Air integrated or not?

[Hoag]

Sounds to me like you have already bought your tool so that $$$ is gone. What did you get?

See post 19 for what I dive with.

 

[redacted]

Like the simplyscuba salesman said, it "does all sorts of things" beyond depth, time, and gas loading. The added price would pay for more than a week of dives in Cozumel.

 

[RayfromTX]

It seems like a rush to judge and a propensity for conflict to tell someone else that they are using a crutch if they buy something nicer or more feature laden than what you chose or consider to be enough. This is after all the land of plenty. If however, you have used the nicer product on several dives and found it to be defective or inferior to what you use, sharing that experience is valuable.

It is just like the people that told me I made a mistake to buy a Prius because a Corolla was good enough and cost a lot less. That never happened after they drove a Prius. I haven't driven a Prius for the last 13 years because I needed to save money on gas. I drove it because it's a damned fine car.

I don't use a Perdix because I can't use a SPG. I use it because it is the finest PDC that I have ever heard of and it is a joy and a pleasure every time I turn it on. Few "things" in life give me that much satisfaction from their use.

I'm certain that nobody that buys one is confused about their cost or the existence of cheaper options. I could have bought the non-AI version but I like it. I will not miss any dive trips because of the money I spent on it. That notion is just silly. No one has started a thread and asked if they should choose between a dive trip and an expensive AI computer. When they do I will stand corrected. I'm pretty sure I can recall one thread where they asked what is the cheapest computer I can get by with? That is not this thread.

 

[redacted]

I bought my AI computer many years ago and retired it after a few months. It did not have all the features of modern AI computers. But I can see that I have little use for most of those additional features. I do understand some might want them including the dive logging and downloading capabilities. (Hell, I,m sure some folks wear their Fitbit for sex.) Nice to have if that is what you want. But not necessary for safe recreational diving. I also have other more capable non-AI computers which I retired in favor of my old Oceanic Data Plus. It give all the data nec essary to safely cunduct a series of dives and even allows me to make it more conservative (it is quite liberal) in 6% increments of tissue N2 loading on the leading compartment.

 

[tdallen]

A pretty good description of a crutch...

By that logic a brass and glass SPG is also a crutch. If AI cost less than a brass and glass gauge, would it still be a crutch - or just a prudent way to keep track of your remaining gas?

 

[Hoag]

I think it is safe to say that this thread has shown that there are some who would say that Air Integration is a crutch and not worth the extra money. As for me, I look at it as a natural progression in the evolution of dive computers and a tool which lightens my workload and makes diving more enjoyable. This means that in the long run, I will actually dive more and have more fun on any given dive. This makes it worth every single penny.

 

[redacted]

By that logic a brass and glass SPG is also a crutch. If AI cost less than a brass and glass gauge, would it still be a crutch - or just a prudent way to keep track of your remaining gas?

When my B&G SPG fails, it costs me less than $50 to replace it. When the SPG fails on an AI computer, guess what happens. And I dove with no SPG but it is does have some added risks.

 

[aquacat8]

Here's one thing I love about AI, it can function as a biofeedback tool that teaches the diver to breathe efficiently : I swim in the ocean for fun and exercise and sometimes when diving I forget I'm supposed to go slow (my calmly hovering buddies have compared me to a seal) but with my ancient beloved old Oceanic Datamax pro plus AI console I can watch my "dive time remaining" based on gas expand as I slow down and breathe deeply and evenly. It's pretty cool.

 

[Joneill]

Here's one thing I love about AI, it can function as a biofeedback tool that teaches the diver to breathe efficiently : I swim in the ocean for fun and exercise and sometimes when diving I forget I'm supposed to go slow (my calmly hovering buddies have compared me to a seal) but with my ancient beloved old Oceanic Datamax pro plus AI console I can watch my "dive time remaining" based on gas expand as I slow down and breathe deeply and evenly. It's pretty cool.

Agreed - on the Perdix AI, you can also see SAC as well - good real time feedback.

 

[stuartv]

I do agree, but put another way, AI is a crutch for training and experience. A costly and unnecessary crutch.

So is a computer. And an SPG. And a BCD. They are costly and unnecessary crutches, too.

My dad started diving when he was 14. He only ever dived double steel 72s, with no computer, no SPG, and no BCD. In a thick Farmer John wetsuit. He dived the north Florida black water rivers and caves and he dove to 200' in the Navy with that configuration. He has told me all those things are unnecessary.

So, what's your point?