Suunto Watches are not for Skydiving.

[Shark 0]

Most if not all altimeters read approximate altitudes. Some are more accurate than others. I recommend a suitable wrist mounted altimeter like the Alti-2 Galaxy. At your experience level you should utilize this type of visual altimeter. Save your $300 bucks for a ProTrack.

[cvfd1399 0]

If I fly a pressurized jet like AA or delta just for fun will the watch show alt. If i look at in the plane up to a certain alt will it climb till the plane is pressurized and it goes down or what??

[diablopilot 2]

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If you were using your Alti 3 for comparing, whats did you use as your standard.

My Alti II.

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If you compare one against the other how do you know WHICH is more acurate. Just because the Suunto gave smaller increments does not mean it's more accurate.

For shits, giggles, and grins (and not much else) I spent a little bit of 3 jumps comparing the accuracy of both the Suunto Vector I own, and the SSE Alti 3 I own to a SSE Alti II I own as well as a ProTrack, and ProDytter.

I trust the Alti 2 pretty well through the fact it had been recently serviced and tested by the repair center, and had been compared to the aircrafts altimeter both on climb and decent.

After this I believe MY Suunto Vector, to be more accurate than MY Alti 3.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[diablopilot 2]

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If I fly a pressurized jet like AA or delta just for fun will the watch show alt. If i look at in the plane up to a certain alt will it climb till the plane is pressurized and it goes down or what??

Pressure altimeters know only that. Pressure.

From my experience about the highest reading you will get from a skydiving altimeter (or Suunto watch) will be 8000 to 9000 feet in an airliner.

I seem to remember someone telling me that Airliners are pressurized through a combination of ram air, and bleed air from the engines, and that this pressurization is in proportion to their actual altitude.

I'm probably misinformed about that last part.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[KrisFlyZ 0]

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Most if not all altimeters read approximate altitudes. Some are more accurate than others. I recommend a suitable wrist mounted altimeter like the Alti-2 Galaxy. At your experience level you should utilize this type of visual altimeter. Save your $300 bucks for a ProTrack.

Yup Yup.

[ernokaikkonen 0]

i don't know about the latest models, but the earlier ones had some features that made them VERY unsuitable for skydiving; here's my old post about that:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=320305;search_string=suunto;#320305

[Pablito 0]

That's why i said it.
Amazona!!!

"If you don't overcome your fears they will overcome you first"
Shady Monkey/6Segundos Rodriguez/AKA Pablito

[Chrisky 0]

Did you do a search before posting?

The mind is like a parachute - it only works once it's open.
From the edge you just see more.
... Not every Swooper hooks & not every Hooker swoops ...

[pilotdave 0]

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I seem to remember someone telling me that Airliners are pressurized through a combination of ram air, and bleed air from the engines, and that this pressurization is in proportion to their actual altitude.

Planes are pressurized to a certain differential between outside and inside air pressures. So if it's flying especially high, the cabin pressure will be especially low.

Dave

[diablopilot 2]

That differential is selectable, depending on the amount of bleed air used, isn't it?

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[pilotdave 0]

Sure, they can adjust the cabin pressure as necessary. But there's a limit to the difference between inside and outside pressure. Once the limit is reached, as the plane climbs higher, the cabin altitude will increase.

Dave

[rigging65 0]

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Once the limit is reached, as the plane climbs higher, the cabin altitude will increase.

But based off common practice, the differential isn't going to allow the occupants to go hypoxic (assuming commercial airliner) or the placard ceiling limit will keep the plane low enough that the limited differential available doesn't exceed an altitude that is going to cause hypoxia, yes?

"...and once you had tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward.
For there you have been, and there you long to return..."

[diablopilot 2]

I seem to remember hearing, that the FAA imposes a minimum on allowable cabin pressure. Something like 8,000 or 9,000 feet MSL.

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You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[AndyMan 7]

I wear a my Suunto all the time, so I always have it when I fly commercial.

The "highest" its ever indicated was 9000 feet, which was on a old southwest DC9. That flight was over two hours. I didn't notice any hypoxia symptoms in myself or the crew, but I bet it contributed to a lot of the sleeping passengers...

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[ajmclean 0]

This is a few years late, but Suunto's are fine for an altimeter. I wore an Alti-3 with my Suunto Vector in freefall from 14,000 several times. No problemo!

Mack The Knife
"IT IS SAID THAT THE WARRIOR'S IS THE TWOFOLD WAY OF PEN AND SWORD, AND HE SHOULD HAVE A TASTE FOR BOTH WAYS." MIYAMOTO MUSASHI, A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS.

[JALUV2 0]

I had doubts before also but my Core works great and is just as accurate as my N3 audible

[azureriders 0]

Several times? sure. I have several hundred jumps on multiple suntos and they have failed on me more times than I can count. It is one button push away from not showing altitude at all. It will hang up, just jump it long enough. They are hard to read in some light conditions, ranging from bright light on the face to lack of light.

I wear a sunto daily on my right wrist as a watch. I keep is set to 0 when at the DZ. I do this because I have been know to forget me alti-master on the ground. I hardly ever look at an altimeter unless I have a student and it makes it easy for me to forget. When this happens I simply switch hands with the sunto and move on. It does serve me as a good back up but always keep in mind, they will fail you.

I could and have said the same thing about ALL altimeters, I just believe thise to be the most common at failure.

Train your eyes.

Be safe.

[stayhigh 2]

what do you mean fail???

it is just two button push to bringing back to alti mode.

yeah, sometime ill be under canopy and it is set to barometer or compass but so what?? just push the button back to alti mode.

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[azureriders 0]

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what do you mean fail???

When I look at a visual altimeter and it does not read the correct altitude, it has failed in my opinion.

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it is just two button push to bringing back to alti mode.

Not a big deal for you or me, the poster that bumped this thread has 80 jumps acording to his profile, I think he should have other things on his mind than pushing buttons in free fall, or under canopy. It is also a bit annoying when you look across at your piece partner and he is pushing buttons rather than taking grips.

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yeah, sometime ill be under canopy and it is set to barometer or compass but so what?? just push the button back to alti mode.

This does not only happen under canopy and I dont need to know what time it is when I am in free fall


Failures that I have experienced with the suntos include:
Locking up at some given altitude, requiring the battery to be removed to resest. (2 times)
Reading "0" for a few thousand feet then going back to working (1 time)
Hard/imposible to read due to lighting angle or lack there of (many times)
Buttons pushed/wrong mode (many times)
Battery failure with out warning (3 times)


Most of these can happen to skydiving altimeters as well, it is just my experience that they are more prone to suntos than they are to altimeters made for skydiving. I know of a few other sunto failures, some of which I was on the jump with, I have only listed the ones that happened to me.

I obviously have jumped a sunto a bit, and I will keep doing so and I am not saying that others should not, just be informed that they will fail.

All altimeters will fail, have a plan and be prepared for it. Train your eyes!!!

[fendor1369 0]

I have the Suunto Xlander, I have used it once as an altimeter, only because the rubber finger loop on my alti track broke. I realy did not like it.

John - D.S 1313

"I'll jump it, Np. It's all good"

[dgskydive 0]

i used a Vector for a while. It works fine as far as registering the correct alti.

The problem is the buttons. They are big and easily pushed if someone takes a grip near it. Tended to switch modes sometime and I would be looking at a compass instead of the Alti.

I would use one for Crw or on a jump where no grips are being taken.

Dom

[iwo 0]

In my core, I just lock to alti mode, and you can press all day, and it will still show altitude

[dgskydive 0]

Guess I should have read the instructions better.

Dom

[rhys 0]

can you lock a vector on alti? I threw out my instructions.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[Remster 26]

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can you lock a vector on alti? I threw out my instructions.

http://www.suunto.com/en-us/Support/Download-Center--User-Guides/

Remster