Mares Dive Computer Quad Ci Color Black/Silver

The Quad Ci is the color, air-integrated version. Compared to the standard Quad, it adds a vibrant 8-color MIP display, hoseless air integration (tank pressure on-screen via the Mares LED Tank Module 2.0), a rechargeable battery with tool-free USB charging, a digital compass, and a stopwatch. Both run the same Buhlmann ZH-L16C algorithm and support nitrox and trimix, but the Ci is the feature-loaded pick for divers who want tank pressure and color at a glance.

Yes — it shows your tank pressure and real-time gas data wirelessly, using the Mares LED Tank Module 2.0 transmitter (sold separately). The transmitter pairs permanently to the Quad Ci, and it even displays your remaining gas as colored LEDs right on the tank. Note the LED Tank Module 2.0 is compatible only with the Quad Ci and Mares Sirius computers.

Yes — it uses a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery with tool-free USB charging, so you never open the computer to swap a battery. Mares rates it at about 30 hours of dive time per charge and 500 recharge cycles. It also syncs your logbook and gets firmware updates over Bluetooth through the Mares app.

A dive computer tracks the actual depth and time profile you have dived and the tissue loading that follows from it, which is personal to you. A rented computer has no record of your recent diving, and swapping models each trip means relearning the display and menus when you should be focused on the dive. Owning one you know well is a genuine safety and comfort improvement.

No. A computer only tracks the profile of the diver actually wearing it, and even buddies who stay together do not follow identical depth and time profiles. Every diver needs their own computer, and passing one between divers or between dives is unsafe.

Conservatism settings make the computer's calculations more cautious, shortening allowed bottom times and adding margin beyond the base algorithm. Divers commonly add conservatism for factors such as cold, hard work, fatigue, or repetitive multi-day diving. How and when to adjust it is covered by your training and your computer's manual, so set it before you get in the water and follow what your computer tells you during the dive.

Broadly there are two types: user-replaceable batteries, often a coin cell that you or a shop swap along with resealing an o-ring, and sealed rechargeable batteries that charge from a cable or dock. Neither is universally better, as replaceable cells are convenient on remote trips while rechargeables avoid ever opening the case. Follow the manual exactly for any battery change, because an improperly seated o-ring or case is the usual cause of a flooded computer.

Yes, both change the picture, and both are governed by your training agency's guidance and your computer's instructions rather than any casual rule of thumb. Many computers have an altitude setting that must be configured before diving at elevation, and most display a no-fly or surface-interval countdown after a dive. Follow your computer and your training, and ask a dive professional or a dive-medicine specialist if you are unsure.

Rinse it in fresh water after every dive day, paying attention to the buttons and around any sensor openings where salt crystals form, and let it dry fully before storing. Keep it out of prolonged direct sun and extreme heat, and avoid pressing buttons while sand is on the case. Inspect the strap or bungee often, because a failed strap loses far more computers than a failed computer does.

A wrist computer is worn like a watch and read by raising your arm, while a console computer sits at the end of a hose with your other gauges. Air integration means the computer also displays cylinder pressure, either through a hose or from a wireless transmitter on the first stage, and often estimates remaining gas time. All of them run a decompression algorithm, so the real difference is where you read the information and how much of it you get.

The Quad Ci runs the Buhlmann ZH-L16C algorithm, the same as the standard Mares Quad, and it supports both nitrox and trimix. That gives you a proven decompression model with real mixed-gas capability in a mid-priced computer. The Ci's additions over the standard Quad are about display, air integration, and charging rather than the algorithm.

Yes, the Quad Ci includes a digital compass, along with a stopwatch. Both are additions over the standard Mares Quad, which does not have them. For a computer at this level, having navigation on the wrist is a meaningful upgrade.

No. The LED Tank Module 2.0 pairs permanently to your Quad Ci, so it is not a transmitter you move between computers. It is also compatible only with the Quad Ci and Mares Sirius, not with other Mares models. Plan on one transmitter per computer, bought separately from the computer itself.

Yes. The Quad Ci syncs over Bluetooth with the Mares app, which handles your logbook downloads and firmware updates. That means no cables and no dock, and it pairs with the tool-free USB charging on the rechargeable battery.

It has the core capability: the Buhlmann ZH-L16C algorithm, nitrox and trimix support, a digital compass, and hoseless air integration through the LED Tank Module 2.0. Mares rates the rechargeable battery at around 30 hours of dive time per charge, which comfortably covers a trip of repetitive diving. Check the published maximum operating depth against your planned dives before committing it to deep technical work.

The Quad Ci is the full-featured pick and the Mares Smart is the compact entry point. The Quad Ci gives you an 8-color display, hoseless air integration via the LED Tank Module 2.0, trimix, a digital compass, a rechargeable battery with USB charging, and Bluetooth logbook sync. The Mares Smart is watch-sized with a backlit LCD, 2-button operation, the Mares-Wienke RGBM algorithm, nitrox from EAN 21 to 99 percent with two mixes, and a user-replaceable CR2450 battery. Choose the Smart if you want something small and simple to wear daily, the Quad Ci if you want tank pressure and mixed gas.