Liquivision Xen

[PfcAJ]

Don't get me wrong, the Uwatec lives on my pocket on bigger dives. The Xen is a novelty to me, and I like how it performs on dives. But I know it has battery issues. I knew when I bought it that it was new technology and to expect issues.

If the battery thing gets sorted out somehow and becomes predictable and reliable, I'll count on it more.

 

[ucfdiver]

it's really cool when it works. but if you have to take a backup...is it worth owning?

Until a firmware update is released (if anyone still thinks it's going to come), I'd rank it right up there with AI computers. At least AI computers save you from having to unclip your spg, and they're more reliable. I don't think I know ANYONE who's bought one of these things and not had an issue, from 100% failure to eating through expensive batteries.


....which sucks, because this was high on my "toys to buy" list, I loved the screen when I got to use one of them

 

[cofford]

I get 25 hours of battery life (just put my fourth battery in). That puts the cost around $0.40/hr of use. My local dealer has the batteries in 3-packs, so I don't see what the big deal is. My Xen has had ZERO issues and the battery life indicator works as advertised (never had it shut off during a dive). I also wear a Uwatec as a backup on my wrist, but I consider two bottom timers mandatory for all dives anyway.

 

[LiteHedded]

I get 25 hours of battery life (just put my fourth battery in). That puts the cost around $0.40/hr of use. My local dealer has the batteries in 3-packs, so I don't see what the big deal is. My Xen has had ZERO issues and the battery life indicator works as advertised (never had it shut off during a dive). I also wear a Uwatec as a backup on my wrist, but I consider two bottom timers mandatory for all dives anyway.

it is mandatory when one of them is crap

 

[stargost]

, but I consider two bottom timers mandatory for all dives anyway.

Maybe the solution is to use the X1 as the backup for the Zen

 

[leabre]

Straight out of the box, in default settings except medium brightness, I got 5 dives on this thing. On the 5th dive I was half way in when it died. It didn't seem to give me an indication that the battery was low or anything. Each of my dives were less than an hour.

I haven't changed the battery yet, I don't trust the device. But I know quite a few people that dive these things regularily and don't have any problems with it. I can live with a 25 hour battery life, but not 4.5-6 hours.

 

[Freezerbrn]

Ya just cant beat the OLED screen and size of the unit. With that said, I thought my DroidX had poor battery life. The XEN battery life is like MPG in a fully loaded Hummer towing a boat. I keep my trusty UWATEC with me on all dives. The clock also looses time. A couple of minutes each day. I do like that at a quick glance I can see my time and depth or look a few feet over and see my teammates Xen as clear as looking at my own. Overall I'm ok with the purchase. I just wish Costco would carry the batteries (like a case of 30)

 

[hongrace]

My Xen also loses a minute a day. Normally I won't worry about this too much except that I have paid a premium to get what supposed to be a premium bottom timer. Even a $30 cheap plastic LCD watch can do much better. It occurs to me that LV seems to have put out a product too soon before extensive testings. Or they must have serious quality control issues. I have been thinking of getting the X1 (sorry, I know this is DIR forum! but having first hand experience on one of their products, it is a no brainer as to what I shall buy. Hello, Shearwater!

 

[amascuba]

I get 25 hours of battery life (just put my fourth battery in). That puts the cost around $0.40/hr of use. My local dealer has the batteries in 3-packs, so I don't see what the big deal is. My Xen has had ZERO issues and the battery life indicator works as advertised (never had it shut off during a dive). I also wear a Uwatec as a backup on my wrist, but I consider two bottom timers mandatory for all dives anyway.

I've had my Uwatec Tec 2G for five years, have hundreds of hours on it, and have yet to change a battery on it. My buddies Xen is only getting about 10 hours per battery. That's flat out crap.

 

[leabre]

I changed the battery before a cave class followed by a week of cave diving. It got less than 10 hours. It's rev 1.12, I'll upgrade once I can find my activation number or can get it re-emailed to me from Liquivision. But at this point, despite it being among the sexiest piece of gear I have, if I can't rely on it in a cave I can't rely on it for anything. I wonder moisture has anything to do with it? It was mostly wet and humid for the two weeks it was in use/not in use. However, on previous times where I had to replace the battery it was dry between dives.