Dive computer for a beginner. Choosing dive equipment

How to choose a dive computer for a beginner? Do you want to buy your first dive computer and are wondering what to choose? So many different models are available on the market. But which one will be the best for me? We suggest what should be the first dive computer for the beginning of your diving adventure!

At the beginning of the diving adventure, everyone has the problem of choosing the first dive computer. Therefore, today we suggest what to pay attention to when buying this piece of diving equipment.

Fast Take Aways on scuba computers:
1. don’t buy expensive equipment when you don’t yet know what kind of diving you are most interested in
2. try to test several models and solutions
3. ask an instructor or a more experienced colleague for advice

This is just a prelude to answering the question dive computer what do you recommend? Because, of course, much more could be written about dive computers. We will not give a specific model here. Each of us has different requirements and a different budget at our disposal.

Table of Contents

What kind of scuba computer for a beginner?

First of all, there is no such thing as a computer for a beginner diver. Some computers are designed for advanced multi-gas technical diving, but they also will work great for a beginner.

Each dive computer works to provide us with information to dive safely. Of course, not all computers are comfortable to use underwater, or have simple and clear information displayed on the screen.

Recreational divers dive without decompression stops and based on the no-decompression limit. In this case, our computer supports the optimal and planned execution of the dive.

As a recreational diver, we also need to know what the situation is with our partner. Remember that recreational diving should be a pleasure and you should take care of your safety and the safety of others. Therefore, it is rather mandatory that every diver has a personal computer.

What kind of dive computer should I buy?

When choosing our first dive computer, it is worth analyzing our needs and the type of diving we do. Should the computer have a large easy-to-read display, or will a small, wristwatch-style display be enough?

Therefore, at the beginning you need to consider what dives you intend to do most often and what development path you want to take. If you care about a long operating time, an easy-to-read display and the ability to change the gas mixture during the dive, a technical computer is a better option. It will also work well for recreational diving, although its size may be a bit uncomfortable.

Dive computer easy to use underwater

It is best to buy a computer that is easy to understand above and under water. Without unnecessary buttons, difficult menus and without hard-to-understand icons. There is still the question of budget… but a dive computer is not replaced every year, if we take care of the device will serve us for many years.

I had the opportunity to dive with many computers and some of them were not very readable underwater, for example, in poor visibility or during a night dive. And yet you don’t want to wonder underwater what the computer is showing and what it means to us. The message must be simple and clear.

When choosing a computer, apply the “don’t make me think” principle. If you seemingly have trouble understanding menus or don’t quite know what the computer is showing, imagine an emergency situation when you are under stress.

How much does a dive computer cost?

This is a complicated question and similar to if I asked “how much does a car cost”. Of course, in the case of dive computers, similarly, everything depends on many factors. Purpose, functions, brand, popularity, etc. But to give you an idea of the overall cost of buying a dive computer, we have prepared the following table with some of the leading products.

Dive computer battery

If you do a lot of diving, then the issue of batteries can be important (how long they last, do you charge or maybe replace them, and if you do replace them, can you do it yourself – e.g., sticks / bat. AA – readily available everywhere).

Most dive computers have a built-in battery that lasts a very long time. For example, in my new wrist computer, which I’ve had for six months, I’ve done close to 200 dives and can’t see the battery even starting to drain.

However, larger dive computers, may need to be recharged after each dive, or after some time of non-use. Therefore, as I mentioned at the beginning, it is important to determine what dives you will do the most. Maybe it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of money on a technical computer that will additionally require charging the battery every few days.

First dive computer – what to choose?

If you want to do tec dives (multi-gas, decompression) in the future, it is already worth thinking about a target computer. Such a computer is, of course, more expensive than single-gas basic models, but it will allow us to dive with the model of our choice right now.

It is important to get to know your computer, the menu and how to program it as well as how to operate it underwater. The more we dive with a given computer, the easier it is for us to operate it (muscle memory). We get used to a given computer and then during difficult dives we don’t have to re-learn another computer.

Practice is important here as well as a simple interface and good readability of information on the screen. We prefer computers with a large screen, a small number of buttons and simple operation (above and especially underwater).

If budget is not important, buy the best computer you can afford!