Can Suunto Cobra 2 be used for deco diving?

[SeaCobra]

Will it work for deco? Of course it could, but that will depend on how much you are willing to invest in learning about deco. Consider taking the ratio deco course from UTD.

ratio deco is a scary concept and as I understand an aggressive approach to calculating deco obligations. While I do not agree with the ratio deco theory I wouldsay that is rather advanced, especially for a Basic Scuba Discussions on SB.

Jeff

 

[jiggerg]

Instead of the Cobra 2, if you can get either the cobra or the new cobra 3. the 3 allows the compass to be tilted more and appears to work better.

 

[TSandM]

Sorry, I misspoke. The Mosquito I have does not have a gauge mode. The Cobra does.

 

[John_B]

ratio deco is a scary concept and as I understand an aggressive approach to calculating deco obligations. While I do not agree with the ratio deco theory I wouldsay that is rather advanced, especially for a Basic Scuba Discussions on SB.

What about ratio deco is scary? What do you know about how it is used compared to, say, what v-planner or decoplanner would calculate? Do you know what is taught in the class? Wouldn't it make sense to know why something was "scary" before just repeating something you read on the internet?

Personally I can't think of anything scarier than flying a computer not expliciitly designed for deco into deco without having first run the numbers against some other algorithm to make sure the profile makes sense. I'd also worry about whether adequate gas planning was taken into account.

 

[pt40fathoms]

The Suunto line of computers will get you out of the water if you inadvertently venture into a deco situation by not paying attention during your dive. But it is NOT designed for planned deco diving in any way. If you do dive the computer and go into deco several times during the course of a dive weekend or trip, you will almost certainly enjoy a ride in a chamber.

 

[Bluey]

If you do dive the computer and go into deco several times during the course of a dive weekend or trip, you will almost certainly enjoy a ride in a chamber.

Really?
While I would certainly not advocate going into deco purposefully and repeatedly, I would have thought that the Suunto, being a fairly conservative computer could still keep you safe providing you don't go crazy & you complete the stops.
From what I understand, a suunto user (I am one) could go into mild deco on every dive but a buddy with a more liberal computer may never go into deco.

I am not talking here about using the computer for completing long decompression dives, but referring to crossing the line several times during a weekend or trip.

Bluey

 

[John_B]

If you do dive the computer and go into deco several times during the course of a dive weekend or trip, you will almost certainly enjoy a ride in a chamber.

My guess is that, instead of a chamber, you'll spend a considerable amount of your bottom time at 15', making the [-]lawyers[/-] algorithm "happy". I'd also expect the NDL for any subsequent dive to be ridiculously short.

 

[pt40fathoms]

Really?
While I would certainly not advocate going into deco purposefully and repeatedly, I would have thought that the Suunto, being a fairly conservative computer could still keep you safe providing you don't go crazy & you complete the stops.
From what I understand, a suunto user (I am one) could go into mild deco on every dive but a buddy with a more liberal computer may never go into deco.

I am not talking here about using the computer for completing long decompression dives, but referring to crossing the line several times during a weekend or trip.

Bluey

Herein lies the problem, "provided you don't go crazy" is subjective and means something different for everyone. By simply "crossing the line several times during a weekend or trip", you are exceeding the intended purpose of a recreational NDL computer and pushing it to do things that may be putting you at risk.

You may be fit, well hydrated, and lucky for years. But if you really want to push limits, I can only advise you to expand your limits and learn how to do what you want to do.

Your enthusiasm is good and I encourage you to keep exploring and having fun, I only encourage you to do so using the experience of others who have gone before you, which can be gained by taking courses in more advanced diving.

 

[NudeDiver]

If you do dive the computer and go into deco several times during the course of a dive weekend or trip, you will almost certainly enjoy a ride in a chamber.

I'd love to see any evidence that supports this statement.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

ratio deco is a scary concept and as I understand an aggressive approach to calculating deco obligations. While I do not agree with the ratio deco theory I wouldsay that is rather advanced, especially for a Basic Scuba Discussions on SB.

Jeff

Well there is no accounting for what people are scared by, but it is usually by things they do not understand. To that end taking the ratio deco course would be one way of becoming better informed. You may find it provides profiles that are similar to other approaches, and is simpler than the industry standard of following tables.

With regard to the original question:

I have dove a Suunto for years and do not much like the data it provides in computer mode. This seems to be because SuuntoÃÔ make some assumptions about the remainder of the dive which are incorrect for the profiles I dive. As such I would not recommend a Cobra in computer mode for deco dives. In gauge mode the Cobra is suitable for deco diving but then you have to have some way of forming a plan. There are various ways of arriving at a plan but following a computer that does not have knowledge of all the factors of the dive is not the best one. And if you are running it in gauge mode there are less expensive computers available.

Of course a computer is just one piece of the puzzle of where you appear to want to go.