“I Don’t Need a Dive Computer” – Why Saving a Few Euros Could Cost You Much More
Every diving professional has heard it before:
“I don’t need to rent a dive computer – I’m diving with a guide.”
At first glance, it might sound reasonable. After all, you’re with an experienced professional who plans the dive, monitors depth and time, and keeps an eye on safety stops. So why spend the extra €5–10 on a dive computer rental?
The truth is: skipping your own dive computer might save you a little money — but it’s the wrong place to save. In fact, it could compromise your safety, limit your dive experience, and even put unnecessary stress on your dive guide or buddy.
Let’s explore why using a dive computer is a fundamental part of safe scuba diving in Lanzarote.
1. Your Guide Is Not Your Computer
A dive guide’s main job is to lead the group, ensure safety, and show you the best parts of the dive site — not to track your personal dive profile. Every diver has different air consumption, buoyancy, descent rate, and nitrogen absorption. Even if you stay close, your no-decompression limit (NDL) can differ from your guide’s. A few meters deeper or a minute longer at depth can change your NDL dramatically. Without your own computer, you’re relying entirely on someone else’s data — and they are not responsible for your nitrogen load.
2. Dive Computers Don’t Share Data
Dive computers continuously calculate your depth, time, ascent rate, safety stop, and NDL in real time. If you’re not wearing one, you have no personal data — no dive log, no average depth, and no indication of how close you are to your limit. If your guide suddenly needs to assist another diver or ends the dive early, whilst you continue with another guide, you’re left guessing. And underwater, guessing is never a good strategy.
3. A Dive Computer Is Your Personal Safety Net
Even if you only dive occasionally, a dive computer is like your seatbelt — you might not need it every dive, but when you do, you’ll be grateful it’s there. It helps you ascend safely, reminds you of safety stops, and warns you if you’re going too deep or staying too long. Decompression sickness doesn’t just happen to careless divers — it often affects those who didn’t realise they were pushing their limits.
4. The “It’s Just One Dive” Myth
Many divers think: “It’s only one dive, it’ll be fine.”
But nitrogen doesn’t care how many dives you plan — it cares how deep and how long you stay. Even a single dive can exceed your no-decompression limits without you realising it.
And let’s be honest: most “just one dive” plans turn into “maybe another one tomorrow.” If you don’t track your profile today, your next dive could unknowingly start with leftover nitrogen you didn’t account for.
5. The Real Cost of Skipping It
Renting a dive computer for €5–10 is cheaper than:
- A chamber treatment for decompression sickness
- A cancelled holiday
- Or worse — an avoidable emergency underwater
When you look at it that way, saving a few euros feels less like being smart, and more like taking a needless risk.
6. Responsibility Means Independence
A certified diver should always be capable of monitoring their own depth, time, and safety. That’s what certification means — you are responsible for yourself underwater. Yes, a good dive guide will always help, but relying on them to control your limits is like driving without a speedometer and trusting the car in front of you to brake for both of you.
Dive Smart, Not Cheap!
Diving safely isn’t about following someone else’s profile — it’s about understanding your own.
So next time you’re tempted to skip the dive computer rental, remember:
Your safety is worth far more than a few bucks.
Most diving agencies and even local laws consider a dive computer part of the standard dive equipment. And even if not, at Scuba Legends Dive Center Lanzarote, we strongly recommend every diver use their own computer on every dive — because true divers don’t cut corners on safety.
Whether you’re joining us for guided dives in Lanzarote, continuing your training, or exploring the incredible volcanic reefs of Playa Chica, we’re here to help you dive safely, confidently, and independently.
