Thinking about options to upgrade my divecomputer

[Cheizz]

I really like the Ratio iX3M2. For recreational dives, it may be overkill though. On the other hand, € 599 will get you the basic model (Pro), with two € 150 updates if you want/need to (going to full tech with 10 transmitters connected).

 

[LandonL]

I don't believe the Suunto will display SurfGF which I've found to be very useful. Only computers I know to offer this though are the Shearwaters and the Garmin.

The Deep6 Excursion shows surface GF. It also shows current GF, Current GF @+5min, Surface GF @+5min, Live Tissue Graph including M-line, Desaturation time, PA Ceiling, NDL @+10ft, TTS @+5min, among several others. It actually has more data available than any other DC I know of at the moment.

To the OP - look at the DiveSoft Freedom if you are looking for a new DC and have a higher budget. I like it better than my perdix 2, it gives more data and has more options.

 

[Belzelbub]

The Deep6 Excursion shows surface GF. It also shows current GF, Current GF @+5min, Surface GF @+5min, Live Tissue Graph including M-line, Desaturation time, PA Ceiling, among several others. It actually has more data available than any other DC I know of at the moment.

Good to know. Thanks. I find surface GF to be a great in-dive tool. It's good that it's starting to show up in more computers. At least as an option.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @McHugh

Buhlmann is the most commonly used algorithm in technical diving, should you decide to go that route. The Eon Core runs Suunto Fused RGBM2, different than their more economical computers, plain RGBM. It can be set to be as liberal as a computer running Buhlmann at a GF high of 95. @Diving Dubai has written extensively on this.

The Deep 6 Excursion offers far more features, including Buhlmann with custom GFs, than any other computer near its price. If you want AI, you will have to look elsewhere.

Being in Germany, sales and service convenient for you is most important. Ratio does not have much of a presence in the US, that is probably different in the EU. I have had great service from Shearwater in the US, I have no experience elsewhere. Suunto is sold and serviced by Huish in the US, no idea in other countries.

Best of luck in your computer purchase.

 

[Alekseolsen]

Assuming you see this post - Not anymore

Love my Eon Core. The user interface is well thought out and no need to resort to the manual to change settings as it is so easy to figure out.

400 dives on mine with no issues. Side by side on a dive (cold greenish water) this week I thought the display was easier to read than my buddies Perdix, but about the same as my other buddies Perigrine. You can customize the layout of the display to you liking.

On conservative algorithms: you can set the Eon from +2 (very conservative) to -2 (aggressive) where the default of 0 is about the same as the Zoop at its most aggressive setting. My buddy with the Perigrine ran out of NDL several minutes before I did. My Zoop was at the default of 0, I'm not sure what she had the Perigrine set to.

On lockout for missing required DECO stops: who plans to miss required stops?

One thing not great about the Eon is the Suunto app. If you have an iPhone, MacDive is as much better divelog app for about $10 and uploads from the Eon via bluetooth.

Just out of curiosity (and it would make a huge impact to me if I was deciding on computer).

I borrowed a Suunto Eon Steel black a couple summers ago, and as I often "poke around" in the shallows at the end of the dive), I found one function incredibly annoying: the computer beeped evey time I got to safety stop depth, and then again when a few meters deeper, going shallow again - new buzz. Swimming around in the 6-10 meter depth range sounded mostly like a concert - is there a way to disable this? I gave up after trying a good number of times.

 

[Cheizz]

Set the safety stop depth to 3 m.

 

[Landau]

the computer beeped evey time I got to safety stop depth, ... is there a way to disable this?

Under Device settings > Tones you can set All off , which will silence all alarms as well. The alarms will still appear on screen.

Or wear a thick hood. I can only hear mine with the hood off.

 

[Saboteur]

I dived for years with a Zoop and Vyper 2, hundreds of dives on them without issue. I sold the Vyper2 when I bought a Perdix. Still use the Zoop as a spare computer due its simplicity. I upgraded as I wanted a bigger bright display and not because of any limitations in the RGBM program (typical 2 dives per day, tropics and air or EAN32). I was looking at the Eon Core. Some of the Eon customization needs to be done through their DM5 app which is very UNuser friendly. I could never get it to work on my iMac, so that turned me away from the Eon (although it is a very stylish and good looking computer and would work fine for my needs). A couple of other considerations is the Shearwater display layout and user interface. The display is logical and simple. The interface is intuitive so that you probably could sit on a couch for 20 minutes and be very fluent with its setup and adjustments. I always had PDF for the Zoop and Vyper2 on my phone (especially for the Vyper2). Secondly is the customer service and support which is probably the best in the business.

 

[Landau]

Some of the Eon customization needs to be done through their DM5 app which is very UNuser friendly.

This can now be done on the Suunto App on your phone or tablet (as of firmware v3.00 released March 2022 )

The Suunto app is vastly easier to install and use than DM5.

 

[Belzelbub]

A couple of other considerations is the Shearwater display layout and user interface. The display is logical and simple. The interface is intuitive so that you probably could sit on a couch for 20 minutes and be very fluent with its setup and adjustments. I always had PDF for the Zoop and Vyper2 on my phone (especially for the Vyper2). Secondly is the customer service and support which is probably the best in the business.

You are 100% correct on how logical and simple the Shearwater UI is. I wasn't a good barometer for this as I had read the Perdix manual before deciding on getting one. I strongly suspected that I could have picked it up and been able to use it right away.

Last year I was in the Keys with a buddy of mine. He had seen my Perdix on previous dives, but hadn't actually interacted with it. He was using a Cressi Donatello (single button, so by definition not the easiest to use). He asked me if it was easy to change the gas settings on the Perdix. Rather than answer, I handed him my computer and told him to see for himself. I did let him know how to turn it on, but that was it. Once it was on, he was able to quickly navigate to the gas settings and change it. I think it took him about 30 seconds to figure it out.