anyway before she can start DM training.
The better range of conditions she is experienced diving in the more she will find she is able to get out of the DM training
This is fact
She will need to have completed her Rescue diver course and part of that is the requirement to have completed her EFR course. You are required to have a less than two year old EFR card in order to complete DM training.