Staff Review: Suunto Core

I was lent a Suunto Core watch with the positive face and red bezel to test over the Easter holiday weekend. After admiring the watch briefly it then occurred to me that I would have to work out how to use it, which appeared to be a rather daunting task faced with 5 buttons whereas my current watch only has one! So with no instruction manual (don’t worry – when you buy them they do come with one!) and because I'm too impatient to log on to the internet and download one, I set about pressing all the buttons in all manner of sequences to find out what does what.  You will be pleased to know that it is actually relatively simple to navigate around the different functions and access the menu screen to select what functions you would like displayed.

On the subject of the display, the bezel is about 50mm wide so is by no means huge, even on my fairly thin wrists.  I find the Suunto Core perfectly comfortable to wear and it doesn’t feel bulky either.

The display screen is approx 40mm in diameter and is made from a mineral crystal which is highly scratch resistant and can be found on many high-end watches! The large clear display is means that the watch is easy to read and you are able to have up to 3 features on the screen at once. 

The Suunto Core is waterproof up to 30m and the language can be displayed in English, French, German or Spanish.

So what are the main functions?

• Time
• Four language menu (English, French, Spanish, DE)
• Altimeter
• Barometer
• Compass
• Altitude difference measurement
• Temperature
• Depth meter
• Automatic Altitude/Barometer switch
• Storm alarm
• Sunrise/Sunset times
• User replaceable battery

As you can determine from the list above, the Core provides the wearer with a very powerful and useful set of features and are easy to understand when you’re out on the hill.

If you wear the core everyday (assuming you are not out in the hills everyday!) having the date and time clearly displayed will probably be what you look at most of the time - but when it comes to the weekends, the compass, barometer and altimeter offer you the most valuable information. I have found the barometer to be surprisingly accurate (having never used such a technical watch I was a little sceptical of its acclaimed capabilities).  Having initially set the 'Storm Alarm' feature I got a clear warning when there was a sudden drop in pressure (it usually went off on my way home; just as I got over the Cat and Fiddle and start dropping into Buxton, where it is usually raining!) but sure enough you could see clouds darkening in the sky and 80% of the time (and to my amazement) it rained shortly after the storm alarm warning went off.
For mountaineers and alpine climbers, I would seriously recommend this watch as a valuable companion, as forecasts are not always accurate and this little device can help you make the decision to carry on or turn back to avoid getting caught out in unexpected afternoon storms that are all too common in the Alps and other mountain regions.

The altimeter again is another useful hill feature and provided that you calibrate it as often as possible to obtain accurate readings (best to do it whenever you are at a location with known elevations such as summits or sea level). I decided to use a weekend trip to North Wales (training trip for my Alps trip later this Summer) to test out the Suunto Core. I did forget to calibrate the altimeter and got some a very strange reading at the top of Tryfan, but once calibrated, it was all fine.

 The last of the main navigational functions is the compass. For those of you that have ever been out on the side of a mountain and been caught out in a sudden fog the compass can enable you to set a bearing and follow it, however if you do end up wanting to cross reference with a map the altimeter will give you your height and providing you knew where you were before you got lost you can identify your position with relative ease.  The compass was accurate and easy to read.



Overall I have been thoroughly impressed by the watch, I am planning on getting one for my trip to the alps later on this year as the barometer could prove invaluable! Both the Core and Vector are excellent watches, however I have found the Core to be slightly more straightforward to use out of the box.

Jon - Shop Manager