Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Need advice on recreational gear configurations? Look no further than this equipment forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
SealScott
Frequent Bubbler
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:47 pm

Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by SealScott »

I'm curious to hear what the Liquivision users (Xen, Xeo, Lynx, Kaon) think of their computers - approx. number of dives & pros and cons would be great!
User avatar
GearHead
Submariner
Posts: 517
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:32 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by GearHead »

I have the Xen bottom timer and the Kaon computer. The Kaon has just over 200 dives on it, and the Xen a few more.

Both have worked quite well for me. No problems at all so far. The best feature is the brightness and readability of the display under water. I wear one on each arm, where their compact size leaves room for other devices.

They take a somewhat odd size battery. The primary cell is a 3.6V 17335 li-ion. I keep a couple of these on hand for backup. Instead I use rechargeable 3.7V IMR 16340 cells made by AW. I swap with a fresh pair and recharge after about 20 dives to extend the cycle life.
User avatar
Scubie Doo
I've Got Gills
Posts: 3027
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:13 pm

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by Scubie Doo »

I have a Xeo and really like it. The size and screen underwater are fantastic. I had a Mares Icon and the LV is a lot more compact. The tap technology takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang, it works great. Finally, their customer service is fantastic! They are very responsive and fair.
User avatar
GearHead
Submariner
Posts: 517
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2012 10:32 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by GearHead »

DRIS is having a sale on some Liquivision computers and packages right now if you need extra incentive. I may get a Xeo for when I eventually get certified for Trimix.
User avatar
spatman
I've Got Gills
Posts: 10881
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 7:06 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by spatman »

For the same price as (and sometimes less than) a Xeo, I would take a good look at the Shearwater Petrel. Shearwater has a great track record and outstanding customer service.

The Deco Stop is a good resource for researching dive computers. Plenty of threads about tech dive computers there.
Image
KneeDeep
Submariner
Posts: 569
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 8:25 pm

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by KneeDeep »

+1
At least consider it. I've only dove with a liquivision once and like it, display was great, but I got that Petrel and LOVE it so far. Plus can use AA batteries... easy peasy.
spatman wrote:For the same price as (and sometimes less than) a Xeo, I would take a good look at the Shearwater Petrel. Shearwater has a great track record and outstanding customer service.

The Deco Stop is a good resource for researching dive computers. Plenty of threads about tech dive computers there.
The ocean is a lousy teacher. First you get a test, then the lesson.
User avatar
kdupreez
I've Got Gills
Posts: 1724
Joined: Mon Apr 20, 2009 3:27 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by kdupreez »

I have a couple Xens and really like them for the same reasons as above.

If you are looking at a bottom timer, its pretty great and I'd go with one.

I also have a Petrel and If you are looking for a full on dive computer especially one that can do trimix and ccr in future, I would also recommend the Petrel as defacto tec computer.

Big plus on the Petrel is that it works with standard AA battery too and downloads dives via bluetooth.. no "dongle" to buy separately.
"I believe that if life gives you lemons, you should make lemonade... And try to find somebody whose life has given them vodka, and have a party" - Ron White
User avatar
Rooinater
Dive-aholic
Posts: 212
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:13 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by Rooinater »

I like my xen a lot for most of my diving, and have been contemplating another for my scooter.

That being said, a shearwater petrel is cheaper, longer battery life, better battery options, doesn't require the additional expense of buying an adapter to download your dives, vpm upgradeable as well and local tech support... And you can find them for $850. Which is what I'll get for a backup to my bottom timer, cause I like sanity checks.

So if you are going to dive it as a computer, you get more per dollar with the shearwater petrel compared to the xeo. And if you don't need helium in the mix anytime in the foreseeable future there's other computers for a lot less.
User avatar
BillZ
Aquanaut
Posts: 687
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:23 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by BillZ »

I have a Liquivision Xen and have about 300 dives on it.

Pro's: Nice bright display.

Cons: Everything else

Where do I start.......
The Xen is the most unreliable piece of diving equipment that I own. The main issue revolves around the battery and power management. First off the battery is $10, is specific to the Liquivision and it's a PIA to find locally. When I first bought it 3 years ago I was getting 8-10 dives out of a battery before it would just quit working, always without warning in the middle of a dive. Since I was chewing through batteries and having a hard time stockpiling enough of them I decided to spend the $100 and get the rechargeable pack. The rechargeables would give me 3 dives before they crapped out but at least I could get into a routine of switching them out after every day of diving. Recent software updates have helped some but I still only get about 10 dives out of a rechargeable.

Quite often the computer just doesn't want to work. In one scenario I'll descend and when the computer boots up I get the message "Not Ready To Dive". Sometimes it just doesn't boot up at all, even after having it start up on the surface. I would say that I have an issue with the Xen not working on 20% of my dives.

This may be a nit-pick but the clock on the Xen doesn't keep the correct time. I'll set it one day and by the next it will be hours off. I've been told that I need to "calibrate" the clock and it will help some but I've pretty much just resigned myself to not having the correct time on the computer.

As I mentioned in a previous thread, the Xen reminds me of a prototype that was not thoroughly tested and well thought out for its practical application before it was put into production. It has a ton of neat technology, but doesn't deliver on practicality and reliability, which are the basic things you want in a dive computer.
User avatar
cofford
Aquaphile
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 11:32 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by cofford »

I have both the Liquivision Xen and the Shearwater Predator (predecessor to the Petrel). I've had zero issues with my Xen (I have one of the early versions...Serial number 0068), though it was a but quirky with the first few firmware releases. It's consistently given me 25 hrs of dive time per battery with the smaller capacity 14355 batteries. I recently had it upgraded to the newer battery and it should be 40-45 hrs between batteries. The battery life is very much affected by the screen settings you choose. The screen of the Xen has a thinner piece of glass (or plastic) which means the viewing angle is much better than the Predator. You can calibrate the clock to make it somewhat accurate. The Xen has been a reliable companion for me for a long time.

The Predator, while being bulky and having a much smaller viewing angle, seems to be a more refined product. The battery life is over 60 hrs on a Li AA which you can buy locally fairly easily. I use it on my CCR with VPM-B and it's great. You can also run it in gauge mode with the latest firmware update if you like to do that (I do when I'm on OC). I had a problem where the batteries were only lasting 4-5 hours, and the local rep here in the Seattle area changed out the main board, screen, battery case, and battery cap for free, and I wasn't the original owner...Great customer service (Liquivision is great too). The Petrel is the current version of this computer, and is smaller and more refined, though the layout of the display is basically the same.

I'm currently keeping an eye on the XDeep Black...It's affordable, comes with a sweet compass, and is upgradeable from BT to Nitrox to Trimix. I've heard that before though (Uwatec Galileo, anyone?), so we'll see where it ends up. The BT looks great, at least on paper.
Powered by Puppies and Ice Cream.
mheyns
Avid Diver
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2013 8:25 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by mheyns »

+1 for the Petrel. I have one and love it.

The xDeep Blacks are no longer back-ordered so you can actually get them pretty easily. They looks great, very small, and seem to have very nice features. I'll be interested to see what people think of them over time.
User avatar
Hoodsport_Diver
Compulsive Diver
Posts: 331
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 11:00 pm

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by Hoodsport_Diver »

+2 for the Petrel

I dove once with the X-1 and it was very easy to read. The tapping interface was balky for a first-time user.

I own a Petrel and LOVE it. Very readable and it uses AA batteries.
KneeDeep wrote:+1
At least consider it. I've only dove with a liquivision once and like it, display was great, but I got that Petrel and LOVE it so far. Plus can use AA batteries... easy peasy.
spatman wrote:For the same price as (and sometimes less than) a Xeo, I would take a good look at the Shearwater Petrel. Shearwater has a great track record and outstanding customer service.

The Deco Stop is a good resource for researching dive computers. Plenty of threads about tech dive computers there.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hoodsport_Diver
User avatar
yadayada
Aquaphile
Posts: 112
Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2008 2:16 pm

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by yadayada »

I have Liquivision, Shearwater and xDeep and they are all great products with fantastic screens and readability.
Liquivision has been on the market for a while, they have addressed hardware and software issues and now it's a stable product with very good customer service and a great range of features at different price points, from the bare bone BT to the complex air integrated computer. The tapping user interface simplifies usage with thick gloves in cold water but it can be finicky to master. However, 4 different devices mean that one has to re-buy to upgrade functionality.

xDeep has perfected the form factor of the Liquivision adding a few features like the beautiful compass, automatic flipping screen, and the buttons are easier to master than the tapping. Above all, their business model to have one device with the 2 extra software packages (i only tried the EanX so far, i still have to install the Trimix package) provide a good path to update the same device.

The Shearwater is simply an excellent package with all the functionality in one place at a competitive price - it's a very solid piece of hardware with and extremely reliable software that has proven successful to the point of having monopolized the rebreather industry. It also has its own desktop dive logging package.

you should consider testing and diving them to see which one you like best before you buy any of them
User avatar
thefeve
Compulsive Diver
Posts: 361
Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:24 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by thefeve »

I have a Xen and i'll echo similar comments above. I have an older version without the recharge pack and have had very poor battery life. However, i'm told i'm behind on some of the updates and that the newer firmware fixed some of those issues. I was going to sell mine for an xdeep, mainly out of curiosity to try something new, but the price difference hasn't proved to be worth it at this point.

If it were me looking again, I'd probably go the Xdeep Black route now as a rec computer. The price point is great (better than the xen) and by far and large the biggest reason i've seen for these comps is the high vis OLED screen. I haven't personally dove it but seems like its getting pretty solid reviews for those that have been able to get their hands on one.

all that being said, I miss my xen a lot when its not working, but i've def had many instances like bill said above where comp worked gearing up, just to go out on the descent. Because of that i always where my backup cheapo uwatec and it sucks to have to think that way about you're primary BT.
I think you've figured out the root cause of your problems. Even sea lions get annoyed by splitfin divers silting out their dive sites. Switch back to your jets and you'll be safe from the sea lion silt prevention patrol from now on. - NWbrewer
User avatar
Nwbrewer
I've Got Gills
Posts: 4620
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2006 10:59 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by Nwbrewer »

thefeve wrote: Because of that i always where my backup cheapo uwatec and it sucks to have to think that way about you're primary BT.

I have 2 Uwatec BT's. One on my wrist, one on the scoot. They are not fancy. They have no cool backlight. They are not OLED. They have no fancy download software. They do not parse your deco time into seconds.

But, they ALWAYS work.
"Screw "annual" service,... I get them serviced when they break." - CaptnJack (paraphrased)


"you do realize you're supposed to mix the :koolaid: with water and drink it, not snort the powder directly from the packet, right? :smt064 " - Spatman
User avatar
BillZ
Aquanaut
Posts: 687
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:23 am

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by BillZ »

Nwbrewer wrote:
thefeve wrote: Because of that i always where my backup cheapo uwatec and it sucks to have to think that way about you're primary BT.

I have 2 Uwatec BT's. One on my wrist, one on the scoot. They are not fancy. They have no cool backlight. They are not OLED. They have no fancy download software. They do not parse your deco time into seconds.

But, they ALWAYS work.
For a back-up to the Liquivision I replaced my Oceanic Veo with a cheapo used uwatec Aladin 2G a few months ago. It's a nice little computer that has average depth and a stopwatch with minutes/seconds- Both of which are really nice features when you use ratio deco. Best of all I replaced the battery when I first got it and after 60 dives it still shows as full.
User avatar
SealScott
Frequent Bubbler
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:47 pm

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by SealScott »

First off, you are all fantastic people... regardless of what some of you say to one another in other threads ;-) Ha!
Sincerely, thank you for your input!

So here's my story - the reason I started this thread.

I've been diving Xeo's for about 3 years now and just added a XEN as a backup. Unfortunately, like a few here, I've experienced issues with the two Xeos I've owned and my current Xeo's display just went dim after about 180 dives (defective screen - Liquivision has been outstanding in their responsiveness to this issue.. but the unit is out of warranty).

The question in my mind is whether I should purchase another Xeo, or consider going with a different computer.
I'm happy to hear that most of you are continuing to have good experiences with your Liquivisions. Your input here has helped restore a little lost trust.

I greatly appreciate the added input on Shearwater's Petrel, as this beauty has been on my radar for a while!
Additionally, I'm interested to see what's going to result from Huish Outdoors' acquisition of Liquivision. I have noticed that a few of the Liquivision products have gone on sale and, with DEMA not far away, I'm curious to see if this a sign that new product releases are coming... we'll see!
User avatar
CaptnJack
I've Got Gills
Posts: 7776
Joined: Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:29 pm

Re: Your Thoughts on Liquivision

Post by CaptnJack »

New liquivision product = customer beta testing all over again. Seriously, I don't know why you have "faith" in them.

I bought a shearwater and will at some point be buying another. For years I used the Uwatecs and still do, but table diving no longer suits my diving and I was forced to get something which had an actual deco algorithm inside. If you are just diving recreationally you don't need am $800 plus computer.
Sounder wrote:Under normal circumstances, I would never tell another man how to shave his balls... but this device should not be kept secret.
Post Reply