Comparing Mares Nemo, Suunto Mosquito or D3

Hi, I'm fairly new to the diving world and I have been offered a divers'
watch as a birthday present. All I have to do is choose one. I really
need your advice.

Currently my income is such that free-diving is by far the most common
thing I do, but I don't want to get a watch that will mostly fall short
of my needs should I take up scuba more seriously in the near future.

My initial research has led me to believe that the Suunto D3 is the best
value watch for free-diving purposes, however their Mosquito watch also
seems to have some free-diving features alongside scuba stuff like
decompression stops. Can anyone confirm for me that the free-diving
features of the Mosquito are just as complete and just as accessible as
they are on the D3 please? If so, I will rule out the D3 from the
shortlist.

Comparing the (Steel) Nemo and Mosquito is more difficult. They are
similarly priced and both claim to perform similar functions. I read in
a web forum somewhere that both have inflexibilities in how they allow
you to change mode (ie. between freedive and scuba, etc) and that not
all the information you might want is available in certain modes. These
are the kind of things you can't easily tell from the marketing blurb,
so I wonder if anyone with either of these watches can describe what
kind of frustrations or limitations I might discover in the actual
in-use behaviour?

For instance, is freedive mode more limited than scuba air mode? Can I
measure things like my surface time and submerged time in seconds at the
same time as seeing my current depth, water temperature, time of day,
etc, without needing o keep pressing buttons to change mode? Can I even
change mode while submerged?

How limiting is the non user changeable battery of the Nemo? I wouldn't
want to get an unexpected invitation to go on a diving trip only to
reach for my Nemo and find the battery low with no time left to get it
changed.

As a Linux and Apple Mac user, I do not have access to a Windows PC. Are
there any options for me to be able to download dive profiles or other
stats from these watches to either of my computers? If not, can I access
the data on the watch screen and write it down by hand instead?

Finally, are there other manufacturers and models of dive watch I should
be considering?

--
James Taylor

usenet@oakseed.demon.co.uk.invalid (James Taylor) pounded away at his
keyboard resulting in:

:Hi, I'm fairly new to the diving world and I have been offered a divers'
:watch as a birthday present. All I have to do is choose one. I really
:need your advice.

Get something that makes it easy to tell time and is waterproof to at
least 100 meters. Timex and Casio are good brands.

Don't worry about bezels or other gimmicks. If you start diving
you'll be better off with a real dive computer.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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usenet@oakseed.demon.co.uk.invalid (James Taylor) pounded away at his
keyboard resulting in:

:Hi, I'm fairly new to the diving world and I have been offered a divers'
:watch as a birthday present. All I have to do is choose one. I really
:need your advice.

Get something that makes it easy to tell time and is waterproof to at
least 100 meters. Timex and Casio are good brands.

Don't worry about bezels or other gimmicks. If you start diving
you'll be better off with a real dive computer.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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usenet@oakseed.demon.co.uk.invalid (James Taylor) pounded away at his
keyboard resulting in:

:Hi, I'm fairly new to the diving world and I have been offered a divers'
:watch as a birthday present. All I have to do is choose one. I really
:need your advice.

Get something that makes it easy to tell time and is waterproof to at
least 100 meters. Timex and Casio are good brands.

Don't worry about bezels or other gimmicks. If you start diving
you'll be better off with a real dive computer.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
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----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

Dan Bracuk <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote:

> James Taylor wrote:
>
> > Hi, I'm fairly new to the diving world and I have been offered
> > a divers' watch as a birthday present. All I have to do is choose
> > one. I really need your advice.
>
> Get something that makes it easy to tell time and is waterproof to at
> least 100 meters. Timex and Casio are good brands.

Is this really all I will need or want in a watch? What about the other
features of the Nemo and Mosquito that I asked about, such as the
free-diving timers, depth gauge, temperature, etc?

I already have a nice Swatch watch which makes it easy to tell the time
underwater (only to 30m, but that's enough for the reefs around here).
It's better than their "Fun Scuba" range which do not have a second hand
with which to measure my free-dive times, and unlike the "Fun Scuba"
watches it doesn't cease to tell the time when underwater. So, I am
hoping that any divers' watch I get will be capable of rather more.

> Don't worry about bezels or other gimmicks. If you start diving
> you'll be better off with a real dive computer.

I'm interested to know what you would you call a "real" dive computer,
and in what way the Nemo and Mosquito fall short of this in your
opinion?

Thanks.

--
James Taylor

Dan Bracuk <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote:

> James Taylor wrote:
>
> > Hi, I'm fairly new to the diving world and I have been offered
> > a divers' watch as a birthday present. All I have to do is choose
> > one. I really need your advice.
>
> Get something that makes it easy to tell time and is waterproof to at
> least 100 meters. Timex and Casio are good brands.

Is this really all I will need or want in a watch? What about the other
features of the Nemo and Mosquito that I asked about, such as the
free-diving timers, depth gauge, temperature, etc?

I already have a nice Swatch watch which makes it easy to tell the time
underwater (only to 30m, but that's enough for the reefs around here).
It's better than their "Fun Scuba" range which do not have a second hand
with which to measure my free-dive times, and unlike the "Fun Scuba"
watches it doesn't cease to tell the time when underwater. So, I am
hoping that any divers' watch I get will be capable of rather more.

> Don't worry about bezels or other gimmicks. If you start diving
> you'll be better off with a real dive computer.

I'm interested to know what you would you call a "real" dive computer,
and in what way the Nemo and Mosquito fall short of this in your
opinion?

Thanks.

--
James Taylor

Dan Bracuk <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote:

> James Taylor wrote:
>
> > Hi, I'm fairly new to the diving world and I have been offered
> > a divers' watch as a birthday present. All I have to do is choose
> > one. I really need your advice.
>
> Get something that makes it easy to tell time and is waterproof to at
> least 100 meters. Timex and Casio are good brands.

Is this really all I will need or want in a watch? What about the other
features of the Nemo and Mosquito that I asked about, such as the
free-diving timers, depth gauge, temperature, etc?

I already have a nice Swatch watch which makes it easy to tell the time
underwater (only to 30m, but that's enough for the reefs around here).
It's better than their "Fun Scuba" range which do not have a second hand
with which to measure my free-dive times, and unlike the "Fun Scuba"
watches it doesn't cease to tell the time when underwater. So, I am
hoping that any divers' watch I get will be capable of rather more.

> Don't worry about bezels or other gimmicks. If you start diving
> you'll be better off with a real dive computer.

I'm interested to know what you would you call a "real" dive computer,
and in what way the Nemo and Mosquito fall short of this in your
opinion?

Thanks.

--
James Taylor

Dan Bracuk <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote:

> James Taylor wrote:
>
> > Hi, I'm fairly new to the diving world and I have been offered
> > a divers' watch as a birthday present. All I have to do is choose
> > one. I really need your advice.
>
> Get something that makes it easy to tell time and is waterproof to at
> least 100 meters. Timex and Casio are good brands.

Is this really all I will need or want in a watch? What about the other
features of the Nemo and Mosquito that I asked about, such as the
free-diving timers, depth gauge, temperature, etc?

I already have a nice Swatch watch which makes it easy to tell the time
underwater (only to 30m, but that's enough for the reefs around here).
It's better than their "Fun Scuba" range which do not have a second hand
with which to measure my free-dive times, and unlike the "Fun Scuba"
watches it doesn't cease to tell the time when underwater. So, I am
hoping that any divers' watch I get will be capable of rather more.

> Don't worry about bezels or other gimmicks. If you start diving
> you'll be better off with a real dive computer.

I'm interested to know what you would you call a "real" dive computer,
and in what way the Nemo and Mosquito fall short of this in your
opinion?

Thanks.

--
James Taylor

[Matthias]

Hi James,

the Nemo and the Mosquito are pretty good choices, both can be used for scuba and free diving.
If you do not plan to do technical diving (ie using multiple different gas mixes), any computer should be fine.

The D3 is a great watch for free diving, but it is not suitable for scuba since it doesn't calculate decompression limits and stops.

I am not sure about software for your Apple, but it is possible that there are solutions available. (google?) All computers offer a logbook function, where you can see the data from the last dives.

To be honest, if I were you I would also consider other factors (like the user interface, form factor, display size etc). Best would be to go to a dive shop in your area and take a look at the various models they have.

Matthias

usenet@oakseed.demon.co.uk.invalid (James Taylor) pounded away at his
keyboard resulting in:

:Dan Bracuk <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote:
:
:> James Taylor wrote:
:Is this really all I will need or want in a watch? What about the other
:features of the Nemo and Mosquito that I asked about, such as the
:free-diving timers, depth gauge, temperature, etc?
:
:I'm interested to know what you would you call a "real" dive computer,
:and in what way the Nemo and Mosquito fall short of this in your
:opinion?

yes it's all you need in a watch. Measuring bottom time and other
such things is better done with a real dive computer. Here is a page
that describes some: http://www.scubadiving.com/divecomputers

The major difference between a watch with lots of gimmicks and a dive
computer is that the computer will have a larger display so you will
be able to read it easier. It will also likely have more features.

When scuba diving, this sort of information is essential. When free
diving, at most, it's nice to have, but not worth spending money on.
At least not to me.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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