25.4.2015

Here are my thoughts on my new Suunto Core, hope this helps others decide if this is the right watch for them or not.Overall I love the fit and finish of this watch, I have the Military All Black edition. The bezel is low profile which allows it to easily fit inside the cuff of a shirt and also less prone to striking on door jams and the like as you walk. The watch is lighter than I had anticipated, but does not feel light in a cheap kind of way. I was initially a little bummed about the lighter weight because I normally where very large and heavy Invicta watches. However the lighter weight of this watch makes it far more useful for being active which is what this watch is all about.The lighter weight also means you can wear the watch higher up on your arm where it belongs and it will stay there. That way its not impinging on your hand while extending the wrist (say while riding a bike.)The band is a smooth matte hard rubber and has a matte black aluminum clasp. There are also two rubber cuffs to tuck the excess band inside, this is very nice as it keeps the excess band out of the way of what you are wearing and what you are doing. The watch itself is very comfortable as a function of both the band construction and the overall weight of the watch. My favorite part of the overall look of this watch however is the dark face. It's clean and sharp; you can choose which information you would like displayed by default (time, altitude, bearing, sunrise/set, date, countdown, etc). In very bright light and with the watch tilted at an extreme angle it can be difficult to see the information on the display, however with the watch pointing directly at you, I have no issues reading the display even in full sunlight. At night the display is completely dark, except for the glowing North indicators on the rotating bezel. The backlight feature (activated as needed with a button press) lights up the entire display so you can see all functions and feature of the watch including indicators such as the alarm being set. Another nice little feature is a button lock, achieved by pressing and holding the backlight button for a few seconds, handy so that you are not accidentally accessing menus or changing settings inadvertently while you are asleep or wearing gloves.In terms of the altimeter/barometer, I have always wanted this watch for skiing purposes as it gives you a way to track your vertical feet for the day without having to pull out your phone and check an app like EpicMix. As I have yet to ski with this watch I cannot comment on its ability to track vert just yet, however many other people I know with this watch have been pleased with its ability to do so. It does give me accurate readings of atmospheric pressure which has been interesting to follow. These past few days we have had some decent storms roll through and I have actually watched the barometer drop as that was happening. It displays the pressure in a graph so you can see trends over time. The reality is that I would not routinely use this to try to predict or gauge the weather - in this day and age I can get vastly more detailed information from my phone. That being the case the barometer is accurate and functional.The thermometer does a great job of telling me the temperature of my wrist but not the ambient temperature (at least if I am wearing it). I knew this was going to be the case before I even purchased the watch as this is a common theme with all "ABC watches". The reality is there is no way for the thermometer to account for the conductive heat transferred to/from your body (or radiation from the sun for that matter). Again, if I need to know the ambient temperature I look at the weather app on my phone but if I was in an area with no cell signal that would not be an option. In that event you can always hang the watch from your pack or inside your tent to get an accurate reading on the ambient temperature. The thermometer is accurate, you just need to take your wrist out of the equation when you need that information.The compass feature works great though I personally don't see myself using it routinely. I have compared it to the lensatic compass in my pack and its relatively close but if I ever actually had to navigate I would definitely use a dedicated compass. In my humble opinion the compass function on the watch is more convenient for getting a general idea of your bearing or heading - something I usually am aware of already but I can appreciate how this might be useful if you are traveling or exploring in a new area.Another great feature of this watch is the sunrise/sunset information. While programming the watch you select your nearest major city and that is how the sunrise/set times are calculated. This gives you a relatively accurate prediction of the time at sunrise and sunset but depends obviously on if you are in that exact location or not. As I am in Milford, CT I have mine set to NYC. The watch tells me that sunset today will be at 19:48 where as according to a simple google search it will be at 19:42 for my current location (unsure of the source that is being indexed though). In any event, it is close enough and reliable for the purpose of gauging your activities by the need for daylight or night.As expected there are also the typical watch functions of chronograph with lap metering and an alarm. The alarm actually also has a snooze feature which is pretty nice. As the alarm goes off a notification on the display says "snooze?" and places "yes" and "no" next to two buttons on the bezel. Selecting yes gives you an extra 5 minutes of sleep. I am unsure if you can change the duration of the snooze in settings or not. There is also a countdown timer which comes in handy sometimes. You can set the duration of the countdown to anything you like in the settings.Another nice feature is the product support offered by Suunto. The day I received the watch I got on the website and made a user account then registered my serial number. From there I can submit work or repair orders should anything ever go wrong. There is also a nice user community for sharing information and activities, something I won't probably be an active member of but I am sure there are others who really enjoy this aspect of the brand.I really have no gripes or problems with the watch to report so far. I have only had it for 2 weeks and I am very pleased with my purchase. I have read other reviews noting problems with the band breaking. The band seems solid to me but certainly does not feel indestructible. I am sure with enough repetition of folding the band back to remove the watch it would ultimately crease and then crack as others have reported. At this price point I expect this to be a watch that I get many years of solid use out of. If for some reason the band starts to get too terribly worn or breaks I would be okay replacing it. I do not believe the Suunto warranty covers band damage from normal use. It appears replacement bands for the Core are available for around $30-40 which is reasonable in my opinion. It appears the band can be replaced by the user, and judging by the look of the screws attaching the band to the watch body you would only need a small flathead driver. Also of not, the watch battery can be easily replaced by the user.So in summary, all in all I am very pleased. The watch looks fantastic. The watch is comfortable to wear both at rest and while working out or being active. The altimeter/barometer are accurate and give you ample ways to display and use the data. The thermometer works great, you just need to take the watch off to get an accurate reading (true for all watch thermometers as far as I know). The compass is accurate for getting a general idea of your heading but if you are planning on doing serious navigation then use a dedicated compass. The other standard watch features (alarm, chrono, countdown) are all present as well as few nice bonuses like a countdown timer, snooze function for the alarm and sunrise/set times.

26.10.2015

The Suunto core.. this thing is really tough. My job entails heavy metal, sharp edges, getting hit, by accident, regularly by tools and things. Its been 7 years and my first core is still completely like new, I bought a replacement because I just Have-to have a core like the one I bought years ago and once it finally does fail Ill be able to pop this out of the box and still have the most favorite watch Ive ever owned. Im sure business minds will phase out this model sometime.As for scratches, just a small amount of black paint missing.. and I mean like a hairs thickness wide in no more than 3 places.. Its really hard for me to believe. The glass really has NO scratches.Now follow me,I try to NOT scratch my watch, I take care if Im going to work on something where obviously emery cloth will scratch the hell out of the face or bezel. But hey it happens, and you just go.. damn it! when you hit it or scratch somthing against it.. But when I expected a huge scratch I had to look close.. and I mean many times of saying Damn it!.. Something about how the bezel is shaped really helps deflect the hits I guess..Ive heard many people moan about the battery life... And NOW IM GOING TO BLOW A GASKET>>.. please morons... read the manuals. OR.. use your heads..The watch is a LARGE FACE WATCH... So guess what.. IT HAS A "LOCK" feature so inadvertent button presses will not turn the light on or change the settings..Take the watch... push it forward toward your fingers.. now cock your wrist up or down fully. you WILL press a button most likely.. If you press the lock function and check for the little padlock symbol to appear in the top center of the dial you will see battery life that all watches enjoy..If you have a core that "Really uses batteries" good for you,.. Im glad your keeping the watch battery factories smiling.. My core in seven years has had maybe 3 batteries. And I overuse the compass and light.My watches prior to this have never lasted more than 3 years. Im a licensed diver too.. so Ive tried the tracer and luminox dive watches. I really liked them too and I do have a Tawatec tritium watch I switch out from time to time.. also a great watch for sure albeit non-digital.The cores compass works flawlessly, the arrow for barometric changes has worked great from the start. Arrow points up I know its going to be nice, flat arrow means more of the same, and down means pay attention to your weather.While diving it have worked perfectly too. If your tech savy, or not this watch is slim, just the right diameter, isnt HUGE, its bigger than first gen luminox, but Im just average and it looks like a spendy and not trendy workhorse. I see lots and lots of military and police using these. My job put me in their presence daily.The functions are just like the directions say and no real reviewing needs to be done, if you want someone to explain the alarm or chono its below my tolerance level to do that. Scrolling around the different settings is not hard, you just use the center button to get started and if you need help watch a youtube vid of setting one up..These watches are really really worth the hype, or Ill just say they are worth ME hyping them up. I dont ask anyone to look at anything that hasnt really really delivered on its promises.. And this really does. If you like the looks of this watch, youll be sold once its on your wrist.Just lock the display so you can enjoy it working like its suppose to, for the amount of battery life its suppose to have.Cheers.

2.7.2012

I own the Core Alu Deep Black version. I must admit that this is the ultimate electronic watch. I couldn't imagine a more perfect watch in therms of design. I am so in love with this watch that I even wear it inside my home, which I usually don't do.The watch offers you informations about time, temperature, altitude (or depth when underwater), weather trend (barometric pressure) and compass. It has a nice and intuitive menu and it's very cool to navigate through it.But there are two problems I have to mention.First, the temperature it shows is always incorrect. That's because the watch gets warm when you wear it. In order to get a correct temperature value you have to get it off and let it to cool down on a table.But in the summer time this may take a looooong long time. Hours perhaps. So, the temparature info is useless in most cases.Second, the altimeter and barometer - both of them are based on the same pressure detection principle - show wrong data in most cases. Let's explain why.The watch has a pressure sensor that measures the absolute pressure, all the time. This absolute pressure depends both on the "sea level pressure" and altitude. (The "sea level pressure" is a convention, it is not the real pressure at sea level, assuming that you live in a country that has a sea coast :) The "sea level pressure" is the barometric pressure that you can find your local weather bulletin that is already normalized with the altitude of your place)So, the absolute pressure that the watch measures (P) is a function of two variables: "sea level pressure" (P0) and altitude/height (H):P = function(P0,H)The watch knows P and it has to display PO if in barometer mode, or H if in altimeter mode.It cannot do this unless you manually enter the other variable and keep it constant. If the watch is in barometer mode, you have to manually input the altitude H; if the watch is in altimeter mode you have to manually input the local sea pressure P0.For example, let's assume that the watch is in barometer mode. It measures the absolute pressure, P. It doesn't display this pressure value because it doesn't make any sense, as it has no correlation with the altitude yet. You must enter the menu and manually input the altitude of your place - you have to know it. Let's say that you input 60 meters. Now, the watch knows P (which it measures) and H (that you defined), and it can calculate and display P0.And viceversa, you must input P0 in order to display H.And now the restrictions.If in barometer mode, you must not change the altitude. If you entered 60 meters as your local altitude and you go on top of a tower which has a height of, let's say, 100 meters, the pressure will be lower because of the height. But your watch doesn't know this; it will assume that the weather changed. So, it will display wrong data.If in altimeter mode and the weather (pressure) changes, the watch will assume that your altitude changed because you moved. Wrong data are displayed again. So, the weather must be stable in order to have correct altitude values.In real life situations it's pretty difficult to keep constant either the altitude or the weather. I live in a plain city but there are still altitude differences between different points in the city, no to mention when I get into tall buildings. Most of the time I get inaccurate readinds.So, beware!

25.6.2015

I waited for quite a while to buy this Suunto Core as I wanted to see if the Apple Watch was something that would interest me. It wasn't. This replaces a Casio Pathfinder that I wore for about five years. After two months of ownership, I am now writing a review as I think I know enough now to relate an educated experience. First off, the looks: This is a really, really gorgeous watch. It makes the Casio look like very clunky in comparison. It's lightweight (more than I expected) and is extremely comfortable to wear. I did switch out the band for the optional Suunto black rubber/aluminum one and think the look and comfort improved even more.The original band had a "brittle" feel and it was either too big or too small for me with the adjusting holes available. The optional band's satin black aluminum lugs and matt black rubber sheen really works with the highly polished lens, the matt black case and the satin black bezel. I added photos to show the difference in appearance. Also, if you opt for the other band, the screws that fasten the crossbars are teensy and have been reported as easily lost. I used Loctite when installing mine.I thought the contrast was a bit low as shipped so bumped it up a few notches. That has a tendency to reveal some of the LED zones as they show up a bit lighter than the surrounding black mask, but it's a tradeoff in the ability to see the time.The battery life has started out badly as I received the watch on 4/29 and had to replace the battery on 5/18. Hopefully that was due to being powered up in inventory for a while before I got it. I'm going to keep track of changes to see what the trend is like. Changing the battery is easy and is best accomplished with a coin (I used a US nickel since it's the thickest). It uses one inexpensive and readily available CR2032 3V coin cell.Edit: I finally had to change the battery 16 months after installing the new one on 5/18/15 so no real complaints with battery life.The operating system is very easy to use (much more so than the Casio's). I really like the "guide ticks" that show up around the dial to indicate which buttons are active in each mode. I keep the watch locked in barometer mode for day to day wear. This has a tendency to trigger the storm alarm constantly so I turned that off. It was getting irritating. The stopwatch is the biggest disappointment as it is way too small and shows up as a sub-display of the time rather than having its own screen. If you are hoping for the big stopwatch like on Denzel Washington's Suunto in "The Equalizer" you will be disappointed. From what I have read, those displays were digitally added to his watch for the movie and Suunto did not do a special firmware for him as reported in several places. I would really love to see Suunto offer a firmware with a large stopwatch mode.I have not had much occasion to use the compass, but it's easy to activate and will be useful on hikes. The temperature function is useless unless you remove the watch and let it stabilize on ambient temperature instead of your arm temperature. Mine usually reads 82 degrees F.So to sum up, I'm extremely pleased with the All-Black Core. If you track the prices, they will dip to around $200 from time to time so if you are patient you can save enough to buy the extra band.

18.1.2014

I've owned many fine watches, including names such as Breitling, Raymond Weil, Longines Valjoux and others. I've also owned many "sports" watches. All things considered, the Suunto Core is at the top of my list! Talk about bang for the buck! It's not the fanciest and certainly not the most expensive, but there's just something about it that screams cool!The first thing I noticed when taking it out of the box was its size. The overall diameter of the watch is around 2 inches. The display area (face) is just over 1 ¼ inches. Although this seems large, it doesn't feel that way on my wrist. In fact, it's one of the most comfortable watches I've owned. The case back is rounded at the edges so it doesn't bite into your wrist.It's also very lightweight. You hardly know you're wearing it.The next thing that struck me was how clean and well laid out the display looked. The characters are sharp and easy to read. Unlike similar watches, there's no clutter or unnecessary foolishness. The designers made excellent use of the available screen real estate.The watch provides many auxiliary functions, including various timers and alarms, barometric and altitude displays, time and date, plus sunrise - sunset information and a compass function. You can change the units of display, language, backlight function and a host of other options. One of the things that really set this watch apart from it competitors is how easy it is to program. It's menu driven and so intuitive that you hardly have read the instructions, which by the way, are relatively easy to understand. Not perfect, but better than most. As a bonus, You Tube contains a wealth of instructional videos for the Suunto Core watches, so if you learn better by demonstration, then this is a great option.I just purchased this watch, so I can't speak to its long-term reliability, but I have found all of the functions seem to work as advertised. Considering its relatively modest cost, I'm actually amazed how well this watch performs!Looking through various reviews on this site and others, the main complaint seems to be that the altitude / barometer functions drift and require frequent recalibration. This has not been my experience and in many cases, I think points to a basic misunderstanding of how barometric altimeters work. In fact, because Suunto allows you to lock the barometer or altitude settings, this watch is way ahead of the competition if dead on MSL pressure or altitude readings are important to you. (It's actually my opinion that trends are more important, but that's beyond the scope of this review.)The only complaint I have so far, and it's minor, it that the compass function would be a lot more accurate if the watch included some form of level. Timex for example, includes a small bubble level on their Expedition series compass watches. Keeping the surface of the watch level is important to obtaining the most accurate readings.The bottom line, this is a great watch and well worth the money. I would definitely recommend it to any of my friends looking for an all around sports watch.

31.3.2015

I read all the reviews and watched numerous YouTube reviews on the Suunto Core - All Black. I have worn a Casio GW3000-BB for several years - I saw this watch on the Equalizer movie and found out what the watch was.I'll start with the bad:My Casio GW3000-BB is an atomic watch, which means it syncs with atomic time, is extremely accurate and never need to be set. It is also a solar watch so as long as I don't put it in a box for 3 days, it stays charged and I don't have to change the battery. It is a G-Shock with a rubber-ish body - it has taken quite a beating and looks no worse for the wear after several years.It is also water resistant to 100 meters.The Suunto Core does not have any of this - which is one reason it took me forever to decide to fork out over 200 on the Suunto.Also, the stopwatch feature on this watch isn't anything like the cool blue stopwatch Denzel used in the movie. It's a small readout under the time and is actually harder to see. I don't believe you can move that to the primary section where time is displayed. Not that big a deal because I don't use it that much - but if it were more prominent I might use it more.Here's the good:The Suunto is a very nice looking watch. It is a low profile watch - low glare - negative face. It is a heck of a lot more functional than my Casio - after all this time I still am not sure how to set the Casio's limited functions - alarm, DST, stopwatch. It is an analog also which is a drawback to me.The Suunto is completely digital, and the functions are easy to use and intuitive. It has positive beeps when you push a button and is backlit! The Casio's hands and tick marks are glow in the dark. Unless you've been in bright light for a while, you can't read the watch in the dark. And even if you have, that glow fades fairly quickly.The Suunto has the Altimeter and Barometer function -this is an excellent feature because we like to go to the mountains and I like to track the increase in elevation. It also has a compass - this is a basic survival/navigational necessity and it's cool to have one on my watch. I try to use the one on the iPhone but it basically sucks.The Suunto is actually lighter than my Casio and the band is much more comfortable - it's a soft rubbery-like plastic. It doesn't cut into your arm when you move.It also has the capacity to show dual time zones which is awesome as my employer is based in another time zone and I'm constantly trying to calculate the time difference when setting up meetings.Other than that, I can say I'm happy I bought the watch, for the following reasons:1. Able to read the watch at night with backlight2. More comfortable3. Bigger face than the Casio4. Digital and not analog5. Easy-to-use6. More usable functions

11.8.2013

I highly recommend this watch to those who like to play and work outside in austere environments. I bought this watch because I managed to destroy my Sunnto X-lander. I didn't find that watch very useful, but it was free so I wore it. The Core however is the perfect match for me. It has what the X-lander lacked. Before purchasing this watch, you must understand that you will need to read the manual so that you can understand how this watch works and how to use it. Once this watch is set-up, operation is very simple if you understand how it works, I am assuming that the majority of the people that buy this watch will understand the principles behind how it works. If you don't you are wasting your money,

10.4.2012

After owning several Casio PAWs (1500, 2000) I can now say I really wish I had started with the Suunto long ago.I like the Casios but to me the Suunto is the real thing and the Casios feel more gimmicky now, certainly nowhere near as well executed as this Suunto Core Black. The Suunto is far more simply, elegantly designed without the external bulk that now dwarfs the Casio screens with metal housings that are just a visual mess of too much info crammed onto every surface.The Suunto features are powerful and it is well thought out; I never had to open the manual other than to see what the face symbology represented. It was a pleasure to program and I can jump between more complex functions like logs and Storm Alert,

30.5.2011

I used to use the Vector, which was their previous entry-level ABC (Altimeter-Barometer-Compass) watch. I just got the Core after waiting for Suunto to shake out the kinks, and I like what they have done. The Core is an attractive watch that is easier to read than the Vector, with what appears to be a user-friendlier interface.Suunto offers five buttons on the watch, and they are used reasonably well. The click-throughs to get to functions have not changed all that much, but they seem a bit more logical and easy to learn. The amount of information that is readily displayed has not changed all that much, but it is easier for me to spot. Moreover, they've added some helpful add-on's that I do not remember from the Vector (sunrise/sunset,

25.4.2012

I've had this watch a couple of weeks now having spent about 6 weeks looking at different types of ABC watches before I decided to buy this one.I'm in the forces and noticed alot of the suunto's being used by my friends and colleagues, It looks slick, It looks well made and feels as if its ment to be apart of your wrist, for the size of it you hardly know its there and it doesn't feel as bulky as it looks when advertised in pictures.I do alot of mountain biking, running, hill walking, skiing etc etc, although having not tried it too the full alot of my friends have with their own and say its accurate and takes alot if you end up in a scrape or two.The functions are easy to use and its easy to navigate around the watch if you need to edit things like time,

5.1.2015

The Suunto Core Sport Watch (all black) has become my favorite watch. I read several reviews before purchasing it and have been waiting to purchase it for the last year or two. The list price is $300.00, but I was able to get it on Amazon for $236. It is worth every penny!Pros: The band is very comfortable and stylish. The watch itself is very lightweight; I often forget that I have it on. I have read several reviews that complained of the display being dark and very hard to read in daylight. I don't have a problem reading the display, although it is not very bright. However, that is why they implemented a "backlight" to make the display readable in locations of darkness. Bearing that in mind,

17.3.2015

It's a nice looking watch although the bezel is not matt as you see in the pictures. It is light for the size compared to metal watches.As for functions - they are accurate - I have synced the barometer with a barometer station and it tracks very well - at fixed altitude - however:The temperature gauge is foolishly on the back next to your skin. I had an old casio decades ago that had one on the side. D'oh!The barometer is effectively useless if you live anywhere near hills > 2m, take stairs, use escalators, work above the first floor in the office, enjoy jumping or are tall. The storm alarm will go off walking up stairs or if you climb a ladder. It will go off just driving around in your car unless you're in Holland or the fens.

13.12.2019

I'm a backpacker and have been through various outdoor watches. My experience is that Timex loses the glow but fits well, and Casio are a poor fit and are difficult to use. This Suunto Core, which I've had a few weeks, fits well and the basic functions are easy to use with the included get started guide which is in a lot of languages. To use the watch better I downloaded the manual from the Suunto site at no charge. That helped some more. To get closer to a full understanding of all the functions I watchec two videos on Youtube that were posted 20 Jan 2011 and are called Suunto Core All Black Military Review Part 1 and Part 2. Now that we are through the documentation here's some specific feedback.

7.11.2014

The Sunnto Core All Black is a large watch but it’s very light and not cumbersome at all. The ABC features seem to work well; I have only really used the compass as I need this for work and it is bang on, the barometer seems accurate enough as does the altimeter but I have only used these features in passing.Other features include sunrise/sunset, stopwatch, countdown timer and dual time (one of the reasons I chose this model over the cheaper Vector).I had read criticism of the negative face being too dark and was mildly concerned that this would be the case but I haven’t had any problems seeing the display. It is very clear in bright sunlight and in low light the watches illuminator is excellent.

27.2.2015

I purchased my Suunto Core Black on 2010 and by this time (2015) it stills works fine. I have the chance to compare it against Casio and Tissot T-Touch watches and, like someone wrote here, it can be a bit more complicated to use some features and settings on the Suunto but, as the title says, this is a "computer wrist" so have a lot more functions that I think are well organized in the tree-structured menu. Once you get used to it and fiund some useful tricks for going between frequent screens it seems so easy to use and configure it. I've used it for diving down to 12-14mt depth and ice climbing up to 5.400mt and I have so few complains that I decided to give 5 stars,

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