Console or Wrist computer

Wrist mounted. You look at your computer data more often then the remaining air/nitrox /whatever. Even holding your housing with 2 hands, it is to be seen in a quick glance.

Consoles (I'm not saying all wearers do, but some definitity do) have the tendency to be dragged along, damaging the viz or worse. If using a console, please keep it tight !

Gerard

I use an uwatech smart pro. The main reason is the KISS principle.

I'm sure the wireless computers are very reliable, but the simplest thing is an old-fasioned mechanical gauge mechanically linked with a hose to the regulator. Less batteries to check, less seperate things to forget.

I keep my gauge fixed securely to my bc at my waist with a retractor so no dragging.

Keep it on your wrist or camera rig - consoles are a nuisance and damage the reef.

I attach my good old Uwatec Alladin Pro to my flash arm where I can easily see it.

Computers on retractors. I've had two ripped off the retractor. Only got one back.

Consoles don't have to be a threat to the reef. I have a pressure gauge/computer on a short retractor that keeps it close to my body yet I can pull it out to read the gauges. I would have to hit the reef with my chest to damage it. Fins are a much greater danger.

Consoles were one of the industry's worst ideas ever, in my opinion. I want to be able to see depth and deco information frequently and easily, w/o having to bring up a console. There's no good low drag way to rig a console with a DIR or semi/quasi-DIR gear configuation. I also see a LOT of divers (including some very experienced ones) using consoles that are hanging loose and sometimes dragging on the reef.

I wear two computers on left wrist, a DiveRite Duo and Nitex. The guts of these two computers (algorithm and implementation) seem identical. The bigger Duo is much easier to read (and the battery can be changed by the user). The wristwatch-sized Nitex functions is a back-up and works as a watch and alarm clock between dives, but it has to go back to DiveRite for new battery. Air hose gauge (only) is clipped to d-ring on waist, left side (but sometimes moved to left chest d-ring if I need to watch air level more closely. Compass (and sometimes slate) are worn on right wrist.

I agree with UWPhotoNewbie about the advantages of simple hosed air gauges, but please be careful using the Uwatech smart computers! With the so-called smart "bubble" feature disengaged, they work ok, like a (very expensive) Nitrox Pro. If the so-called "smart bubbles" feature is turned on, however, It's possible for the computer to display its "advice" to do a 1-3 minute non-mandatory stop at 3 m at any time during the dive.

Since that advisory mention displaces the No-decompression stop minute display, once it appears you will have no idea how minutes you have left before going into "real" deco and incurring a mandatory decompression obligation. Not nice, and not very smart.

If it weren't for Scubapro's advertising clout, I suspect that these would have been outed in the diving trade press and put out of production years ago. If anyone wants or needs more information (and documentation) about this problem with the Uwatec "smart" computers, email me.

Frogfish

I just bought a Uwetec Smart Tec ($1500) and am transitioning from the Edge to modern technology. I am reading the manual but was interested in how users of this computer build in safety factors. Do you use the o2 toxicity, RBT, micro-buble settings, etc. I am trying to find a happy medium between diving the Edge 40 foot mark and the Smart Tec. This is where I still say that if computer manufacturers want to knock one out of the part they should incorporate graphics similar to what the Edge offers. Graphics allow you to build in a visual safety factor and lets you "see what's going on" between the numbers, whereas numbers alone leave you guessing (from a fine tuning perspective).

Wrist computers are much lighter than consols. These days you can get a light pressure guage or even and air-X transmitter. You will save a lot from your luggage allowance on flights.

Alex

I vote for wrist mounted. Much easier to keep an eye on, lighter, as Alex says, for travelling; no trailing console reef damage. The only time I find them slightly tricky is stretching the older-style Uwatec elasticated strap (I've got the Air ZO2)over the cuff joint on my DUI dry suit.

Wrist mounted, though I don't have much choice, VR3 as a primary on the left and a standard uwatec bottom timer on the right as back up. Bailout tables on a wrist slate. I change between singles, twins and 'breather enough that I need something that can go with me. Any sort of deco/stage bottle ruins the idea of a console pretty quickly. Ascent and descent it's much easier for me to just clip the camera off to a D-ring and watch the computer to hold deco stops on. If you keep pretty horizontal you don't need to worry about the camera until you get to the surface or near the bottom.

RE: gearing up with a wrist mount, just wait until you're in your unit before putting the computer on, there's no real difference in time, you just need to change the order of things.

Graphics allow you to build in a visual safety factor and lets you "see what's going on" between the numbers, whereas numbers alone leave you guessing (from a fine tuning perspective).

I agree, it's one of the things that annoyed me about my aladdin pro. Graphic interfaces are more intuitive than pure numbers. Even just the red/yellow/green of nitrogen loading of the suuntos is good to have a look at. I get to see a little graph of modelled tissue loading, which is a bit much, but still interesting to watch.

I use a hoseless Oceanic wrist computer. However I have a very small analog pressure gage that I tuck in my cummerbun as a backup. The advantage of the Aries/Oceanic approach is that a single number tells you how much time you have at this depth (nitrogen, air, o2)

I have the Vytec wrist unit with hoseless gas guage and I love it. Also have integrated BC/Octo which keeps my rig really simple and clutter free. I would like to add a small analog guage for backup to the transmitter, but do not have a second high pressure outlet on my first stage. I'm trying to find out whether anyone makes a High pressure splitter.