Dive Computers: Honest Buyer's Guide for Reef Divers

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Tables used to see this be the standard. These days, nearly all scuba divers dive with a wrist-mount computer and it makes sense.

Your computer tracks depth, time, ascent rate, and no-decompression limits in real-time. Tables can't do that. If you go shallower during a dive, a computer adjusts. A table can't.

Wrist computers are the most common use at this point. These are small enough, readable underwater, and you'll wear them as a watch too. Console computers are still around but not as many divers pick them now.

Entry-level computers start around $300-odd and do everything most divers would need. You get depth tracking, bottom time, no-deco limits, log function, and sometimes a basic apnea mode. The $500-800 range includes air integration, nicer screens, and extra gas options.

The one thing people overlook is algorithm differences. Certain computers are more cautious than others. A cautious algorithm means reduced bottom time. Looser settings extend time but at a thinner buffer. Neither is wrong. It comes down to what you're comfortable with and your diving background.

Check with someone at a Cairns dive shop who dives with a few different computers before you decide. Good dive stores will give you a straight answer on what works versus what's hype. The better Cairns dive stores have product guides and comparisons on their sites as well

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