Suunto Vyper or Vyper2

I will be purchasing a computer shortly and may have the choice of a Vyper or a Vyper2.

Does any one know if there is any real differeces between the two othere than the compass?

How well does the compass work?

Thanks for any information.

If you do a search you will find many comments about the compass. In general people do not find it to be all that useful and prefer a std. wrist mount compass with the favorite being the Suunto Sk-7 in a DSS mount.

The Vyper2 allows two nitrox mixes, while the Vyper only allows one. The Vyper2 has the compass, but you have to hold it quite level, so it's not really a great substitute if you're doing navigation. (It's fine if you're turned around and just wondering whether the bow is left or right.) The Vyper2's display is nicer (it's basically a dot-matrix display, instead of the calculator-style display on the Vyper).

One thing I found out this weekend was that the Vyper will not allow you to switch from AIR mode to NITROX mode during a dive series (you have to wait until the no-fly time has expired). The Vyper2 (like the Gekko and other Suunto computers) *will* allow you to switch *to* NITROX mode from air mode during a dive series. If you leave them both in NITROX mode and just set them to 21% O₂ when you're diving air, that's not too big a deal. Also, the Vyper2 will retain its nitrox settings until you change them, while the Vyper will reset back to 21% after a couple hours. You should *always* verify mode and (if in NITROX mode) O₂ settings before each dive, but that's a difference in behavior between the models.

Personally, I really like the Vyper2, and if you're looking at getting one or the other, I'd definitely go with it. (The features could come in handy, and I like the interface updates in the display and menus.) If you already had a Vyper, I probably wouldn't recommend an upgrade to the Vyper2 (except perhaps if you wanted to dive two gases, but then you might be more interested in a deco-friendly "tech" computer, anyway).

Another difference not mentioned is the Vyper can be had for under $200 used and under $300 new while the Vyper 2 is seldom found used and costs almost $700 new.

Also the vyper 2 has the suunto "deep stop" feature. From the sparse info out there I think this means that if you turn on this feature it will incorporate one or more "deep stops" (deeper than normal safety stops) and in return give you longer bottom times than the standard rgbm algorithm. While recently researching for a computer I found a bit of info about this but nothing in depth about how it works, perhaps someone with more knowledge could comment on how the deep stops work in the suunto rgbm model. I really wanted this feature but for the limited diving I do I couldn't justify the price of the vyper2 and went with the gekko instead.

In fact, the deep stop feature does not affect the algorithm at all. The only thing it does is tell you when to stop and give you an on-screen countdown.

I suppose if you need a reminder, it's nice, but I'd been doing a half-depth deep stop long before I got the Vyper2, so it made no actual difference to me whatsoever. I just look at the max depth on my Gekko, divide by two, and stop there until I see the dive time tick over twice (which puts the stop time somewhere between one and two minutes).

ClayJar:

In fact, the deep stop feature does not affect the algorithm at all. The only thing it does is tell you when to stop and give you an on-screen countdown.

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Are you sure? My local shop said (and I thought I read somewhere) it would give you longer times compared to the regular rgbm.

Here is the only issue I have with my vyper 2. If you plan on doing tech diving and your instructor requires guage mode with an ascent rate do not get the vyper 2 because while in the the guage mode there is no ascent rate.

Snodger:

Are you sure? My local shop said (and I thought I read somewhere) it would give you longer times compared to the regular rgbm.

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I don't have an authoritative reference in front of me to pull a direct citation, but I am quite certain.

Additionally, I dive with a Gekko on one wrist and a Vyper2 on the other wrist, and they almost always show identical information. Those few times where I have seen a discrepancy (on the order of a minute or two), the Vyper2 with deep stops enabled has invariably been closer to NDL than the Gekko (although again, the difference is trivial unless you are *really* riding the computers).

I just checked the manual, and while it does not say in so many words, on page 27 it says, "When Recommended Deep Stop is enabled, the length is indicated in seconds." The case is made if you take this in light of the note on page 24, "The Recommended Safety Stop, as the name implies, is recommended. If it is ignored, there is no penalty applied to the following surface intervals and dives." and in contrast to page 25, "If you continue to violate the Mandatory Safety Stop, the tissue calculation model is affected and the dive computer shortens the available no-decompression time for your next dive."

Scared Silly:

If you do a search you will find many comments about the compass. In general people do not find it to be all that useful and prefer a std. wrist mount compass with the favorite being the Suunto Sk-7 in a DSS mount.

Click to expand...

What is a DSS mount ?