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Suunto Core 2009

£216.00

LFTO rating rating is 4
Owners' rating rating is 4

The Suunto Core’s manual brilliantly explains how to get the most out of it on the hill. Aside from time functions, it’s the altimeter and barometer that make it so good. You can track your ascent, and set warnings when you hit certain altitudes, and it has a weather trend and storm warning function. You can lock and follow bearings with the compass. But with no function indication on the buttons it does feel less intuitive. Barometer trend indicators only appear when you’ve selected barometer settings, and it’s hard to scroll between the two settings.

 

Screen size 35mm diameter
Weight 65g
Features altitude range -500m to 9000m, temperature range -20 to 60 deg C, water-resistant to 30m

Verdict: The Suunto Core is a brilliantly functional watch that is highly respected by a wide variety of outdoor professionals. But it may prove overly complex for some walkers, and others in this test are more user-friendly.

 

Review by Matt Swaine
First published in Trail magazine September 2009

Users' Overall Rating rating is 4(1 review)

  • Suunto Core All Black

    Tibbs

    chipping norton, UK

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    User's Overall Rating rating is 4

    Show Details

    Performancerating is 4
    Build qualityrating is 5
    Value for moneyrating is 3

    I have had the Suunto Core all black for 1 year now and I am generally pleased with it. I got it mainly for the altimeter and I'm glad to say this works really well. You have to set the reference height before you start your walk but you get used to this and it doesn't bother you after a while. By the time I get to the top of the mountain the watch is normally within 10 meters so very happy with that. I am happy to report that the Barometer, Compass and Depth meter also work very well. I don't use these functions very much as you can only use one function at a time and I am always using the altimeter. The Compass does seem accurate but I always use my real compass and it's nice to know I can use it for backup. The disappointment for this watch has to be the battery life and the temperature function. I was looking forward to using the temperature reading but it's just useless as it only gives you a real temperature when you are not wearing it as a watch. All other times the reading just says 27deg from the heat from your arm. If you take it off to try and read the real temperature it takes about 20-30 minutes for the temperature reading to get down to the actual temperature. Very disappointing. My first battery lasted less than 1 year which was a shock. However thankfully it is really easy to change the battery with just a coin and a back of 10 batteries only cost me £8 on the web. To sum up, this is a good watch if you primary use is for the altimeter. If you are looking forward to using all the functions at the same time on the fly then perhaps look elsewhere. Especially if you are interested in the temperature reading.

    (Written by: Tibbs)

    11 November 2009 11:04

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