Scubapro Smart Com vs Oceanic Pro Plus 2 vs Suunto Cobra

I’m considering on of the following air integrated dive computers

Oceanic Pro Plus 2 Computer

Suunto Cobra

Scubapro Uwatec Aladin Smart Com

I’m leaning towards the Scubapro b/c I like the feature of the RBT (remaining bottom time). It lets you program how many pounds of air you want left when you surface and if you follow the computer you will surface with your predetermined amount of air. I like this feature because I use a lot of air and seldom exceed bottom times but do fall short of remaining psi surfacing. Any suggestions or comments?

serrada:

I’m considering on of the following air integrated dive computers

Oceanic Pro Plus 2 Computer

Suunto Cobra

Scubapro Uwatec Aladin Smart Com

I’m leaning towards the Scubapro b/c I like the feature of the RBT (remaining bottom time). It lets you program how many pounds of air you want left when you surface and if you follow the computer you will surface with your predetermined amount of air. I like this feature because I use a lot of air and seldom exceed bottom times but do fall short of remaining psi surfacing. Any suggestions or comments?

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I have three Oceanic Pro Plus models. Mine have bars while the newer model 2 has circles. My wife, my son and I have made dozens of dives with these units and they work great. I just change the batteries once a year and have never had any problems.

You can set the turn pressure, ending tank pressure and it shows your No Dec minutes left. Easy to scroll through and the screen is very large.

ill just say one thing about uwatec.

great comps, but when you do have to replace the batt it can be expensive since you have to ship it to europe and back....like 200$ i think. Although there supposedly good for 10 years......something to keep in mind.

I still have the predecessor of your computer, the old Aladin Air Console.
It's six or seven years old and the battery died sometime between last summer
and three weeks ago. Replacement will be $130 at which time the computer
is checked out in the factory. Worth the money I think after all these years.
Been working fine, never had a problem with this one.

The first one had a faulty pressure transducer that gave erratic readings a few
months after I bought it, they replaced it no questions asked, even downloaded
the dive data to a disk and send it back.

I like Uwatec's displays, very easy to read, all info is right there.
No toggling between screens. Info and warnings are good, and finally they came
out with a Mac version of the software. Unique so far.

I don't like the wet contacts much, inconvinient to use. But pretty failsafe.

UWATEC does not charge ANYTHING for battery replacement, at least for the SMART Com and other specified computers. They have a "Batteries for Life" program under which they replace the batteries, test all the functions, and return the computer. See the UWATEC website at http://www.scubapro.com/registration/faq_batteries.asp. I believe that you can take your computer to your retailer for the battery replacement, so you don't have to send it to the factory in Europe either. Of course, this is all assuming that you buy the computer new from an authorized retailer. If you buy gray market from an unauthorized source, you may have to pay out the wazoo to get the batteries replaced. I replaced a ProPlus 2 with a SMART Com (actually, I still have the Oceanic). You get more information, particularly in the download, plus the microbubble suppression technology, at about the same price as the Oceanic. The Oceanic does have a big, easy-to-read display and easy-to-use buttons. I have never used a Suunto, but my dive buddy on my last trip did, and he is thinking about replacing it. The algorithm Suunto uses is very conservative, allowing less bottom time and requiring longer surface intervals than most other computers. My buddy got his into a violation and was locked out for 48 hours. Most other computers only lock out for 24 hours. More conservative is more safe, but I think the Suunto is an extreme. I would recommend the UWATEC.

I, too, have been really pleased with the Uwatec SmartCom...large display with all the data readily viewable and great PC interface. Regarding battery life, I've been diving the Uwatec for just over a year (mostly cold water), 112 dives/82 hours and the battery is at 77 percent.

anakin:

ill just say one thing about uwatec.

great comps, but when you do have to replace the batt it can be expensive since you have to ship it to europe and back....like 200$ i think. Although there supposedly good for 10 years......something to keep in mind.

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Wrong. You take it to the authorized dealer you bought it from, or you ship it to ScubaPro, based somewhere in Southern California.

I suppose you could send it to Europe if you really wanted to, but why?

YMMV if you're not US-based.

Jim Baldwin:

You can set the turn pressure, ending tank pressure and it shows your No Dec minutes left. Easy to scroll through and the screen is very large.

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On the Oceanic you can set the ending tank pressure? How does it work while diving to get you there?

Actually all my other gear is Oceanic and would like to stay in the family. I didn't think the Ocianic had this feature. I thought only Scubapro did.

The battery service on Uwatec computers is very good for the original owner, but the dealer cost for a non-original owner battery replacement is upwards of $200.00 So it does impact the worth of a used Uwatec computer.

A bigger issue is that the failure rate on them is quite high (by normal standards - on the order of maybe 5%). Warranty support is again excellent, but if it dies you have to send it in and are essentially computerless until they get it back to you.

Feature wise, they are excellent computers, but until they get to be a bit more reliable I would not recommend one.