Thoughts on the Sherwood Wisdom dive computer?

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MrRoo

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Location
LA Verne CA
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Just purchased it and have read all about it and I think it is a good computer, but I am new so what do I REALLY know :). What are your thoughts on it? Pros, cons, worth the money?? Searched a little and couldn't really find anything too specific about it so i thought I would ask :).
 
I really like mine. Don't know if you got air integrated, but that's definitely the way to go. My buddy bought the Suunto Cobra around the same time as I bought mine and they are comparable computers. I haven't tried the PC interface on the Wisdom, but I hear that it's the weakest part of the setup.

Depending on the deal you got, I would say yes,.. it's worth the money.
 
eclipse785:
I really like mine. Don't know if you got air integrated, but that's definitely the way to go. My buddy bought the Suunto Cobra around the same time as I bought mine and they are comparable computers. I haven't tried the PC interface on the Wisdom, but I hear that it's the weakest part of the setup.

Depending on the deal you got, I would say yes,.. it's worth the money.

Yea I got the air integrated one, and as far as PC interface you mean by how you can download data to your device and plan your dives? I got it for $629 brand new from Sports Chalet and I couldn't find them for less than $750 on ebay so I assume I got a good deal...
 
The interface is fine, the download software is pretty basic and was a bit of disappointment lacking features like the ability to find an average air consumption. The computer collects all kinds of data, but the software does not make use of it all. You can get 3rd party software to pull the data from the data base and produce more detailed logs, but it's an extra $50 and Sherwood should have done a better job with the basic software - and should have done an upgrade and offerred a free upgrade to existing owners.

The Wisdom had some issues with a 3.5% failure rate shortly after it was introduced, but if it is going to fail, it probably will during the first 2 years while it is under warranty and the warranty service is excellent.

My first Wisdom was one of the first ones produced and lasted about 100 dives before the SPG quit during the dive. It continued to provide deco information but then shut itself off after the dive and would not turn itself back on. Sherwood replaced it under warranty and the dealer did an in the shop exhange after calling Sherwood. My second Wisdom lasted about 200 dives before the unit developed moisture inside the case. Again Sherwood replaced it with no questions and the dealer did another in-the-shop exchange. My third Wisdom again lasted about 200 dives before the SPG developed a 240 psi error (as in reading 240 psi when not connected to anything.) Again Sherwood replaced it under warranty. Wisdom number 4 is still going strong.

The cool thing is each new computer came with a fresh 2 year warranty so in effect I have had continuous warranty coverage since I bought my first one when they first came out. Sherwood would have been justified in denying me a replacement after 24 months, but they did not and have fully stood behind their product. I do not see any other companies providing that level of customer support and service on their electronic products.

I have noted that nearly all of the Wisdom using divers in the area have had them fail and required replacement (all under warranty). That is obviously well above the 3.5% failure rate overall. I suspect that is due ot the fact that the divers spending the money for the Wisdom in this area:

1. Dive a lot
2. About half of the Wisdom owners engage in comercial work
3. nearly all engage in extensive high altitude diving
4. A few do ice diving or do extreme cold water diving (below 40 degrees)
4. Nearly all of them do deep diving.

The last is probably the most significant as a deep dive here means the computer may be heat soaked in the sun at 90-100 degrees on the boat and then in a few minutes may be at 100-150 feet in water temps in the mid to upper 30's. I suspect the expansion and contraction involved puts a lot more strain on the computer than would occur in more normal warm water diving.

Feature wise the Wisdom is excellent. It is easy to read underwater, the interface is very intuitive and easy to use, the data it supplies is useful without presenting you an overload of useless information. The computer can be used for intentional decompression although the deco model used for decompression dives outside the normal recrational limits appears to be based on US Navy tables, and is not as conservative as current VPM or bubble gradient models.

However, it is still very freindly for tech diving purposes as it does not penalize for deep stops. When used in deco mode on a dive where the deco is derived from PC generated variable permeability or bubble gradient models incorporating deep stops and accellerated deco gasses, its much faster and less conservative US Navy table model is ready to surface by the time you are done with the other more conservative 50% to 100% deco gas profiles. So...even though it has a gauge mode, you seldom need to use it as it will accommodate run times up to an hour or more very well without having to worry about violating the computer.
 
I agree....fully...I have had my Wisdom for about 10 months and have 120 dives on it...It has functioned great and I use the Sherwood interface for uploading my data to my computer.... I use the Sherwood software...If you can tell us what the other add on software is I would love to get a hold of it...all though I am not complaining I would like to do more with the data....
 
I really like my Wisdom. I wish the software had better support. I am using Windows Vista OS and have had one heck of a time with the Sherwood program. I got the Insight program to work. I must say that even this program needs an update...
 
yeah I love my wisdom as well. As for the software, have you checked the website to see if you have the latest software?

Dan
 
The Sherwood Wisdom is a good dive computer. My wife still uses and likes hers.

The one I bought recorded a pool dive during AOW as +500ft depth and water temps over 290ºF. Sherwood replaced the computer.

After about 10 dives on the replacement, it flashed every bit on the screen as I came to the surface from a dive to about 45FSW. The screen kept flashing and would not turn off or stop the flashing.

I lost confidence. By [sarcasm]"Big Box - impersonal" LDS [/sarcasm] gave me full store credit for the Wisdom, even though I bought it at a huge sale discount and let me buy a Suunto Vytek DS at a decent discount.

The download cable does not "lock" into a slot or receptacle on the Wisdom; the computer just "connects". I found this to be the biggest problem in attempting to download the computer. The interface is not the most user friendly for downloads nor is the software the easiest to use.

The Wisdom software does NOT calculate SAC nor does it track or calculate average dive depth. I had to export the dive details to MS Excel and do the calculations there.

While it worked and I wasn’t aware of some of the more useful numbers and statistics from my dives, I was satisfied with the Wisdom and the price I paid for it. I am far more satisfied with the Suunto Vytek DS, now.

My two cents worth.

Ian
 
I personally have had mine for the last three years and have had no complaints. The wisdom computer is very informative, but the only gripe is the software/download cable.
I unfortunately waited 'til this year to pick it up and have had little luck saving my downloaded programs. I currently receive a "time out" error message, disabling the ability to save my downloaded dives.
As for the software it should be definitely upgraded since it is very archaic.
I have attempted to contact the company via e-mail, but with no luck??
Hopefully, I can finally resolve it, but love my computer. Highly recommend it and definitely worth the expense.
 
My wife and I both have Wisdoms. They have worked extremely well so far. I think the display is easy to read and is very user friendly.

The only downside, which others have mentioned, is the software for interfacing with the computer. The Wisdom software is beyond horrible. Sherwood should be ashamed to have their name attached to this. I hope someone in Sherwood realizes this and fixes the only weak link I can think of. Maybe even make it Mac compatible. :D

I am using DiveLog 4 and have had great success making it do what I want. But the unnecessary extra step of going through the Wisdom software to download the dives gets to be quite tedious.

Overall I would rate the Wisdom 8/10. I wish they would have addressed these issues on the Wisdom 2 but now I don't have to spend the extra money to upgrade. I would still recommend this to anyone looking for an air-integrated computer.
 

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