List of computers by their behavior

I'm looking for a review or a chart on the net which lists a good number of current dive computers by their behavior. Showing which ones are more conservative and liberal. I know there are hundreds of reviews of computers which give you an idea of their character but what about a simple list or ranking? Do you know any such information available on the net?

Thanks in advance

One of the most important lessons you can learn from this exercise is that dive computers have no idea what a safe dive looks like for you.

I know but I'm sick and tired of my Suunto Stinger giving extremely paranoid bottom times and warnings compared to other dive buddies' computers. Two weeks ago I was just doing some freediving with it to just 15-20ft and after 2-3 dives, it gave me the No-Fly warning :11: So I'm after a more liberal computer and was wondering if there is a chart or ranking from most liberal to most conservative.

I'd appreciate a lot if you or someone else can direct me to such information.

Thanks

I'm not aware of any chart that ranks the computers from most liberal to most conservative, but I know Suunto would be near the top of the conservative side. Oceanic seems to be more on the liberal side.

I think pretty much every computer (if not in gauge mode) will give you a no fly warning as a default as soon as you hit anything deeper than 10' or so.

The latest edition of Rodale's Scuba diving has a list of those but only a few!!

Thinkaboutthiswithyourbrain:

You already know that the Suunto giving you a no-fly icon after 2~3 20' free dives is giving you false information. So why do you need to get a computer that is more liberal to tell you that?

It seems utterly ridiculous to me for people to rely on dive computers to determine what is a safe dive on the one hand but to choose a computer based on the degree of conservative vs liberal from the broad spectrum of dive computers on the other hand.

If you are smart enough to choose which computer out of the pile is really giving accurate (as opposed to precise) information then you are smart enough not to need one in the first place! And if you are not smart enough then educate yourself because the reality of the situation is that no dive computer is right! If one were right all of the others in this broad spectrum of outputs would be wrong! But they are all like a man wearing a blindfold and shooting arrows at a moving target, in another room.

Folks there are so many other things that go into making a dive safe beside theoretical compartments, m-values or bubble models! There are inputs that your computer doesn't have and can't consider. But your brain can. Beyond that there things you can do to make your dive safer that your computer can't help you with. Really important things like being well rested and well hydrated before the dive(s) and not exerting yourself after the dive nor laying down and sleeping through your SI.

I have to agree with Uncle Pug on this computer issue. Computers are great for tracking information such as depth, and temp.

What they can't do, is calculate and track anything BEYOND their programming. If you free dive with any computer, the computer has no idea that you are free diving. It assumes it's a regular dive.

If you did 3 normal dives to 20 feet, you shouldn't be flying. Your computer represented that.

Dive computers are nothing more than gauges, tables, and storage devices. They don't think or anticipate, whether a conservative or liberal table.

If you dropped your computer on a weighted string to 100 feet and left it there for two hours, it would be screaming you have massive deco obligation. Yet, you've never been in the water, but how is the computer to take that into account in its calculation?

Same thing with free diving, unless your computer has a specific free-diving mode that is engaged, then your computer has to treat the dive as a normal dive.

In cases where you use the computer beyond its abilities, you have to think for yourself. I think this is where some divers get upset over computer use, because it appears too many people allow the computer to do all the thinking for them.

Xanthro

OTOH, multilevel diving with tables is extremely liberal.

That's why it is better to have an understanding of decompression theory.. including the fact that it is just theory... and then apply common sense along with controlling the dive profile to accomodate those other factors that neither computers nor tables take into account.

Guys,

I know about diving and some about dive computers as I'm diving with dive computers for more than 15 yrs. I've used Monitor2, several Uwatec computers for many years and now use this paranoid Suunto and a Nitek He for some planned deco dives with mixed gases. More importantly I know my body and my limits. The reason I use Suunto is, it's small. simple and just OK for fun dives. But it tends to spoil my diving trips with too short bottom times and frequent deco stops. As my dive buddies finish their dives without any alarms and mandatory stops, I have to hang on the line so that it doesn't get blocked for 48hrs.

So can you at least give me some names which are known to be more liberal???