- So lately I've been jumping this bad boy Aon2 X2 altimeter
and I want to review it with you in this video.
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So I've been talking about it a lot lately
and you might have seen a lot of pictures
from me on Instagram,
wearing this Aon2 X2 altimeter while I was jumping.
Well, this is a very interesting unit
that I've been jumping for a dozen jumps up to now
and I really like it in fact.
So first, let's talk about what it is exactly
and all the features that it has.
So Aon2 or Aon squared is a company
based in the United Kingdom
and they've been developing
this new type of digital altimeter that has a GPS built in.
This is pretty much a digital altimeter on steroids
because you get a lot more data in every stage of your jump.
So first, you can see it has a wide display of 2.7 inches
that is very readable in sunlight,
you'll notice that it's not a touch screen
and the reason is that they wanted full waterproof rating.
So this device can be submerged under one meter of water
without any problems.
In order to navigate through the menus,
You have those three external buttons here.
So basically, the altimeter with all the electronics
is this part here and it slipped into this casing right here
that has the wristband.
Note that the wristband here is made custom
so you need to measure your wrist
or where you want to put it before ordering your X2
and it's not adjustable afterwards.
So the casing is pretty robust,
especially since the made a great improvement
in the pins here to hold everything very strongly
and what you do is that using your device here,
you simply slip it in the casing like that.
It has a micro USB port here that you use to recharge it
and being able to communicate with the computer
for any firmware updates.
It also comes with an app on Android or IOS
and this app provides you a lot more data.
Talking about data,
this device gives you a lot of details from your jump
like exit altitude, freefall time and opening altitude.
You can also see the detail of your trajectory
on google map using the app.
The X2 shows you five different types of screens
related to the different steps in your skydive.
The first screen is basically the home screen
where you simply see the time,
then once you're on the plane and the plane is riding up,
well you get another display.
That screen gives you the ground speed, the current heading
and the distance from the landing zone.
The next one is simply when you exit the plane,
the altimeter will then switch into freefall mode,
which will only display the altitude your app
with a color code.
The fourth one is the canopy screen.
So once you're under canopy,
you're gonna see the altitude again with color codes,
the distance and direction to the landing zone,
your glide ratio and the ground speed.
The last type of screen is one that you may not have to see
but it's the wing suit screen
which is a little bit different in freefall.
It's gonna show of course the altitude with colors
but also the direction and distance from the drop zone
and your glide ratio.
In order to have the right GPS data
when we're talking about direction
and distance from the landing zone,
well, you need to set your way point,
it means simply that once you're in the landing area,
you go on your device following this step
and you set your way point where you stand at that moment.
This way once you're up,
all the data that your altimeter will show you
will be related to that waypoint.
So like I said earlier,
I've been jumping this baby for the last jumps I've made
and I really liked the extra data it has.
So let's talk about the pros of using the Aon2 X2.
First, the app is great in itself,
it's easy to use, it provides you great extra features
like being able to map your trajectory on Google Map.
Moreover, by exporting the log file of your jump,
you'll be able to use Google Earth
to visualize your jump in 3D,
like they say their screen is very readable in sunlight.
I've had no trouble in looking at my altitude in freefall.
I personally liked the fact that I can double verify
once it's time to exit the plane
that we're at the right exit point.
I also love the fact that the company is very proactive.
There's a Facebook group where all the X2 users are there
and they can actually comment,
make suggestions of improvements
and a couple of weeks later,
we do have a firmware update
with those requested improvements.
So that's really great to submit an idea
and have it realized on this X2.
This also brings me another thought
that actually this device once you have the hardware,
all the software and the improvements inside the device
are really limitless and anytime you do a firmware updates,
it's basically like you have a better improved device
without actually changing the unit itself.
Now let's talk about the cons of the X2.
First thing is that, it's a little bit bigger
than a usual digital altimeter.
So you got to get used to it
and it's a bit bulky on your wrist.
I found that, It's not actually disturbing anything,
any of my movements in my jump.
It's not a problem
but it's just a little bit more bulky on your wrist,
especially if you have small wrists.
The fact that the wrist band is not adjustable
can be a pain in itself
but I'm sure if in the future
do you wanna make an adjustable band, it will be possible.
Another point that I have is that the buttons here
are a little bit hard to press,
you gonna make sure that you press them very firmly
in order to access the menus and stuff
but by using them more often you get used to them.
Lastly, of course it's a GPS
so sometimes it loses the signal
and also in the plane sometime it will lose the GPS signal
but other than that, once you're in freefall
or outside it finds back the signal pretty quickly.
If not, well you simply restart your altimeter
once being outside and it should do the job.
If you want one its price is around $436 US.
It's actually sold right now directly from Aon2 based in UK
and if you take down the description below,
you might see a link with a discount code just for you guys.
Know that since it's a new product in a new company,
they are producing those in batches.
So stay tuned.
If they're not selling those right now,
they might open the card later on
and then you'll have access to buy your own X2.
Other than that, I must say a big thank you for Aon2,
their support is stellar.
I'm able to discuss with their team
and they are responding back very quickly.
One of my friend who is also using the X2
had a little trouble with his device
and he just contacted them to have it fixed pretty quickly.
So their customer service really is stellar.
If you wanna watch another video
where I did compare the Aon2 X2 to the Dekunu one,
the other altimeter with GPS data that is new on the market,
well you can watch it by clicking right beside here
and you'll also find another video from skydive vibes.
Get yourself an X2 to if it interests you
and on that keep jumping, stay safe and blue skies.