Please help with New Dive Computer!!

[camlakes]

Hi there guys!!

I am looking to purchese a new dive computer that will still be useful for many years to come (will eventually get into Nitrox diving).
I have got my eyes on two computers and was wondering what would be best...

1. Suunto DX black elastomer
2. Suunto D5

I have found both of them for roughly the same price.

I just want a durable, reliable dive computer. (preferably suunto).

Thanks in Advance
Cam

[M-J-J]

Hi there guys!!

I am looking to purchese a new dive computer that will still be useful for many years to come (will eventually get into Nitrox diving).
I have got my eyes on two computers and was wondering what would be best...

1. Suunto DX black elastomer
2. Suunto D5

I have found both of them for roughly the same price.

I just want a durable, reliable dive computer. (preferably suunto).

Thanks in Advance
Cam

Forget both and get a Perdix?! Sorry that isn't massively helpful given the choice you stated above, but I imagine you will get a similar theme from subsequent posts. The suuntos look to be around £600 and the Perdix is £660 so the non-ai perdix will be similar money - otherwise if you like the watch style of the suunto get a teric (even if you need to go for a year old model).

Not sure what diving you do so cant comment on the appropriateness of any choice but if someone is talking about dropping 600 odd on a dive computer and is looking at a suunto over a shearwater i just wonder why.

I have used suunto (various), vr3s, aladdins, perdix, scubapro (various), divesoft and uwt ... i would happily do any dive regardless of depth/deco/environment with the perdix, uwt and vr3 (and the divesoft in a pinch).

The others would be depth timers and no more.

What brought you to a Suunto? What diving do you do now and what are you looking to do in the future?

Cheers Matt

[camlakes]

Forget both and get a Perdix?! Sorry that isn't massively helpful given the choice you stated above, but I imagine you will get a similar theme from subsequent posts. The suuntos look to be around £600 and the Perdix is £660 so the non-ai perdix will be similar money - otherwise if you like the watch style of the suunto get a teric (even if you need to go for a year old model).

Not sure what diving you do so cant comment on the appropriateness of any choice but if someone is talking about dropping 600 odd on a dive computer and is looking at a suunto over a shearwater i just wonder why.

I have used suunto (various), vr3s, aladdins, perdix, scubapro (various), divesoft and uwt ... i would happily do any dive regardless of depth/deco/environment with the perdix, uwt and vr3 (and the divesoft in a pinch).

The others would be depth timers and no more.

What brought you to a Suunto? What diving do you do now and what are you looking to do in the future?

Cheers Matt

Right now i am just doing recreational dives, to a max of 30m. In the future I will probably move towards nitrox. I'm not 100% set on Suunto, i have just heard really good reviews about them and their durability, however, starting to look at other brands.

[gobfish1]

As much as people / divers harp on about suunto and the algorithm s or the suunto minute being longer then all other minutes in the universe.

I have to say I had no problems diving with suunto computers . Weather it be a week's diving in the red sea Or back to back 60m dives and deco in Norway .
Only problem I ever had with my vytec was it only had a two digits deco display. So it would not show deco time till it was back in two digits land.
but worked even when pushed way past what it was ment to do.

All my suuntos predate the deep stop model s .
But can't see that making much difference to the over all usability .

[Wibs]

I bought a Suunto D9tx, the predecessor to the DX, when I started diving back in 2012. I use it to log all my 600ish dives and, up to lockdown, use it as a watch.

As a watch, it works, but is a thick watch so not good with shirt cuffs.

As a dive computer it’s very much a recreational computer with a complicated user interface with four buttons all using long and short presses. Fine as a recreational computer as most of the settings are quite simple.

Moving on in my diving career I now almost exclusively dive with decompression and multiple gasses. This means you’re relying on the dive computer to set your ascent curve and gas switches. Several things are against it here:

• it’s virtually impossible to read the info as the screen's too small;
• it’s not backlit unless you turn the light on or point a torch at it;
• the algorithm is a made up proprietary one "RGBM” which adds too much additional time unless you set it at the most aggressive setting and there’s only the mediocre Suunto dive planner that’s compatible;
• its settings and planning is ridiculous, adding arbitrary so called safety depths (e.g. MOD for 28% is 40m at 1.4 (1.4 / 0.28 = 5Bar), but the Suunto says it’s 38m);
• switching gas is a palaver - if using 100% you have to ascend to 5m to switch, then drop back to 6m
• even when using the P-2 setting it adds Suunto tax to the dive, sometimes extending the dive by 10 mins compared with a proper algorithm - especially the case for deeper trimix dives
• the bloody thing locks for 48 hours if you get out early and extends this for another 48 hours if it gets wet before your dry sentence is served - imagine if you’re on a live aboard, you definitely need a spare computer;
• Battery replacements are £50 in the LDS (<£10 if you do it yourself) - they're hard to get except online (or in Scapa Scuba!);
• with it locking up and needing battery replacements, I’d never rely on it as my only computer;
• uses the discredited deep stops (thanks for the reminder Gobfish) and beeps a lot underwater;
• can't update the software/firmware

Three years ago I bought a proper dive computer, a Shearwater Perdix. Now done around 300 dives with it, and the Suunto as a backup plus log. Cannot fault the Perdix. Uses proper Buhlmann algorithms; it's exceedingly easy to use; one AA battery; Bluetooth integration; reliable; legible in the dark; doesn't have stupid settings or weird messed up calculations; firmware's easy to update. The only thing it doesn’t do is work as a watch! But the Telrik might?

IMHO Suunto dive computers are rubbish for anything other than simple recreational diving and would never touch another one. I only keep it to moan about it and to remind myself how my diving's changed.

I would definitely advise against the Suunto EON and suchlike. I would happily recommend a Zoop to a beginner.

If you're looking to do more complex dives in the future, save your money and get a Perdix or Telrik. These really keep their values -- which is the best recommendation.

[gobfish1]

O2 switch. Set the 02 % lower think it was 97 then you can switch when your at 6.2m no up then down bollox

Your preseved 28% problem . simple to sort out
I have to pull you on the bit about aggressive setting As it had none
Only has setting to be even more conservative.
And no it never bleeped alot.
Again the wrong setting .

As for algorithm is made up lol ok .
And you feeking about with Gf,s is some what better.
A nother made up fudge .

I ran mine with zero personal safety setting.
If you find it already conservative why add in a p1 or p2 setting ?
yes has limitations but you can fudge a lot of them out .
As a first computer it will give a lot of service.
For a lot of divers it more then is needed . .

But in 2020 I'd have to agree with the above post
Shearwater seem to have the market.
I have the all singing and dancing plugged it to my rebreather . It's v nice . As it should be for 1300 quid

But if I was only doing 40m and half hour deco at 6m on my O2.
It would be some what over kill .
Expensive Bracelets I can do with out .

I see nothing wrong with out growing your computer or equipment . And learn along the way .
Better that than buy the all singing all dancing
When you can do nither.

[Paulo]

I could sell you a Suunto Vyper for £100 posted if any good to you?

[Wibs]

There's another watch-sized dive computer which looks interesting, the Garmin Descent. This uses standard Buhlmann with gradient factors for diving, plus works as a general smart watch/fitness device, etc.

Has anyone had any experience of these? How well do they work as a smart watch and as a dive computer?

[Kier]

Suunto are great recreational computers, I used Suunto's when I was teaching recreational regularly, they're great easy to use interface, and have great diving specific features, the new ones that they’re beginning to release are also crossing into non diving wearable technology (D5), Suunto’s also look really cool.

I also had the Helo2 when it first came out which was one of the first mass market computers that enabled great technical diving features.

In recent years though Suunto have fallen out of favour in technical diving, without going into too much detail here, this is due to the algorithm they use.

Shearwater really are great computers for technical diving, because of the algorithm and the customisable nature of this algorithm with gradient factors.

The 2 current computers that Suunto market on the technical side are the Eon Core and Steel, the Dx is also using a similar algorithm to these but slightly older tec, credit though it was the first technical watch style computer and was really cool at the time. I think it was released circa 2014?

So I would say if you just want to stick to recreational diving, including nitrox, then stick with a Suunto, the D5 is their first attempt at bringing non diving wearable technology into a dive computer, so you could wait a bit to see if they release another one.
I say this because the old Suunto model line when it was aligned with release year was:
D4
D6
D9
DX

The D5 is a middle ground between D4 and D6 but with new technology eg better display and smart phone notifications. So they may well bring out a slightly higher spec or lower spec with the modern tec soon.
If you want a dive computer with wearable non diving technology then the Garmin Descent MK1 is a good option, again I would wait, as this is now some years old and they are likely to release a MK2 soon.

If you want to ultimately get into technical diving then I would go for the Shearwater. (Personally I like the big display so I have 2 Perdix). (I also have an older watch style Suunto).

However, there is one caveat to this, it is possible that Suunto understand that to once again be leaders in the technical diving market that they need to release an update that enables uses to use the same algorithm as the Shearwater, this is highly likely to happen in the future.

The technology is constantly updating and the landscape of what’s on offer will be very different next year. But then that’s always the case with technology and at some point you need to buy or wait, you could wait forever.

The D5 is a great computer.

One other thing to mention is that I’ve seen the offer for the Suunto Dx online which is a huge discount compared to when it was first released, I initially thought great buy, but if you think about it. If you get into tech diving OC or CCR then you’re probably going to want a Shearwater. So you’ll be spending money on a computer which is 6 years old now, the display is mono and not as bright and good looking as the D5, plus not sure if it's supported by current and future Suunto updates. (Bit like an Iphone they stop supporting older models eventually).

Hope that's a fairly objective summary for you, any questions let me know.

[Wibs]

I believe the EON can now use Buhlman + GF instead of the proprietary RGBM algorithm.

When comparing the EON and Shearwater Perdix, there's no comparison IMHO. The Perdix wins hands down. It also has a recreational mode with reduced information in the display. Given that the EON and Perdix are about the same price, the Perdix would come out on top. One of my favourite features is the single, commonly available AA battery which lasts ages. Imagine being on a dive trip and forgetting the charger...

One last fan-boi point for the Shearwaters: they're used in virtually all rebreathers and dominate technical diving with mixed gasses, etc. Suuntos dominate in the recreational community, probably as they're sold through dive shops and are heavily promoted.