Suunto D4 a good buy??

Hey all,

I know the question is a bit subjective but can't seem to find much (any?) user reviews on D4.. (Are they not selling many D4's?? why no reviews??)
There's a sale on this coming week at my LDS and I'm considering buying 2 D4's, one for myself and one for the wife.
Price my LDS is asking is 480$ each.

now, the reason I am considering suunto is I have a mac and it is the only dive computer maker where i can find a decent program to download my dive logs..

is D4 a good dive computer for the price? or should I just give up on mac compatibility and look for other brands? ( I never thought I would one day complain for having a mac.. )

To give you some idea about my situation, I am pretty new to diving. However, so far I am really enjoying it and being lucky enough to live on a tropical island for the next 3 years, I think i will eventually take on more advanced diving courses after 7-8 months..
also, as always cost is important. being a beginner, initial cost for diving is not cheap. i just bought my dive gear this week (DR transplate, Mares abbys 42 etc..)

for those of you that have or used D4, your input would be greatly appreciated.:sharks:

In my opinion, Suunto computers are a good buy and the D4 is quite good especially if you're not going to be using multiple gases on a dive (tek diving)

They are a bit more expensive than similar models from the likes of Mares, but if you like the D4, go for it

hey viceroy,

i like the fact that its a watch style and can wear it as a regular watch as well..
but most importantly I can download to my computer using Macdive.

seriously though, I have not seen any user reviews on D4 on the net, apart from 2 short articles ( and they were mainly about freediving..). and am starting to give up on hearing any user reviews on scubaboard too as no one has replied to my post..

also considering D6 if my LDS has them. if so i might be willing to pay a little extra. they will have a big sale sometime this week with 25% off on all computers they have in stock. good idea??
( I've also been tempted by Oceanic Atom 2 for $ 659 for the set - watch + transmitter.. ...but can't link it to my computer )

if there is anyone out there with a D4 please give us your experience with the watch!!

if you're willing to pay extra $$$, you can't go wrong with stinger; it has more established history & quite positive reviews.

Unfortunately there are quite a number of Suunto Nay-sayers on the forum (There were algorithm problems in the D6 and D9 I think) and then there were a few suunto computers with faulty depth sensors, so to be totally honest, this is probably not the best place to get reviews.

I've in general found a distinct lack of reviews for most dive computers...so good luck on your search.

maged_mmh

yes, users review of stinger are quite positive..

just did a quick compare on suunto site between D4 and Stinger. they are pretty similar, except stinger has gauge mode and the D4 has deep stops (which although new to diving, i assume deep stops would be a good function to have...)

Can D4's free mode be used as gauge mode?

viceroy,

well thats what i want to find out on D4, whether they have any problems..

about D6 and D9, they have been on the market for a while now so I assume they have fixed those problems and improved their quality control.. but the D4 seems to be a mystery as there seems to be no reviews. (maybe lack of reviews on forums are because D4 owners don't have any problems and are quite happy.. )

Some comments on the D6: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/co...zers/234739-migrating-suunto-mosquito-d6.html

sea-glider
I have no experience with D4, I own a stinger.
So far (2yrs certified) I didn't need any deep stops for rec diving limit of 40mt (my max was 38mt)
actually for most rec dive profile you're implicitly doing deep stops (e.g. stopping to shoot photos; waiting for that cool moray to show out of the groove; waiting for your buddy ...etc.)
I wouldn't worry about deep stops; nor will I change my stinger for that extra feature - at least for current level of cert. (RD) only may consider it when I need to do trimix or such that when the deep stops are mandatory.
for me, having deep stops without having multigas switching feature like the D9 has doesn't make sense.

maged-mmh,

I see your point...

the thing is with my new relocation to a tropical island in the pacific i have a great chance to go diving anytime I want. so I do want to make the most of this opportunity and advance my level as I gain more experience. maybe It would be better for me to bite the bullet and pay the extra cost and get a higher model like D6 so I don't have to find myself limited by D4 and spend money later on..
btw stinger and D4 seemed to be similar priced. no?

El Orans

how's your experience with the D6 since that post? any performance problems?
also any solution to the shield? I've read a few post with similar complaints..I figure D6 and D4 have similar display so reading it will be same...my eyesight is pretty good so its not an issue when used with a backlight...