Suunto D9 vs. Oceanic VT3 Purchase??

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MindMagick

MindMagick

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Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
# of dives
100 - 199
Greetings,

Both my wife (diving buddy) and I have Suunto Cobra II Dive Computers as part of our diving equipment. We are both pleased with them but on one occasion this summer I had a computer failure incident while diving and we both surfaced. Suunto sent me a new Cobra II.

I would like to purchase a wrist diving computer for me to be utilized in conjunction with our Suunto Cobra II's. I have looked at the Suunto D9 and the Oceanic VT3. Both wirelessly monitor tank PSI. The Suunto D9 can monitor one divers tanks while the Oceanic VT3 can monitor up to 3 divers tanks with the appropriate tank transmitters attached.

The Suunto D9 is significantly more expensive than the Oceanic VT3. I know many of you have a solid knowledge base in both of these wrist dive computers and I request some guidance from you into which purchase I should make. Thanks to all in advance in helping me make an informed purchase!
 
MindMagick:
Greetings,

Both my wife (diving buddy) and I have Suunto Cobra II Dive Computers as part of our diving equipment. We are both pleased with them but on one occasion this summer I had a computer failure incident while diving and we both surfaced. Suunto sent me a new Cobra II.

I would like to purchase a wrist diving computer for me to be utilized in conjunction with our Suunto Cobra II's. I have looked at the Suunto D9 and the Oceanic VT3. Both wirelessly monitor tank PSI. The Suunto D9 can monitor one divers tanks while the Oceanic VT3 can monitor up to 3 divers tanks with the appropriate tank transmitters attached.

The Suunto D9 is significantly more expensive than the Oceanic VT3. I know many of you have a solid knowledge base in both of these wrist dive computers and I request some guidance from you into which purchase I should make. Thanks to all in advance in helping me make an informed purchase!
Click to expand...

While you are looking at the Oceanic VT3 you might want to consider also looking at the Aeris Elite T3 which is built by the same company as the Oceanic VT3. Oceanic and Aeris are sister companies both owned by Hollis. Hollis also owns Pelagic which makes the dive computers for both companies.

I looked at both and decided on the Aeris Elite T3 because I prefer the way the Aeris Elite T3 presents data to the diver. The computers themselves are otherwise the same dive computer.
 
I recently purchased a VT3, and I'm happy with it. I like the fact that the download cable is free with the VT3. One thing to consider is that the Oceanic/Aeris use a different (and less conservative) algorithm than the Suunto computers do. If I recall correctly, this manifests itself mostly after several dives. There was an article in a recent Scuba Diving magazine that compared them (and many other) dive computers. I think you can even find it on their website. You can configure the VT3 to be more conservative, which is what I have done.
 
I have a VT3 and an Atom 2.0 I've also used a Geo 250.
I am very pleased with my Oceanic computers.
The Suunto is known to be more conservative but the VT3 can be set conservative.
I'd save the extra cash and go with the Oceanic.
 
Hobodiver,

Thank you very much for the info! This is exactly the kind of data that I was hoping for when I made the initial post. I can read all the websites out there but hearing from actual owners & users of a specific piece of dive equipment is far more valuable information. Thanks for taking your time to assist me in my purchase decision!
 
RAWalker,

Thank you very much for you response as it will be quite valuable in my upcoming purchase decision. One question if you do not mind: Can I make the assumption that it is fairly easy to configure the VT3 to a more conservative dive profile?

Also - Has anybody out there ever used TWO regulator / tank transmitters on the VT3 with one dive watch setup. And if so, how well did the communication between the transmitters and the VT3 wrist dive computer work? It would be nice to buy a second transmitter for my wife so that I could monitor both of our PSI readings at the same time. I know my air consumption rate is greater than hers and it would be nice to monitor both from my wrist.

Thanks again for your help!!! It is appreciated!!
 
The biggest thing for me in making my choice was the user swappable/changeable battery in the VT3. You have to send the Suunto back to the manufacturer for a new battery. PITA. The D9 does look cool though if thats what you are into.
 
It can be configured conservative in 1 of 2 ways:
Using a laptop or manually.
Using the laptop and the download cable is super easy.
Doing it manually is just a matter of pushing the right buttons in the right order.
As for multiple transmitters the VT3 can monitor 3, set for either different o2 content or as buddy monitors (in close proximity)

MindMagick:
RAWalker,

Thank you very much for you response as it will be quite valuable in my upcoming purchase decision. One question if you do not mind: Can I make the assumption that it is fairly easy to configure the VT3 to a more conservative dive profile?

Also - Has anybody out there ever used TWO regulator / tank transmitters on the VT3 with one dive watch setup. And if so, how well did the communication between the transmitters and the VT3 wrist dive computer work? It would be nice to buy a second transmitter for my wife so that I could monitor both of our PSI readings at the same time. I know my air consumption rate is greater than hers and it would be nice to monitor both from my wrist.

Thanks again for your help!!! It is appreciated!!
Click to expand...
 
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