Scuba Dive Computer watch

I want to buy my boyfriend a dive computer and watch combined for Christmas, but am having a hard time finding a dive computer watch..that also tells time. Does anyone know how/ where i can find one online that is not too expensive (around 200 or less...no more than 250$) THANKS!!!! Are there any other useful Scuba Diving gadgets that anyone knows of that he would like that aren't super expensive?? I don't know much about it so I appreciate any advice.

I have a Suunto Stinger, which I believe is outside your price bracket, but you cannot go wrong with Suunto. A cheaper alternative to the Stinger is the Gekko. See the following article: http://www.divemagazine.co.uk/review/reviewProductReviews.asp?rpn=3680&prod=Suunto-Gekko&rcn=15&rgn=3&sp=&v=2 It is bulkier than a watch but when his mates ask him about it, at least he can start bragging that it's a dive computer, not a watch and may even get his mates into diving. Which ever one you get, ensure your b/f reads the manual extensively and knows exactly how to operate it and what all the display features mean - you can't read the manual and ask questions underwater! More importantly - dive safe!

Stylish enough for the boardroom but rugged enough for the wakeboard, the Casio Marine stainless steel analog-digital watch for men (model AMW320R-1EV) combines the timeless look of an analog watch with the functionality of a digital watch. This analog digital combination allows you to see up to 2 times or the date with day of the week. The round silver stainless steel case measures 45mm wide (1.77 inches), and it's complemented by a black resin sports strap. The inner rim of the bezel provides an Arabic numeral readout with small minute indexes, and the black face includes luminous hour markers, oversized luminous hands (with seconds hand), and a digital window above the 6 o'clock mark. Timekeeping features include dual time, a daily alarm, auto calendar, and a 1/100-second stopwatch with a 24-hour capacity.

Order at Amazon for $44.95

I am looking at these watches below. http://www.mydivewatch.com/cit-jv0030-01e.html http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-17/009220/Aeris-Manta-Air-Nitrox-Computer-Watch.html#Reviews http://www.divers-supply.com/Oceanic-Geo-20-Computer-PDC-P6570.aspx http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-17/009241/TUSA-IQ-900-Zen-Air-Nitrox-Computer.html http://www.diversdirect.com/scuba-diving/citizen-aqualand-20th-anniversary-dive-watch/ http://www.joediveramerica.com/page/JDA/PROD/watch/EDY

OK, so you've got two different technologies together here: dive watches and dive computers. You've listed the Citizen Aqualand 20th anniversary watch twice. This appears to be a fairly high function dive watch/bottom timer which includes a digital depth display, a logbook function, a thermometer, and water activation. However, it still remains only a dive watch, so basically all it does is help you accurately record time & depth. It does nothing to help you with dive planning or calculate remaining bottom time during the dive. Given its price and that you are considering full function dive computers as well, this seems far outclassed by the other choices. I'm not sure why you are even considering it with the others. Both Aeris and Oceanic brands are produced by the same company, Pelagic Pressure Systems, and some of their computers are simply the same product in a different package. For example, the Oceanic Atom 2.0 and the Aeris Epic computers are essentially the same computer, as are the Oceanic VT3 and Aeris elite T3.. Our shop carries Aeris computers and I own a couple of them myself so I have experience with Aeris, but not with Oceanic. However, I would expect other elements such as ease-of-use, quality, and service to be very similar between the two brands. I had expected the Geo 2.0 and the Manta to be the same computer but they are not; the specs on each brand's website show that the base Geo is the analog of the Manta while the Geo 2.0 offers additional features that would be attractive to someone who intends to move from recreational diving into tech diving. For example, the Geo 2.0 supports switching between two different gas mixtures and allows the user to choose between two different decompression models (DSAT or Buhlmann ZHL-16). Especially given that you show them listed for the same price, the Geo 2.0 seems a better choice - even if you don't care about the additional features right now, you might find them useful in the future. The only concern I have with Aeris, and so by extension probably with Oceanic, is that they don't have the best quality track record in my experience. I know of several instances personally where a computer has malfunctioned (including my own) and had to be sent in for repair/replacement. On the other side of the coin, I find Aeris computers generally easy to use and have the right features for the diving that I do so as a whole I still recommend them. I don't have any personal experience with Cressi or Tusa computers so I can only go by the manufacturer's spec sheets and the prices on your links. From that comparison, it looks like the Tusa IQ-900 Zen offers function that compares to the Oceanic Geo 2.0 while the Cressie EDY is more closely related to the Aeris Manta. The main difference that I see between the Geo 2.0 and the IQ-900 Zen is that the Geo allows the user a choice of two decompression models while the Tusa uses ZHL-16 only. With no other experience with Tusa and so only using price as a comparison, the Tusa seems to offer similar function at a cheaper price and so MAYBE is a slightly better choice. Much depends on unknowns in areas like ease of use, quality, and service. Have you tried looking for any similar products available through local dive shops? Much can be said for having someone "in your corner" if you have issues with the whichever product you choose. The only site that you listed here that includes a manufacturer's warranty is scuba.com because they are an authorized dealer for what they sell, but even so you're kind of on your own to get it sent in. Having someone local you can turn to for assistance can be valuable. That's all I can offer for advice, hope it is useful. Good luck on your choice.

Hi. So I recently got my Scuba Certification, and I plan on getting certified in AOW, Nitrox and possibly night diving. I am not sure yet, but I definitely want to keep moving forward in my diving career. My question is, what is a good diving computer to use? I have heard that the best companies are Suunto, Oceanic and Aeris. What do you think? I would like to find a watch that looks similar to a regular watch. I would like to be able to use it as a regular watch, but that is definitely not my number one priority. In terms of functionality, I simply want a scuba diving watch that is reliable, has accurate depth/temp readings, and can tell me about decompression limits and safety stops if possible. If you have any experience with any dive computer, please share! I have been looking at the Suunto D4 (i), D6 (i), Oceanic Geo 2.0 and Atom 3.0. What do you think of these dive computers? Good? Bad? Please, I will take any feedback into consideration. Finally, I have a question about the operation of the dive computers. I know they activate upon entering water, and they display depth and temperature, but do they automatically tell you whether you need a safety stop or no? I know some have Red LEDs and alarms that tell you, but is this based on your recorded depth or does it pretty much always assume you do a safety stop simply for safety (lol). Sorry, I know this is long. But THANK YOU!!

Aeris and Oceanic computers are nearly identical because they are both manufactured by Pelagic Systems. You will often find an Oceanic analog to a specific Aeris computer which is internally and operationally identical with just some external cosmetic differences. Even their download software looks and operates identically with minor cosmetic changes. Because of these similarities, Aeris and Oceanic share the same decompression model which is the modified Haldanean model developed by DSAT (ie PADI). This is a fairly liberal decompression model which means that the computer allows comparatively longer no-decompression times than some other types of computers. This is great for people who want to stay underwater is long as possible, but the trade-off to the additional bottom time allowed is a slightly higher risk of an "undeserved" DCS hit. Suunto computers, on the other hand, use the Reduced Gradient Bubble Model (RGBM) developed by Dr Bruce Weinke as their decompression algorithm which is a completely different theoretical model than the more traditional Haldanean model used by Aeris/Oceanic. My experience with Suunto is that they tend to be quite conservative and so allow shorter no-decompression limits (especially, it seems, on deeper repetitive dives). This can become annoying when doing lots of dives on a dive vacation because the Suunto diver will usually have to come up earlier or stay shallower than divers using more liberal computers. However, this conservativeness comes with the benefit of a lower risk of an undeserved DCS incident than a more liberal computer. Exactly how much benefit? I don't know, but my gut feel is that it is a fairly minor statistical difference. For the type of diving that I like to do Aeris/Oceanic computers work well for me. I would not consider using a Suunto (or Mares, which also uses RGBM) because of the conservativeness of that algorithm. Whether that is right for you depends on your personal degree of risk tolerance. Since I (personally) wouldn't use the Suunto, I (personally) would consider either the Geo 2.0 or the Atom 3.0. The primary difference between them seems to be that the Atom is air-integrated (hoseless) while the Geo is not air integrated, and the Atom allows you to switch between 3 mixes versus 2 mixes on the Geo. Gas switching is overkill for a recreational computer though you may want the capability if you start to get into tech diving in the future, so from a recreational perspective the main differentiator will be if you want air integration or not. That too is a personal preference. I like my air integrated Aeris Atmos ai, but I am still not too trusting of hoseless systems since people I know that own these type of systems have occasional loss of signal problems. Again, whether it would be an issue for you is more of a personal preference. Finally, most modern dive computers will start a (sometimes customizable) countdown timer when you reach safety stop depth to help you manage your safety stop. There probably won't be any alarms and there is no penalty for ignoring the timer and ascending to the surface while it is still counting down because a safety stop is an OPTIONAL stop. On the other hand, all dive computers that I'm familiar with also detect when a decompression stop is REQUIRED because you exceeded the no-decompression limits - which for recreational divers is a no-no because you are exceeding your level of training. If you were to ignore a REQUIRED decompression stop then all sorts of alarms and indicators will likely go off and if you were to surface while you still have decompression time remaining the computer will probably go into "lock-out" and stop calculating no-decompression times for at least 24 hours - which is it's way of telling you that you shouldn't be diving for at least 24 hours until the violation clears...assuming you aren't in a hyperbaric chamber being treated for DCS symptoms by then. Hope all this helps you with your choice. Good luck.

i got a vagary watch for christmas.. its suppose to be a diving watch. Anyway, after flipping through the manual it says that this is NOT a scuba -diving watch. However, it can record the number of dives, the pressure, the ascending rate, and the profundity. I understand that this is NOT a diving computer and i shouldn't dive without using a professional dive computer in parallel. So my question is, can i use this watch while scuba diving, or can it only be used for short underwater activities such as snorkeling? Thankyou! :) Merry Christmas :) I didn't know what category to put this question in....

i think its mainly for short distances dives, it also depends on the diving depeths, u also have to use the computer too regardless