Suunto D6

Author's product rating:   

Durability	Good
How does it compare to similar products?	Good
Value for money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Small with a clear display
Disadvantages:	Bit pricey .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Sometimes lady luck just happens to smile down on you and just recently she has smiled on me twice with regards to winning things one of which was the Suunto D6 dive computer which at a retail price of £470 is a pretty decent prize to win. I was tempted to sell it straight on as I already have a dive computer which I'm really happy with and that meets my diving needs as it has two gas settings for when I dive with Nitrox gas. However the benefit of the Suunto was that it is a small watch style computer and therefore would be slightly lighter and less bulky when travelling abroad on holiday and as a golden rule of scuba diving is to always factor in potential kit failure and have a back up I decided to keep it and boy am I glad that I did.

Basically the D6 is the same as the D9 however it does not have the radio linked receiver that is used to calculate the remaining gas time from a transmitter that is attached to your tanks. I have never really bought into using this device being quite happy to rely on the standard pressure gauge that has served divers for decades and s the D6 is ideal. The added benefit of this is that the computer is a lot slimmer than the D9 making it a lot more practical to wear as a watch when not diving again meaning that there is one less thing to take on holiday if you want to take the risk of only having one item to tell the time.

The other features of this dive computer is that it allows one gas switch for diving so is suitable for the type of diving that I do meaning that if I want I can carry a decompression gas with me should the dive require it and it also has an electronic compass built in which after a couple of dives I soon adapted to its use.

One of the main things I like about this computer is how easy the display is to read when under water, for a relatively small screen it is really clear and well set out. The back light works in even the darkest UK waters to illuminate the screen and even when in a stiff current holding on to the line flying at 90 degrees I was still able to easily read off the decompression time and hold my position in the water. All of the four buttons are easy to operate both within and out of the water even with gloves on.

The computer has some pretty good safety features, for a start you are able to choose the gas logarithm of your choice dependant on your attitude and dive plan, from the computer mode you are able to choose from either the RGBM50 version or the more cautious Weinke Reduced Gradient Bubble Model. You are also able to factor in a one or two minute deep stop that once carried out will reduce the time that you need to stop at the more traditional shallow stops of 9, 6 or 3m which is a big benefit if the current is ripping near the surface or there is a big swell to content with. Even if there is a big swell that can play havoc with your stops the D6 is quite forgiving and rather than lock out on itself will adapt the time required for the stop accordingly, this is a big advantage as anyone who has been on a live-aboard and had their computer lock on them will understand.

I have now completed a number of dives with this computer and have not had any problems. For the first couple of dives I did use it in tandem with my normal apeks dive computer and I found the apeks to be more cautious however the time difference in deco times given was only the odd minute for a 40 metre dive.

There is a download option for your PC should you wish to download your dive profile with all of the relevant data however this is an additional £67 which was not part of the prize so I'm not able to review this feature.

The D6 can be worn as a watch and while it is by no means the most attractive time piece in the world it does the job well enough even giving you the option to have both local and UK time displayed whilst on holiday. It might not be the most attractive piece but at least while supping a nice cool one at the Camel Bar in Sharm fellow divers will know you are sporting almost £500 worth of watch it you like to pose.

This is a good well thought out dive computer built like a normal wrist watch. I would definitely recommend it however to be honest the price would put me off as my much bulkier Apeks was over half the price and it does the job just as well so I would not have spent my own hard earned cash buying one. Having said that if you have the cash and do not need all of the functionality that comes with the D9 then the D6 might just be for you.

For more information check out www.suunto.com.

Thanks for reading and rating my review.