Review of Suunto Core Wrist-Top Computer Watch (reviews, Amazon, gift)

[reviewer]

Suunto Core Wrist-Top Computer Watch

Rating: 4 out of 5

• Currently 4.0/5.0

Suunto Core computer watch is meant for explorers and adventurers, but it works very well as a gift for a man of certain age, who is showing signs of midlife crisis. It looks seriously macho and it looks very cool on a wrist, in the office and on the golf course, and I have not seen my husband so happy with a gift since I bought him a yearly subscription for the Sports Illustrated.

The Suunto Core received the Red Dot award for design, the special award "Best of Everything" from The Men's Journal, and the Award from the Men's Journal as the Gear of The Year. It is surprisingly light as it is made of aluminum. I bought it with a metal strap.

The Core has a number of high-tech features: it shows sunrise and sunset times, it has a compass, storm alarm, barometer, depth meter and altimeter. It has a calendar, thermometer, bearing tracking, stopwatch and a range of other sophisticated features. And yes, it does show the time as well.
This great watch is really designed for outdoor enthusiasts, and its features can potentially save someone's life when exploring the wilderness. For example, it has an alarm which reacts to sudden changes in barometric pressure, signifying stormy weather ahead. It also shows altitude change, very important when you go hiking and do not have a topographic map with you and have no idea how steep the trail is.

Unfortunately, the watch is very hard to read, because the background is black, and the alphanumeric letters silver. I learned later that the Core is also available with white background, but my husband is not complaining about the poor visibility, he is happy about how cool it looks. Anyway, he is only using it for checking time.

The watch came with a large instruction book, which explains all its sophisticated features. I wish they sent us a video, maybe that would convince my husband to check what else the cool watch can do. But, he is happy with it, and that is all that matters to me, especially considering that I spent $448.00 for it at the Amazon.

Review by professional reviewer, Oct. 2, 2010