Need a new computer

[RP Diver]

I just bought an Oceanic Versa Pro. The selling point for me was that I got $100 trade-in on it for my 16 year old, 1989 USD Monitor 2. The trade-in brought it down under the price of the VEO 250. It got to the point where $145 just to change the battery in my Monitor seemed excessive, and I liked a lot of the features on the Versa Pro. I'll be using it for the first time in 2 weeks at Little Cayman's Bloody Bay Wall.

 

[mobstability]

I think it really depends on what kind of diving you are planning on doing. I really like my Dive Rite nitek 3 comp. It compensates for 3 different gasses (21-100% nitrox mixes). I love the unit and would only switch to VR3 if money was not an issue. Hope this helps.

 

[H2Andy]

I have an Aeris Atmos 2 that I absolutely love.

ditto for me. those batteries (user-replaceable, of course) last FOR EVER, and it's
a versatile, flexible computer.

also, wrist-mounted, a must for me.

 

[H2Andy]

I really like my Dive Rite nitek 3 comp.

do you know if the Nitek 3 allows for a PO2 other than 1.6?

i remember really liking the Nitek Duo, but since it only allowed an 1.6 PO2 i sort
of shied away from it.

 

[DiveMaven]

I have an Aeris AI and my husband uses an Oceanic DataMax Pro QD. I chose the Aeris because it's air integrated, it has a smaller profile, I can change the batteries, it has a good reliability rating, and I didn't want a wrist mount. Suunto's ultra-conservativism was a turn off to us, particularly when considering the repetitive diving of a liveaboard.

So much of choosing a computer is personal preference and diving habits.

 

[ToriiDiver]

My wife has an Oceanic Versa Pro, I have the Suunto Vyper. Both do the job well and are pretty similar in functionality. If you read the board here you will see that the suunto is more conservative whereas the Versa Pro is more liberal. I find the Vyper's interface to be more intuitive, but you can get used to using either without much trouble. For the Vyper I didn't have to look in the manual to figure out basic operations though, whereas for the Versa Pro I had to look up how to navigate the menus. I think the Versa Pro is pretty much the same as the Aeris Atmos 2.

One advantage to the Versa Pro is that the numbers a very big and easy to see underwater. I can endorse either of these based on our experiences.

Thanks...with my eyesight big numbers are a GOOD thing!

 

[ToriiDiver]

ToriiDiver,

Ive only been away like 3.5 months!!!
My avatar was taken at Onna and my profile pic at Maeda.


Alot of folks say Suuntos are conservative. BUt diving another comp isnt gonna make you body absorb less N2. I've done some dives where I tell the comp Im using air but actually use EAN and a deco gas and I can still clear it before surfacing so I hate to see what the other comps "allow" you to do.

Like I said before PC downloable is a biggie as I tend to belive that w/o it your only using half the comp, if thats not what your into then ck out the Suunto Gecko. (Id stay away from the Mosquito)

User R2 batteries are nice cause if you go on a trip you can just take a extra batt w/ you or whatever instead of having to send it back to the comapny.

Downloading to a PC is new to me in terms of using a dive computer, but the concept sounds great. I'll keep that in mind when chosing a new one.

The last time I did Maida Point was 22 Jul 91, dive #180. Great place for night diving.

 

[ToriiDiver]

I think it really depends on what kind of diving you are planning on doing. I really like my Dive Rite nitek 3 comp. It compensates for 3 different gasses (21-100% nitrox mixes). I love the unit and would only switch to VR3 if money was not an issue. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice. I can see from the responses I've been getting that there are a number of choices available. I'm making a list of recommendations and will see what makes sense for me.

 

[ToriiDiver]

ToriiDiver, what kind of diving are you planing to do?

I'll probably only do no decompression dives, but can see doing 2 per day for 3 or 4 days (with a couple of night dives) while on vacation. I like to get as much bottom time as possible but don't need to do much diving below 60 feet.

 

[H2Andy]

can see doing 2 per day for 3 or 4 days (with a couple of night dives) while on vacation. I like to get as much bottom time as possible but don't need to do much diving below 60 feet.

this should be fine. make sure you don't dive for 24 hours before the flight out.
also, if you can give yourself a day "break" in the middle of the week with no
diving, that will add to your safety.