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Dive Computer Expert Reviews
Saving Your Precious Time And Finding The Best Dive Computer For You
Dive computer reviews are perfectly organized and consist of fully researched information and ratings of Aeris, Cressi, Mares, Oceanic, Sherwood, Suunto, Tusa, and UWATEC/ScubaPro brands. In Catalogue Section you may compare any models side-by-side and select dive computer according to your needs! Join thousands of happy customers!
CatalogueGeneral Information
Specifications
User Interface
Pre-Diving
Diving
Post-Diving
Summary
Your Review
Suunto D6i diving watch computer is further development of well-known D6 model that has been keeping leading positions in nowadays scuba market. D6i inherited many functions from previous model, which made it outstanding buddy, and on top of that it got wireless air integration with support of 1 transmitter. Suunto D6i has 4 dive modes:
Copy this Suunto D6i Features & Alarms Card for your Reference and Share with your friends and buddies!
Integrated 3D-tilt-compensated compass extremely simplifies navigation: you can be confident in the accuracy of its readings regardless of the position of the wrist. Dive Planner allows you planning dives and view information on the no-decompression limits (NDL) for various depths. Once you install the DM4 with Movescount on your PC or laptop, you can easily synchronize your dive computer Suunto D6i with portal Movescount.com, where you can store information about diving, photos and videos and share them with others. After completing the dive, you can transfer the data to your PC for further analysis in an additional program Suunto DM4, allowing to keep a detailed log of all your dives.
Suunto D6i has 4 control buttons - SELECT, MODE, UP, DOWN. Its intuitive user interface makes easy to operate this dive computer and navigate through set of menus, as everything is structured logically whithout any downsides! Menu system consists of 4 main operating modes: TIME, DIVE, PLAN, MEMORY. COMPASS function is a submode, which can be called up from TIME and DIVE modes. As in all Suunto dive computers D-series, accessing, programming, and retrieving data can be made by doing short/long pressing on the control buttons. Dive computer has two bar graphs:
During operations, you may see main display with basic data plus alternative information by pressing UP/DOWN buttons. Display has contrast setting, so we may adjust it for the best viewing in different light conditions. Display layout is perfectly structured, so all interpretation is very intuitive and all digits are seen sharp-n-clear at any angle and at any light conditions.
During pre-diving stage we set various parameters to satisfy our diving plans. If we get wireless transmitter - we want to pair it. And this operation runs seamlessly, as everything else in Suunto D6i. First of all you need to enable wireless in dive computer's settings and connect transmitter to the reg. Then slowly open tank valve and bring dive computer closer to the transmitter to pick up the code. When D6i gets the code, it starts displaying tank pressure and transmitter symbol.
Copy this Suunto D6i Settings Card for your Reference and Share with your friends and buddies!
I may say that Compass calibration goes easier than in Oceanic models in some reason. At this stage I could plan consecutive no-decompression dives with Dive Planner that calculates allowable depths and bottom time, according to nitrogen and oxygen intake from previous dives and all dive history for the past 4 days. If set for Nitrox - planning counting FO2 and PO2 level as well.
After desired dive mode activation dive computer does all pre-checks, like battery condition, Nitrox settings (if Nitrox set), and personal settings. When I saw everything was fine - I was ready to test Suunto D6i underwater.
Suunto D6i: Diving With Air & NitroxDive computer gave me very clear data on a basic screen configuration, including No-Deco Time, Air Time, tank pressure, current depth, ascent rate - not many numbers, but the most important to us. Alternative info may be called by pressing UP/DOWN buttons and include temperature, time, max depth, Elapsed Dive Time (EDT). If I set Suunto D6i for Nitrox - I could get additional data, regarding to enriched air mix.
Copy this Suunto D6i NO-DECO Card for your Reference and Share with your friends and buddies!
During my No-Deco dive I got Safety Stops remainder with Recommended and Mandatory stops and appropriate display indication. Stop ceiling, stop times, and all applicable icons were displayed to manage those situations. I could miss Recommended Safety Stop without any penalty, but I had to complete Mandatory Safety Stop in the case of my faster ascent. If I ignore this one - dive computer could shorten my bottom time or extend my surface interval.
I could easy create a Bookmark while diving by pressing SELECT button, for example, when I notice huge blue crab - I made a bookmark and after the dive I told my mates that I saw that creature at certain depth and with certain temperature! And by connecting D6i to PC I could download my profiles with all bookmarks to show them up to my friends. I could activate Integrated digital compass by longer pressing SELECT button (more than 2 seconds). This thing is easy to interpret and works fine after proper calibration.
When I set Suunto D6i for Nitrox, dive computer offered me the few functions to accomodate this type of diving:
During diving with Nitrox I got displays with similar dive data to what I've got with Air, plus Suunto D6i will display following values that are specific for Nitrox dive that can be viewed on alternative screens by pressing UP/DOWN buttons:
Swapping gas mixes during a dive is a very easy procedure – after alarm beeped on me at certain moment and FO2 value started flashing, by pressing UP or DOWN buttons I selected secondary gas mix and pressed SELECT button. From this moment dive computer sets selected Nitrox mix and starts all calculations according to the settings of secondary gas mix.
If I exceed No-Decompression Limits (NDLs) – Suunto dive computer activates Decompression mode. All data that I would get after that is related to deco mode. I didn't test Deco mode with Suunto D6i, so we will take everything related to decompression mode from Suunto's words. But, you may be very sure, that this diving watch computer manages Deco Stops perfectly, as all other Suunto dive computers. During decompression, diver will be prompted to complete one or few decompression stops at a range of depths, as this instrument has Continuous Decompression feature that allows us to perform decompression within the certain range of depths, so called Decompression range. It starts from the ‘floor’ (deepest depth where deco stop time won’t increase) to the ‘ceiling’ (shallowest depth) and decompression is done between them. The most important dive data during decompression displayed as follows:
When Total Ascent Time counts down and the Ceiling depth goes up - diver should ascend to new ceiling. All DECO process is considered to be finished completely not only when CEILING and ASCENT TIME tags are gone, but also when STOP icon disappears as well. It means that DECO Stop, Mandatory Safety Stop and Recommended Safety Stop completed and you are clear to resurface. If diver ascended above the ceiling, D6i would give an audio alarm with downward arrow, his/her current depth and ceiling depth values, and Error mark. At this moment diver has only 3 minutes to correct position to ceiling depth displayed or a bit below. If user violates the decompression – Suunto dive computer will activate Error Mode and will work as a depth gauge and timer only. Diver must not dive for at least 48 hours then!
Suunto D6i: Diving In GAUGE ModeWhen you set Suunto D6i dive computer as a Gauge, it will work as a depth gauge and timer only and won’t perform any calculations for nitrogen or oxygen absorption. In Gauge Mode it will display following dive data:
It is possible to make a bookmark the same way as we did while diving with Air/Nitrox - by pressing SELECT button shortly.
Suunto D6i: FREEdivingSuunto D6i can be set for freediving. Freediving time is limited by 10 mins and after that dive computer switches to bottom timer. In this dive mode computer displays dive time, current and max depths. Also we may start Timer in any dive mode including this one. FREEdiving mode has two specific alarms:
After diving in FREEdive/GAUGE mode there will be NO-FLY time counting down from 48 hours.
After diving operations are similar to other Suunto dive computers D-series. Suunto D6i turns SURFACE mode and display after sensing depth of 0.5 meters. If during first 5 minutes after resurfacing you submerge, Suunto D6i dive computer will count this dive as a continuation of the previous dive. SURFACE display shows:
At this stage we may access following modes:
Suunto D4i: What Divers Say
All weekend diving I did with D6i passed too quickly and I've already started missing this dive computer. It really gave my great pleasure to deal with. Suunto produced another chef-d'oeuvre (sorry for my French! it stands for masterpiece, of course!). Suunto D6i proved to be very reliable and thorough dive computer with seamless operations whether I was diving with Air or using double mix set, including Nitrox and swapping mixes was an easy procedure. I can't complain on wireless air integration - signal always was steady. Even if I lost it occasionally for 1-2 seconds it got picked right away and I wouldn't worry about that, all wireless air-integrated dive computers do this.
User interface is intuitive, so I was pretty organized underwater or on surface. Buttons were easy to press and felt solid. Display was easy to read out, thanks to its logical structure, contrast and backlight adjustments. As for me, one inconvenience in Suunto D6i is impossibility to replace battery by myself, but the its owner said to me that it wasn't a big problem - just replace battery at dealer's regularly once in 1.5-2 years, and it would be safe to dive with.
My mate, who owns this instrument, told me about all those compliments from even unknown people walking on the street, and how his ears got pleased - and that completely disregarded all money he paid for whole pack - Suunto D6i dive computer, plus transmitter and PC interface cable!
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I'm a fan of Suunto, always been using its dive computers as long as I remember myself diving. My recent buy was Suunto D6i. It is outstanding device that gives me pleasure diving and wearing on-shore.
And its air integration feature works perfectly, giving me additional indication of my air consumption and tank pressure, so I know exactly for how long I may stay underwater. It's quite expensive setup I have, plus paying for battery replacement. But whole package definitely costs all my money.
I got my Suunto D6i on May 31 and was very excited at first: I did 5 dives during 3 weeks and I was initially amazed by the compass, USB connectivity etc, but then it failed: MODE button was dead. Just not working.
Despite being new the seller (Dexclusive) DIDN'T offer me a replacement unit and told me to send it back at my expenses, then they sent it to Suunto for repair.
And still here I am, waiting for my "new" big bucks investment to be glued and repaired... Such an expensive dive compuer should NOT fail this way, so miserably, after just 3 weeks of normal usage, no it can not be this bad. No. What about a failure at 120 ft with mixed air? It could be catastrophic. YOU COULD DIE OR GET SEVERE INJURIES.
Just 3 weeks of usage, 5 dives and my "brand new D6i" failed: UNACCEPTABLE quality. And no, the watch was never dropped, no bumps, no hits at all. It just stopped working. And Suunto doesn't care if it is brand new: No replacement whatsoever. I will never buy anything Suunto again.
DON'T BUY SUUNTO UNLESS YOU LIVE IN FINLAND OR NEAR (very near) A REPAIR CENTRE. BEWARE, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
PS: My "new" D6i is still at Suunto's repair centre and I am very frustrated.
I've been diving with several models during my diving career, but Suunto D6i really made me fall in love with it (I'm not saying about Suunto D9 here - it's a different story!).
Imagine dive computer that has all possible functions that may satisfy all your needs, and computer that can foresee every your movement! Add to that user-friendly and comprehensive setup, integrated digital compass, stylish digital wrist watch and unbreakable wireless - that what means Suunto D6i dive computer!
I highly recommend Suunto D6i to every recreational diver, whether beginner or advanced!