Hi Tazgrilos
Don't know if you have already decided what to buy? If not here is a little more info and my two cent
The Suunto D series have a freedive specific menu (FREE mode) which in no way stands back compared to the freedive specific computers. But of course you end up paying a little for the scuba features.
The Suunto models D4, D4i, D4i nuveau, D6i and newer D9tx all have FREE mode (the Dx doesn't). Older tx's can be updated with FREE mode. There is also a nice feature called Apnea Timer for timing co2/o2 tabels in the Di's and newer tx models. Beside the timer I believe the features in FREE mode are the same in all of the Suunto models, but the models differ in scuba features, design and of course in price.
Previously I had a D4 but lost it to the sea because the strap broke (an annoying, known issue with the D series). Later bought a D9tx to replace the lost D4.
My first computer was an Aeris F10 first generation thou. It is full of bugs and quite unstable even after all available updates. From what I read, the F10 v2 and the F11 is supposed to be a lot better.
I think Suunto has the best interface and navigation by far, because of the dot matrix display (multiple small pixels which can form more than just the figures 0 to 9). This gives the computer a navigation menu, which means that you don't have to remember all the different button combinations as with the pure alphanumeric computer displays. To the best of my knowledge Suuntos freedivecomputers are the only ones with dot matrix display. Besides that, I think there is a better designed hirachy in the layout of the information in the display during dive and on the surface on the Suuntos compared to for instance Areis. This is a key point rarely covered in the talkes about freedive computers!
For me neither the old F10 nor the Suuntos are stable for tracking pool labs though. So if pool is your thing and you would like to keep track of your dyn, the Aeris F11's depth activation feature mentioned earlier is probably helpful.
Regarding battery I was disappointed with battery life in the old F10, so user replaceability was handy. Hope the F10 v2 and F11 are better. Suuntos runs a fairly long time on a battery, but of course its a more costly affair to have someone else replacing the battery than to do it yourself. There are however several guides out there on how to replace the battery yourself. Personally I wouldnt hesitate to do it myself even thou it is probably not recomented to do so by the manufacture and that you risk voiding warrenty an so on.
Then there is the question on being able to flash software updates yourself. In my opinion its less relevant, unless you buy an product still under development such as the first F10, which was definitely not market ready at the time of release. And with one of the updates I had to send it to Aeris anyway.
At that time The F10 came out, the computer software for managing dives did not run on Mac at all and required quite some tampering around to make the driver work on PC. The software it self was closer to alpha level development and the interface was a laugh. Sure hope they improved
Suunto software is quite ok and runs cross platforms.
You could also cast a glane at two other interesting computers:
Liquidvision Xen is absolute top quality and has a well organised display but unfortunately without audio alarms. The other one is Scubapro Meridian to which you can connect a heart rate monitor; cool feature and then it has a nice steel case by the way.
I'm not familiar with those two computers but think they look interesting. You might be able to find a few reviews here on DB.
In the end I would recommend Suunto regardless of any price differences to nearby alternatives, because I think its is well tested and proven more than any of the other brands.
Hope you or maybe someone else found this post useful.
Best regards
Herup
