Backup Computer Recommendations?

[KevinNM]

It's not a backup, it's a compass!

 

[stuartv]

I admittedly haven't done any comparison shopping in a long time. Are there now $200 computers with the kind of usability features we have been talking about, such as large and bright display, simple buttons, menu structure, and user-replaceable battery?

Now, hang on. Don't start implying that I said something I didn't. You're saying "are there now $20K cars that are big and fast and super comfy, etc..".

What I said is that there are $200 computers that will do everything some divers will ever need. They aren't as big and readable as a Petrel. But, they are definitely readable in the conditions that some divers will always have (i.e. warm water and good viz). Are they as easy to navigate as a Petrel? No, but they are definitely usable. And, for the divers I was talking about, they may never need to press a single button on it. Or they may never need to do anything but set the FO2. And even on some of the notoriously bad ones, it's not THAT hard - especially if the user puts any effort into learning it, instead of just expecting it to be intuitively obvious.

In other words, there are some people that only need a Honda and anything more than that is a waste or an extravagance. Being readable at 20' gives them no extra value as they can read an Oceanic Geo or a Mares Puck Pro just fine when it's on their arm, in any conditions they'll ever dive in. So, the extra money for the large and bright display doesn't actually give them any tangible value, ever. It's just "prestige".

 

[Lorenzoid]

I think the bottom line to this point is that divers may place widely differing values on that user interface. Even in warm water and good vis, I place a lot of value on being able to set my FO2 without having to remember which button to press, get my fingers on the small button, squint at the small screen, etc. "Readable" user output is in the eye of the beholder. I think the use of color really helps--it's amazing to me. No, I don't think that if the display were monochrome and small I would likely make a mistake that compromises my safety, but the large colorful display simply makes it easier to interpret. Like using color on a whiteboard or other presentation makes information easier to absorb. My presentations at work would convey the same information without the color, but I think it helps enough that it's worth the effort. It feels good when information is easy to digest. Feeling good--comfortable and confident--on a dive makes my dive more enjoyable. As I said, in a dive computer I value that at hundreds of dollars. Others don't value that as highly.

 

[stuartv]

As I said, in a dive computer I value that at hundreds of dollars. Others don't value that as highly.

I totally get that. I am definitely not trying to say that everyone doing Rec diving should only use a $200 computer.

But, personally, when I am doing Recreational dives, I spend about 20 seconds setting the FO2 on my little watch-sized computer with a black and white LCD display (and my 50-year old eyes that need reading glasses for a lot of things - but not setting the FO2 on my computer) before I get in.

After I get in, I look at my computer every now and then to check my tank pressure (because I have wireless AI), depth, and NDL. And that's about it. I almost never have any reason to touch any of the buttons during a dive - unless it's a night dive and I am pressing the backlight button. I want to spend my bottom time looking at other things than my computer. So I do. Having a big, fancy display and "easy" menus is pretty meaningless to me if I'm only glancing at it every few minutes (and that is enough for me to easily get the 3 pieces of data I want) and never using the menus. I paid more than $200 for mine, but that's what it took to get the overall size I wanted and AI. Those things were totally worth it, to me, for recreational diving. For tech dives, my requirements are different and my main computer is different.