Step up in dive computer

[dpspaceman]

Hi all,

Been a while since I have been back on the forums. I've been diving for ~1.5 years now, consistently. I have 95 dives all done on my Mares PUCK. I honestly have no qualms with the dive computer, it serves me perfectly well to this day. Easy to use, does what I need and allows me to change the batteries myself. My wife uses the same one.

I was wondering, if I was going to upgrade where would I go? At this point in my dive life, I am not necessarily planning to get into technical diving (but who knows I guess). Should I save my money and go elsewhere or is there an "upgrade" to consider?

DPS

 

[rongoodman]

What do you mean by "upgrade"? Better display, different algorithm, AI? As usual, the answer is "It depends".

 

[John A Lewis]

Have to go with the previous posters comments of "that depends".


Have you defined for yourself what your goals are in diving? Knowing these – and working backwards from that – will go a long way for you to determine what technical features you're looking for in your dive computer.


As to physical features (display size and so forth), again, what is important to you? What are the absolute deal makers or deal breakers? Once you begin to answer this set of questions you can determine the computer best suited for your needs.

 

[tbone1004]

what Ron said. The new Shearwater Perdix in Recreational NX mode is certainly not a "step" up, it's more like a leap, but unless you need a better display, want control over your algorithm, or have any need to upgrade, it probably isn't worth the money. Is it a better computer? Oh dear lord yes, but unless you have something specific that your puck isn't doing for you, the cost isn't worth it.

 

[dpspaceman]

You guys all make great points and maybe you can help think about how to think about my next goals in diving.

My diving has ranged the spectrum. I like to film/video my dives regularly (just got a macro-mate mini for macro life) unless I am hunting (lobsters and recently got myself a Mako pole spear).

Other than more destinations, seeing new wild life and catching some game, I have not really thought about, say, wreck penetration, etc.

I know this is not something anyone can "tell" you, but perhaps some could share your dive progression. I have thought about doing my rescue course as well (albeit different than the above discussion).

PS - that Perdix does look awesome (without any knowledge of tec diving functionality)

 

[uncfnp]

If you are happy with your computer, why spend money on a new one? Now if your diving changes, your needs change or you just see one and say to yourself "I want/need that" then go for it.

I am a gear freak but kept the same basic computer for years. It wasn't until my needs changed that I upgraded.

 

[tbone1004]

that Perdix is now the best computer on the market, what it is capable of doing out of the box certainly helps, but even for recreational diving, the screen, user interface, and nice little features like being able to instantly upload your logs to your smartphone via bluetooth, using a AA battery, etc etc all just add to what makes it the best computer on the market. What it will do is allow you to kill yourself much easier than most recreational computers because there are no audio or tactile alarms, only flashing segments on the screen *they are pretty obvious, but if you're not looking at it at all, you can get into trouble*. It's a feature loved by most of us because audio alarms are very annoying.

That said, you really don't need any of those features to justify it. If you're eyes are getting old *i.e. starting to play the trombone*, if you are doing a lot of night diving, if you like computers that you don't actually have to read the manual, if you have joint problems or other health concerns where you want absolute control over your conservatism, lots more reasons, then it might be worth the investment. Shearwater is on its third computer in the last couple of years which is strange for them, but they're all basically the same Petrel. Quick history lesson
Shearwater Predator is released in fall of 2009. It was thoroughly badass.
Petrel comes out in 2012. It's significantly smaller, uses standard AA batteries and due to screen supply, they switched away from OLED. Still the same basic computer and other than size and battery, it's basically the same
Petrel 2 gets released end of 2014, adds the digital compass and the low power bluetooth for phones. Again, it's the same computer.
Perdix gets released January of 2016, and again, it's a Petrel with a body kit and a slightly smaller, albeit better screen.

Same basic computer design for the last 6 years, and it's still the baddest of the bad. Predators are still supported, there is really no reason to worry about the older ones stopping support because they still have to support the Petrels for all of the rebreathers.

Compare that to Suunto being dropped by Aqualung and picked up by Huish, Oceanic selling off PPS to Aqualung, Scubapro dropping their computer line and picking up Seabear to replace them, and the recreational computer market is a disaster right now.

 

[scubadada]

Compare that to Suunto being dropped by Aqualung and picked up by Huish, Oceanic selling off PPS to Aqualung, Scubapro dropping their computer line and picking up Seabear to replace them, and the recreational computer market is a disaster right now.

Not many want to dive the Suunto proprietary RGBM algorithm. The new Aqua Lung PPS computers are Oceanic clones with dual algorithm disabled and only PZ+ offered. The H3 is a pretty well known entity, availability of AI is still an unknown. The Perdix is great, if they only offered AI. The DC market is not all that complicated.

 

[uncfnp]

Not many want to dive the Suunto proprietary RGBM algorithm. The new Aqua Lung PPS computers are Oceanic clones with dual algorithm disabled and only PZ+ offered. The H3 is a pretty well known entity, availability of AI is still an unknown. The Perdix is great, if they only offered AI. The DC market is not all that complicated.

I had heard that Aqualung was dropping DSAT. Any idea why? I predict there is going to be a lot of unhappy Oceanic divers when they pick up their new computers

 

[stuartv]

I have a Petrel 2. As soon as I get my act together to write up an ad, I will be selling it. Things I don't like:

It's like a brick on my arm, constantly getting in the way if I stick my arm in a hole or between, say, two tanks on a boat. Also hanging up on my harness when I'm donning/doffing my rig.

No AI option. I use and love having AI on my recreational computer. I review my gas consumption on all my dives and I really like being able to see the data on when I'm good, when I'm bad, and what my numbers are, for planning purposes. It's not just a number for the whole dive. Subsurface (PC or Mac software) lets me see momentary consumption for any point during a dive. I can see that my overall RMV for a dive might have been 0.52 cu-ft/min, but that it was actually .7 or .8 right when I first got in and was getting sorted and then as low as .35 or .4 when I'm literally drifting not moving at all. I think that's useful for planning purposes.

The button positions on the Petrel annoy me. When it's on, say, my right forearm, reaching the button on the right side of the computer while I'm holding it directly out in front of my face requires a somewhat uncomfortable contortion of my left hand. Plus, with gloves on I can't really feel the buttons and sometimes when I try to work them just based on knowing where they are, I miss. All in all, not a big deal, but it does annoy me a little every single time I use my Petrel.

The Perdix is claimed to be 30% smaller. But, the specs say that the thickest portion is the same as the Petrel (39mm - according to the Shearwater website, but I suppose that could be a copy/paste error on their part as both the Petrel 2 and Perdix are listed as 83 x 74 x 39mm). So, I am not convinced it will really make much difference when I'm trying to get my harness on/off. And the buttons are the same as the Petrel. And it still has no AI option.


If I can sell my Petrel for enough to let me afford it, I plan to replace it with a SeaBear H3. It's 13mm thick (vs 39mm). It's sized roughly like a watch and uses a regular watchband (which I would replace with a NATO band so I can't lose it if one strap pin breaks). Some people even think it looks nice enough to wear as your watch during surface intervals. It does everything the Petrel 2 does except it doesn't have Bluetooth (but it does have NFC for wireless downloads) and it does not have an option for the VPM-B algorithm. The buttons are laid out at an angle that looks more ergonomic, to me. And it has wireless air integration as an option that is coming out. I was skeptical about that part but I was recently told by someone in the know that the AI transmitters are sitting in a warehouse and the only reason they haven't been released yet is they are trying to figure out what to do about rebranding them from SeaBear to ScubaPro (or whatever brand they're going to put on them).

The H3 also has a slightly more sophisticated user interface than the Petrel/Perdix. They are both 2 button computers, but the Petrel/Perdix only recognizes single button pushes. The H3 recognizes long and short button pushes differently, so the 2 buttons on the H3 are sort of like having 4 buttons compared to the Petrel/Perdix. It just makes it a little quicker to navigate for some things, I believe. E.g. On the H3, a gas switch (i.e. on a decompression dive) normally only takes 1 button push where the Petrel/Perdix normally takes 2 button pushes.

Also, the H3 compass supports setting 3 different headings where the Petrel 2 only allows 1 - if I am recalling correctly. Not a big deal at all, really, but if I'm doing a real compare and contrast....

The H3 is rechargeable and requires a proprietary charging cable, so that's not as nice as the Petrel taking any AA-sized battery. But, you can't use AA batteries and have it be as thin as the H3, so I'm willing to live with that tradeoff.

The H3 is $100 more than the Perdix. I think I'll probably decide it's worth that extra money for the smaller size and the option to add AI later. But, only you can make that value call for yourself.

It's just another option to consider.