Suunto Dive Computers

The Suunto range at Oyster Diving

Every product on this page is made by Suunto in Finland. We carry the range from end to end, so you can weigh a simple recreational computer against a full-size technical one without leaving the collection. What follows is how we actually talk divers through it in the shop.

Starting out

The Zoop Novo is the computer most divers here buy first. It runs air, nitrox, gauge and free modes on the Suunto RGBM algorithm, and the large backlit screen stays legible when the visibility drops. The Vyper Novo sits a step above it, adding a tilt-compensated 3D digital compass and switching between up to three gases, which is where most divers start to feel the difference once they move past the basics.

Wrist computers you can wear all week

The D5 is the travelling diver's choice: a full-colour display, a rechargeable battery, Bluetooth to the Suunto app, a depth rating of 100m and room for up to three gas mixes. The D6i keeps a classic watch shape with five dive modes and the same three-gas switching, and works as a daily watch between trips. Both take exchangeable straps, and we stock the D5 Strap on its own for when yours has had enough. The Suunto Ocean goes further in that direction, pairing dive capability with sports tracking in one device.

Large-format and technical

The Nautic carries a 3.26 inch AMOLED display, the biggest screen Suunto has put on a dive computer, and runs single-gas, multi-gas and sidemount modes with up to five gas mixes. The Nautic S is the compact take on the same idea, built on the Suunto Buhlmann 16 GF model with adjustable gradient factors. The EON Core handles air, nitrox, trimix and fixed-point CCR in a lightweight composite case, and the EON Steel covers the same modes in stainless steel rated to 150m.

Air integration and the parts that go with it

Wireless tank pressure needs a transmitter, and Suunto uses two different ones. The Tank POD pairs with the EON Steel, shows several tank pressures at once and runs on a replaceable CR2450 cell. The Suunto Transmitter with LED serves a range of older Suunto wrist computers, reads cylinder pressure up to 300 bar, and carries a small green LED so you can see at a glance that it is sending. It fits an HP port on your first stage. Check the compatibility list on the product page against your exact model before you order, because the two are not interchangeable.

If your computer predates Bluetooth, the Suunto D Series, Vyper Novo and Zoop Novo USB Interface is how you move dive logs onto a PC or Mac and keep the firmware current. It is a small thing to own until the day you need it.

Choosing between the models

Screen size against wearability

The honest trade-off is screen against wrist. In UK water, in thick gloves, at the end of a long dive, a large display is worth more than most of what appears on a spec sheet, and that is the case for the Nautic. If you want something you can keep on after the boat comes in, the D5, D6i or Suunto Ocean make more sense. The Nautic S sits deliberately between the two.

How far you plan to take your diving

If you expect to stay recreational, a computer running air and nitrox is plenty. If technical training is on the horizon, buy for the gases instead: the EON Core and EON Steel both handle trimix and closed-circuit, and the Nautic takes up to five mixes with sidemount support. Buying once saves you replacing the whole thing in two years, which is the mistake we see most often.

Buying Suunto from Oyster Diving

We are a dive school as well as a shop. The instructors who answer the phone dive these computers themselves and set them up regularly, so if you are unsure about conservatism settings, gas switching or pairing a transmitter, ask before you order rather than after. The number is 0800 699 0243.

Orders can be collected from Maritime House in Hove, and we run pool sessions at five sites where new kit can be tried in the water with instructors present, subject to the qualifying spend shown on the product page. Getting a computer configured properly on dry land is worth an evening of your time.