it would be foolish not to dive with one unless your very experienced and then I would have one as primary and another as a backup. Bottom timer is critical otherwise but can't imagine why one would not use one in this day and age. There are a lot of good ones for about 200$ as someone posted earlier.
Are you saying it would be foolish to dive tables until more experienced? This is how we were originally taught to dive, way back when. At least, I was, in 1995. Computers were mentioned but you didn't get your certification without being able to do tables and plan dives.
I dove tables for several years in places like Puget Sound, Cozumel and Hawaii. I remember for awhile that my bottom timer was a cheap, pink Timex sports watch, until it finally flooded.
I finally bought a cheap computer when I was done with internship and settled in to my first permanent duty station, making a little extra money. The computer was my last purchase to complete my first set of dive equipment.
I now dive with a computer but I could certainly go back to tables if needed.
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Don't all dive computers have a dive plan mode?
All the ones we use do!
The first computer I bought ( not the one I'm using as my primary) has these metal contacts that need wet fingers and quite a bit of pressure to change from one screen to the next. It is NOT a user friendly piece of equipment on the surface. While I'm sure you could plan a dive using it, ( lost the manual about 12 years ago) I've never even tried. I just kept using tables to plan because the darn thing was too contrary. I used that computer for safety and to double check my brain.
Thankfully, more modern computers are easier to use and easier to plan dives on. They are also coming down in price, comparatively. I'm still waiting for something that's as user friendly as my IPAD. Not going to go for the IPhone in a housing idea, though.
