 | MARK EVANS PADI Divemaster 21 years diving experience |  | DAVE HOPE PADI MSDT 16 years diving experience |
Suunto Cobra (SRP: £495 incl. compass)
The Cobra is basically a gas-integrated version of the tried-and-tested Vyper, performing all the same functions but adding the display of current tank pressure and remaining bottom time on the screen. Being mounted on the high-pressure hose, it takes the place of a normal SPG but, unlike the Smart Com, even with the optional compass fitted it is quite small and compact, so won’t be a threat to the delicate reef when you’re on your next tropical trip.
The screen is nice and clearly legible, and the menus are easily accessed via the large buttons on the front of the unit (these can be operated even when wearing dry gloves).
Like the Vyper, it can cope with full decompression and nitrox, and it also has a backlight, PC download and dive plan modes.
It comes with a quick release, so you can leave the hose attached to your regulator in the cargo hold of the plane, and take the computer – in its padded carry case – on in your hand luggage.
Scubapro/Uwatec Smart Com (SRP: £495 incl. compass)
The Smart Com is a gas-integrated version of the Smart Pro which mounts on the end of the high-pressure hose from the first stage instead of your basic SPG.It does everything that its cheaper sibling can do – nitrox from 21 per cent to 100 per cent in one per cent increments, full decompression data, water temperature display, gauge mode and user-adjustable backlight display – as well as advanced technology which allows personal adjustment of six different microbubble-suppression levels to help minimise microbubble formation from repetitive diving. This information is displayed on an enlarged, easy-to-read screen.
It also has a second screen situated below the main display that shows the tank pressure and remaining dive time based on your gas consumption, and it also gives you a warning when you hit 100 bar.
The test computer came with the optional compass mounted on the top, meaning all your essential instruments are encompassed in this one unit. However, it is quite a chunky piece of kit, and users will want to ensure they have a decent clip holding it tight into their body so they don’t go trashing the coral on their next dive trip.
It attaches to the hose with a quick-release twist-and-lock system, so you can put your regs in the cargo hold and the computer in your hand luggage. It also comes with a padded pouch to protect it from knocks and scrapes while in transport.
Scubapro/Uwatec Smart Z (SRP: £649 incl. transmitter) 
The Smart Z is another gas-integrated version of the Smart Pro, but it is hoseless – a transmitter screws into the first stage, so you can ditch your SPG and combine all your instruments in this one wrist unit.
Like the Smart Com, it does everything that its cheaper sibling can do – nitrox from 21 per cent to 100 per cent, full decompression data, water temperature display, gauge mode, etc, etc.
The Smart Z displays the tank pressure and remaining dive time based on your gas consumption along the bottom of the main screen. Like the Smart Com, it also gives you a warning when you hit 100 bar.
Like the Smart Pro, it has a tough rubber strap and protective screen cover, and it will handle whatever abuse you can throw at it. However, it is hard to justify spending twice as much as you would on a standard Smart Pro (which retails for £325) unless you really, really want hoseless gas-integration.
The Smart Z comes in a hard plastic carry case, which includes a padded pouch for added protection.
Scubapro/Uwatec Smart Tec (SRP: £799 incl. one transmitter. Additional transmitters are £249 each)The Uwatec
Smart Tec looks like a black version of the Smart Pro or Smart Z, except for a nifty little compass on the strap and the inclusion of three push buttons on the top of the unit. Yes, Uwatec have started going button mad – the Aladin Prime and Tec get buttons, and now so does this top-of-the-range unit, although it retains the tried-and-tested wet contacts, which will keep die-hard devotees of Uwatec happy.
However, the Smart Tec takes gas-integration to an entirely new level, allowing for up to three individual nitrox mixes to be programmed into the computer, and it can handle tank pressure information from up to three tanks fitted with transmitters.
This means that each mix can be monitored individually during the dive by pressing the tank activation button on top of the wrist unit and, like all Uwatec hoseless air-integrated computers, the computer and transmitters are paired permanently without risk of interference from other, nearby Smart computers.
The Smart Tec carries out several decompression calculations at once, giving credit for intended gas switches on the ascent, but also changing calculations if you fail to switch at the intended depth. If you switch late, it will re-adjust accordingly, and if you switch but then drop below the MoD of that particular mix, if will warn you of high ppO2.
The display is nice and clear, and every bit of information can be quickly and easily digested. The chunky strap is robust, and the whole unit has a feeling of durability about it. This is one smart computer and, while it costs a whopping £1,247 if you buy the computer and another two transmitters to go with the one in the box, it does virtually everything apart from buy you a bacon sarnie when you get out of the water!
Like the Smart Z, the Smart Tec comes in a hard plastic carry case, which includes a padded pouch for added protection.
Suunto Vytec DS (SRP: £669) 
The Vytec DS is basically identical to the original Vytec – i.e. capable of handling three nitrox mixes, full decompression and so on – but it now has Suunto’s RGBM algorithm with optional deep stops, which are proving increasingly popular among certain members of the tech-diving fraternity. It also has a tech-friendly all-black colour scheme.
The screen has the usual good-quality Suunto display that is clear and easy to read. The Vytec, like all the other Suunto computers on test, comes with a handy plastic flow chart to guide users through which buttons to press to alter the settings – a useful addition which saves turning your manual into a soggy mass on a dive boat.
It comes with the usual thick rubber strap, which is easily long enough to go around the fattest drysuit and undersuit combo, and has a removeable plastic protective screen to stop the display getting scratched and battered during use.
Suunto D9 (SRP: £1,020 incl. transmitter)
The D9 is one of the smallest hoseless gas-integrated dive computers on the market, and sits as the top-of-the-range model in the Suunto range, but so it should with such a hefty price tag.
So what do you get for your money? Well, the unit itself has a titanium body, so while it is fairly chunky as far as watch-style dive computers go, it is still relatively light, and for those that are into all that, it is very ‘bling, bling’!
It is capable of handling three different nitrox mixes, but will only pick up a signal from one transmitter, so you will have to have normal gauges on your other two tanks if you plan on extended range dives.
It also has Suunto’s RGBM algorithm, with optional user-selectable deep stops, and boasts the usual Suunto facilities – backlight, full decompression, temperature gauge, PC download, etc.
It also has a built-in digital compass, which actually does work well, despite many people writing it off as a gimmick, and it just adds another string to the D9’s already impressive bow.
However, the one thing I disliked about the D9 is the strap, or more specifically, the buckle. The design means that if you wear it as an everyday watch, this buckle digs uncomfortably into your wrist. Not a problem over a wetsuit, but this unit is promoted as a watch-style computer, and it is no good if it isn’t usable as such (NB: Suunto have sorted the strap issue out on the newly launched D6, so perhaps in the future the D9 will have a similar buckle fitted).
The D9 is a very capable computer and for those who want the best and don’t mind paying for it, it will be top of the list come Christmas time. It also comes with a separate extender strap for those wanting to wear it over a drysuit, and an easily removable protective plastic cover for the screen.
