5 Suunto Core Review

Reviewer: Kenneth Lawson, Chessington   (25-11-2010)

I bought this watch primarily for its barometric function and am well satisfied. I shall not use it as my main watch, for cosmetic reasons and also because it loses a second a day, which is far less accurate than the watch I already have. However, I am able to check the barometric readings against those of the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, which is near enough to me to be useful, and they go up and down in line with considerable precision.

The altimeter is telling me that my height is 18 metres when in fact it is 30, but as I am not a climber that is not of much concern, and it is within the limits stated by Suunto. I tried taking the battery out just to make sure I could do it, and I could, though getting the thread to engage when the cover is screwed back on takes quite a lot of care. The manual says it should be screwed in counter-clockwise, which is wrong, but the arrows on the cover itself are correct.

I also bought the orange strap simply because it makes the watch easier to find; those who have said that it is pretty tacky are quite right, but it is doing the job.

4 Suunto Core Review

Reviewer: Matt Clarkson, ES Group HQ - Camp Bastion   (6-11-2010)

I bought the Core days before deploying to Afghanistan. I needed something that was guaranteed to handle the abuse it was going to get and it is not disappointing. The negative face is clear and easy to read. The idiots guide book is easy-ish to follow, but the orange watch strap looks excellent in the pics but is very cheap and nasty in the flesh and was changed for a Velcro strap immediately. Good investment.

5 Suunto Core Review

Reviewer: Colin Conway, Worthing   (5-10-2010)

I recently purchased this watch primarily for a trekking expedition in Namibia but also due to the excellent design and functionality for everyday use.

I found the watch straightforward to set up, with only the occasional reference to the manual required. The display is very clear and the elastomer strap is comfortable, and suitable for a wide variation of wrist size. So far the barometer setting has been very accurate in 'predicting' weather changes. The only minor negative is that the backlight is not very bright and clear. Overall, a great choice of watch for anyone keen on outdoor pursuits.

5 Suunto Core Review

Reviewer: matthew stuart, falmouth   (30-9-2010)

I love this watch, I purchased a Suunto vector for my dad a couple of years ago and wish I had one myself. Obviously I had to get a better model for myself so I opted for the Core. Very impressed with the ABC functions. I tried the depth meter snorkelling yesterday which worked great and seemed very accurate.

I went for the one with the orange strap but I am not convinced it looks as good as the black so I'm going to order a black one in a few minutes. The orange strap also shows the dirt quite badly. I'm a big watch fan and would highly recommend this watch to anyone, I wear mine most days even when I have no intention of using the ABC functions.

3 Good Features, good Looks, but...

Reviewer: lee bastock, bromsgrove   (28-9-2010)

Bought this watch a couple of weeks ago with the orange strap. Although it wont be my everyday watch I was very pleased with the look and feel.

Out and about the features really excel. I love the temperature reading and the barometer facility which when calibrated to a known height proved accurate over the days walk.

I have two criticisms. The first is that it is a little difficult to read unless you get it at the right angle. Also I have managed to scratch it already which is a pain as I expected a better quality screen glass £200 ish.

To conclude if you want features that work on a watch that looks good then its for you, just treat it gently.

5 Suunto Core Orange Black

Reviewer: Ed Hardy, Churt, Farnham, Surrey   (6-8-2010)

Manage your expectations, apply a bit of common sense and you'll be very happy with this watch. You're not going to get an always-100%-accurate indication of either elevation or atmospheric pressure unless you can continually set reference elevations or pressures throughout the day, or you can guarantee that atmospheric pressure isn't changing, or if you live near the National Physics Laboratory in Teddington and can use their online barometer as your reference. But if all you want is a broad indication of height or pressure, it's perfectly adequate.

The display is very subtle indeed, which I personally find greatly appealing, but if you want to be blinded by illuminated digits then look elsewhere (fiddling with the contrast makes no difference to the readability of the display). Be careful with the battery-heavy functions and you should be fine with battery life: don't keep the compass on all day, don't use the backlight too much, don't use the alarm every morning and so on. Make sure the watch isn't on when you get it out of the box too, that will mean the battery's done some work already. But keep things in context: batteries are £3 each so insignificant in the greater scheme of things (and yes there is a low battery warning indicator).

The strap gets dirty but it's supposed to be a hairy-a*sed piece of kit so a bit of dirt isn't the end of the world (and anyway you can always get a new strap if it really offends you: the orange will be out of fashion in about five minutes anyway and your replacement black strap won't show the dirt nearly as much). Buy it because it looks very cool, it's a real pleasure to use and it's got some fun functionality.

5 Suunto Core All Black

Reviewer: Carl Stevenson, Hereford   (31-5-2010)

Living in the sticks I'd never actually seen the Core in real life so was concerned that it would look massive and I wouldn't be able to read the screen properly. I'm 5'7" and rather weedy but the Core looks great and no-one has made any dinner plate comments. Easy to read too. Don't know what all the fuss was about. Great customer service as always from Facewest too.

5 Suunto Core Review

Reviewer: Robert Churcher, Laxey, Isle of Man   (13-5-2010)

A fantastic watch, I'd recommend spending the extra money and getting this over the Suunto Vector any time. Really nice to wear - very light and relatively low profile, even on small wrists.

It takes very little time to get your head around all the different functions - everything in it has been carefully thought out and evaluated, and the manual is extremely well written. Functions like the storm alarm are really clever. The ideal mountain watch to have in my opinion, a very useful tool to have with you out in the backcountry.

My only criticism would be the quality of the plastic the watch is made from, it's a little glossy and tacky, but then this makes it light and resilient...

I'd highly recommend this watch.

5 Suunto Core Review

Reviewer: David Browning, Cheltenham   (11-5-2010)

Excellent performance delivered in a stylish design. Intuitive and clear.

5 Suunto Core Review

Reviewer: Dean Copley, Manchester   (10-5-2010)

I bought myself an all-black Suunto Core Watch in January, as I have always used a Suunto computer for scuba diving and wanted to see how their mountain equipment compared.

The watch is very light but loaded with features. Backpacking in the hills I usually carry a GPS but I now find my self consulting the Core more often than not for heading and particularly altitude.

When setting off from camp in the morning I set an altitude log going so that at the end of the day I can call up a diagrammatic profile of the day's terrain and also see the aggregate ascent and descent.

I also like the option to set the watch to switch automatically between altitude and barometric measurement when it senses altitude changes.

The "storm alarm" hasn't yet gone off in the hills and I suppose I should be grateful but I live in hope!