New diver, looking at Suunto D5

[inquis]

I disliked the D5 because if I accidentally scrolled past the screen I wanted, I couldn't immediately start over from the home screen. I had to finish going through the remainder of the pages (or let it timeout) before I could start again.

 

[GreggS]

Most of these people have never even owned a Suunto but still feel the need to trash them. I have been diving a Suunto Cobra 1 for over 24 years and it has never failed me or locked me out and I am not a conservative diver. Just scroll down the threads to see how many times the beloved Shearwater has failed out of the box.

I dove Suuntos for several years. I had 2 to suddenly fail. One (Gekko) I had gotten with some used equipment I bought and it lasted about a year. I assume the depth sensor is what failed. Replaced it with a Vyper Air as Suunto was selling them with a free transmitter. It failed exactly one year after I bought it and was replaced under warranty with a Vyper Novo. I still have it as well as a Cobra I used as back-up and a Vyper Air I bought for my wife. I, too, never had a problem with getting locked out but then, as I'm sure you do, is paid attention to what it was telling me.

The reason I switched to Oceanic is I had the opportunity to buy a used OCi with transmitter at a very good price. After starting to use it, I really liked it and ended up buying an Oceanic for my wife so we would have matching algorithms. I also like the fact that with the Pelagic transmitter it gave me the option to upgrade to a SW Perdix if I wanted.

As for the conservatism of Suuntos, I have never really been limited by them on dive trips when compared to other divers. I've even noticed that most of the DM's/guides we've had on dive trips use Suuntos. And I still own 4 functioning Suuntos. I wouldn't be hesitant to use one again if my Oceanic should suddenly fail. But I seriously doubt I would ever buy another one.

 

[Saboteur]

It only took until the second post to dis Suunto.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

It only took until the second post to dis Suunto.

Nah I did it in the first post after the OP’s.

 

[KenE]

I have been diving the Vyper Novo for five years now without a problem. However, am now considering an upgrade and wished I had spend the extra $500 and got the SW like my dive buddy did. The Suunto has worked flawlessly and I don't have anything bad to say. I just want a much larger, configurable, and color screen for my aging eyes. I still dive conservatively recreational about 20-30 dives a year. If you are serious about staying with it, the service from SW is much better in the US than Suunto if you ever have a need for it. I will pass my Suunto on to my daughter and she will use it until she can afford whatever she intends to get.

 

[StenieJ]

It only took until the second post to dis Suunto.

From my research, I knew this board hated Suunto and knew it was coming. I wanted to know why, and if the downfalls of a Suunto would be applicable to a simple occasional rec diver same as they would to an advanced tec type diver. I also really like the way the D5 looks & the color screen, but functionality > beauty.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

From my research, I knew this board hated Suunto and knew it was coming. I wanted to know why, and if the downfalls of a Suunto would be applicable to a simple occasional rec diver same as they would to an advanced tec type diver. I also really like the way the D5 looks & the color screen, but functionality > beauty.

My wife and I had the Eon Core. Hers locked her out for 48 hours because of “low” battery. It still had 4 hours left on the screen. So we sold them and bought Shearwater Perdix AI’s.

 

[Saboteur]

I have been diving the Vyper Novo for five years now without a problem. However, am now considering an upgrade and wished I had spend the extra $500 and got the SW like my dive buddy did. The Suunto has worked flawlessly and I don't have anything bad to say. I just want a much larger, configurable, and color screen for my aging eyes. I still dive conservatively recreational about 20-30 dives a year. If you are serious about staying with it, the service from SW is much better in the US than Suunto if you ever have a need for it. I will pass my Suunto on to my daughter and she will use it until she can afford whatever she intends to get.

I had two Suuntos, Zoop (still have) and a Vyper II (sold). No issues or problems. Thousands of dive pros use Suunto for one to two dives for work daily. I bought a Perdix AI because a deal came along too good to pass up. It has a bright, colour display, extremely good data layout, excellent interface, and fantastic support and for those reasons they are vastly superior to any grey LCD screen computer, Suunto or not. I’ve seen a few dive pros with D5 and they really like them. I originally wanted an Eon Core but the Shearwater support and layout, and AA battery made my decision.

 

[d^2b]

I have had some weird failures with one of my Suuntos. These were refusing to switch to dive mode on descent, so user error isn't really a likely explanation. After 20+ years of diving Suunto computers without incident I could have overlooked this (and maybe even the second failure) if my service experience with Huish had been better. They didn't identify the problem and suggested the problem was user error. Well, I won't make the user error of giving Huish/Suunto any more money. To be scrupulously fair, I haven't had a repeat of the problem since I switched mounts from a slightly homebrewed bungee mount to a stock suunto console holder. Another part of the issue is a kind of broken-telephone service model where I talk to the deal and the dealer talks to Huish.

 

[Saboteur]

I have had some weird failures with one of my Suuntos. These were refusing to switch to dive mode on descent, so user error isn't really a likely explanation. After 20+ years of diving Suunto computers without incident I could have overlooked this (and maybe even the second failure) if my service experience with Huish had been better. They didn't identify the problem and suggested the problem was user error. Well, I won't make the user error of giving Huish/Suunto any more money. To be scrupulously fair, I haven't had a repeat of the problem since I switched mounts from a slightly homebrewed bungee mount to a stock suunto console holder. Another part of the issue is a kind of broken-telephone service model where I talk to the deal and the dealer talks to Huish.

Poor support can lose a lot of repeat customers.