Suunto Vyper failure - take their replacement or move on?

[FloridaPhil]

My Suunto Vyper failed on a recent dive trip. Day 1, dive 1 - it simply would not register depth at all so was pretty much useless.

I returned it to Suunto who tell me ‘There has been damage to the pressure sensor in your Vyper silver and the unit is now beyond repair. This estimate is to provide you with a new vyper silver module. This unit will be made of new parts and come with a 2 year warranty. Your old damaged module will be returned to Finland for disposal’.

The price quoted for the replacement is $240 which seems fair enough since a new Zoop is $300+. I think my Vyper model (not Vyper Air or Vyper 2) may no longer be in production.

My wife runs a Suunto Zoop so it would be nice for us to continue to have computers that are nearly identical to read and use while running the same algorithm. However, it appears that Suunto pressure sensor failure is pretty common and I am hesitant to buy into ‘more of the same’.

So, I’m looking at the Hollis DG03 sold by Dive Gear Express which retails at about the same price as the replacement Suunto has offered me. It looks flexible and is definitely more upgradeable, but some information I am used to seeing on the Vyper screen, such as total dive time, needs additional button presses to see.

I’m a fair weather Caribbean rec diver only and it’s unlikely I’ll be progressing into Tec diving so I think either computer will work for me.

Thoughts?

 

[KevinNM]

How old and how many dives did you have on it? All electronics and mechanical parts will eventually fail, and some people will be the outliers at the sad end of the distribution, the other end will be the guys still using it after 30 years of daily use.

$240 isn't bad, Leisure Pro was selling the non-AI Vypers for $300 on black Friday.

 

[Rand]

I've used Suuntos exclusively, and own 3 Vytecs and 2 Cobras. I've also owned Vypers and a Zoop. I haven't had any issues with any of mine and several of the wrist computers were bought used.

I would stick with what you are familiar with and with an algorithm that matches your common dive buddy. Each manufacturer/display is different and with such important info as deco readings, etc., you don't want to misunderstand the info displayed or struggle to get to the correct screen.

Would Suunto offer you a credit towards and upgrade? I upgraded to Vytecs because of their seconds display that is essential for the Tec stuff I do.

Bottom line, yes there are some bad depth sensors with the Suuntos, but if you dive with a backup computer this is a non-issue and if bought from an authorized dealer, Suunto will take care of you.

 

[afdgf]

When your Vyper failed, what did it show in the depth field? Was it just blank, did it have dashes, did it say FAIL? Thanks.

 

[Steve_C]

Had one fail on me. I am a KISS guy so I just bought a Zoop to replace it. Zoop is fine for Nitrox and if you have to use up your NDL it will still get you back to the boat.

 

[FloridaPhil]

When your Vyper failed, what did it show in the depth field? Was it just blank, did it have dashes, did it say FAIL? Thanks.

None of the above. It just stayed on surface mode. At first I thought it was my error, but soon realized it was a failure.

 

[dmaziuk]

$240 isn't bad, Leisure Pro was selling the non-AI Vypers for $300 on black Friday.

LeisurePro is selling vypers w/ usb cable for $300 now, so $240 is actually not a deal.

 

[FloridaPhil]

Leisurepro is not an authorized dealer. The retail for the Vyper is $400+ so actually, it is a deal. And I have no need for the usb cable so why pay for it?

 

[dmaziuk]

Leisurepro is not an authorized dealer. The retail for the Vyper is $400+ so actually, it is a deal. And I have no need for the usb cable so why pay for it?

Fair enough, however, the post I quoted was referring to LP price. As for retail, my impression is MSRP tag has become completely meaningless in the last decade or two. They can MSRP it at $1000 and sell it for "75% off" -- that doesn't make it a great deal when you can get at least one other computer with the same feature set for under $200. (Well, OK, Leonardo does not have user-settable alarms and its altitude adjustment is manual, not automatic.)

 

[FloridaPhil]

After a little research, I think my initial inclination to replace the Vyper with another Vyper is the right one, particularly since my wife (and primary dive buddy) dives the Zoop. Seems to make sense and the $240 Suunto offered to me seems fair. I'll give Suunto another try but if this one fails, I'm moving on!

Thanks for all your input.