Considering a new dive computer..

[Neilwood]

I think it comes down to priorities at the end of the day.

I bought a £200 Cressi Giotto just after doing my OW. Was a great computer but I found that, during green water UK diving and night diving, that using the backlight was a PITA. Holding a button down while trying to handle a spool, hold a line or adjust my BCD is not the easiest.
Did a bit of research (probably around dive 30) and decided that I wanted an upgrade so looked at what was about.

My wish list was (in order of importance):
1) LED/OLED screen - far more visible than LCD to the point that I could read my buddies computer that was 2-2.5m away better than my own on a few dives.
2) Algorithm - tried and tested and fairly conservative (mid 40s and not as fit as I should be).
3) Buttons easy to operate with gloves - UK diving requires gloves for most of the year so easy to press was required.
4) Easy to use

For me the Perdix ticked the boxes (as would OSTC or Ratio). Got a good deal on the perdix with transmitter.

It certainly seems that you can either get cheap (LCD type) or expensive (LED/OLED). It is up to you to decide if it is worth it.

 

[Ben_3]

It's a great computer, but it is definitely overkill for a rec diver, and I say that as a rec diver who has 2 Perdixes (Perdi?) in the house, one for me, one for Mr. OOO. Do you need something that fancy and expensive? Probably not, but it is a great rec diving (and tech diving, if you ever go down that route) computer if you decide that it is within your budget and you are okay spending that kind of money. You won't outgrow it.





Something to keep in mind with the Teric vs the Perdix, apart from the different form factor/size, are charging and the running costs. You do need to remember to charge the Teric. Should the batteries on the Teric completely die, you will lose tissue data. As it is a lithium battery, after many charges and discharges, the useful life and capacity of the battery will decrease. After a number of years (Shearwater estimates about 5 under normal use), you will need to have it replaced and it is not user replaceable. It's about $100 CAD + shipping to do this.

For a Perdix, you don't need to worry about charging it and any AA form battery will work. You will get 40-80 hours of dive time (approximately) depending on which battery you use. All batteries are user replaceable. You will not lose tissue data when a new battery is being put in and it is also safe to do this during repetitive diving.

It is purely personal preference. Choose the one that works for you.

The battery part is a big factor, I know as a Divemaster sometimes I can go for more than one day with multiple dives and not know where and when I will charge my things. I always carry spare batteries for most of my other gear. Seeing how my phone's batterie life keeps loosing reliability over time I would guess it is the same thing for the rechargeable Teric. 100$+ to get it changed seems a little steep..

 

[dmaziuk]

Seeing how my phone's batterie life keeps loosing reliability over time I would guess it is the same thing for the rechargeable Teric. 100$+ to get it changed seems a little steep..

Not really considering they have to crack the umpteen-hundred-msw-body open to do it and then seal it back and pressure-test it.

 

[Ben_3]

Not really considering they have to crack the umpteen-hundred-msw-body open to do it and then seal it back and pressure-test it.

I guess you're right. Will have to wait and see how long the battery life span is since they're new on the market.

 

[RogueClimber]

There is a market for these, I was hoping the Cyano would fit the bill, but utter failure

Evidently not: if there really was a demand...

I believe this could be an example of: Cheap, reliable, feature packed. Pick two.....

 

[dmaziuk]

I believe this could be an example of: Cheap, reliable, feature packed. Pick two.....

It's not that, I think: at the basic rec level there just isn't a demand for a zoop-leonardo-geo-type computer that isn't a zoop-leonardo-geo. Those aren't actually broken, despite what you hear on SB from three posters who insist on doing no-stop dives to the very limit of the most liberal theoretical NDL, and a handful that can't press the right buttons and then scream about the computer locking them out instead of reading their minds.

 

[NAM001]

If I were buying I would think this.

Do I need a book to use it
can I read it when my eyes start going far sighted
does it need special dongals to connect to the world with
can I use it with gloves
How easy its it to successfully change batteries
does it need special batteries
How reliable is support

iffy one .... will it lock me out

 

[Fastmarc]

It would really be a good idea if one of our more experienced members would do a thread explaining the Bühlmann algo / GF as it pertains to Rec divers and with only the info Rec divers really need.
For instance, when I was doing my research, all the information I came across was geared to the tech divers, so it was really difficult to grasp it. As an example, it wasn't until the SurfGF thread that I really got that GF low is not relevant to NDL dives. Before it was confusing to me when I saw Mares have their default Rec GF at 85/85, but the came across Shearwater having different GF low settings for each of the Rec GF (40/85 for instance).

This would be good for those like me who do not have any plans on going tech.

 

[Tony66]

Very lazy vacation diver here, I go slow, don't log all my dives, I don't generally go deep, more than three dives in a single day wears me out so we tend to do two tanks a day, we may spend the day at the bars instead of diving. So I'm one that could do without a comp and do some simple table math but....I love having my simple $200 computer so I don't have to think so much and/or remember what I did my last dive. In addition to the obvious, what I find the most useful is safety stop count down feature and my depth mounted on my wrist. That being said, my next comp will likely be air integrated so I can eliminate another hose.

 

[FinnMom]

The Shearwaters hold up really well and last a long tome, so feel free to buy used. Compared to new, I paid about -50% for mine.