Home > Consumer Reviews > HP 32Sii Scientific Calculator

I have been a big fan of HP calculators for about 25 years now, and have about 15 of them in my collection. The HP-32SII is the best-designed calculator they have yet made. Some of the upper-end models are a bit much and complex to use, while some of the lower-end models use algebraic logic and are lacking in some commonly needed features. The HP-32SII is just right -- enough features to make it very useful, while not being overdesigned. It's easy to program, and its RPN continues to be one of my favorite features. This is the calculator I use for scientific use on a daily basis. You won't be disappointed with this one.

I purchased my first calculator about 30 years ago - the HP35 for US$400. I have used Hewlett Packard calculators ever since. My second purchase was the HP 12C, a beautifully designed financial calculator that is still on the market some 15 or 20 years later and which I still use from time to time.

I have used the HP32SII since 1993 under the extreme conditions of classroom use as a math teacher in a secondary school. Chalk dust is ever present and I couldn't count the number of times it has fallen from my desk to the floor. I recommend this calculator to my senior math students but they shy away from it because of the price. This is false economics. None of the other brands have the durability to last, making them in the long run expensive calculators. I know this from the experience of my students who purchase cheaper competing brands.

The features that attract me to the HP 32SII are the Reverse Polish Notation, which is the superior way of doing arithmetic and the ease with which intermediate calculations can be stored.

Hewlett Packard makes up for its poor manuals with superb service and getting it right the first time. How many other calculators stay on the market for so many years after they are first introduced.

I purchased my daughter an HP 48GX when she entered Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto 6 years ago. At first she "swore" at it because of the RPN but quickly came to swear by it. Most of her classmates used the same HP as well.

The HP32SII is a solid performer at its level of functionality. When I need more I use a software package such as MAPLE V which I am confident will be available someday on a hand held computer.

I have used the 32SII for a few years now. I agree with the other reviewers about RPN.

This calculator is not only the finest calculator ever, from the standpoint of power and value, but I think it ranks near the top of the finest product designs ever, for any product. There is nothing about it that can be improved. The form factor is just right. All functions are where they belong. Every key clicks the same, and clicks right. Batteries last forever. This product should be in a museum of outstanding product design.

Having said that, I will editorialize a bit. I am severely disappointed that HP discontinued this product. I think it speaks volumes that the new HP cannot recognize its own product excellence, and apparently fails to value the things that brought it customer loyalty.

This is a great engineer's calculator that won't go out of style. It does just about everything that you want it to, and is easy to master as well. It fits right in your shirt pocket.

In 1996 I was looking for a programmable calculator and realized I hadn't yet bought an HP. All my friends had raved about them over the years, but I've never been a heavy calcluator user--my needs were pretty well met by my old Sharp scientific. (I thought I'd lost the Sharp in a move, so I needed a new calculator.)

I was shocked to learn HP had discontinued most of their non-graphical programmables except this one and the venerable financials (12C et al). (Which shows you how often I pay attention to this kind of stuff.) The 32SII was my (only) choice.

It's their best RPN-based calc. It has many useful extras (equation solver with algebraic notation for equations, fraction mode, unit conversions) and the lack of menus is great. Physically it has held up very well; it spent many years riding around in my backpack along with a lot of other heavy things (bike lock, tools) on a daily basis with nary a problem.

The only problem is a lack of memory, 384 bytes seriously limits how much of a program you can enter. But it's not horrible, and I''m pretty sure if you need to go over 384 bytes writing a "real program" on a "real computer" is a better alternative. Even a PDA is much faster and easier to program... and new ones cost less than the going prices for a "vintage" HP calc like the 32SII.

Old HPs are slow compared to the new graphing calcs (a 39G+ runs circles around it) but the HPs are far more portable, have significantly longer battery lifetimes, and are much easier to use. I find the 32SII more useful than a grapher because of its small size and ease of use. I also believe RPN is more convenient when you're not working from pre-written equations.

The software on most graphing calcs is too "bulky", they require too much effort and lose most of the convenience of a calculator. I usually have access to a laptop but I still keep a calculator handy--they're faster and easier for simple calculations, I even use it for base conversions and such.

Unfortunately, old HPs are now collectors' items and are no longer affordable. I like and use mine but I wouldn't pay going prices for one. (But I'm never going to sell mine either.) The 33S is not a good alternative, the bizarre keyboard is almost unusable and it's a flimsy device.

Does this spell the end of the RPN/programmable calculator? I believe so. They'll have their place in history beside the slide rules and the Monroes, but such a design will never be repeated again. They've been made obsolete by the ubiquity of computers, and the modern dogmas of "cheaper is better" and "planned obsolescence". Complex programming tasks can be done faster and more easily on a computer, there just isn't any real need for them anymore.