Wrist computer questions

Looking for some informed input. Would you give me your opinions [and compare] on these 3 writst computers based on:

1. is the display easy to read and large enough to see easily?
2. how easy are the buttons to use [esp. when wearing gloves]?
3. how dependable/reliable/accurate are they?
4. ANY problems to know about?
5. ANY really good points to consider?

OCEANIC VT3
VEO 250
GEO

(Nitrox & wireless aren't issues in my decision-making, so don't mind paying a little more if I have to --- mainly concerned with the basic visual/tactile/accuracy issues -- )
:goingdown:

casey,
i dont know much about the vt3, but the veo 250 is a great computer, it has a large display eays to read, only one button that you never need to push, but could do so with ease even with gloved hand, they have a agressive ndl's and good deco info, and they are user changeable batterys. however they are bulky and do not look like a watch, the onther downside to them in my opinion is that because they are user changable they are more prone to flooding due to improper replacement of o-ring. allround a good choice of computer.
the geo is more of a watch looking computer but looks cheap and nastey and probably is more nastey than cheap.

WE have GEO in our family, it's not that easy to read, The buttons are not easy to press with gloves as they are fairly small. Wearing gloves I do not feel when the button is pressed like I do with big buttons of my sherwood wisdom 2. Digits are not big.

My preference is the Oceanic - I use a wrist computer for backup (Aeris) and have an Oceanic console, with the air, depth, computer compass.

I like the idea of backup and redundency - and like the wrist computer very much. Highly recommended.

With the cost of NITROX integrated so low these days, I would not buy an air only computer. If you get your NITROX cert. - and you likely should - you have wasted your money; however I've seen air only computers for well under $100 -

The VT3 is not cheap, and you may be paying for features you don't need- you post you don't want/need a lot of features, but this one is very feature rich & its not cheap.

Go on line to Scuba Toys, Leisure Pro, Divers Direct, and see what you find - Much as I love Oceanic, you don't need to spend whaT a VT # will cost; heck my console - at an LDS, no less - was $600 3 years ago.

Others will disagree; however I would go with the algorythm used in Aeris, Oceanic, and a few others vs the one used by Suunto and some others - some of the more technically competent on this board can tell you exactly, but I've owned the Suunto and took it back after 10 dives; I found it waaaaay too conservative and went back to the Oceanic.

Remember, you can always dive a more liberal computer conservatively - the opposite is not true.

My preference is the Oceanic - I use a wrist computer for backup (Aeris) and have an Oceanic console, with the air, depth, computer compass.

I like the idea of backup and redundency - and like the wrist computer very much. Highly recommended.

With the cost of NITROX integrated so low these days, I would not buy an air only computer. If you get your NITROX cert. - and you likely should - you have wasted your money; however I've seen air only computers for well under $100 -

The VT3 is not cheap, and you may be paying for features you don't need- you post you don't want/need a lot of features, but this one is very feature rich & its not cheap.

Go on line to Scuba Toys, Leisure Pro, Divers Direct, and see what you find - Much as I love Oceanic, you don't need to spend whaT a VT # will cost; heck my console - at an LDS, no less - was $600 3 years ago.

Others will disagree; however I would go with the algorythm used in Aeris, Oceanic, and a few others vs the one used by Suunto and some others - some of the more technically competent on this board can tell you exactly, but I've owned the Suunto and took it back after 10 dives; I found it waaaaay too conservative and went back to the Oceanic.

Remember, you can always dive a more liberal computer conservatively - the opposite is not true.

If you are concerned about the ease of reading, my dad swears by his Galileo Sol. It's quite pricey, but the readout is huge, the buttons are easy to push and he absolutely loves it. Again, may be out of your price range, it is certainly out of mine.

I've got the VT3 and I love it. The screen is easy to read. I can press the buttons with no problem in 5 mm gloves. The main screen gives me PSI remaining, estimated air and bottom time remaining, etc. and one button push gives me the time and temperature. Some of these readings are based on it being air integrated which the VEO and GEO are not. What's nice is that it will calculate your SAC rate (which is nice to know by itself), and use it to alarm you when you need to begin your ascent if you haven't already. The alarms are very customizable so you can set your safety stop as desired. If you do a lot of reef out and back dives it can let you know when you're halfway through your air consumption and should head back.

Looking through the comparison chart (http://www.oceanicworldwide.com/pdf/compare_computers.pdf) there are a couple more things. The VT3 comes with the download cable and the other ones don't appear to. In the application you can get all of the computer's settings changed in the GUI rather than trying to cycle through menus on the dive computer itself. I use their download application "OceanLog" as my logbook. You can download it for free to see what it's like but it downloads the dive data and lets you write a memo about the dive. It's nice to be able to go back to the chart to review the dive.

I use the Aeris Elite T3 because i love the buddy check function. Me and my girl friend both have one. Its very easy to use and easy to keep an eye on her.
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1. is the display easy to read and large enough to see easily?
Very easy to use and great backlight!

2. how easy are the buttons to use [esp. when wearing gloves]?
Using 7mm in Lake Michigan i never have a problem. Two nice, large and far apart buttons on the face whcih means you have no problem using gloves.
3. how dependable/reliable/accurate are they?
Very dependable and great warranty
4. ANY problems to know about?
None that i can think off
5. ANY really good points to consider?
User friendly battery change. Buddy Check
Great USB interface with software that lets you log and replay the dives. Having it interface with a computer is really great because you can see if you surfaced too fast or breathing too much at at a certain time. Very cool!

I really like my VT3 and have found it to be easy to use and very reliable. One thing I will say is that I can't use it on my wrist because I need "readers" (just 1.0 magnification) and my wrist puts the display at a bad angle for my eyes to focus. So I put it on a retractor and can see it without any difficulty in front of my body.

I got a GEO and used it on 5 dives and i really like it so far, nothing to compare it to though. The screen is pretty big and easy to read and it has a backlight for night dives. I've worn 5mm gloves for all 5 of the dives and i've found the buttons aren't that hard to press. I haven't used nitrox with it yet so can't comment on that but overall i think it's a pretty good computer.