Freedive watch/computer with heart rate monitor?

[efattah]

400$ is not cheap and that's what top freediving computers cost - D4&F10.
Adding hr monitor is both cheap and easy. By doing so, some company would kick competition in the nuts.
With technology being where it is I don't see any reason why we should wait so long for such device, it can be done tomorrow (if someone wants to do it)
Posted via Mobile Device

Nostres,

Keep in mind that I make dive computers for a living. I also know that making a product for the freediving market is the worst business venture anyone can ever make, and it is almost certainly destined to lose money, probably lots of money. Freedivers (although my friends) are among the customer base that is least willing to spend money. This is even evidenced directly by your comment, when you say that $400 is EXPENSIVE. ???? In the world of diving electronics, $400 is extremely cheap.

I can't understand how you can say that adding a heart rate monitor is both cheap and easy. Uwatec has some of the best engineers in the diving industry, and yet they need to pay polar a license fee on every Galileo sold, since they are using Polar's HR technology? If it's so easy, then why would they do that?

You say that if a company came out with such a product (cheap, HR, for freedivers), then they would 'kick the competitions butt'. No, they would go bankrupt, because no one would buy the product. You might find maybe 80 or 90 people who would buy it in the world, but that's it.

If you wanted to make such a product, you would have to find another market to make it profitable.

Generally speaking, if a product that seems possible doesn't exist, it is 99% likely to be that way because it is not a good business venture.

 

[nostres]

Eric,

I know Your computer, have seen it when it first came out. It is great piece of equipment BUT - it's $1,700 computer with $200 charger. So I guess that's the main reason I never seen ONE diver wearing it. $400 computers I see everywhere. No offense here just pure facts, but this discussion is getting more interesting so let me straight out few more facts.

You keep saying that freedivers are so cheap and there is so few of us. I really see the opposite - looking even at competitions - every month in some country there is some event either pool or depth and all divers have some kind of computer, usually $400 kind, D4, F10 etc. Are You trying to tell me that Suunto or Aeris are loosing money

When I said "cheap and easy" I didn't mean easy for me or my buddy in his garage, and (Diving Dane) I didn't mean any development with huge investments. I meant for company like Suunto, Oceanic or other to ADD one more feature to existing product. Nothing to develop - technology is available.

Say Polar HR monitor is $150, let's make one example - OMER. Famous brand able to make profit off 170Euro computer.

Computer MIK 1 Omer

so add $150 HR and You get nice, small, $400 computer. It's doable and that's all I said.

Going further we can look at other extreme sports like SKYDIVING, voila.
entry level computer @ 200 bucks

Altitron Digital Altimeter [Altitron] - $216.00 : ChutingStar, Skydiving Gear Store

"Pro" @ 260USD
PROTRACK SKYDIVING COMPUTER

So why should freedivers spend, say $800-$1000 for computer? Is there really few freedivers out there? No, there is plenty and even more spearos who need computers too, so Suunto and others are doing fine. They just have to compete and offer more, this is healthy.

Freedivers are not cheap per say, they just have to work on their budget because they have to spend big bucks in order to get to the ocean. Trip to Hawaii = 5! $400 computers. Who wants to go there twice a year has no other option but to find the best deal out there.

 

[nostres]

on a side note the heart rate monitors from Polar i am pretty sure only work down to 30m depth? and this is the brand that Uwatec use so i am assuming the unit does not read below 30m anyway? is that correct. if it goes deeper then the unit would be well worth while then.


DD

DD,

I am not sure of max depth but diver87 has one and he says 30 is minimum heart rate it records (bpm)

 

[DivingDane]

i wont bother saying anything more on this other than i agree with Eric on this we both have experience in the manufacturing and design of these products and what it costs to develop, there is a very fine line and like any major bussiness OCeanic, Aeris, Suunto, Scuba Pro etc etc have to look at the dollar outlay verse the return to produce the product. the same amount of energy, time and money is MUCH better spent in a market with greater number of potential buyers.

making $40 profit on say 10,000 units doesnt amount to much for an international company thats for sure! then cutting margins further to pay royalties to olar for example further reduces margins.

Even Suunto which works in both markets wont do it as they havent designed a system which functions at depth yet, WHY? because the market i far to small, much larger makret for bike mounted pods and calroy burners so their time is focused on these markets.

as far as freedivers not being tight with our money then i havent met the divers you dive with, the vast majority of divers are very adverse to parting with money compared to spearfisherman and scuba divers... the ones i have met anyway.

alnyway, i agree it would be a fun thing to have, thats it from me.

DD

 

[trux]

Not sure if you saw the thread about the comparison review of 32 computers for freediving. I asked a question about the Galileo computers there too. I tried to find out more details about the freediving mode of the Galileo, to add the correct data into the chart, but did not find much info about them. I did not find any details about the freediving mode, and it is not even in the German version.

So if you have the computer, or have access to the specification or documentation, could you please fill in the gaps? Or perhaps Diver87, who wrote he had a friend who helped with shaping the freediving mode, perhaps he could help me to get in touch with him or with the right person at Uwatec. I think they'd be interested in having the correct data in the comparative test too.

You can see the current state of the data sheet of the Galileo Terra (now discontinued), Sol, and Luna computers on this page:

APNEA.cz - Freediving Computers

 

[trux]

Although I posted about the Uwatec Galileo in another thread, I am copying it here, for those who are subscribed to this one, and did not see it yet.

I spoke to Uwatec people, and they told me the HR monitor belt is waterproof to 120m, and that if needed for record attempts, they can fill it with oil, making it waterproof to 330m (as they did for example for Herbert). They also changed the lower recording limit of the HR monitor from 30 bpm to 15 bpm. The modified firmware v1.6 is in the approval period, and will be available for download shortly.

 

[trux]

BTW, I received the Galileo for some testing. It looks pretty good. Besides others you can also start the logging mode manually, so that the dive profile includes also your HR prior the dive.

The computer communicates with the standard Polar HR belt T31, which is available also with relatively inexpensive Polar watches. Polar rates the belt to 30m, but Uwatec tells they tested it to the depth of 120m without any problems. So if you own a Polar watch with the T31 belt, although I do not know how deep you can dive with the watch self, the belt can be taken pretty deep without any fear.

 

[nostres]

Nostres,



You say that if a company came out with such a product (cheap, HR, for freedivers), then they would 'kick the competitions butt'. No, they would go bankrupt, because no one would buy the product. You might find maybe 80 or 90 people who would buy it in the world, but that's it.

I just hope Mares is not going bankrupt, I really like this company

http://forums.deeperblue.com/freediving-equipment/92951-extraordinary-new-computer.html

 

[trux]

True, I hope too. Just that's not Mares. It's Uwatec, better told Scubapro who has bought Uwatec some time ago

However, at the price they have set, I think they have chance to sell many more of them. Especially because the Meridian is not only a freediving computer, but a very advanced scuba computer suitable even for multi gas-mix diving, what is otherwise rather rare in this class and at this price. I really wonder how a Swiss company manages to make such an advanced product at such a low price. Swiss products used to be reference for good but expensive products. It looks like they removed the expensive part, but the quality seems to be still there. Well, let's wait for the first user reports.

 

[nostres]

Yes I meant Uwatec. Not that I'd want Mares to go bankrupt

 

[Alina]

Is there anything new in this field!?