air integrated worth 2x the price

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gurumasta

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Location
wakefield, ma
# of dives
50 - 99
is it really worth it to cough up the extra dough and get a computer that features air integration?
 
To me it was. I like being able to have all the information on my wrist. Also, it is great in that it aids you in your rock bottom air calculation. This makes dive planning easier. While I can manually calculate my air, if conditions are not as anticipated, I have to do everything on the spot in my head. So for instance, I get in with no current, then suddenly a current appears, I have to recalculate everything in my head. With a computer, it figures it out. This is the same principle as the notrogen loading.

I think this would be more important for a newbie, who is unfamiliar with their air comsumption rate and is more air limited than nitrogen limited. Also, it really help you to learn what causes you to use more or less air, since you get instant feedback on the computer. For instance, when you get good buoyancy and relax, you will see your air time go up. When you get exicited or start to fin hard, you will see it go way down.

Another thing to consider is the depths you will be doing. A computer is not a neccessary if you are doing shallow lake dives. You don't have to worry about nitrogen loading as much at shallow depths as you will run out of air long before you become nitrogen loaded.
 
I'm confused. You recalculate your entire dive if you suddenly get current? What do you change? Depth? Run time? Turn Pressure?

Of course this is just my opinion (as a newbie like you speak of) but it is FAR more valuable for me right now to LEARN how to calculate my SAC rates, learn how changing conditions and task loading affect my gas usage, and learn how to adjust my dive to match conditions.

Personally, I think one of the best things I did was to wait to buy a computer and just wear a watch and a depth guage, and work from there. So for me, air integration certainly isn't worth the added expense. Especially when you consider the situations where they can be unreliable.
 
I own one and don't plan on selling it any time soon. I really like it! That said, I would like to have the 400 bucks back in price compared to the Atmos 2. So, as you can tell, my answer is mostly NO. All it really does is make you feel like you have a cool piece of gear. Once you have been diving for a while you can tell how much air you will use in a variety of diving conditions without even looking at your computer or your spg. I find it doesn't really help at all in dive planning. Now, I do like being able to have the air info on my digital log when I download my dive later on. But all that really does is allow me to not have to remember the info from my spg after the dive. If this is a question of money and of you are asking, you probably don't really need it and won't find it worth it. I didn't but now I have it so hey, I now have a really cool piece of gear.:wink:
 
PerroneFord:
I'm confused. You recalculate your entire dive if you suddenly get current? What do you change? Depth? Run time? Turn Pressure?

Yes to all. This is more important the deeper you go, as you have to plan on air to get you to the surface. There are many threads going around on rock bottom air planning.

PerroneFord:
Of course this is just my opinion (as a newbie like you speak of) but it is FAR more valuable for me right now to LEARN how to calculate my SAC rates, learn how changing conditions and task loading affect my gas usage, and learn how to adjust my dive to match conditions.

Hard for me to tell you not to learn the basics, but what I was saying is that the air integrated computer will actually help speed this up, as you learn more about your SAC from the computer.

PerroneFord:
Especially when you consider the situations where they can be unreliable.

If your computer dies, you should do a controlled ascent immediately.
 
scubadobadoo:
Once you have been diving for a while you can tell how much air you will use in a variety of diving conditions without even looking at your computer or your spg.

Ahhh, I look forward to the day I can do that!
 
Hmmm... I have a Cobra and I'm still up in the air with respect to the AI utility. This is probably going to ruffle some feathers so I'll start by saying that I would never use it for planning purposes nor would I rely on it for deep diving.

However, it's kind of convenient for things like lobstering (80% of my dives) where I will get to a site and work the area for a while. I'm kind of scatter brained and can lose track of time while I'm trying to negotiate with a stubborn bug. The Air Time Remaining is a decent, quick reference to let me know if I need to move on. Keep in mind that lobstering around Cape Ann generally means shallow dives in the 20-30' range and you tend to stay down as long as your air will last.... and the bugs seem to know this too.

Short of that little bit of convenience, I'm struggling to find the value. I could have bought a wrist mounted Viper or Oceanic for less $$$. Maybe after a few more dives???
 
If your computer dies, you should do a controlled ascent immediately.

What about if you don't dive with a computer in the first place?

It just doesn't seem like a good idea to rely on a set of batteries to monitor gas.
 
Dive without a computer? What?
 
khacken:
Yes to all. This is more important the deeper you go, as you have to plan on air to get you to the surface. There are many threads going around on rock bottom air planning.

I don't do a lot of ocean diving, so I guess I am somewhat confused as to how current makes you use more gas to ascend. I guess if your breathing rate increases it would. Is that what you mean? As for rockbottom calcs, we learned it in class. Actually, the term rockbottom is no longer used. It's "minimum gas" now.


khacken:
Hard for me to tell you not to learn the basics, but what I was saying is that the air integrated computer will actually help speed this up, as you learn more about your SAC from the computer.

Hmmm... I guess the air integrated computer could show me my instant SAC rate. However if something is pushing my SAC rate up, I'm really not going to be staring at the computer screen, I'm going to be problem solving.


khacken:
If your computer dies, you should do a controlled ascent immediately.

This is why I didn't dive with a computer. I don't like aborting a dive just because my batteries fail. I'd prefer to finish my dives and let the computer do what it wants to do.


Horses for courses I guess.
 

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