Will my Suunto Mosquito limit me in PNG?

[String]

Suuntos to not offer "extrene conservatism" no matter what the rumours being spread are.

Go download the SDM software and run some simulated dives over multiple days.

Compare those results to various tables.

They agree fairly well with each other give or take a few minutes.

 

[segal3]

...it is normally due to ascent rate, and dehydration...

Never been a problem on my side...

Possibly looking to pick up a Cochran Commander...for all you crazies out there, I can make it more conservative than my Suunto if need be, but I'd most likely be running it a little less...

But then there's the issue - do I want to get that, or an additional strobe for my u/w photo setup? :11:

~Matt Segal

 

[bridgenet]

My vote is for the strobe. I use the Suunto Mosquito and always do extra long stops, deep stops. Many times on multiple dives/day the extra minute kicks in on the Mosquito but wouldn't be any reason to buy another computer. Cheaper to just do the stop and be safer.

Your already Nitrox certified so that helps alot as well. Buying a less conservative computer is probably equivalent to increasing the Nitrox level the Mosquito is set to by 1/2% (not suggested). Research bubble theory a bit, I'd rather be conservative and worst case have to do a deco stop that wasn't really a deco stop on someone elses computer... in the long run you'll be in much better shape and less likely to have a problem.

 

[Charlie99]

What is more limitining -

Decompression chambers and unknown medical expertise in a remote site

or

5 minutes less bottom time?

I prefer alternative C, more time exploring the shallow section of the reefs near the end of the dive; or if it's a square profile dive, then a slow ascent and long 15' hang.

You probably chose the Suunto because you like the conservative algorithm. Conservative diving doesn't necessarily mean you have to put up with short bottom times. Conservatively diving, IMO, includes going a few minutes into deco providing you have plenty of gas to do the proper ascent and stops.

Hopefully you can find a buddy that wants to dive the same way.

 

[RPanick]

I did one of the live aboard boats with a Cobra and Mosquito and had no problem, and we did about 26 dives that week. A few times after some deep morning dives, it did suggest an extended surface interval. Which in this case turned out to be 1:15. And I dive with the computers turned up one notch more conservative, because I fit some of the risk profiles. I didn't once come close to the limits, I was on Nitrox though.

So, go Nitrox, stretch out your surface intervals a bit, and you should be fine with what you have. If it starts to be getting close, don't go as deep on your afternoon dives, that's usually not a problem at most places. And you can often see just as much.

Truk from what I understand is an exception to most places you will end up.

But to be honest with you, that much diving tires you out, missing a dive or two during the week for a nap isn't always a bad thing. In my case I skipped a night dive, and we lost the afternoon dives one day because of bad weather. The last day, about half the boat sat out the last dive or two.

Bob

 

[segal3]

But to be honest with you, that much diving tires you out, missing a dive or two during the week for a nap isn't always a bad thing. ... The last day, about half the boat sat out the last dive or two.

I encourage you (if you haven't already) to read "Cold Comfort" by John Francis in the January/February 2004 issue of Rodale's...(link - http://www.scubadiving.com/article/0,7424,7-0-0-673,00.html )

Just an excerpt:

"...If you're on a multiday trip and aren't careful to conserve your body heat, you may build up a caloric debt as the week goes on, which saps your desire to dive if nothing else. If you've ever felt compelled to swap your BC for a beach chair by the fourth day of your expensive dive vacation, something called "silent hypothermia" is probably the cause. You may not feel cold, but your body's furnace is running on empty.
...
Fatigue is the other result of cold that recreational divers are likely to encounter and probably the real reason for flopping into the beach chair instead of boarding the dive boat. Put simply, heat is energy, and energy dumped into the ocean is energy not available for diving. "

When I did 13dives/4 days in Maui, I was ready to go another 13. Not tired at all. Wore a 3mm fullsuit over a 3mm farmer john in 79deg water. Perfect comfort. It's not the number of dives you do, it's how you do them...

~Matt Segal

 

[Wreckie]

In Maui, doing 13 dives over 4 days, the last two or so dives I received "deco stops" from the Mosquito, albeit only for a minute or two, but even so, that amount of dives is nothing compared to that of a liveaboard (~5/day for 5-6days)...

What do I do? Any suggestions as to a computer I can grow into? Something not as conservative, but not extremist?
~Matt Segal

Matt, why "deco stops" .... was there something special about them that warrented the quotation marks?

Anyhow, suuntos do an increadably irritating thing when they stick and optional 3minute safety stop on the screen at 9ft or so... if thats all its doing, and you dont want to do it then just GET OUT! The computer will penalise you slightly on your next dive but thats all. If it really is putting stops on you then you'll have to live with it.

Best aggressive computer (and that is what your asking for) i have found is the OLD Aladin Pro (the one with 3 contacts and 'dive dynamics' written on it)... if you can get one second hand it will get you out of the water in about half the time of a suunto, the off gas and no fly times are usually about half that of the newer aladins.

The other option is shell out half the budget of africa and buy a VR3..... they are fully customisable and upgradable all the way to closed circuit trimix... hell they even have a game built into them to play if you get bored!

Just one thing, if you do any of what i just suggested and you get bent dont come whinging to me, that mosquito was built by some very clever people, ignore it at your own risk

Mike

 

[reubencahn]

Best aggressive computer (and that is what your asking for) i have found is the OLD Aladin Pro (the one with 3 contacts and 'dive dynamics' written on it)... if you can get one second hand it will get you out of the water in about half the time of a suunto, the off gas and no fly times are usually about half that of the newer aladins.

Just one thing, if you do any of what i just suggested and you get bent dont come whinging to me, that mosquito was built by some very clever people, ignore it at your own risk

Mike

Well, if you're interested in a used Aladin Pro Nitrox, I've got two.

 

[segal3]

Matt, why "deco stops" .... was there something special about them that warrented the quotation marks?

Anyhow, suuntos do an increadably irritating thing when they stick and optional 3minute safety stop on the screen at 9ft or so... if thats all its doing, and you dont want to do it then just GET OUT! The computer will penalise you slightly on your next dive but thats all. If it really is putting stops on you then you'll have to live with it.

Best aggressive computer (and that is what your asking for) i have found is the OLD Aladin Pro (the one with 3 contacts and 'dive dynamics' written on it)... if you can get one second hand it will get you out of the water in about half the time of a suunto, the off gas and no fly times are usually about half that of the newer aladins.

The other option is shell out half the budget of africa and buy a VR3..... they are fully customisable and upgradable all the way to closed circuit trimix... hell they even have a game built into them to play if you get bored!

Just one thing, if you do any of what i just suggested and you get bent dont come whinging to me, that mosquito was built by some very clever people, ignore it at your own risk

Mike

Multilevel dive with a max of ~74ft for about a minute or two, then went back up to ~50-60 for about 25min. At 26min (!!!!!), my Suunto flashed a deco stop indicator (ceiling) onto the screen, and began adding time to my supposed time over non-deco. I went a few minutes into this, simply because I was reluctant to waste a dive, and then spent 19min under 10ft (time given to me by the Suunto). Meanwhile, a divemaster that I had paralleled the entire time I was there (over 13 dives), had a 45min dive around 55-60, and then another 10min or so 35-40. The dive computer they used had no problem with their diving.

That's why I say "deco stops." They were flagrant...

~Matt Segal

 

[miketsp]

I used to use a Beuchat Maestro Pro (built by Cochrane and sold with other names).
I normally plan my dives using CMAS tables and with the Maestro I always found that the tables gave me more stop time than the computer - and I also realised that my wife was occasionally getting some very mild DCI symptoms so I started adding safety factors. I also met one very fit, very experienced diver (1000+ dives) who had been in the chamber 3 times diving according to the Maestro.
A couple of years ago I bought a Vyper and yes it is a little more conservative although on most dives if I do the CMAS stops there is good agreement at the end of the dive.
The few times the Vyper really stretched out a deco stop, post dive profile analysis revealed some unnoticed deviation from the plan and recalculating by the tables matched.
Since I got the Vyper my wife never again showed any symptoms. I always plan by the tables but if the computer demands more I am all too happy to comply and analyse why later.
Love my Vyper.