Liquivision Xen

[MXGratefulDiver]

Learn your lesson and throw it away. This trinket may be cool but it is pretty useless for real diving. I remember similiar issues with Cochrane 20+ years ago because it was the cool new technology. I finally learned my lesson after wasting tons of money on these types of things.

... so you don't dive with a depth gauge/bottom timer? That's all the Xen is, yanno ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[RTodd]

... so you don't dive with a depth gauge/bottom timer? That's all the Xen is, yanno ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Uwatec's batteries last over a decade for the plain depth gauge/ bottom timer. I get wanting to play with the new toy, but admit that is what it is and that it doesn't function very well as the tool it is supposed to be.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Uwatec's batteries last over a decade for the plain depth gauge/ bottom timer. I get wanting to play with the new toy, but admit that is what it is and that it doesn't function very well as the tool it is supposed to be.

The battery life is an issue for me ... as is the fact that the batteries they use are not an off-the-shelf item. But what about it doesn't function very well as the tool it's supposed to be? It's supposed to be a depth gauge/bottom timer. Seems to me it performs those functions quite well ... and the advantage of visibility seems to me to be something that a lot of people who dive in very dark environments would find rather useful.

I'll agree you can dive just as easily with less expensive, lower tech devices ... people have been doing so for decades and still do. But that can be said for any new product on the market.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Rainer]

I know two people locally whose Xen's have died mid-dive without any low battery warning. I'd call that a pretty severe issue. The fact one of them has only gotten 9 hours and 8 hours off batteries is another pretty ugly fact.

When your electronic product is on firmware version *13* and it's only been on the market a few months, color be skeptical...

It *does* look quite beautiful underwater (when it's working)...

The battery life is an issue for me ... as is the fact that the batteries they use are not an off-the-shelf item. But what about it doesn't function very well as the tool it's supposed to be? It's supposed to be a depth gauge/bottom timer. Seems to me it performs those functions quite well ... and the advantage of visibility seems to me to be something that a lot of people who dive in very dark environments would find rather useful.

I'll agree you can dive just as easily with less expensive, lower tech devices ... people have been doing so for decades and still do. But that can be said for any new product on the market.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[LiteHedded]

I know two people locally whose Xen's have died mid-dive without any low battery warning. I'd call that a pretty severe issue. The fact one of them has only gotten 9 hours and 8 hours off batteries is another pretty ugly fact.

When your electronic product is on firmware version *13* and it's only been on the market a few months, color be skeptical...

It *does* look quite beautiful underwater (when it's working)...

it's really cool when it works. but if you have to take a backup...is it worth owning?

 

[rlynch]

i'll bite when the reported real life battery time is decent (or it takes AA's or something i can source in the destinations i go to).
until then the uwatec BT works for me.
Hell i bought mine used (2 years with 20 dives on it) it will probably last another 5+ years

 

[rlynch]

for reference:
My dive desinations currently are: India, Dubai, east and west coast US, Hawaii, and bonaire.

 

[PfcAJ]

I've had one failure of the unit in 90 some dives. This was on a 30ft dive where it didn't matter if I had a bottom timer or not. It went into low battery mode for a while then shut off. Of course, it was my fault for not checking the battery pre-dive.

ill put another 18 hours (or whatever it takes to drain the battery) on the unit and report back.

 

[MarkHerm]

I LOVE all these shiny sparkling gadgets Though I was always under the impression that simple, reliable gear is part of the DIR/Hog diving philosophy. Heck, not too long ago backup lights had to take C-cells batteries as those are reliable, widely available batteries (I know that rule was dismissed and it was a good move to do so). As much as I love the display of the Xen, the user experiences clearly states that it is not quite reliable due to low operating times and non-availabilty of the batteries off the shelf. So I'll skip until this is fixed. YMMV though and have fun with this nice looking gadget

 

[Centrals]

Uwatec's batteries last over a decade for the plain depth gauge/ bottom timer. I get wanting to play with the new toy, but admit that is what it is and that it doesn't function very well as the tool it is supposed to be.

My last one pass away after 12yrs of faithful service without any hitch and I am expecting the new replacement SHOULD behave just as well.