Air integrated or not??

vf84pc · Feb 2, 2006

What is the real benefit of Air integration? I think it would be great to have that data but is it worth the extra cost? I liked the Cobra in the console but I would like to go wireless however I dont have that much money at this time. If Air integration is much more beneficial than of course the cobra is worth the dollars if not I am considerering the wrist mounted Aladdin Tec or Suunto Vyper.

Red Sea Shadow · Feb 2, 2006

I have the Suunto Vyper and I'm happy with it. It is exactly the Cobra without air integration. Didn't try the air integration before but I think ain't worth the money.

vf84pc · Feb 2, 2006

Console or wrist?

Red Sea Shadow · Feb 2, 2006

I use a wrist one.

CIRE320 · Feb 2, 2006

My first computer was an Uwatec Aladin Air Z nitrox, which was a wrist mount ai computer. I had trouble with interference between the transmitter and the computer so sometimes i would lose my tank data. After a while i started diving with a small backup SPG (probably should have had one from the start), and finally switched to the Vyper wrist. I've been very happy with the Vyper. My fiancee has the Cobra, which is nice and i like better than the Aladin. AI is a nice feature but it's not a "must have" for me. That's my 2 cents.

MSilvia · Feb 2, 2006

vf84pc:
What is the real benefit of Air integration?

When you want to know your depth and air supply, you only have to look at one instrument instead of two.

vf84pc:
I think it would be great to have that data but is it worth the extra cost?

Not to me, especially given that there are potential disadvantages. For example, my SPG will tell me how much gas is in my tank without good batteries. An air-integrated computer will not if the batteries die at either end.

I'd dive one with a backup, but if I have the backup I don't need AI in the first place... especially if it's expensive.

TSandM · Feb 2, 2006

I started with a Cobra, and the one big advantage I can see of the air integration is that, when you log your dives, you have your consumed air right there in the computer. Otherwise, if you do multiple dives in a day, you have to try to remember the start and finish pressure to keep track, or write it down at the time, which, if you are gearing up on a boat, is easier said than done.

Otherwise, I found the console clunky and awkward and the hose length annoying. I have switched to a Mosquito, which sits neatly on my wrist and is easily visible, and an SPG on a nice short hose so it doesn't make a big loop that can catch on things.

DiveMaven · Feb 2, 2006

I love my Aeris AI (air integrated) computer! It is a compact console unit that fits in the palm of my hand and easily clips off to my BC. I dove a couple of times with a wrist unit, but realized quickly I prefer air integration and the big numbers a console provides.

I figured with a wrist computer I had to have an SPG anyway, and with the Aeris AI being so compact, there really isn't a size difference IMO.

Santa · Feb 2, 2006

I don't like to rely solely on digital readings for anything. When software fails, it really fails. Analog stuff you can often figure out or even momentarily repair while submerged. THere are only so many explanations as to what may be wrong.

I've got a wrist comp (mosquito) - but I always bring a an analog depth gauge. I'm getting a redundant dive timer as well because I always want to know at least how deep I've been and for how long and what's left in my tank.

Charlie99 · Feb 2, 2006

Most of the dive computer failures I've seen on charter boats have been wireless air integrated computers. Maybe the tranmitter units have small batteries and short battery life. Maybe they wear out fast because they use power to transmit info anytime that they are pressuriexed. Maybe divers don't check the transmitter battery as often.

Whatever the reason, battery failure on wireless air integrated units seems to happen a lot more often than either console or wristed mounted units.

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As for advantages, the big one is that you can easily get information on air consumption. The air-time-remaining display however, shouldn't be relied upon very much because the computer doesn't figure in such things as whether you can ascend directly to the surface or need to swim back out of the shipping lanes, or whether you will have to be swimming back upcurrent and working hard, or what profile you intend to have for your ascent.

Air integrated or not??

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