Suunto Gekko

[martinetti]

I am looking to buy my first dive computer. For now, the Suunto Gekko seems interesting since I don't want to spend too much and I don't need all the features. I want a wrist mounted with Nitrox and a simple computer. I would like to get information/suggestion, please.

 

[tstormdiver]

Please be aware that I do not have a Gekko, but my LDS sells them. From what I've seen & heard they are a decent little basic computer at a very reasonable price. They have all the functions of a basic air/ nitrox computer, with the only thing I've seen it does not have is a back light on the screen. Then again, if you think about it, you'd only use the back light on night dives & if the computer is on your left wrist, & your light in the right hand, all you have to do is shine your light on the computer for a few seconds to get the phosflorescences to glow to be able to read it.

 

[divecon2k4]

I agree with tstormdiver its a nice computer my girlfriend dives with one and she likes it the only downsides is the lack of a backlight for night diving and its not downloadable if I remember correctly I actully looked at one for a back up to my cobra but went with the mosquito only for the size

 

[keyshunter]

Excellent choice. Low price, long battery life, very very reliable.

 

[diversteve]

I like mine, easy to read, easy to hear the alarm(s). You can also use a light to "charge" the Gekko for night diving - it will glow for some hours depending on how long it's exposed to bright light.

They're now downloadable also - just not from the factory: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/co...lyzers/133089-suunto-gekko-dive-download.html

 

[S&V]

I dive a Gekko and find it to be an excellent recreational dive computer. It is the one piece of gear I bought after OW that I haven't seen the need to upgrade - and I love new toys.
I have not tried out the aftermarket download capability, so if that is important to you, you will want to research that further.
I would also recommend doing a search in this forum on "Suunto RGBM Algorithm" - this will generate some discussion threads, pros/cons, etc, of the Suunto RGBM implementation. Note here that the Gekko does not utilize the "Deep Stop" feature that the upscale Suunto's have.

 

[ryshannon]

I've been using the Suunto Gekko for a few years now and like it. I also bought my son one for a gift. For night diving I agree use the light and save on your battery.

 

[BeaverDiver1]

The Gekko is a popular model. Suuntos are reliable, and more conservative than other brands. If you are diving when you are tired, or dehydrated, or like my self with a spinal chord injury, you can adjust the 'Personal Setting' to make it more conservative.

 

[matnik]

I have the Gekko as well, like it, no issues recommend you get the DSS Elastomeric bungee mount with it, self adjusting to your wrist at depth

 

[ClayJar]

I like my Gekko, and I can say the same for the owners of the other four that will be traveling to Bonaire in less than three weeks.

Oh, and as far as the conservatism goes, I was intentionally trying to bend one of them recently (so I could document what exactly they do -- call it divemaster research :biggrin. I dove a Gekko in air mode alongside my normal instrumentation on a pair of nitrox night dives, and I even made it about a minute into deco on the second dive, but by the time I'd done my ascents and stops, it had cleared. (If my buddy's air consumption had been lower, I could've bent it. Alas.) On the first dive the next day, I sent it in with a friend in the first group off the boat, who then handed it off on the bottom when my divers (the last group) made it there. Even with that, there wasn't enough bottom time to bend it. I settled for clipping it off to a spool and dropping it over the side for half an hour during the surface interval, which was *certainly* quite ample to bend it (and bend it well).

Yes, Suunto computers are more conservative, but that shouldn't scare anyone away. Some people may never even reach their NDLs (given their profiles and breathing). Down in the Keys, I'm pretty sure we'd have had less NDL time than some of the other divers' computers out there, but it was never enough for me to notice on the deep dives, and the NDLs were sufficiently long on the shallow dives that boat schedules were (by far) the limiting factor.

Anyway, unless you're soon to be going tech, it's hard to go wrong with a Gekko. It's simple, robust, and easy to read, and the battery just keeps going and going...