Two or three gauges console?

[stever2002]

Those that DONT like consoles, can skip this thread.

This summer I'm in the market for regs & gauges. I already have a wrist mount computer. So should I be looking at a 2 gauge (pressure and compass) or get a 3 guage, and have the redundancy of a second depth gauge, in case my computer dies.

I do like redundancy - I don't like wasting money.

Thoughts?

...steve...

 

[Wildcard]

A mech depth guage is not something you should avoid. A compass can be wrist mounted, and should be.

 

[Thalassamania]

A mech depth guage is not something you should avoid. A compass can be wrist mounted, and should be.

Seconded. But I'd wrist mount it all but the SPG.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

3 gauge a back up depth gauge is a good Idea. I personally like my compass on a console. I have tried them wrist mounted and on a console. I can use either but, I'm more accurate with the console.

 

[highlandfarmwv]

I like less. I have computer (tank pressure integrated) and compass, only because my computer doesn't have a compass in it.

 

[ClayJar]

I dove with a wrist computer and a two-gauge console for many dives. I didn't want it to be too club-like, so I had the compass mounted on the back of the SPG. (Suunto consoles have end- and back-mounted options for the computer.) I didn't go with a depth gauge on that console. That said, I *do* carry a mechanical depth gauge. Lately, it's been on a 2-gauge (pressure and depth) console on my slung tank (which is anything from an AL19 to an AL100, depending).

Having a spare depth gauge in case of computer failure isn't a bad idea, of course, and if you can configure your console acceptably with it, it's a fine idea. If you do the end-to-end-to-end arrangement, having a depth gauge between the SPG and compass may give you a little more room to sight the compass (i.e. the length can be an asset or a liability, depending solely on what you like). An instructor friend of mine actually keeps a spare hockey puck depth gauge in a pocket, just in case.

(My configuration right now is an SPG on my back gas, a computer on one wrist, a compass on the other wrist, and a "pony" with an SPG and depth gauge in a console with a watch around the neck -- everything one would need for a by-the-book ascent. The location of each item is negotiable, but that's the instrumentation I like to dive with.)