Equipment

What Dive Computer is best? Apple Watch Ultra vs. Suunto D9

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In the ever-evolving world of technology, the integration of smart devices into our daily lives has become inevitable. For avid scuba divers, the choice between a traditional dive watch and a smartwatch has been a topic of debate. In this post, I’ll explore the underwater realm with a side-by-side comparison of my Apple Watch Ultra (paired with the Oceanic+ app) and my Suunto D9 dive computer.

Dive enthusiasts have long trusted brands like Suunto, Oceanic & ScubaPro for their feature-packed dive computers. However, with the Apple Watch Ultra entering the scene, equipped with advanced sensors and waterproof capabilities, the line between traditional dive gear and smartwatches is blurring. I wore both my Apple Watch Ultra as well as my Suunto D9 for several dives and I was honestly surprised by how much I loved using my Apple Watch Ultra for diving.

Pros of the Apple Watch Ultra:

  1. Versatility Above and Below Water : The Apple Watch Ultra seamlessly transitions from my everyday smartwatch to a powerful dive computer. Its sleek design and vibrant display make it a stylish accessory.
  2. Oceanic+ Integration : The Oceanic+ app syncs effortlessly with the Apple Watch Ultra, providing real-time dive data, including depth, temperature, and dive time. The convenience of having all of this information on your wrist enhances the overall diving experience.
  3. Health and Fitness Tracking : Beyond the depths, the Apple Watch Ultra excels in health and fitness tracking. It monitors your heart rate, calories burned, and offers guided breathing exercises, promoting overall well-being. This dual functionality makes it an attractive choice for those who want a smartwatch that extends beyond the ocean floor. And it tracks your calories burned while diving; a huge plus for me!
  4. Oceanic+ App & Dive Log : I really love the user interface of the Oceanic+ app. I love the fact that it geotags the entrance and exit of your dives for the logbook. The app also gives you a summary of your dives for a certain time period, which I really appreciate.

Cons of the Apple Watch Ultra:

  1. Battery Life : While the Apple Watch Ultra offers a solid battery life for everyday use, its performance during extended dive sessions may fall short compared to dedicated dive watches like the Suunto D9.
  2. Dive-Specific Features : Despite its impressive capabilities, the Apple Watch Ultra lacks some specialized dive features present in traditional dive computers, such as gas mix monitoring and decompression algorithms. The biggest miss for me is the ability to have air integration. I’m hoping that it will be an option in the future. Maybe with a bluetooth adaptor or something. Who knows?
  3. Yearly Costs : The cost for the Oceanic+ subscription is $79.99 a year for one person and $129.99 a year for a family of 5. The jury is still out on whether the subscription is worth it, so only time will tell.

Pros of the Suunto D9:

  1. Dive-Specific Functionality : The D9, designed explicitly for divers, boasts features like gas mix monitoring, decompression algorithms, and customizable dive modes. These functionalities make it a go-to choice for serious divers who prioritize precision.
  2. Robust Battery Life : The D9’s dedicated design allows for extended battery life during dive sessions, ensuring that your watch won’t run out of power when you need it most. I think I’ve changed the battery in my D9 maybe 3 times in the last 15 years.
  3. Air Integration : While I have a back up air gauge, the air integration on the D9 is fantastic. I love being able to easily log my air consumption on all of my dives. Definitely a huge plus!

Cons of the Suunto D9:

  1. Limited Everyday Use : While the D9 excels underwater, its bulkier design and dive-focused features may make it less appealing for everyday wear. It lacks the versatility that the Apple Watch Ultra provides.
  2. Technology Lag : The Suunto D9, while a reliable dive watch, lacks the cutting-edge technology and instant connectivity found in the Apple Watch Ultra. Not being able to update the technology and features is a huge bummer.
  3. Costly to Maintain : If you’re doing to dive regularly, you’ll need to ensure that you maintain the battery and the computer regularly. The problem is you won’t be able to do this yourself; you’ll need to bring to a dive shop that specializes in it. And if you’re looking for it to be inexpensive, don’t. It’s quite costly. I could have purchased another dive computer with the amount we’ve spent on batteries and maintenance.
  4. Dive Log : If you want to have all of your dive logs on your computer, you’ll need a third party app to download your computer data to. I use MacDive, which is great, but I hate the fact that I need third party software (that I had to buy) to keep a log of all of my dives. Not only that, but you have to connect your watch to the computer with a specialized cable to download.

Conclusion : Finding Your Dive Companion

The choice between the Apple Watch Ultra and a dive computer ultimately depends on your priorities. If you seek a versatile smartwatch that seamlessly integrates into your daily life and provides a solid dive experience, the Apple Watch Ultra with Oceanic+ is a compelling option. However, for the serious diver who prioritizes specialized features and extended battery life, a dive computer may be your best bet.

As technology continues to advance, the line between traditional dive gear and smartwatches will likely blur even further. Whatever your preference, diving into the future has never been more exciting, with options that cater to both tech enthusiasts and dedicated divers alike.

The Importance of Adding a Computer to Your Scuba Kit

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{Guest blog post by Bottom Times}

So, your new adventure has begun! You chose to invest time and money into a great sport and successfully completed your Open Water Scuba Diver certification! Congratulations…but now, what is the next logical step, or more to the point, the next logical place to invest your hard earned money? Although, I will always encourage new and seasoned divers alike to further their diving knowledge through continuing education, in my opinion, the next purchase that a newly certified diver should make after earning the initial certification is a dive computer. In later posts, I will break down the benefits to owning a full kit, but for an immediate return on investment, in my opinion, there is no better purchase than a dive computer!

Although many PADI instructors still teach the Open Water Scuba class with the Recreational Dive Planner (RDP), the option does exist, at the discretion of the instructor, to teach the class utilizing dive computers. While I do believe that all divers should have a basic understanding of the RDP, diving with a computer not only un-complicates the sport, it also provides the single greatest benefit of any piece of gear to a diver…it extends your dive times for deeper dives!

For those certified divers who were required to learn how to use the RDP during the Open Water course, you will remember that you can find your no decompression limit, or “no d limit” for a given depth by finding the depth in the upper left corner of Table 1 and following it down to the number in the black box. As you can see below, a dive with a maximum depth of 40 feet yields a no d limit of 140 minutes. A newly certified recreational diver would likely run low on air and end the dive long before the diver ever got close to the no d limit. In this case, diving with the RDP would likely not limit your dive time due to approaching a no d limit.

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But, what if you quickly earned your Advanced Open Water and Deep Diver certifications and you want to dive on a reef that is at a depth of 116 feet? How would using the RDP affect your dive time versus using a dive computer?

When using the RDP, the dive profile is referred to as a “square profile”. This means that for any dive using the RDP, your maximum depth is also the depth for the entire dive. The RDP does not make allowances for shallower depths during the descent or the ascent.

Using the table below, you can see that diving on the reef at a depth or 116 feet would yield a no d limit of 13 minutes. Unlike the dive in the previous example, the limiting factor in this scenario for ending the dive would most certainly be the no d limit of 13 minutes.

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Let’s look at the above example of a dive to 116 feet from an actual dive in Bonaire at Weber’s Joy using a dive computer. In the picture below, the numbers along the bottom of the profile indicate the time in minutes and the numbers on the left vertical portion of the profile indicate the depth in feet. As you can see, this particular dive was to a depth of 116 feet with a duration of 39 minutes with an average depth of 43 feet. At no point during this dive did I violate a recreation diving rule for depth or time. I was well within my no d limit, but if I plugged the numbers from this dive into the RDP table, I would have exceeded my no d limit by 26 minutes!

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Because a dive computer is constantly calculating nitrogen loading based on depth, the dive does not adhere to the RDP square profile rules allowing a dive at a given depth using a computer to potentially be much longer than using the RDP. Remember, this is much more apparent for deeper dives where the RDP no d limit is the limiting factor.

Computers are simple to use, make logging dive much easier, and most importantly, as discussed in the examples above, extend dive times. They can cost anywhere from around 150 dollars up to a few thousand dollars, depending on what features you are looking for. Most dive computers are compatible with Enriched Air Nitrox as well, adding additional benefits for repetitive diving.

My wife and I dive the Shearwater Petrel 2 and the Liquivision Lynx. We both love the computers and would recommend either to anyone in the market. Because there are so many computers on the market taking the time to find the computer that best fit for your diving needs will ensure that your computer will remain part of your kit for years to come.

Customer for {Sea}Life!

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Guess who has their SeaLife back in their hands? This girl! I won’t bore you with the details, but let me sum up my experience in three sentences.

  • Initial customer service contact was a little shaky.
  • After all was said and done, and the camera was in their hands, their communication was fantastic.
  • They handled the situation beyond my expectations and have gained a customer for life.

If you’re unsure about what camera to purchase for your underwater adventures, take a close look at SeaLife. Their camera takes great pictures and their customer service is great.

Happy diving!

–Esther

No One Likes a Flooded Camera

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Here we were, getting ready for our dive trip to Puerto Rico. We couldn’t have been more excited. This was going to be the 2nd time I would be using our Sea Life DC1400 Duo and the 1st time we would ever be diving in the Caribbean Sea. It was kind of a big deal to us.

After arriving and settling in, I did all the necessary checks (according to page 7 & 8 of the instruction manual) on our camera equipment to make sure that all was well before I jumped into the water.

And we were off. Time to dive Desecheo Island. The excitement level was through the roof. After our buddy check’s and dive briefing, we made our entry and began our descent. The landscape was just breathtaking. The sun was shining through the surface, making the colors of the coral some of the most vivid colors I’ve ever seen. It was so beautiful, I almost forgot to take a picture. Then the unthinkable happened. I brought my SeaLife camera up to my face to take a photo of the landscape and all I see is water floating around the housing. My heart sunk.

I then motioned over to my buddy, Dan, and advised that I would be ascending. We were only 25 feet down, so I made my ascent as quickly as I could without hurting myself. As soon as I got on the boat, I opened the housing, removed the camera, removed the battery, laid it out to dry and continued my dive. I tell you what… Scuba diving knowing that your camera has just let you down, is a terrible feeling. I don’t think I fully enjoyed the diving after that. All I kept thinking about were all the photos I won’t have to post for the world to see. What a bummer.

Now comes the fun part. I get to contact SeaLife to try to get this sorted out. I tried calling their 800#, but it kept ringing busy, so I did the next best thing and tweeted them. Got a response the next day, which I can understand, because it was the weekend.

So, I did what they suggested and called their number. I got through this time and got an agent (who will remain nameless) and explained my situation. So, here’s the deal. I know customer service. I also know that the first thing out of the mouth of someone who is representing a company should never be blame. Instead of being empathetic that a very large wrench has been thrown into our scuba diving vacation, I was told that it was MY fault because “if a SeaLife Camera were to fail, it would be on the first use.”

From March of this year (when we purchased the camera) to up until this phone conversation, I have had a very good impression of SeaLife. It was going downhill fast. I kept my cool and told the representative that I would follow all of the instructions on his email. Send all of the items that were damaged to SeaLife? Got it. I’m responsible for the shipping & packing charges? Got it.

After returning from our trip, I went straight to FedEx, had everything packed and shipped as per SeaLife’s instructions. Forty eight dollars and sixty cents later, my poor little DC 14o0 was on its way to Pioneer Research to get looked at. I guess all we can do right now is sit and wait . . . and hope we didn’t make the wrong decision to purchase a SeaLife camera instead of a GoPro camera.

Stay tuned. I will post an update as soon as I hear something back from SeaLife. Any of you have a SeaLife (or another underwater camera)? Have a similar experience? Share your stories with us!

Happy Diving!

Esther

Mission Accomplished!

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Two weeks ago, we were evaluating whether we should make the purchase of matching dive computers or postpone this decision. Before I reveal my decision, some of you connected with us through Facebook, WordPress and Twitter to ask some questions and provide your input. To those of you who offered some insight, thank you. I look forward to addressing your feedback in future posts.

First, my non-scuba diver audience is feeling a little confused about the usage and application of dive computers. I must note that this blog will quickly lose its merit if we use excessive industry jargon and confuse those of you exploring the idea of taking up this sport. Our non-diving audience is just as important to us as our diving audience.

The computers, just like the tables, exist to tell us how long we can safely be under water at specified depths. Aside from the obvious limitation of how much air is in your tank, we are also limited by the length at which we can remain underwater the deeper we go. Why is this? Our bodies absorb nitrogen during a dive, and can tolerate a certain amount at specified depths before the risk of developing decompression sickness sets in. The algorithm (think of it as computerized dive table) used in a dive computer is based on decades of information and is used to safeguard divers from decompression sickness, keeping us diving smart. Despite the fact that it sounds complicated, this is easy to do and certified scuba diving centers will help you understand this.

Others have asked, why matching computers? It is not necessary to do this, but It is recommended to maintain parity with your buddy if you will be diving with the same person all the time. For example, a Suunto computer and a Sherwood computer behave differently with slightly different algorithms at varying depths throughout the dive. By owning matching computers, it will:

  • Help you understand the workings of that equipment and help your buddy.
  • It is now easier to default to the most conservative measure of the two computers.
  • Finally, it really helps justify your nifty purchase.

So now that we have addressed some of your questions, I’m certain you are curious to know what we bought? After sifting through the abundant choices, we selected a lesser known, Hollis DG3 wrist computer, and we made this purchase through our friends at The Dive Shop. So, what are the features that led us to this purchase?

  • Multiple Gas options (Nitrox and Air)
  • Air integrated, meaning we can look at the computer to see our remaining air quantity without a hose connected to it. This means less drag in the water and less chance of unintentionally dragging a hose on the reef.
  • Audible alarm as we approach numerous limits. The alarms can be set to your diving needs so it becomes “your computer.”
  • Price point was fantastic and equally matched any online offer close to our budget.
  • Ability to change our own battery (really important when you do most of your dives away from home). Some computers can cost up to $200 for a battery change.
  • Brilliant LED backlight for deep and night dives.
  • Larger and easy to use buttons for when we start dry-suit diving.
  • Easy to read interface which was similar to our Aeris XR-1 computers.
  • Additional service is easy through The Dive Shop.
  • And, we can easily download our dives to our home computer.

Basically, this computer meets our immediate needs, addresses some of the wants we are looking to gain and it will also allow us to “grow” into some of the features this dive computer offers as we advance our certification levels and demand more from our computers. Truly, the price was really competitive for all of the features it came with.

So now that we have our new dive computers, what do we do with our old ones? Colin from the Dive Shop echoed something I have heard many times before, “Keep your old computer and attach it to your BCD as a backup.”

“Why would I do that?”

“What if your computer floods? Battery dies? Or some other malfunction? This allows you the ability to finish your dive safely and continue to dive (within the limitations of that computer) until you get your computer serviced. This is especially good if you are traveling away from your home base.”

What a great idea to have a backup! So we are now studying the manuals, programming the dates and times and familiarizing ourselves with the computers. They are very similar in feel and navigation to our Aeris XR-1 computers. These new Hollis DG-03 dive computers may not be the sleekest looking computers, but they certainly are impressive and we are excited to use them.

So what have you decided for your next dive computer purchase? What are you currently using? Whatever you decide, we hope you find someone like Colin at the Dive Shop in Calgary to help detangle all of the issues and give you confidence in your purchase like he did for us.

Happy diving! Tim (and Lana)

A picture is worth . . . a thousand dollars?

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I know that I can’t possibly be the only person struggling with this issue. You know what I’m talking about. You want to take great photos underwater, but don’t know which direction to go. Do you buy a housing for your Nikon D90 or do you buy a new camera with a new housing?

I have to preface this by letting you know that I’m in no way, shape or form a professional photographer. I just love photography. And I really love my D90, which is why after tons of research, I have decided against purchasing an underwater housing for it. Besides the fact that the housing is more expensive than the camera, I just couldn’t bear the thought of the housing leaking on a dive. I know that the chance of that happening is slim to none, but it’s there, so another direction I went.

My next thought was to check out the GoPro cameras. I did some research online and everything looked great. The videos and photos on their website were spectacular. The price was unbelievable. You could dive to a reasonable depth with it. So, here I was, about to purchase one, when something told me to email GoPro to ask what accessories I should get along with the camera if I were going to solely use it for scuba diving. You can imagine my surprise when I got this email in response, “All of our cameras are waterproof that you can use for scuba diving. It’s just that the lens is not the best thing for scuba.” Well, there you have it folks. Thanks to the integrity of GoPro, I was off to do more research.

At this point, I was sick of staring at a computer screen trying to decide which direction to go next, so I did the most logical thing. I drove down to my neighborhood scuba shop. I’ve driven past this place a bunch of times, but never stopped in. I’m glad I finally did. It was a well stocked shop, complete with cameras! There were two brands that had prominent displays; GoPro (of which I have already decided against) and SeaLife.

As I was checking out the SeaLife cameras, I was approached by a gentleman, named John (who also happened to be the owner). I ended up talking his ear off for about 30 minutes explaining my situation. He gave me a lot of great feedback on the cameras that he had. After a lengthy discussion, I decided on the SeaLife DC1400 Pro Duo. If this thing does half the things it says it’s going to do, we’re in business! I really look forward to using it and seeing what you guys think of the photos and videos.

So, how many of you out there take a lot of photo and video underwater? What camera configurations do you use? Make sure to leave your comments below (and some links with some photos you took). I’d love to hear from you guys! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Diving! – Esther

How should I compute my next dive?

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Hunting for a dive computer is just like buying a home computer. Do I buy a Mac or PC? Once I choose my operating system, which model do I go with? I wish it were that simple in the diving industry. There are so many players to choose from which seems to complicate the selection process. I have found at least 5 operating systems among at least 16 brands and it seems that each has at least 2 – 15 models to choose from. Flat out, this is a time-consuming endeavour and I hope to peel the onion back to find out what considerations need to be made in purchasing the right dive computer for me and it is my hope that this helps you, too.

For those of you who are considering taking up the sport of diving, your first computer will be the same as ours. It is slick! This dive computer is paper-thin. Well, it pretty much is paper and processing speed in my model was terrible. Allow me to introduce the PADI Dive Table. While the PADI Dive Table is fundamental to safe diving and definitely works in a pinch, it limits you to fixed depths and dive times which has led us to consider an alternative.

Our next model was a larger model, and one that is especially used at dive resorts. It is an upgrade from the PADI dive table because it allows for multi-level dives and longer dive times. However, reliability was completely based on the “faith” algorithm, we like to call this the “Dive Master” Computer. The Dive Master watches us carefully as we follow his dive computer and he only has one rule: “Stay above me and you will be fine.” Obviously, this type of computer does not allow for independent multi-level diving and has inherent safety risks if the diver deviates from the plan. Even though we were successful with this model for about 25 dives, we knew we had to make the consideration for our own personal dive computer.

One year after getting into diving, Lana and I purchased 2 matching dive computers from our local dive store. We put a little thought into this purchase, but we basically asked the store clerk, “What is a simple dive computer for relatively new divers?” The diving pro was quick to show us the Aeris XR-1 and without hesitation, we made the purchase. It was the lowest priced computer at the time and, essentially, loaded with nothing. Now, stop your snickering because these computers have served us without fail on over 125 dives and continue to function well, aside from the periodic change of a battery, but, we need to make a change… Why? Primarily, the Aeris XR-1 is unable to compute Nitrox blends. Esther‘s previous article on Enriched Air has spurred us on to take the Nitrox course and advance our diving skill level. Also, just as in any other sport, we believe our skill level has improved enough to justify the upgrade. Therefore, we are looking to purchase a computer that matches our dive habits and commitment to the sport.

So, what and who influences our purchase? Obviously, like any other purchase, we listen, research and test. It is common to check out our peer’s scuba equipment and ask the normal questions about their experience with the equipment and it’s overall performance. We then sit down behind a computer and feverishly search the internet for hours as we read product reviews (a feature www.scubadiveadvisor.com will have once we are in full swing) and finally, we try to find some place we can look at these computers, play with them and hopefully make the best decision based on our needs.

Despite my conversations with friends, hours of online research, I feel like I am even more confused now than when we began our search. So the best thing for me to do is talk to someone I trust so I paid a visit to one of our local dive shops in Calgary to get some guidance. Thankfully, The Dive Shop‘s computer whiz, Colin, is there to help me out as we talk for almost an hour and a half and narrow down my options. Really, he is a computer programmer and technical diver. He truly understands the algorithms and features behind each brand (including the ones his shop does not sell) making him a valuable asset to the Dive Shop. Colin discussed the various computers available on the market and he steered the conversation in a different direction to figure out what may be the better options for Lana and I by interjecting the following questions (in no particular order):

  • “How often do you dive?” – I dive between 30-60 dives per year.
  • “What type of diver are you? Recreational or technical?” – An enthusiast as I stay within the “Recreational Diver” limits, but I like to occasionally have the ability to explore some wrecks at 50 metres.
  • “Do you dive in cold water?” – Not yet! I have heard about the wonders of the West Coast of Canada but the cold has been a deterrent (Dry suit… Brrrr… I’m sure this will be a future blog post).
  • “Are you familiar with the dive computer algorithms?” – Vaguely. I do know that some computers are more conservative than others.
  • “What is your budget?” – Good question. I’d like to keep this purchase around $600-900 each, but you tell me. Is that realistic?
  • “Are you looking for air integrated?” (This means the dive computer has a transmitter that reads your current tank air pressure) – I think so. It seems to be the next step. What do you think?

Colin asked questions I had already asked myself, but he also made me think of other factors I had not yet considered. These questions helped to identify which computer may be a good fit for my diving habits. A couple interesting notes that came up while talking with Colin is that sometimes the sleek little computers are not as handy during cold water dives because the small buttons are a little cumbersome to navigate when wearing 5mm gloves. Also, some computers tout multiple gases… Cool! But how does that benefit the recreational diver? It seldom does. This is a feature that appeals to technical divers and even so, most technical divers seem to opt for a non-air integrated VPM algorithm (complicated, right?). And this inevitably leads to the most important question: When am I buying too much computer? Are some of these features relevant enough for me to plan for in my diving future or should I just apply any savings to more diving or other equipment upgrades?

The list can be as specific as you want to make it, but the other factors we discussed included:

  • Ability to change your own battery. This can be costly and inconvenient with some manufacturers.
  • What type of backlighting is there for low visibility, dark conditions and night dives. OLED is a new and fantastic technology available only on technical computers.
  • Do I make an online purchase or brick and mortar purchase. Yes we did discuss this and while he agreed that purchasing online may offer a lower price, the ability to service is an inverse relationship to that benefit. (Meaning: many stores may resist in helping to repair an item purchased online and you will have to send it back to the company yourself).
  • Buying online is a good way to search out reviews and find price points, but you are unable to physically see and touch it.

So now that I have many of my own questions answered: Have I made the decision to purchase a computer? Yes! But have I decided which computer to purchase? I haven’t yet. But I have narrowed my search to consider the above factors and Colin is helping to research some computers that may be a fit for Lana and I. Therefore, during the next week, I’ve decided to listen to you, the reader, and get your opinions as well. Once I synthesize your comments, I’ll combine these with what I’ve learned online and from speaking with Colin, chew on it for a week and then make my decision. I’ll have an answer to everyone in two weeks. Follow us here on our blog (or Facebook & Twitter) for our first cliffhanger. To be continued…

Tim