Dive Computer
Primary Computer
Model: Peregrine
Manufacture: Shearwater
Website: www.shearwater.com
Cost: $450
Secondary Computer
Model: Aladin Sport Matrix
Manufacture: Scubapro
Website: www.scubapro.com
Cost: $435
Purchase Advice: I believe that two less expensive dive computers are better than one fancy expensive dive computer. “Why?” you might ask. Because computers fail, they are electronic devices and with your luck they will fail while you are on your most epic dive vacation. All dive operators will require you to dive with a computer for liability reasons and if your computer gets damaged and/or fails, you are done diving for the day. They will want you to take a 24 hour break before they will allow you to dive on their boat again. This is to ensure that the nitrogen you have built up during repetitive diving through out the week has left your system. Then the rental computer they will provide you, can start fresh and properly calculate your residual nitrogen levels to ensure you stay below your decompression limit on all dives, thus avoiding decompression sickness and future law suits. This is a huge inconvenience for you as a diver. So what does a day of not diving on a dive vacation cost you? You guessed it… it’s the price of a second dive computer. Don’t just account for the cost of your lost day of diving, but you hotel and airfare costs to stay at that resort and not dive; you’ve just bought yourself a new backup dive computer. Just think of a secondary dive computer as another form of dive insurance. Ideally, you want to take two dive computers with you for every dive. In the last year, I have witness this very thing happen to my dive buddy, but because he had two computers with him on every dive, when his primary computer’s pressure sensor failed at 60ft in the middle of the dive he was able to safely finish the dive using his secondary computer and continue on for the rest of the week without any issue.
My suggestion for your first dive computer is to get a basic computer, something that has a color screen and the biggest display you can find, so you can easily and quickly see what you computer is telling you on the dive. As a new diver you do not need an “ Air Integrated” wireless tank pressure system. These dive computer systems cost as much as two basic dive computers. When you have enough money, purchase a second basic computer. My first computer purchased was the Scubapro Aladin Sport Matrix. I bought it before I knew anything about dive computers. If I purchased my BCD, regulator and computer all together, I received parts for life for my regulator and BCD scheduled maintenance. At the time I thought that was a good deal. But after using my Shearwater Peregrine, with its simple operation and large color display, the Aladin Sport Matrix, is like operating an old Timex watch. But it works just fine and is now my secondary computer. If purchasing two computers is out of your price range, then just rent a secondary computer while on vacation as your backup, this rental cost will be much less expensive then missing an entire day of diving.