Nitrox training worth it w/o a computer

[scrane]

I just did the PADI Nitrox book course at my LDS for $130. Shop around.
But I would make getting a computer my first priority.

 

[tridacna]

Wow! $280. My LDS charges $145.

 

[dcg69]

Besides the general advantages of using a computer versus the tables ( accuracy, real profile calculation, warnings, etc ) , in real life, especially on liveaboard, you never get exactly 21% air or 32% Nitrox. You get any gas blend in between because tanks are not emptied when refilled. You measure the gas, set your computer and dive. That's something you can't do with tables ...

 

[joe10540]

It’s been a few months since you posted you were taking the class. How did it go? Did you purchase computers? One tidbit of advice, if you only dive a few times a year try to find a computer that you can replace the batteries yourself or can charge at home prior to diving. If you have to send off your computer every year or two and only have 8 dives on it you’ll start to question the value of having a computer.

 

[togatown]

It’s been a few months since you posted you were taking the class. How did it go? Did you purchase computers? One tidbit of advice, if you only dive a few times a year try to find a computer that you can replace the batteries yourself or can charge at home prior to diving. If you have to send off your computer every year or two and only have 8 dives on it you’ll start to question the value of having a computer.

Hello-
Yes, we did in fact complete our certification back in February and dove using Nitrox for several days in Grand Cayman. We also purchased identical Puck Pro's, which we like and work very well for us so far. The batteries are self replaceable, so I bought a battery kit that includes an O-ring.

 

[halocline]

I know this is an old thread, but kind of getting back to the original topic, which was basically "is it worth it to use nitrox for vacation divers" I guess my answer is "it depends." If I'm doing more than 2 dives/day I always try to use nitrox, but for two-a-day single tank, recreational dives I rarely bother with it, unless it's at no additional cost and/or the dive profiles really favor nitrox use. (Like two fairly square profiles in the 80-100 ft range)

One of the common selling points of nitrox is that it helps with post-dive fatigue, so what I do when using air is take longer safety stops, usually 3 mins at 20 ft and 5-10 minutes at 10 ft, depending on the dive. I find this lowers my N2 loading upon surfacing and makes a big difference in how I feel post-dive.

For 3-4 dives/day nitrox can really make a difference in your dive time, especially on those later dives.

 

[togatown]

We did 4 dives a day for two of the days, and felt fine, so I would like to think the Nitrox really helped.