Suunto Vyper--difficult to use?

[String]

hi,

I'm sorry if this has been discussed already--I tried to look through the threads but didn't see it.

I read a lot of good things about Suunto Vyper on here, but then I went to Rodale's and they criticize it for various things: buttons are too hard to push with gloves on, screen is difficult to read, its not clear which buttons do what, and the manual is bad. I've never used a dive computer before so I have no idea what to think. Have the Vyper owners experienced the problems above? thanks

I tend to ignore Rodales for just about everything regarding equipment

Im a vyper owner, i dive in cold water and always wear 5mm neoprene gloves.

I dont find the buttons hard to push with gloves on - yes theyre small but they stick out a fair bit and are positioned far enough apart you dont have a problem pressing 2 buttons at once.
Underwater in dive mode the amount of presses is really limited to 2 - toggling the time/temp display on one button and rarer, using the bookmark feature on another. I have no problem doing either of these.

As for screen hard to read, i find this hard to believe. Its got a very big screen with big figures (far bigger than these new wrist watch style computers) and has a nice blue backlight (with selectable on-time) for dark environments.

In over 90% of my dives i never need to hit ANY button whilst underwater. Its rare i need to bookmark, even rarer i need to know the exact time.

On the comment about manual hard to understand - make your own mind up - Suunto site has it for download as a PDF.

I didnt find it difficult to use - i hired one abroad once and had a 5 min tutorial and was told the main bits, i bought one afterwards and took no more than 30 mins to work out. Once you work out the method of up/down and select using the buttons its easy.

I THINK Suunto has a vyper simulator on the site too so you can even try that for yourself.

In short, have a look yourself and dont place faith on Rodales

Final added bonus, the dive logger software is free and for less than $5usd you can build the computer interface yourself.

 

[bcsean]

I dive the Vyper and love it. No complaints here except for the stupid serial connection that the LDS charges a small fortune for. I was a newbie when I bought the computer, didn't know about this site. I'd build the connection now, or buy one online for $30 from ebay.

 

[Upwelling]

thanks everyone, after some reading I decided to go with Aeris Atmos 2. So far it is working ok in surface mode

 

[archman]

Traitor!!

 

[Upwelling]

 

[Upwelling]

lol

 

[DEEPLOU]

thanks everyone, after some reading I decided to go with Aeris Atmos 2. So far it is working ok in surface mode

After all the comments what more can I say, especially since you have aquired a computer already.

Well....
Aside from the comments on the Viper, I will add that I find it extremely conservative. Some people consider this a plus, others a negative.

I own both Viper and the Atmos 2.
The Atmos 2 is the most aggressive of 4 computers I own.
I do find that the Viper is a little easier to find right screen (usually for settting O2). But the Atmos buttons are more finger friendly.

Both have nice large numbers easy for the elderly (like me) to read.

The other thing Viper does that I do like is when you ascend above 20 ft (not in deco mode) it begins a 3 min safety stop timer.

 

[GoBlue!]

Just bought Vypers for both me & my wife as our first computers. Just got back from our first trip with them, and loved them. We don't wear gloves, so can't speak to that, but I can say I hardly ever had need to press a button underwater, except for to turn on the backlight when I was in Ginnie's ballroom. Button-pressing was done topside, and while a bit stiff, it definitely was not a chore to operate the thing.

As for the manual, I thought it was succint & explained things well. We simply found ourselves referring to it now & then, but overall had no problems with basic operations & reviewing our dive data.

And I should say, my wife is technologically challenged. But, it only took about 10 minutes before our first day of diving to show her the ropes, and she was fine the rest of the trip.

Highly recommended (although I admit I have nothing to compare it to, when it comes to personal use!)

Jim

 

[njrn2]

Final added bonus, the dive logger software is free and for less than $5usd you can build the computer interface yourself.

I am looking into buying my first computer and obviously doing a lot of research. If I read this correct, the Vyper comes with its own computer software and you can build your own cable adapter. Is this correct?

Any links to infromation on how to build the connector ?

If the computer software comes with it, it would be worth the added $100 for the computer over the Oveanic Versa Pro being that the software isn't included with the Oceanic.

-Joe

 

[divewench]

The software for logging your dives can be downloaded free from the Suunto site. It was because Suunto allowed me to play with the software, read the manual, and view the simulations of the various modes, via their site that I ended up picking a Vyper. While I don't know if its the best, I definitely knew what I was getting and that it would be good enough.