Help with Suunto D9 Vs D6 Vs Vyper ????
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aj boet, loose the testosterone. Certified 1 year, a fish, and a technical diver!!!??? The point is not the cost but the inconvenience. Depending on where you are in the world the thing has to be sent away for a variable period of time, to get a battery change, a sure way to ruin a trip. I carry a spare battery and o-ring in my save a dive kit. Personally, I use a Cobra 3 because I like everything in one place, and don't trust the tank pressure transmitter, yet another non-user replaceable battery to fail at and inconvenient time.
Generally I agree with the previous posts, if you want a watch, buy a watch, if you want a dive computer buy a dive computer. Generally bigger displays are better. In terms of Trimix, that is a whole different ballgame and in that world I'm sure there are better computers (VRX, Liquivision etc), more suited to the task. I think Trimix is way out of the recreational diving scene, the cost, of fills, equipment and the need to train and maintain skills, and the inherant risk makes me think there has to be a extremely compelling reason to be that deep in the first place, and other than semi-professionally or professionally mapping new caves or discovering new wrecks, I find it hard to justify. Oh, and setting world records!!
Each to his own, I suggest make a list of what is important in a computer, to you and your style of diving, and then see which one fits the bill most closely.
Stadig oor die klippe.
Generally I agree with the previous posts, if you want a watch, buy a watch, if you want a dive computer buy a dive computer. Generally bigger displays are better. In terms of Trimix, that is a whole different ballgame and in that world I'm sure there are better computers (VRX, Liquivision etc), more suited to the task. I think Trimix is way out of the recreational diving scene, the cost, of fills, equipment and the need to train and maintain skills, and the inherant risk makes me think there has to be a extremely compelling reason to be that deep in the first place, and other than semi-professionally or professionally mapping new caves or discovering new wrecks, I find it hard to justify. Oh, and setting world records!!
Each to his own, I suggest make a list of what is important in a computer, to you and your style of diving, and then see which one fits the bill most closely.
Stadig oor die klippe.
ajduplessis
Contributor
Boet, A dead battery is not going to spoil any trip, don’t you own a SPG, bottom timer or dive tables? Sad to see another South African living abroad, our government is driving away skills and knowledge. Where are you from originally?
libra89
Registered
I am a brand new diver, so certainly no expert, but I like to balance out the price with the features that will give me enough room to grow into a sport. I'm like this with all my hobbies. I don't like to rebuy when my skill exceeds the capability of the equipment, but I also am not a fan of buying the top of the line just because I *might* need some obscure feature some day.
With that said, I opted for the D6 after some research and feature comparison. $1300 was pretty much out of the question for me, which knocked most of the air integrated computers off the list anyway. I have done 10 dives now with my D6 and find that it's plenty feature rich, with room to grow into Nitrox if I want to at some future time. Right now, for regular recreational diving, I think it's more than enough. I did a wreck and some multilevel dives with it, and also had a chance to use some of the planning features on a very basic level, and I'm pleased with what it does. It's a bit conservative, especially on penalizing you for any ascent at any depth that is faster than 33 ft/min, but otherwise, it seems to be doing a good job. It would be interesting to hear from others that have more experience working side by side with other divers on other computers to see if it's more conservative in other ways. It IS adjustable for three different levels of personal preference, making it even more conservative if you need to. It adjusts for altitude, and does freediving. The non-replaceable battery concerns me too, because I'm the one that always ends up with those things going wrong in the worst possible time, but as another poster said - do your gear checks often and early before a trip and you should have enough time to react.
The display IS smaller than some I looked at. I am nearsighted and wear prescription lenses out of the water, but find I don't need them in the water really. I have no trouble reading this display even though as I get older my eyes get more tired
The alarm is definitely audible under water, and customizable.
I hope this helps.
With that said, I opted for the D6 after some research and feature comparison. $1300 was pretty much out of the question for me, which knocked most of the air integrated computers off the list anyway. I have done 10 dives now with my D6 and find that it's plenty feature rich, with room to grow into Nitrox if I want to at some future time. Right now, for regular recreational diving, I think it's more than enough. I did a wreck and some multilevel dives with it, and also had a chance to use some of the planning features on a very basic level, and I'm pleased with what it does. It's a bit conservative, especially on penalizing you for any ascent at any depth that is faster than 33 ft/min, but otherwise, it seems to be doing a good job. It would be interesting to hear from others that have more experience working side by side with other divers on other computers to see if it's more conservative in other ways. It IS adjustable for three different levels of personal preference, making it even more conservative if you need to. It adjusts for altitude, and does freediving. The non-replaceable battery concerns me too, because I'm the one that always ends up with those things going wrong in the worst possible time, but as another poster said - do your gear checks often and early before a trip and you should have enough time to react.
The display IS smaller than some I looked at. I am nearsighted and wear prescription lenses out of the water, but find I don't need them in the water really. I have no trouble reading this display even though as I get older my eyes get more tired
The alarm is definitely audible under water, and customizable. I hope this helps.
ajduplessis
Contributor
Yes, the D6 like all other Suunto DCs are great. I would like to point out that one of the biggest contributors to DCS, are fast ascent rates!!!!! The faster you ascend the quicker the gasses come out of solution resulting in bubble formation leading to the bents. The Suunto will penalise you and extend deep and safety stops to minimise the risk. Deep stop are a great way to control your ascend rate. I make use of them on all dives.
Dive Safe
vladimir
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LeisurePro is not an authorized Suunto dealer. They offer a 2-year LeisurePro limited warranty "which offers equal or greater protection" when compared with the manufacturer's warranty.
The Suunto site has a pretty good "compare" feature that lets you put these products side-by-side and compare features. The few differences between these products will become immediately apparent. The big ones are wireless gas integration (D9 has it) and user-replaceable battery (the Vyper has it).
Yes, it is. If cost is a factor, you can do quite nicely with a much cheaper computer without compromising on performance. (As has been pointed out, the only reason I own a D9 is because I am a snob who enjoys looking down on less well-heeled divers.
) While many here on Scubaboard seem to favor user-replaceable batteries, I don't find the battery changes much of an inconvenience. I dive 50-100 times a year and the battery has lasted for 4 years. I wonder what the incidence of flooding is on computers with user-replaceable batteries and whether that risk would offset the added convenience.
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raya
Contributor
I have a Suunto Stinger which I love, for a female I think its fab as you can also use it as I do as a day to day watch and its not too big and bulky. I brought the D6 for my Hubby, also a very good wrist computer however if I may advise to anyone who has it or is thinking about buying that the rubber strap isn't very reliable. At first we added an extra band as a security measure, then after looking on line we brought the stainless steel strap. Here I would like to point out we live in Italy and here it would have cost us around 220 euros, however we found it in the UK for 80 pounds.. So anyone looking for that check Uk online.
libra89
Registered
I completely agree. I only point it out because I was trained by two separate instructors who emphasized that ascents at 60ft/min were the max speed that were still safe. So if you don't realize that your dive computer is going to be more conservative than what you were trained to do, or do as a standard, it can catch you off guard. Otherwise, I've learned to abide by it's 33ft/min pace, and it's serving me well.
Libra89
BCD
Registered
I've just got the D9 and am more than happy with it, i didn't get the transmitter as i think i will still check my SPG even if i had it. If you have the money then i always think get what you want, if you don't you'll only wish you did, then waste more money getting what you wanted in the first place, i also got a Vyper as back-up for when i need the D9 battery change
ajduplessis
Contributor
BCD, congrats and enjoy your new toy. Safe diving
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