Rookie Wants To Buy A Suunto Dive Computer

[drainaps]

Good afternoon all,

I've just gained an OW certification with my son, and we are looking forward to many recreational dives in the near future. We will not try to emulate Jacques Cousteau, just 40m dives (certification allowing) in warm waters.

I'm an avid biker, and before that, runner (until my knees said basta!) and own a couple of Suunto running / adventure watches that I use to track my weekly exercise routines. I like "surface" Suuntos for being rugged and very customizable on Movescount: You define your sports, your different screens, and you define where in your screen goes what, and if it goes in big or small numbers. I LOVE that feature.

I also love that Movescount is very flexible: you can edit and move things around, delete that activity, patch another one, etc, and it is clear that Suunto have athletes (I'm not one of them!) in mind when designing their web software.

However, there's something I HATE about Suunto: their computer software, Moveslink, is a piece of cr@p, and watch firmware is not always great. I dread Moveslink, its poor interface, slow firmware watch updates, lost data when it hangs, and its hanging often and for no particular reason (I live in China and internet here leaves a lot to be desired, but still). Many software updates later (I think I bought my first Suunto in 2010), their software still is subpar, slow and prone to error and wrecks my nerves.

So..... here's the question, from a purely practical POV. Budget not being the main consideration, how good are the higher-end diving Suuntos? Is watch firmware good, well tested? Do they have a reputation with "active" divers for being the watch to trust? Are Suunto diving watches rugged and dependable?

I'm definitely attracted to having all my sports activities under the same roof with Movescount, and look forward to the customization I enjoy in my surface Suuntos, but at the same time don't want to build frustration upon frustration with poorly designed software and firmware, even less underwater.

Thanks all for your comments. I love this forum, great place, low on BS and high on safety. Congratulations.

 

[Oldbear]

I don't know if I would go as far as saying SB is low on BS.

I teach with Zoops. They are a nice basic computer and do not require upgrades. I have not ventured with the higher end Suuntos. From what I have seen the higher end models just do not offer me enough to justify the cost. I have a couple of high end computers that I regularly update their firmwares but they are Atomic and Shearwaters.

 

[scubadada]

Why would you like to be on Movescount with your dive computer? For other aerobic sports, the capture of distance and location (by GPS) and heart rate, might have training or interest value. You would get neither with your dive computer. I see you can connect Suunto divelog software DM5 to Movescount and then share it with others. Is that your major goal? All else being equal, I would consider a dive computer with a more liberal decompression algorithm, unless that is not an important factor for you. Why be locked into a single brand if it is not the best choice for you?

 

[decompression]

Nothing wrong with suuntos, I've had them for years as well as lots of others.

For a simple, basic computer the zoops are fine. So are just about every entry level computer.

The higher end suuntos are ok but I don't think they justify the higher cost.

If you are a gadget guy, get a shearwater perdix and never have to buy another computer in your life.

 

[dmaziuk]

get a shearwater perdix and never have to buy another computer in your life.

He's in Shanghai, he might be better off choosing based on local availability.

Subsurface is free and open source, runs on both kinds of computers (Intel and AMD), the list of supported DCs is in the documentation: Documentation | Subsurface (I would avoid computers with infra-red PC uplink at this point and go for something with bluetooth or wet USB port).

 

[Centrals]

He's in Shanghai, he might be better off choosing based on local availability.

As long as it is genuine!!!

 

[Oldbear]

Nothing wrong with suuntos, I've had them for years as well as lots of others.

For a simple, basic computer the zoops are fine. So are just about every entry level computer.

The higher end suuntos are ok but I don't think they justify the higher cost.

If you are a gadget guy, get a shearwater perdix and never have to buy another computer in your life.

I personally use the Shearwater Petral I; it is two generations behind the Perdix. I am able to regularly get firmware updates. I have a friend who uses the Shearwater Predator...it is even older than mine. He is able to regularly get firmware updates.

Like Decompression said, buy the Perdix and you may never have to buy another computer again in your life.

 

[jethrocramp]

He's in Shanghai, he might be better off choosing based on local availability.

I've used Dive Gear Express many times to deliver to China. Also Mandarin Divers in HK can send equipment via Shunfeng. Both options are fast and cheaper than buying inside China. However currently there is a customs crackdown on goods being bought outside China for re-sale inside China, so check first with delivery company before ordering.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

I was playing around with a Suunto in a dive shop tonight. It was slick, nice color screen. Within moments, I was able to figure out how the menus worked well enough to accidentally flip the screen orientation...

I went for a dive on a Shearwater Petrel within 2 minutes of opening the box without reading the manual, no issues.

Difference? The Petrel shows you what the two buttons do by putting the menu text on the screen, next to the button. The Suunto, you had to remember what the buttons do. And once I got into a menu, I couldn't figure out how to get out.

But the Suunto was nicely machine, well put together, I think it had an internal rechargeable battery which did make it low profile, and I was very impressed. It had air integration and was more expensive than a Shearwater, but it did look very flexible, and I'm sure I'd be happy diving with it.

But diving is a different type of thing than general fitness tracking. I don't see much benefit in keeping the data overlapping, and I see huge benefit in the easiest to use interface and best customer service on the planet, so for me...it's not really much of a question, Shearwater it is for now. In 5 years, who knows?

And if I had a Suunto, I'm sure I'd be happy diving with it, If you can get one cheaper than a Shearwater, then go for it. They aren't bad computers by any means.

 

[undrwater]

Subsurface is free and open source, runs on many kinds of computers (Intel and AMD, and ARM), ...

While I have found suunto computers to be extremely rugged, I have not found them to be dependable. Typically related to bad sensors.