Time to Upgrade

[kev_328]

It's time to upgrade from my Suunto Cobra. I like the looks of the Mares Icon HD; Easy to read screen and hoseless. However, I have discovered several posts that identify pairing issues and battery life. What's the general consensus on this unit?

Kevin
Saratoga County
Upstate NY

 

[Jim Lapenta]

A true upgrade would be to a Shearwater. Seems like what you are doing is moving sideways.

 

[tomfcrist]

Shearwater is my choice, however it depends on your preferences. The Petrel does not do AI, but does everything else flawlessly. If you want AI, liquivision has the only computer out there that will perform on par with the petrel IMHO.

If you want to stay with sunnto, they just released the EON steel, which is designed to try to compete with shearwater, but is still AI.

 

[ajduplessis]

So the OP asked about pairing and battery life issue on a Mares HD, but we are selling Shearwaters. WTF

@Kevin: Sorry, wish I was able to help. I do know that large display devices will consume more power, the question thou is can the user replace the batteries? Pairing I know sometimes is problamatic (i had a Suunto). Do you have backup gauge(s) to the information provide via AI?

 

[rongoodman]

It's time to upgrade from my Suunto Cobra. I like the looks of the Mares Icon HD; Easy to read screen and hoseless. However, I have discovered several posts that identify pairing issues and battery life. What's the general consensus on this unit?

Kevin
Saratoga County
Upstate NY

Have to you talked to John at Adirondack Scuba? Personally, I'd rather spend the money on a Petrel or Liquivison Veo, but that's just me.

 

[scubadada]

Every computer post now becomes an advertisement for the Petrel. It appears to be a really great computer, but I find the NDLs quite short, even on the least conservative setting, for repetitive, recreational dives. I appreciate it much more for its prowess for deco dives. Personally, I would also like to have an AI version.

Fire away

 

[rongoodman]

It appears to be a really great computer, but I find the NDLs quite short, even on the least conservative setting, for repetitive, recreational dives.

I'm not sure what you mean by "least conservative". You can set the GF to 100/100 if you want("Do I feel lucky?").

 

[scubadada]

I'm not sure what you mean by "least conservative". You can set the GF to 100/100 if you want("Do I feel lucky?").

Not in recreational mode. On low conservatism, the surfacing GF is already 95%, how much more could you get out of the algorithm? Good idea though, I'll have to check the NDLs vs. DSAT, the recreational algorithm I've been using successfully since 2001 and more than 850 dives.

 

[kev_328]

Thank-you to every one who has commented. Indeed the Shearwater Petrel and Petrel II get great reviews and are considered by many in the Tec Community to be the standard. The only downside to the Petrel is the lack of AI functionality as TomFCrist pointed out. I would like to stick with a computer that has AI capability. (I tend to be a bit of belt & suspenders type of guy and rarely enter the water with just a dive computer.....on 99.99% of my dives I have both a dive computer and a console of analog gauges....I do not trust batteries when my head is underwater.)

Does anyone have any experience with the Mares Icon HD Net Ready (Silver) vs the Mares Icon HD Black? I found a post on SB that indicated that the two units have identical hardware....only the bezels were different. The Firmware updates do not appear to have fixed all of the problems.

Kevin
Saratoga County
Upstate NY

 

[rhwestfall]

I know nothing of those computers, but Mares Technical Support is non-existent. That alone would sway me far, far away from them....