Mares puck

[dfx]

Any idea where someone could get their hands on one of these aftermarket cables?

Link was posted above: Smartinterface – Your online shop for dive related accessories

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

In echo of many of the previous comments, a great computer for what you get, but personally I find the one button interface really frustrating. In terms of VFM I'd prefer to spend a little extra on Suunto Zoop.

 

[Adam Grose]

I have owned (and been diving with) my Mares Puck for a little over a year now. Not a bad computer for the price. Despite what some have said, I don't find the one button setup to be a problem (other than, maybe, retrieving my logged dives from it..... i usually can manage though). One advantage that I have found with the one button is that it is EASY to use if I am wearing thick gloves. The Puck is also capable of doing Nitrox, which is a handy feature to have (I finally got my SSI Nitrox C-Card). Just one guy's opinions...... take them or leave them if you like.

Adam

 

[CathyE]

I started with a Puck
I had no problems with the one button setup, and it was fine for the basic diving that I do.
However it failed at about 14 months. Still under warranty but not repairable. Dealer replaced it with a Zoop as the Puck was back-ordered for months.
I like the Zoop a little better, I find it a little easier to manoeuvre through the menus.

 

[jt83]

Going with the crowd on this one. I have it. It's a good basic computer but the 1 button thing is a pain.

 

[Spencer Crabtree]

What's the size comparison between the zoop and puck?

 

[pdhenry]

Those that have the interface cable - does the cable & PC software make it straightforward to delete old dives? I bought mine secondhand and it has a bunch of the previous owner's dives on it - makes it even more punishing to press the button one time too many in the dive log. There's also a display of maximum depth and one other thing (cumulative dive time??) that isn't useful for me due to the other diver's info being present.

I've ordered the cable from Germany so it should be here in a week or two...

---------- Post added July 30th, 2014 at 06:39 PM ----------

What's the size comparison between the zoop and puck?

From some Googling it looks like the Zoop is 60.5 mm (factory spec) and the Puck is 65 mm (measured by someone in a post here). So they're about the same size or the Puck is way bigger depending on your opinion about 4.5 millimeters.

 

[dfx]

Those that have the interface cable - does the cable & PC software make it straightforward to delete old dives? I bought mine secondhand and it has a bunch of the previous owner's dives on it - makes it even more punishing to press the button one time too many in the dive log. There's also a display of maximum depth and one other thing (cumulative dive time??) that isn't useful for me due to the other diver's info being present.

I've ordered the cable from Germany so it should be here in a week or two...

To my knowledge, the cable doesn't let you modify what's on the computer, but only lets you download the data. However, whichever software you use to download the data will learn to ignore old dives, the ones which it has already downloaded. As such, there's no need to delete old dives, and it also eliminates the need to go through the logbook on the computer manually.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

One thing I like with the puck is that its ascend rate indicator also shows up numerically. Those computer that has 2 green bar before going to a yellow bar then red are not detailed enough if one wants to go slower than a certain rate.

How useful is the cable? I had a cable on my old Aeris. It was interesting to look at my dive profile, but it wasn't something I did any post dive analysis with, nor was it a feature I was itching to get back when my windoze 95 computer broke.

 

[dfx]

How useful is the cable? I had a cable on my old Aeris. It was interesting to look at my dive profile, but it wasn't something I did any post dive analysis with, nor was it a feature I was itching to get back when my windoze 95 computer broke.

It lets you download the dives including the profiles and that's about it. It just makes record keeping easier and it's neat to look at the profile. Before I had the cable, I used to go through the log book on the computer manually (at which point the single button is a bit of a hassle) and write down the details into my paper log book, which are max depth, min temperature and duration. Now I just plug it into the USB, download the dives and be done with it. I won't even bother with a paper log now.