Torn as to which computer to buy

[Bostondiver5855]

And the problem is???

---------- Post added July 10th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ----------



Did you look at the new SP DC watch just came out or are you set in the choices you list?

The Meridian?

 

[commitch]

Man there can be some people here that don't make this the most inviting place. OP, the D4i is a nice little computer. Some things to consider about it (my main dive buddy uses one): she doesn't like that the battery isn't user replaced. You can do it yourself, but it affects warrany, etc. Sending it back is not cheap. If you are pairing it with a non-Suunto with one as a backup, the conservativeness is very different, so the Suunto will be limiting you whether it's your primary or backup, which can be annoying. Also, it does not have gauge mode (her biggest complaint and why she wishes she bought a D6 instead) if you plan to use it as a gauge during other diving activities. Overall, she likes the size, readout, and conservativeness (we dive A LOT on vacation).

Hope that is helpful. Feel free to ignore any of it if those aspects aren't important to you. Everyone's important features are their own business.

 

[drrich2]

Are you just wanting it to act as a watch on your trip, or do you have ideas of wearing it full time back home? Wearing a several hundred dollar 'watch' with a digital display and without the 'high end time piece' look, while running your battery down and subjecting your dive computer to the bumps and knocks of daily life, might not be all it's cracked up to be. Also, people often use screen protectors on dive computer screens; while some are less obtrusive than others, not so sure that would give you the aesthetic look you might wish...

In other words, if a $35 watch from Walmart looks as good or better and works just fine the overwhelming majority of the time spent outside dive trips...

Up to you. Just offering some food for thought.

Richard.

 

[boulderjohn]

I must be confused, because the real problem with the OP's plan seems to me to be pretty obvious.

He wants a Petrel, and he wants a second computer that works as a watch. He is thinking, for example, of a Suunto.

The algorithms of the Petrel and Suunto are so different that you will have to make a serious decision as to which one you follow during a dive. If it is the Petrel you choose to follow, then the Suunto will probably go into error mode and not function for 48 hours.

The Petrel is probably the finest decompression computer on the market, but does he need a decompression computer? I don't see any reason to have one if you are just doing recreational dives. If I were just going to do recreational dives, I would just have a recreational computer. If I wanted a second computer for backup, I would make sure they had compatible algorithms. If I decided I wanted to use a Petrel as my primary computer and wanted a backup, it would be a second Petrel.

The idea of a computer as a watch makes no sense to me because the face will show too little information during a dive, and it will be too small for my aging eyes to see. I have a very nice and very expensive dive watch on my wrist right now. It was a gift. It is more expensive than any computer on the market. I sometimes take it into the pool with me while teaching classes, but I would never use it on a dive. I can't read it under water in normal diving visibilities.

 

[victorzamora]

John, thanks for your post. It's exactly what I was going to post....the algorithms SERIOUSLY mismatch between the two.

If you're set on a dive computer and daily watch combo, I'd get the Geo. The Suunto algorithm is practically useless for multi-day diving. They get these weird behavioral habits if you even consider breaching your NDLs, and don't match up to any dive planner or dive program or tables or any other computer. A GOOD dive buddy bought a Suunto D9 (whatever the most expensive one is) and he hasn't pulled it out of his dresser drawer in a few years. He hates it as a watch, he hates it as a dive compuer, he hates it as a purchase he made. He refuses to sell it because it's not worth the postage it'd take to ship it out.

If you're wanting a watch that works as a back-up computer, get a normal watch and a set of tables. If you want it to show off that you're a diver, get .

If you want two great computers, get two Petrels.

 

[Oldbear]

I must be confused, because the real problem with the OP's plan seems to me to be pretty obvious.

He wants a Petrel, and he wants a second computer that works as a watch. He is thinking, for example, of a Suunto.

The algorithms of the Petrel and Suunto are so different that you will have to make a serious decision as to which one you follow during a dive. If it is the Petrel you choose to follow, then the Suunto will probably go into error mode and not function for 48 hours.

The Petrel is probably the finest decompression computer on the market, but does he need a decompression computer? I don't see any reason to have one if you are just doing recreational dives. If I were just going to do recreational dives, I would just have a recreational computer. If I wanted a second computer for backup, I would make sure they had compatible algorithms. If I decided I wanted to use a Petrel as my primary computer and wanted a backup, it would be a second Petrel.

The idea of a computer as a watch makes no sense to me because the face will show too little information during a dive, and it will be too small for my aging eyes to see. I have a very nice and very expensive dive watch on my wrist right now. It was a gift. It is more expensive than any computer on the market. I sometimes take it into the pool with me while teaching classes, but I would never use it on a dive. I can't read it under water in normal diving visibilities.

John,

That was the first thing I noticed here in Kwaj; my Atomic Cobalt or Aeris Epic (rec dive computers) are not even remotely in sync with my Petrel. I was going to down load the Sherwater Nitrox Rec upgrade and see if they come closer.

 

[drrich2]

For those of us who know a little of the Petrel (e.g.: tech. diving computer) but not much (e.g.: how conservative or liberal the algorithm is), I've got some questions.

1.) Does the Petrel run 'out of the box' like the recreational computers some of us are more familiar; with a default algorithm, or maybe a choice between a liberal & a conservative one, and you go dive?

2.) Is anything about the Petrel's handling typically customized by the diver? From what I've read a number of tech. divers use software (e.g.: VPlanner), and 'cut their own' tables for a given dive, then dive that plan closely. I understand tech. divers tend to run recreational computers in gauge mode when doing tech. dives; is that how they are running their Petrels?

3.) If the answer is 1.), not 2.), then does the Petrel tend to be particularly conservative or liberal compared to recreational computers? In other words, 3 divers, 1 Suunto (conservative), 1 Oceanic (set to liberal algorithm) and 1 Petrel, drop to 80 feet and sit till they need ascend to avoid violating NDL. Where's the Petrel expected to fall?

Thanks.

Richard.

 

[dvankirk]

I wear my GEO like a watch while I'm on a dive trip. While diving, it is in gauge mode as a backup to my petrel.

I'm not sure that I would spend the money to set it up that way - it's just something that I had.

 

[eelnoraa]

Must have features in a dive computer is air mode, nitrox mode, gauge mode, self replaceable battery. Big and nice screen is a plus. I would avoid build in compass. I will not pay extra for air integrated.

 

[0002s]

Oceanic OC1 or OCS. The OC1 wears like 48mm watch that's a little thick. It has every rec feature you could need and then some.