Diving computer for spearfishing?

[marindiver]

Greetings to everyone !
I am following discussions on this forum for some time now, learned a lot and desided to join.
My name is Marin, comming from Croatia. Recently started to spearfish and very soon became adicted to the sport. So, I need tones of advices, but let`s start with this question: I dive down to 10 m, expecting to go 15+ soon due to more serious training and new fiberglas fins which are comming soon.( now I use short plastic ones ) My question is ( since I have to by a lot of equipment in short period of time with limited budget ) is the diving computer essential part in spearfishing at mentioned depths ( now I meassure the depth with buoya rope ), what typ should I buy ( heard Suunto d3 is ok, with moderate price ) ? Thanks.

 

[vali]

hello marin from croatia
i'm not shure if it is me the appropiate person to give u advice but....
i was in croatia twice and i must say that the adriatic sea is a very beutiful one
i was in malinska and i dived in scuba and freediving as well
some special dive piont was on cress island and sv. marek bay
in sv marek bay i free-dived at 15 meters depth [wich is also my best achievment until now]
i was not allowed to take mi speargun with me due to borders passing controls, but i enjoied diving on sv marak on krk...and i saw big fishes there....
i remember a jack fish [eye measured for about one meter lenght...pretty big fish ei?]
my advice for u is to buy a computer only if u want to do scubadiving...that means with air tanks...
only for hunting and freediving i guess that is no necessary, because computers are somehow expensive....
however u can buy a simple "profondimetro"....a simple wach that can show u both the current depth and the maximul depth for a diving....
what kind of fins are to comming soon?
i have one pair of genesis by seac sub [86 cm in lenght, but more wide than gara 3000 by cressi [look the picture bellow]
i must say that now....after i've come back from red sea where i took a look at gara 3000...i must say that my actuall fins are better

me at sv Marek bay

and the fins

 

[Bill McIntyre]

I recommend the D3. I resisted buying one for a long time, but now I consider it so important that I will swim back to the boat to get it if I find out that I forgot to put it on.

I don't look at the dive time to tell me when to come up. But after the dive, I look at the time of the dive to give me an indication of how I'm doing. If my dive times are getting shorter, maybe I need to concentrate more on my relaxation and breathing up pattern. Having the information lets me know what works best for me.

One of the best features of the D3 is the surface interval feature. Most people I've talked to have found out, just as I did, that if they rely on the way they feel in order to know when they are ready for the next dive, their surface interval will only be around 45 seconds. The D3 lets us know exactly how much time has elapsed so that we can have a surface interval of 1.5 to 2 times the length of our dives. Or perhaps if we know we are about to make a dive more challenging than usual, perhaps to retrieve a fish tangled deep in the kelp or the rocks, we can use the D3 to make sure we take an unusually long surface interval.

I got along for most of my life without the D3, so its certainly possible to do without it. But having become accustomed to using it, I don't ever want to be without it again.

 

[greendiver]

I agree with Bill,

The D3 is fantastic, I own a mosquito, (A D3 with a decometer for Scuba), but I use it fishing too.
The alarms are great aswell..

I use the computer a lot, surface intervals (3 times the Dive time), and the depth alarm and time alarm.

It did happen to me that I was about to spear a really nice fish, heared the beep....and I did go up....maybe I saved myself a lot of problems...

Obviously, you can go spearfishing without it, but I think it is very important .
To be honest, wait with the carbon fins (buy the cressi garas), and buy yourself a D3!!

 

[marindiver]

Hi guy´s, thanks a lot for your opinions.
You are right Vali, our coast really is beautifull, we should consider ourselves lucky and put more eforth to preserve that beauty.
As for the fins- now I use a Seacsub x-pro, much smaller blades then on the regular freediving fin. I borrough for a few days from a friend a xxone pro-mim
( fiberglass ) and was overwelmed. Much lighter, more thrust with less eforth then anny plastic fin I tried. Carbon is even better, but much more fragile in contact with rocks. However, they are not comming cheap - 220 euro for assembled fins in Croatia shops - it took me a whille to deside to spend that much on fins.
Forgive me if I´m mistaken , Greendiver, but I think you were active on forum a few weeks ago about cayman hf 110. Did you buy it ? What are the impressions ? You mentioned some truble with the paint on the body of your friends gun, was it the same on the one you have now ? Are you satisfy with the original setup?
Thanks, all the best to you all.
Marin

 

[marindiver]

Hi guy´s, thanks a lot for your opinions.
You are right Vali, our coast really is beautifull, we should consider ourselves lucky and put more eforth to preserve that beauty.
As for the fins- now I use a Seacsub x-pro, much smaller blades then on the regular freediving fin. I borrough for a few days from a friend a xxone pro-mim
( fiberglass ) and was overwelmed. Much lighter, more thrust with less eforth then anny plastic fin I tried. Carbon is even better, but much more fragile in contact with rocks. However, they are not comming cheap - 220 euro for assembled fins in Croatia shops - it took me a whille to deside to spend that much on fins.
Forgive me if I´m mistaken , Greendiver, but I think you were active on forum a few weeks ago about cayman hf 110. Did you buy it ? What are the impressions ? You mentioned some truble with the paint on the body of your friends gun, was it the same on the one you have now ? Are you satisfy with the original setup?
Thanks, all the best to you all.
Marin

 

[greendiver]

Hi guy´s, thanks a lot for your opinions.
You are right Vali, our coast really is beautifull, we should consider ourselves lucky and put more eforth to preserve that beauty.
As for the fins- now I use a Seacsub x-pro, much smaller blades then on the regular freediving fin. I borrough for a few days from a friend a xxone pro-mim
( fiberglass ) and was overwelmed. Much lighter, more thrust with less eforth then anny plastic fin I tried. Carbon is even better, but much more fragile in contact with rocks. However, they are not comming cheap - 220 euro for assembled fins in Croatia shops - it took me a whille to deside to spend that much on fins.
Forgive me if I´m mistaken , Greendiver, but I think you were active on forum a few weeks ago about cayman hf 110. Did you buy it ? What are the impressions ? You mentioned some truble with the paint on the body of your friends gun, was it the same on the one you have now ? Are you satisfy with the original setup?
Thanks, all the best to you all.
Marin

Hi marin,
I have tried it again, I really like it, the open muzzle is cool!!
It is powerfull, accurate, really good gun,
I still did not buy it, will let you know

 

[vali]

what have u heard about scubapro Xtender computer?
i can get one in the price of 440 euro
does it worth?

 

[Sean Smith]

Vali - If you're shopping in the 400 euro range you might check out the Oceanic Geo/Aeris Manta - same units different paint... I bought one a few weeks ago for Freediving and have been quite happy with it so far. Full Freedive functions with 1 sec. sample and Scuba modes as well. Check the forum discussion here: http://forums.deeperblue.net/freediving-equipment/70515-oceanic-geo-vs-suunto-d3.html

Got mine from Divetank.com

 

[vali]

thanks