Cressi Neon Dive Computer

Cressi Neon Computer: Compact Wrist Dive Computer for Recreational Divers

The Cressi Neon Computer is a wrist-worn dive computer built around one clear priority: fitting serious dive data into the smallest possible package.

At 48mm across and 135g on your wrist, it is one of the more compact computers in the recreational category. If you dive regularly, wear your computer between dives, and want something that does not feel like a puck strapped to your arm, the Neon is worth a close look.

Who This Computer Is For

The Neon suits a certified recreational diver who wants a capable, no-fuss wrist computer they can also wear as a watch.

It handles air and nitrox diving, has a freedive mode, and tracks the data you actually need on a typical reef or wreck dive. It is not aimed at technical divers running complex decompression schedules or multiple gas switches beyond two mixes.

If you are just starting out and your dive centre uses Neons as rental units, that is worth noting too. The computer has a reset function that allows it to be cleared between users, which is why it turns up in rental fleets. That does not make it a lesser computer; it just means Cressi designed it to be practical in shared use.

The Algorithm and What It Means for Your Diving

The Neon runs Cressi's RGBM algorithm, developed with Bruce Wienke and based on the Haldane decompression model. RGBM (Reduced Gradient Bubble Model) factors in bubble formation in the tissues, not just dissolved gas, which tends to produce slightly more conservative ascent guidance than a straight Haldane model.

In practical terms, this means the Neon may call a safety stop or flag a ceiling a little earlier than some other computers on the same profile. For most recreational diving, that conservatism is a reasonable trade.

You can also adjust the safety factor yourself if you want to dial the conservatism up or down within the algorithm's limits.

Gas Modes

The Neon runs three operating modes:

• Air / Nitrox tracks your no-decompression limits using the RGBM algorithm. GAS1 accepts oxygen mixes between 21% and 50% O2. GAS2 extends that range up to 99% O2, though the computer caps the maximum allowable partial pressure of oxygen (PO2) between 1.2 and 1.6 bar, a range you set yourself based on your training and conditions.
• Freedive logs depth, surface interval, and bottom time for breath-hold diving. The Neon can also be set to suppress dive alarms entirely when you are snorkelling or swimming, so you are not fighting alerts every time you duck under.
• Gauge turns the Neon into a depth gauge and bottom timer, letting you manage your own profile if you prefer to dive tables or just want a backup instrument.

Display and Readability

The screen is 37mm of mineral glass with high-contrast, extra-large numbers. Mineral glass sits below sapphire in scratch resistance but well above standard acrylic, which matters for a computer you will knock against boat ladders and tank valves.

The backlight makes the display readable in low light and at night. Given the compact case size, Cressi has kept the interface simple, with steel buttons that are rated to the computer's full depth limit of 120 metres (394 feet).

While you are underwater, the screen shows surface time, desaturation time, and no-fly time, along with a CNS oxygen toxicity indicator and multi-level safety stop guidance. The CNS display is particularly useful if you are diving nitrox and want a quick visual check on oxygen loading across multiple dives in a day.

Logbook and Battery

The Neon stores 50 dives per category in its logbook, and the dive log is downloadable, so you can pull profiles to your computer after a trip.

Power comes from a user-replaceable CR2450 battery. Being able to swap the battery yourself, without sending the computer away, is a genuine convenience on a liveaboard or in a remote location. The computer alerts you when the battery is running low, so you are not caught short mid-trip.

Watch Functions

Because the Neon is designed to live on your wrist full time, it includes the features you would expect from a daily watch:

• 12 or 24-hour time format with calendar
• Seconds-precision stopwatch
• Second time zone setting
• Daily alarm

These are not afterthoughts. If you are travelling across time zones for a dive trip, having a second time zone and alarm built in is genuinely useful.

Altitude Adjustment

The Neon adjusts for altitude diving up to 3,700 metres (12,139 feet) above sea level. If you dive mountain lakes, this matters because the reduced atmospheric pressure at altitude changes the no-decompression calculations. Most coastal divers will never need this, but it is there if you do.

A Straight Assessment

The Neon is a compact, honest recreational computer. It does not have an air integration transmitter, a colour screen, or a navigation compass. If those are on your list, you are looking at a different category of computer.

What it does have is a well-regarded algorithm, a genuinely small and wearable form factor, two nitrox gas slots, a freedive mode, a downloadable log, and a battery you can change yourself. For a diver who wants a capable wrist computer that stays on all day without feeling bulky, the Neon covers the ground that actually matters on most recreational dives.