Time to replace my 30 years old Suunto EON

[Dan]

I like the Teric wireless charging feature. I can even use my iPhone wireless charging pad to charge the Teric. No more worrying about dead battery while in a week long liveaboard. No more worrying about bringing tool & spare batteries for replacing dive computer battery.

 

[Eyal K.]

Are you certain of the 30 years or that you actually have an "Eon"?

LOL.... Hard to believe I know. I will post a picture when I get home from my trip.... I got it in 1988.... I guess I was wrong.... It's 33 years

I'd go with the G2. There is also a G2 "hoseless" with AI that will be my first choice.

Any particular advantages over the other computers?

 

[Eyal K.]

I was thinking the same.

My first Suunto was a "Companion" back in the mid-90s, then I replaced that with the "Solution". Neither did Nitrox.

I will post a picture of the computer when I get home. It does not do Nitrox

 

[Eyal K.]

Do you really need or want AI capability ? I just wanted a screen I could read, that was main goal buying a new one.
My back up has AI, bit it's hard to read.

Yes because I like the live calculation of the air during a dive

 

[Lostdiver71]

The only Suunto dive computer in 1988 would have been the SME-ML, I purchased one in 1989.

 

[Eyal K.]

I had both an Eon Core and an i770r. I did probably a few dozen dives with both, happy to try and answer any questions you might have on either. Also, I used to have a D6i, and while the watch-like design is convenient, in the end I preferred a bigger, color screen.

Air integration was a must-have for me-- once I started diving with AI units it was hard to imagine going back (though completely understand those who prefer an analogue gauge).

Size and weight-wise, there wasn't much daylight between the two, same with battery charging, etc (though I will say that after a while without being used, the i770r did have much more battery reserve left than the Eon...but I'd charge them fully before using anyway, so that's not much of a factor).

A couple minor plusses for the Suunto: I found the buttons *much* easier to use and the menus were, to me, more intuitive than on the i770r. That said, I think after enough dives using the i770r exclusively, you'd get used to it and it'd become second nature. Also, I strongly preferred the compass on the Eon to the i770r.

A couple plusses for the i770r: the NATO strap is a lot easier to use and manage than Suunto's rubber strap, which always seemed difficult to wrangle. It comes with a nice case, which the Eon does not. I also liked the font a little better.

As you can see, once you start listing font preference, you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel- at the end of the day, I would have been really happy with either.

I will say that the Suunto's algorithm was more conservative, but I'm never really pushing any no-deco limits, so that's largely irrelevant to me.

Sadly both were stolen about a month ago, along with most of my other gear-- I ended up getting the Eon Core as a replacement, and that was just because of cost: my LDS here in Tel Aviv had it for a few hundred dollars less than it would have cost me to replace the i770r.

Again, hit me up with any specific questions, I'll be happy to try and answer.

I am so sorry to hear about your gear being stolen.

BTW, I was born and grew up in Tel Aviv and got certified in 1987 at Octopus which I think still operates at the seaport.



I agree the Suunto is more conservative as they use their own Fused RGBM algorithm but I can live with it as I do mostly recreational dives.

I totally agree with you about having AI and using larger panel vs. Watch. Just easier to read.

I will try to take a closer look at the i770r although I can get the EON set for almost half the price.

Did you notice a significant difference in power consumption through dives? I also would charge them every night before the next day but I am just curious.

 

[Eyal K.]

Hi @Eyal K.

The deco algorithm on the Suunto Core is more flexible than on the Aqua Lung i770R. Set on P-2, the Core is about as liberal as diving with DSAT or a Buhlmann GF high of around 95. The Aqua Lung runs PZ+ and is more conservative, something like a Buhlmann GF high of around 85. Of course, the Shearwater Perdix AI would allow you to set your GFs at whatever you wanted.

Interesting, I always thought the Suunto is the more conservative algorithm.
I like the idea of setting my own GFs although I'm fine with the suunto profiles

 

[Eyal K.]

I would go with the Perdix AI or the Scubapro G2 AI, Suunto quality and customer service have not been great the last few years. The Scubapro is going for $1150 and the Shearwater is going for $1285 with a transmitter or you can wait and see if a Peregrine AI comes out later this year. I have seen both on sale for a couple hundred less.

I think my list is getting narrower and I'm definitely adding the Predix to my list.

Can you elaborate more about the quality and service of Suunto? One of the main reasons for having it on my list is my excellent experience with the product (never needed their service)

 

[Eyal K.]

I like the Teric wireless charging feature. I can even use my iPhone wireless charging pad to charge the Teric. No more worrying about dead battery while in a week long liveaboard. No more worrying about bringing tool & spare batteries for replacing dive computer battery.

Thanks for the recommendation but as I mentioned in my original post I do prefer larger screen vs. Watch

 

[Lostdiver71]

Suunto has had multiple recall settlements over the last few years and replaced faulty computers with brand new identical computers that were also faulty. There was at least one fatality due to this problem.