I personally use a N3 just because the display is slightly larger than the L&B Viso. Also like the fact that N3 is rechargable via usb so no battery woes. On a minus note the logbook data is suspect at best so if you're a bit geeky about freefall speeds etc take the logbook info with a generous pinch of salt ( wrist mount mine so opinions on my last point may differ ). Plus points: Great visual alti Useful for canopy control Loud audible beeps ( If required ) Can be used has a helmet audible.
Have many friends that use the L&B Viso without complaint So if you can live with a slightly smaller display and the need for the occasional battery change i'm sure you'll be happy.
LouDiamond (D 25931)
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May 12, 2012, 7:39 AM
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They are both good pieces of kit, however, the Viso has to have one of the most complicated button sequence menus I've ever seen. Where the N3 screen menus are straight forward the Viso requires you to have the manual handy to reference how to change the settings. If I handed you a N3 without any instructions you could figure it out in a few seconds, the Viso, not so much.
DSE (D 29060)
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May 12, 2012, 10:10 AM
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N3....battery life blows. I quit using it for that reason alone. The Viso will give a year + of battery life. N3, a weekend of active jumping. N3 allows you to put your own audio in, and it acts as an audible, which the Viso cannot do. I disagree with Scott about the menus being difficult; they're quite intuitive and not terribly different from the Optima or Altitrack.
Having both, I prefer the VisoII. If nothing else, look at the threads (there are dozens) about customer service from L&B found here on DZ.com
I disagree with Scott about the menus being difficult; they're quite intuitive and not terribly different from the Optima or Altitrack.
I use Viso2 & optima2 and can change settings without looking into the manual but can't say that it's intuitive or userfrendly espetially in compare with Neptune
In reply to:
Having both, I prefer the VisoII. If nothing else, look at the threads (there are dozens) about customer service from L&B found here on DZ.com
That's true, service & support from L&B just great
I'd be happy using either. They both show the altitude and that is what I want.
All the geek features, I'm not personally bothered about, that is what my protrack is for.
What would make me want to choose a Viso from the 2 options is L&B's customer service. It is quite simply the best in the world. They'll fix any problem pretty much in a way well beyond what you were expecting. The awesomeness of their customer service has made me decide to only use L&B for these sort of things.
I would go with the Viso just for customer service reasons. I have dealt with both companies and L&B is fantastic. I have 2 OptimaII and the batteries last a year. I do about 170 jumps on them.
My Viso II has bad habit of recording very inaccurate freefall info. If I were to go by the numbers my fastest freefall speed was almost mach 1 and almost 30 minutes of freefall time in one jump...
My Viso II has bad habit of recording very inaccurate freefall info. If I were to go by the numbers my fastest freefall speed was almost mach 1 and almost 30 minutes of freefall time in one jump...
Care to post a screenshot of that? Perchance is it displaying feet and you're reading meters?
Otherwise, could be a defective unit. L&B will replace it at any authorized gear store.
If I were to go by the numbers my fastest freefall speed was almost mach 1
Don't know about your unit specifically but: Weird "maximum" numbers do show up on different devices. I trust average speeds much more than maxima. Even with some internal averaging, changes in airflow can cause weird effects. (Eg, the trace from my Protrack, mounted outside a helmet, shows say 160 mph maximum every time I track off from an RW jump -- something that clearly isn't true or I would have been kicked off bigways long ago.)
My Viso II has bad habit of recording very inaccurate freefall info. If I were to go by the numbers my fastest freefall speed was almost mach 1 and almost 30 minutes of freefall time in one jump...
Care to post a screenshot of that? Perchance is it displaying feet and you're reading meters?
Otherwise, could be a defective unit. L&B will replace it at any authorized gear store.
My Viso 2 records weird max speeds that I don't really believe - 180Mph on a normal belly jump and 80Mph max canopy speed on a Sabre 170.
I don't think I would recommend a Viso for a sub A license jumper though. I like mine under canopy, but I find the Galaxy a whole bunch easier to glance at in freefall.
I honestly think that as the OP lists 10 jumps this is something that should be fully discussed with his instructor prior to jumping with a different alti than the original training.
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