Shearwater Research

Shearwater Petrel 2

The Petrel with a digital compass added. Shearwater's tec workhorse before the Petrel 3.

Open BLE sync (libdivecomputer)

Syncs wirelessly with third-party apps (Subsurface, Currents, etc.), not just the manufacturer app.

Shearwater Petrel 2
$1199
Released2014
Max depth rating200m
AlgorithmBühlmann ZHL-16C with gradient factors, or VPM-B
Air integrationnone
Wirelessbluetooth
Display2.4" full-color LCD
Batteryuser-replaceable
Digital compassYes
Gas typesair, nitrox, trimix
Gas switches5
CCR capableYes

"Gas switches" is how many different mixes this computer can be programmed to switch between mid-dive, mostly relevant for technical/staged-decompression diving. It doesn't tell you which gas types (air, nitrox, trimix) are supported. See Gas types and the product description above for that.

Pros
  • Single AA battery (alkaline, lithium, or rechargeable), no charging cable required
  • Adds the digital compass the original Petrel lacked
  • 1000-hour dive log with Bluetooth upload to Shearwater's desktop/mobile software
Cons
  • Discontinued in favor of the Petrel 3, so pricing now varies widely by retailer
  • No built-in wireless air integration
  • Bulkier than watch-style computers for pure recreational use

The Petrel 2 added a digital compass to the original Petrel’s AA-battery, full-color formula, and became the default tec-diving computer for years before the Petrel 3 took over as Shearwater’s flagship. It shares its core electronics and firmware lineage with the Perdix.