Ironborn
Contributor
I chose the Puck Mares Pro as my first dive computer. As a newer diver, I have historically rented most of my gear thus far, as rentals saved me the hassles of traveling with larger items and gave me the opportunity to experiment with different brands and styles of gear before investing in my own. I decided to acquire a computer because it is small, the costs of computer rentals add up over time (relative to the cost of a purchase), and I felt that familiarity was important for something as mission-critical and complex as a computer.
I wanted a computer with a modest price and a simple interface, and in that regard the Puck Mares Pro served me reasonably well in the more than 20 dives that I have logged with it thus far. I have not had any malfunctions or other performance issues thus far, which were my main concern about the lower-price computers. The single button enabled easier familiarization at first, but it did come with the disadvantage of often requiring a lot of scrolling through menus in order to find what one wants. This issue was usually just a mild inconvenience when I needed to change the gas settings or view logs between dives and thus far has not been an issue for me underwater.
I heard from other divers that this computer's algorithm for air is highly conservative, but that its Nitrox algorithm is moderate. I have only used it with Nitrox thus far and thus cannot comment on its air algorithm. I had no issues with its Nitrox settings. It did tell me that I was within 10 minutes of the NDLs on a few EANx 32 dives, but those dives were a bit deeper and longer, as we were using steel 120 tanks and I was approaching the end of my trip, by which point I had optimized my air consumption enough to stay down that long. We ascended to a shallower depth for a multi-level dive, which the DM had incorporated into the dive planning anyway.
I did have one minor issue checking the battery life before my trip. There was a discrepancy between the manual's instructions for the battery life indicators and what actually appeared on my screen. I contacted Mares customer service, and they responded within a day. Their response indicated that the discrepancy was due to my computer's use of a later version of the firmware than what the manual described.
I plan to use this computer on another trip in the near future. If anyone else has used this computer, do you have any feedback or suggestions beyond what I have written above? Are there any particular issues with this computer that you have encountered that I might want to prepare for or be aware of?
I wanted a computer with a modest price and a simple interface, and in that regard the Puck Mares Pro served me reasonably well in the more than 20 dives that I have logged with it thus far. I have not had any malfunctions or other performance issues thus far, which were my main concern about the lower-price computers. The single button enabled easier familiarization at first, but it did come with the disadvantage of often requiring a lot of scrolling through menus in order to find what one wants. This issue was usually just a mild inconvenience when I needed to change the gas settings or view logs between dives and thus far has not been an issue for me underwater.
I heard from other divers that this computer's algorithm for air is highly conservative, but that its Nitrox algorithm is moderate. I have only used it with Nitrox thus far and thus cannot comment on its air algorithm. I had no issues with its Nitrox settings. It did tell me that I was within 10 minutes of the NDLs on a few EANx 32 dives, but those dives were a bit deeper and longer, as we were using steel 120 tanks and I was approaching the end of my trip, by which point I had optimized my air consumption enough to stay down that long. We ascended to a shallower depth for a multi-level dive, which the DM had incorporated into the dive planning anyway.
I did have one minor issue checking the battery life before my trip. There was a discrepancy between the manual's instructions for the battery life indicators and what actually appeared on my screen. I contacted Mares customer service, and they responded within a day. Their response indicated that the discrepancy was due to my computer's use of a later version of the firmware than what the manual described.
I plan to use this computer on another trip in the near future. If anyone else has used this computer, do you have any feedback or suggestions beyond what I have written above? Are there any particular issues with this computer that you have encountered that I might want to prepare for or be aware of?
