Help! Suunto Gekko or Vyper 2

[Jorgy]

That is an excellent recommendation........when I am at 100 feet I like knowing that I have a second computer tucked away just in case.............

With respect to reading the bar graph.......I leave mine in Nitrox mode all the time air is just 21% Nitrox..........so the Nitrogen Loading bar is not shown anyway, it is replaced by Oxygen Units........

3 Button versus 4 Button - my 13 year old daughter flies through the screens.........

At the end of the day they are all the same algorithm and that is what counts.......

Compass - I like my old school retractor mounted one, clipped to my right shoulder D-ring............I simply can't swim straight using the wrist-mounted-unit-folded-across-and-clasping-you-extended-right-arm method...............truth be told I maybe use a compass 2 or 3 times a year (and one of those is always the underwater orientation course we setup for our clubs pumpkin dive weekend).............

M

 

[ajhughes]

Sunnto has fixed this problem with the new release. You can now hold it at 45deg. and it will work correctly. Also, you now can program the compass to shut off at 1 to 5min. long vs. the 30sec. auto.

Sorry, are you saying they fixed the compass tilt problem in the latest hardware? or that there is a firmware update or something that addresses this?

 

[bleeb]

Sunnto has fixed this problem with the new release. You can now hold it at 45deg. and it will work correctly. Also, you now can program the compass to shut off at 1 to 5min. long vs. the 30sec. auto.

Sorry, are you saying they fixed the compass tilt problem in the latest hardware? or that there is a firmware update or something that addresses this?

I believe the change included hardware. From other descriptions here on ScubaBoard, it sounds like they went from a two-axis magnetometer to a three-axis unit.

 

[AZ Desert Diver]

It is a hardware fix not a firmware update.

 

[CompuDude]

The Gekko will also do two gases (air and nitrox) just like the Vyper, however you are right about the backlight.

A two gas computer is generally one that allows gas switching (at depth), between two gases, during the course of a dive (at least, the way I generally hear the term used). The Gekko is a one gas computer, albeit one that supports Nitrox. Same for the Vyper.

You have to step up to the Vytec to get a computer that truly supports multiple gases. The Cobra 2 and 3 also support multiple gases, but from the Suunto website, it doesn't look like the original Cobra does. Similarly, the D4 does not support multiple gas dives, but the D6 and D9 do.

 

[cowfish007]

Are the compass improvements with the more recent model of the Vyper 2 or are you talking about the Vyper Air? if the former, is there any way to tell the difference between models/production runs?

 

[cowfish007]

I believe the change included hardware. From other descriptions here on ScubaBoard, it sounds like they went from a two-axis magnetometer to a three-axis unit.

Are the compass improvements with the more recent model of the Vyper 2 or are you talking about the Vyper Air? if the former, is there any way to tell the difference between models/production runs?

 

[bleeb]

Are the compass improvements with the more recent model of the Vyper 2 or are you talking about the Vyper Air?

AFAIK, based on posting here on ScubaBoard and elsewhere, just the Vyper Air, and not the Vyper 2.

 

[Hover-Stop]

I just got my Vyper2 and have only played with it in a few pool classes with the basic course that I help with. I like it so far. The compass is a "little" tough to use, but once you get used to it, it works just as good as an analog compass.

I got mine for the 2 gas switching feature more than anything, as I plan on doing some technical diving in the near future. Plus, it has the computer download capabilities w/o having to "hack" or use "work arounds".

If it were me, I'd go Vyper2 vs Gekko any day so I dont have to void warranties just to get the computer data out of it, but thats my opinion and only a good one if having a digital copy of your dive log is important.

Got mine from ScubaStore.com and their package for computer+DL cable was $440 after shipping and got here REALLY QUICK. I ordered it on a Friday morning and it was delivered Monday morning. Highly recommend them. Plus if you watch them on a week/week basis their prices fluctuate with the exchange rate.