Dive Computer Guide: Worth the Investment

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Years ago, dive tables were how everyone dived. At this point, nearly all divers wear a wrist-mount computer and they should.

A dive computer tracks your depth, bottom time, ascent rate, and no-deco limits in real time. Dive tables are a fixed calculation. When you move between depths partway through, a computer adjusts. Tables are set before you get in.

Wrist computers are the most common buy at this point. They're small enough, readable underwater, and you can use them as a watch as well. Console computers are an option but less people go that way now.

Budget computers start around a few hundred dollars and do everything most divers would need. You get depth, bottom time, no-deco limits, a logbook, and usually a basic freediving mode. Mid-range includes wireless air monitoring, nicer displays, and additional mix modes.

The one thing people forget is conservatism settings. Some models are tighter than others. A tighter setting results in less no-deco time. Looser algorithms extend time but with less buffer. Both work. It just personal preference and your diving background.

Worth talking to the staff at a dive shop who dives with various models first. Good dive stores will offer a straight answer on what's good versus what's marketing. more The better Cairns dive stores publish gear reviews and comparisons on their sites too

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