To Nerd (or not)

[ccrprospect]

Hello all,

Looking for some feedback from people who have used the NERD on their rebreathers for some time. Thinking of getting one but it’s quite the investment so (candid) reviews would be much appreciated. Thanks all.

 

[grantctobin]

Hello all,

Looking for some feedback from people who have used the NERD on their rebreathers for some time. Thinking of getting one but it’s quite the investment so (candid) reviews would be much appreciated. Thanks all.

You cannot see it in a proper whiteout, it does not vibrate, the charging adaptor is poorly made such that the pins do not always slide out, and there is most certainly a fault in the way that the depth sensor attaches to the case.

Had somewhere around 150 hours on mine before the depth sensor fried. Shearwater replaced it with a new unit for free, but under heavy use conditions, I expect them to break every 18mo.

 

[SavageSeaCow]

Hello all,

Looking for some feedback from people who have used the NERD on their rebreathers for some time. Thinking of getting one but it’s quite the investment so (candid) reviews would be much appreciated. Thanks all.

I really like mine, having the actual numbers in your eyes is very helpful for the rebreather pilot especially when your hands might be otherwise occupied. I’ll echo the fiddly charger and shelf life comments. In my experience 150 hours is about spot on. That said shearwater has been great about fixing it.

 

[Bigbella]

I've used the NERD 2, heavily for almost a year, for open circuit purposes, mounted via a rail system to a full face mask. I have yet to experience any issue of "white-out" but could see that being a real possibility with the nature of the "heads-up" display, which is otherwise very impressive -- though @grantctobin is not wrong about that oddball charger, which has already been replaced once, free of charge.

They've got to know something about that issue, since Shearwater has already affixed a secondary strap work-around for it; and what's with that thin, cheap-o security line used on the NERD for tying things off?

For a company that generally has its ducks in a row, it was the one of the few "what the hell?" moments that I've experienced with Shearwater, along with the wonky regulator mounting system that they've developed for OC, which I would never use, except for a bracket needed for the rails (you'd never want to give up your primary regulator, under those circumstances, that's for s**t-sure) -- though I've yet to have any issue with the depth sensor itself, having long put 150 hours behind me (and have also, so far, ducked those Teric battery issues) . . .

 

[InWay2Deep]

I've not used one but when I did my Rebreather training I was advised against it.

1) It's heavy, can lead to fatigue on the jaw
2) In heavy flow it could lead to extra stress on the mouth piece due to extra drag
3) Petrel 3 has vibration alerts, second factor 'alert', so NERD isn't really necessary anymore.

Given my use case is cave diving, I opted out.

 

[greeniguana]

I need a cheater mask to see up close things, rebreather hoses block the entire FOV of the lenses. I don't need the cheater mask to see the NERD, which far outweighs its possible cons for me. The charger clip does seem janky, and it's less convenient assembling the unit since you have to hold the NERD up to your face.

 

[Alex Ouroboros]

Using a nerd2 on my ccr, never suffered with weight on the loop etc, never had white out (all uk diving) can’t rate it highly enough, before I bought it I was concerned (originally completely apposed to them) because I thought you’d need good eyes to see it, after using it all my worries have completely dissipated, the ability to monitor all the cell readings whilst having your hands full is superb, also when doing extended deco having the deco info and current depth is so easy, I haven’t got the air integration but don’t wish for it personally,
I just love it, expensive? Yeah but Christ it makes a lot of things so easy,

 

[beldridg]

I've had mine for 6+ years and really like it. The charging can definitely be finicky.

I often do exploratory dives in limited visibility and the compass is very useful for me and I like having my SurfGF, deco info, etc. in my line of sight. Overall, I prefer having it when I dive.

- brett

 

[vitaly]

I'm happy with my Nerd2. Have it for 300+ hours (ocean, caves, dpv) and use it as a primary monitor during the dive. I look at the main controller only when I need to switch PO2. The compass screen is VERY useful on the shore dpv dives. My original unit had a mount which broke twice and every time I got a new mount for free. Eventually Shearwater change the mount design and I had no issue since then. At some point the depth sensor failed and Shearwater replaced the whole unit for no charge. Once my Petrel2 was in service and I dove with nerd only. It was 200' ocean deco dive, I had a Perdix as a backup and ran PO2 manually. It worked fine.
Totally agree that charger clip is not the best but I can live with that

 

[CptMat]

I have Nerd2 in my rEvo and love it. I did change the bracket for the one with regulation because at first it didn’t work well with my mask. Afterwards it was perfect. I have 60+ hours on it and never had any problems. The charging system could be better but I can live with it. Having all the informations all the time with me is splendid. Deco information, compass, o2 sensors, ppO2 all it’s super comfy. Plus air integration - you can put both o2 and dil on screen and you are good to go. I’ve never any problems related to it’s weight or fatigue because of that. Highly recommended.