Suunto D6i vs Aqualung i450t: Looking for some help choosing

[jnrpal]

Hey guys!

I've just started diving, have worked up to advanced adventurer as well as a nitrox specialty with SSI. My plan now is to sell all my stuff and move across to Cairns, Australia and spend the next 4/5 months completing a dive master internship.

Have been doing a heap of reading and have narrowed my choices for a dive computer down to these two.

I understand that the suunto is considered quite conservative, I havnt been able to find any information regarding the aqualung.

I've been able to find pricing so far as (both with transmittors)
Suunto: $1199 AUD
Aqualung: $975 AUD

Would really appreciate any experience with either computer, thanks!

 

[Alastor]

Did you look at Suunto D6i Novo versus Aqua Lung i450T ?

Or ?

Moreover I used a D6i with transmitter till trimix when I need to change and it has always been very reliable.
Note that I do maintenance by myself - battery change included - and this let me to save a certain amount of money ... and time, usually I discover that battery need replacement when I'm close to diving holiday. Think about it, just in case.
Then I cannot say I prefer Suunto to Aqualung, just to be honest with the second: I've never used one, but I like the screen: is a bit bigger. At the end of the story, unless you really need a feature that is present only in one of the two, the choice will be driven by ahestetic and economic consideration, or by secondary details just because you like them.
My advise? Choose the one you like more and happy diving with it !

 

[Willar]

I currently dive with a Suunto Cobra (version 1) and my backup computer is the Oceanic Geo 2.0. I believe the Suunto algorithm has changed little from my Cobra. My Geo I had set to the Buhlmann setting (rather than DSAT) which is the only algorithm the Aqualung uses. Therefore, my personal comparison should yield NDL results similar to these two you are asking about.

The Suunto is definitely more conservative than the Geo and yields slightly less NDL time on a single dive. As I add repetitive dives daily or over several days, the Suunto yields significantly less NDL time than the Geo. Also, as I reach NDL limits and start to ascend, the Geo added NDL minutes much faster. I also like that the Geo shows minutes and second on safety stops where the Suunto does not. I hope you found this helpful.

I am seriously considering moving to the i450T to replace my Cobra because of the current AquaLung Trade-Up discount so I am interested in anyone who has actual experience with these models as well.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @jnrpal

The new line of Aqua Lung computers comes from their purchase of Pelagic Pressure Systems from American Underwater Products, the parent of Oceanic, Hollis, and other. The i450t is the same computer as the Oceanic OCi but it runs only the PZ+ decompression algorithm. The OCi runs PZ+ as well as DSAT. See @Willar post, above. DSAT is considered liberal, PZ+ and Suunto RGBM are considered relatively conservative, with PZ+ perhaps a little less so. You can compare these decompression algorithms on 4 simulated dives here
http://ads.bonniercorp.com/scuba/PDF/ScubaLab-Computer-Test-September-2014-data.pdf

@Willar just reminded me, you might want to take a look at this thread also Oceanic Geo 2.0 vs Agualung i200

 

[gassed]

I just got back from two weeks diving the i450T with transmitter and loved it. Great computer. No issues. Software is not good but I have been told about better options.
We met some new friends and they had the Suunto's! As that was an option in my search I spent some time checking them out. Its a nice dive computer. Only issues were the screens were a bit tougher to read. There were also some complaints about how the functions are navigated.
Not so with the Aqualung. Very simple. I think I made the correct choice.

 

[Willar]

Just to update, I went to the dive shop to review these computers and bought the Oceanic OCi, the sister to the Aqualung i450T. My dive buddy bought the i450T because she likes the white color. I bought the OCi because I like that it has a choice of using DSAT or Z+ algorithm where the i450T uses only Z+, and I like the all black OCi. I didn't want the Suunto because of the very conservative nature of their algorithm. We will be diving with these in Bonaire in November so I'll report back after we return.

 

[amifrance]

Just to update, I went to the dive shop to review these computers and bought the Oceanic OCi, the sister to the Aqualung i450T. My dive buddy bought the i450T because she likes the white color. I bought the OCi because I like that it has a choice of using DSAT or Z+ algorithm where the i450T uses only Z+, and I like the all black OCi. I didn't want the Suunto because of the very conservative nature of their algorithm. We will be diving with these in Bonaire in November so I'll report back after we return.

SO I would be curious to see if you still like your dive computer. I am trying to decide would would work for me and hesitate quite a bit.

My budget for the dive computer is up to 1200$ (it’s a gift so it’s nice that I can choose). I will never do tech diving. I dive about 20-30 times a year. I really liked the Shearwater Teric but after contacting the company, they said when you change the battery (roughly every 5 years) it cost about 75 to 100$ + shipping. That’s annoying. Obviously there are many functions in the teric I would never use but it seems to meet my needs. The Suunto D4i novo and D6i novo seem very good as well but neither of them we can change the battery. The suunto vyper novo and aqua lung i450 seem to both meet my criteria.. Should I get over the fact that the computer will need to be sent in for battery change? Or go with my two last choice? Suggestions?
I like a watch size computer or wrist computer but dont want the bigger one like the Shearwater Perdix.

Any recommendation would help
France

 

[BikerBecca]

I've owned both and I prefer my D6i over the i450T.

 

[amifrance]

I've owned both and I prefer my D6i over the i450T.

Why is that? It looks like many people love the D6inovo. The one thing I don't like is that you have to send it to have the battery changed. It appears smaller than the Aqua lung i450. You can see well underwater?

 

[Willar]

I still love the Oceanic OCi (i450T twin) and highly recommend it. Works great in the water, very easy to operate.

I have my shop change the battery in the OCi because its tedious but doesn't require sending to a factory service center. I did not like the extremely conservative nature of the Suunto so I am not interested in those.