Scuba Snorkelling

The Suunto Gekko Dive Computer is one of the most popular scuba diving computers in the UK, especially among newly qualified scuba divers. This is because it offers all a basic scuba diver needs and is fairly cheap.

Gekko On Screen Display

When scuba diving the Suunto Gekko shows you all the vital information you need – by default the Gekko shows your current depth, maximum depth for the dive, current temperature and the remaining no-deco time – the time you can continue to dive for without needing to do a deco stop. These are displayed numerically and are very easy to read. You also see the ascent rate as a color-coded bar up the side of the screen which is handy for beginners.

Alarms and Lighting on Suunto Gekko

The Suunto Gekko does not come with a backlight, but rather has a phosphorescent display which can be charged using a dive torch to brighten up the screen during a dark dive – this saves on the battery drain a backlight would have, but also requires you to have a dive torch (although on a dark dive you should have one anyway). As far as alarms go, the Gekko has visual and audible alarms when needed, and also allows you to enable max depth and max time alarms if you want to.

Stored Dive Information & PC Interface

Unlike a lot of scuba diving computers these days the Suunto Gekko does not offer a PC interface to download dive information. It does however, store 50 hours of dive profile data including dive start time & date, total dive time, maximum depth and the temperature at the maximum depth – this is all you need to fill in your log book. As an added extra it also stores some other information in more succinct format – for example your maximum ever depth is also stored.

Nitrox on the Gekko

The Suunto Gekko does support Nitrox in the same way as most other scuba diving computers do; by treating air as 21% nitrox. The Gekko uses the Suunto RGBM – a state of the art algorithm for managing both dissolved gas and free-gas in all its stages in the tissues and blood of the diver – in plain English it is safe and you can trust it! To switch to Nitrox is very easy – the Gekko has two modes (air/Nitrox) which can be switched easily.

Ease of Use of the Gekko

Perhaps the main reason the Suunto Gekko is so popular is that it is very easy to use – you can basically forget about how to use it and concentrate on actually using it. Suunto have equipped the Gekko with user-replaceable batteries which saves you sending your Gekko back and forth every now and then. The batteries are very easy to change – you just have to unscrew a cover, then replace an O-ring and the battery then screw the cover back on – see a video showing how to change a Suunto Gekko battery.

Suunto Gekko – Summing Up

The Suunto Gekko is ideal for any scuba diver that does not require a PC-Interface or dive simulation features. You can buy the Suunto Gekko in wrist model or console mounted with a Suunto console. It is aimed squarely at recreational scuba divers who may intend to use Nitrox but don’t want to pay extra for gas switching computers – most scuba divers in fact could save a lot of money by choosing the Suunto Gekko!

Thanks to Jay Smith for providing this excellent information.