Shearwater NERD 2

A heads-up regulator-mounted display for divers who don't want to look at a wrist.

Open BLE sync (libdivecomputer)

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

4.2Comparison Score

$650

Buy on Scuba.com

Released	2017
Max depth rating	300m
Algorithm	Bühlmann ZHL-16C with gradient factors, optional VPM-B/VPM-B GFS upgrade
Air integration	wireless
Wireless	bluetooth
Display	QVGA 320x240 near-eye display
Battery	rechargeable
Digital compass	Yes
Gas types	air, nitrox, trimix
Gas switches	5
CCR capable	Yes

"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

Mounts on the regulator or rebreather mouthpiece, dive data stays in your direct line of sight
18+ hours of dive time per charge, with a portable charging bank included for multi-day trips
Wireless tank pressure from up to four Shearwater Swift transmitters

Cons

Niche, expensive way to see dive data compared to a wrist computer
No backup wrist display unless paired with another computer
DiveCAN/Fischer connector variants add complexity for CCR divers to get right

Diver community sentiment

Mixed opinions

On Scubaboard, sentiment splits sharply by diver type. Rebreather and tech divers, the core target audience, praise the NERD 2 for consolidating pO2, depth, and compass data into one head-up display, for eliminating the bulky separate battery box of the original NERD, and for its sharp, magnified display. Complaints recur around the roughly $2,000 price tag, an unreliable/jumpy compass some use only as a backup, fiddly regulator-mount bracket setup, and real practical friction for open-circuit divers, since the unit is fixed to one regulator and hard to see if you swap to a bailout reg. Several posters argue it only makes sense on a full-face mask or double-hose rig for OC use.

Scubaboard: NERD 2 first experience thread Scubaboard: NERD 2 vs Perdix AI comparison Scubaboard: NERD 2 for open-circuit divers

Summarized from public forum discussion (Scubaboard, Reddit, and similar), not a survey we ran ourselves. See the linked threads for the original conversations.

The NERD 2 is Shearwater’s near-eye display, built for divers and rebreather users who’d rather glance slightly down-and-in than break trim to check a wrist computer. It runs the same Bühlmann/VPM-B algorithm choices as the rest of Shearwater’s technical line, in a case shaped for regulator or CCR loop mounting instead of a wrist strap.