waverrunner
Registered
Mosquito still has issues. See the thread about 3 down.
Which computer???
- Thread starter diveman3
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dschonbrun
Contributor
Gekko is not for an everyday watch, it's too big. Underwater, that size is great for legibility.
Stogie8
Registered
I was using a Cressi Archimeades for several years and loved it. I wanted a new computer that could be worn as a watch and also be air integrated so I started shopping around. I narrowed it to the Oceanic atom 2.0 and the Aeris Epic. I decided on the Aeris Epic because my local dive shop was willing to match the price that Divers Direct was offering it for and take my Cressi in on a trade. I have two dives on the new computer and absolutely love it. It is a little larger in size than a Casio G Shock watch so to wear it around as a watch is not bad. Having the air integrated feature is fantastic. I am so happy that I spent the extra money to get this.
halocline
Contributor
My suggestion is that you buy a dive computer based on what it does during and after dive, not in your daily life. Any dive computer will not be ideal as a watch anyway. And, it's not at all a bad idea to have some sort of back-up timing device when diving, so if you were to forget about the "wear it as a watch" idea, and just buy an inexpensive dive watch (there are LOTS) you'd solve both problems at once, and be free to choose a computer for it's performance alone. So far, nobody has mentioned the really big difference between the two computers you're looking it, which is the algorithm used to calculate NDL, off gassing, and N2 loading. The oceanic is a "liberal" computer which gives you far more off-gassing credit for ascents than the suunto, which is a very "conservative" computer. Check out the comparison of dive computer algorithms on an old issue of scubadiving mag; it's online.
Your questions about "oxygen absorbtion" and "dive time countdown" are a little unclear to me. Some air integrated computers will estimate your remaining dive time based on the amount of air in your tank and your current air usage rate. This, in my opinion, is not a good thing to rely on, especially for a new diver. All computers, AI or not, will give you a NDL, which is the computer's estimate of how much time you have at a given depth before you would need a mandatory deco stop.You should understand: 1) this is a calculation that has nothing to do with you, your air supply, etc, only with depth/time) and 2)NDL is really a concept that originally applied to dive planning. The whole idea for using it during dive execution is a little strange, and here's why. Say you go down to 100 ft and your computer says "10 minutes". Okay, you think, I have 10 minutes of dive time, then I ascend. So, later in the dive, you're at 50 ft and the computer says "60 minutes". You logically think, okay, I have 60 minutes of dive time, I must be in much better shape deco-wise than when I only had 10 minutes. However, since it's much later in the dive, your N2 loading would be much higher, and you would probaby be at far greater risk of DCS were you to immediately ascend than if you had from 100 ft at the beginning of the dive. This is why I think that the N2 loading bar is, overall, better dive info, especially at the end of a dive when you need it. If the Geo has no N2 loading bar, I would not get it. But, most dive computers have it. As far as the liberal/conservative debate, there is no proof, none, that more conservative computers prevent DCS any more effectively than liberal ones when used for recreational diving. Still, many people feel safer with a conservative computer and you might too.
Your questions about "oxygen absorbtion" and "dive time countdown" are a little unclear to me. Some air integrated computers will estimate your remaining dive time based on the amount of air in your tank and your current air usage rate. This, in my opinion, is not a good thing to rely on, especially for a new diver. All computers, AI or not, will give you a NDL, which is the computer's estimate of how much time you have at a given depth before you would need a mandatory deco stop.You should understand: 1) this is a calculation that has nothing to do with you, your air supply, etc, only with depth/time) and 2)NDL is really a concept that originally applied to dive planning. The whole idea for using it during dive execution is a little strange, and here's why. Say you go down to 100 ft and your computer says "10 minutes". Okay, you think, I have 10 minutes of dive time, then I ascend. So, later in the dive, you're at 50 ft and the computer says "60 minutes". You logically think, okay, I have 60 minutes of dive time, I must be in much better shape deco-wise than when I only had 10 minutes. However, since it's much later in the dive, your N2 loading would be much higher, and you would probaby be at far greater risk of DCS were you to immediately ascend than if you had from 100 ft at the beginning of the dive. This is why I think that the N2 loading bar is, overall, better dive info, especially at the end of a dive when you need it. If the Geo has no N2 loading bar, I would not get it. But, most dive computers have it. As far as the liberal/conservative debate, there is no proof, none, that more conservative computers prevent DCS any more effectively than liberal ones when used for recreational diving. Still, many people feel safer with a conservative computer and you might too.
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