Pinkyfoool
Registered
I'm in the market for either a petrel or a xeo. Looking at the specs for both, on paper, it seems like the liquivision takes it. What are everyone's thoughts between the two?
shearwater vs liquivision
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Dr. Lecter
Contributor
Just off what I can pull from their sites, I'm not sure I'd agree the Xeo takes it, though it's surely different in certain ways. What's most important to you in your computer, and what do you plan to do with it? If you can, play with and dive both of em after reading their respective manuals. It's not that hard to do if you ask around, and it's the best way to know for sure.
Price: Petrel $950; Xeo $999, or $1159 for a kit that has a screen shield (installed on Petrel), a PC interface (Petrel includes bluetooth interface and dongle for non-bluetooth PCs),
Screen: Petrel is LCD; Xeo is OLED... at an earlier time, that would make the Xeo better. Having owned and dove a Petrel, Cobalt, and Predator, though, my opinion is that the Petrel's screen is the clearest of the three even though the other two are some of the best OLEDs on the market. YMMV.
CCR mode: Petrel included, Xeo used to cost extra now seems to be included for free (so sorry, those who bought before)
Battery: Petrel eats any AA battery, Xeo seems to require something special
Interface: Petrel has two sensors that don't pierce the case; Xeo...either you love the tap thing Liquivision does, or it makes you want to "tap" its designer to death for coming up with a solution to a problem that doesn't exist
Algos: Petrel has gradient factors standard, VPM/VPM-B/VPM-B-GF for $75; Xeo has gradient factors standard, RGBM for $149.95. Interestingly, the Petrel keeps the conservatism of all these editable during a dive, allowing for a customized emergency ascent profile, while the Xeo only offers an emergency "All GFs OFF" setting while diving, causing the unit to go to 100/100 and get you out of the water ASAP.
Screen size: Petrel is 2.4", unclear what the Xeo is
Unit size: Petrel is 3.25"x2.875"x1.375" and sits flush on the arm with integrated bungiee adaptor slots milled into the case; Xeo is 2.5"x2.2"x1.5" and I can't quite tell how it will sit on the arm with it's strap mounts and angled screen
Gasses: Petrel has 5 pre-set OC and 5 pre-set CC gasses, any and all of which can be easily edited while diving to account for a lost gas/using unplanned gas situation; Xeo has 10 pre-set gasses, and this disclaimer in the manual:
Dive logs: Petrel is 1000 hours at 1 sec sample rate, Xeo is 60 hours at 1 sec sample rate, 3600 hours at 60 sec sample rate
Info displayed: Petrel allows one to customize where on the screen info is displayed, as does Xeo and perhaps to a greater extent. However, I think (and I could be wrong, as I didn't read all 78 pages of 'tap 3 times up, then tap 5 times down, left right A B A B up down start select...' Xeo manual) Petrel allows for the display of potentially useful info that Xeo doesn't. These include current GF% (handy for emergency ascents and generally understanding deco efficiency/DCS risk at a given depth) and @+5 (how long will your ascent be if you stay at the present depth on the present gas for 5 more minutes, handy for all sorts of things both while on the bottom and while ascending).
Dive planner: both have them, but I liked the NDL @ X depth now/in Y minutes and dive planner on my Cobalt much better than the one on my Petrel. What the Xeo does in this regard is an unknown for me.
Price: Petrel $950; Xeo $999, or $1159 for a kit that has a screen shield (installed on Petrel), a PC interface (Petrel includes bluetooth interface and dongle for non-bluetooth PCs),
Screen: Petrel is LCD; Xeo is OLED... at an earlier time, that would make the Xeo better. Having owned and dove a Petrel, Cobalt, and Predator, though, my opinion is that the Petrel's screen is the clearest of the three even though the other two are some of the best OLEDs on the market. YMMV.
CCR mode: Petrel included, Xeo used to cost extra now seems to be included for free (so sorry, those who bought before)
Battery: Petrel eats any AA battery, Xeo seems to require something special
Interface: Petrel has two sensors that don't pierce the case; Xeo...either you love the tap thing Liquivision does, or it makes you want to "tap" its designer to death for coming up with a solution to a problem that doesn't exist
Algos: Petrel has gradient factors standard, VPM/VPM-B/VPM-B-GF for $75; Xeo has gradient factors standard, RGBM for $149.95. Interestingly, the Petrel keeps the conservatism of all these editable during a dive, allowing for a customized emergency ascent profile, while the Xeo only offers an emergency "All GFs OFF" setting while diving, causing the unit to go to 100/100 and get you out of the water ASAP.
Screen size: Petrel is 2.4", unclear what the Xeo is
Unit size: Petrel is 3.25"x2.875"x1.375" and sits flush on the arm with integrated bungiee adaptor slots milled into the case; Xeo is 2.5"x2.2"x1.5" and I can't quite tell how it will sit on the arm with it's strap mounts and angled screen
Gasses: Petrel has 5 pre-set OC and 5 pre-set CC gasses, any and all of which can be easily edited while diving to account for a lost gas/using unplanned gas situation; Xeo has 10 pre-set gasses, and this disclaimer in the manual:
Dive logs: Petrel is 1000 hours at 1 sec sample rate, Xeo is 60 hours at 1 sec sample rate, 3600 hours at 60 sec sample rate
Info displayed: Petrel allows one to customize where on the screen info is displayed, as does Xeo and perhaps to a greater extent. However, I think (and I could be wrong, as I didn't read all 78 pages of 'tap 3 times up, then tap 5 times down, left right A B A B up down start select...' Xeo manual) Petrel allows for the display of potentially useful info that Xeo doesn't. These include current GF% (handy for emergency ascents and generally understanding deco efficiency/DCS risk at a given depth) and @+5 (how long will your ascent be if you stay at the present depth on the present gas for 5 more minutes, handy for all sorts of things both while on the bottom and while ascending).
Dive planner: both have them, but I liked the NDL @ X depth now/in Y minutes and dive planner on my Cobalt much better than the one on my Petrel. What the Xeo does in this regard is an unknown for me.
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And early adopters of the Xen model. It had battery issues and rather than resolve it they offered a 'solution' for just another $100. I sold it and will never own another Liquivision product.
I own a Predator and its nothing short of fantastic. Ill have a Petrel as a 2nd unit someday. The only 'win' Liquivision has is size, and honestly, the size of the Predator doesn't bother me. Petrel is more compact than it is.
For a technical Diver, I will forever dive Shearwater. The Petrel is a fantastic DC that allows full customization above and below the water. Don't have to worry about locking out your computer if you screw up. If you do run into trouble you can adjust the GFs. Screen is nothing short of amazing. And only having to use a single energizer or Duracell batter y is a huge plus. Go with the Petrel!
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You can take the opinion of 95% of the technical divers out there, or you can dive them both and make your decision. Either way, you'll end up with a Shearwater.
I'm making 200+ cave dives per year. If I see 10 divers per week, 8 of them are in Shearwaters. I haven't seen a liquidvision in probably a month.
I'm making 200+ cave dives per year. If I see 10 divers per week, 8 of them are in Shearwaters. I haven't seen a liquidvision in probably a month.
I'm not quite sure what you see that makes you think that the 'liquivision takes it," but I'd suggest you look again. A huge majority of technical divers would not agree with your assessment.
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I was in the market for a dive computer last year and was looking at a Liquivision Lynx but with the constant push back release dates I couldn't wait this combined with some reports of what appeared to be sketchy customer service or lack of put me off. Had the Petrel been released I would have bought one in a heart beat, I like its size, the fact that it runs on AAs and Shearwaters reputation. I ended up with a Heinrichs Weikamp but if and when I'm in the market for a new computer, although more computer than I need, a Petrel it will most likely be. Good luck.
i've had a xen and now a petrel.
Xen - Pros: Great display, its really bright. No issues with the battery life with the new batteries and the extended ones. small & light, does what it needed to do as a BT.
Cons: if you are moving your arm it blurs b/c your eyes can't keep up (or at least mine do and i have 20/20), the time has to be calibrated which is a pita, could never get it to stay accurate (its way super accurate if you adjust the drift) should be set and forget but that negates the super accurate thing it does. I hated the constant tapping interface.
Petrel: Pros - the team i dive with uses them, The display is good (but not as good as the Xen) for an LCD. it takes any AA sized battery, it uses 2 buttons for all settings and is logically laid out for a menu driven system.
Cons; the wrist mounting system is kinda hokey but not too bad (i like bungees and this does not really allow that but does include a way to do it).
its 2x the size of a Xen or Xeo.
I use the petrel in both computer and BT mode so i can not remark on the algorithm of either.
I really like the petrel for clarity and amount of info displayed and the ability to switch gases mid dive if needed. but in reality i use it as a BT and backup to the plan were on.
Xen - Pros: Great display, its really bright. No issues with the battery life with the new batteries and the extended ones. small & light, does what it needed to do as a BT.
Cons: if you are moving your arm it blurs b/c your eyes can't keep up (or at least mine do and i have 20/20), the time has to be calibrated which is a pita, could never get it to stay accurate (its way super accurate if you adjust the drift) should be set and forget but that negates the super accurate thing it does. I hated the constant tapping interface.
Petrel: Pros - the team i dive with uses them, The display is good (but not as good as the Xen) for an LCD. it takes any AA sized battery, it uses 2 buttons for all settings and is logically laid out for a menu driven system.
Cons; the wrist mounting system is kinda hokey but not too bad (i like bungees and this does not really allow that but does include a way to do it).
its 2x the size of a Xen or Xeo.
I use the petrel in both computer and BT mode so i can not remark on the algorithm of either.
I really like the petrel for clarity and amount of info displayed and the ability to switch gases mid dive if needed. but in reality i use it as a BT and backup to the plan were on.
ajduplessis
Contributor
Sounds like you already made up your mind with the "Liquivision takes it". The LV is a good DC, but please let us know when you realise you should have gone with Shearwater. Speak soon.
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