Suunto Core all black review

[anditsgone]

In this review i will give my opinion about the Suunto Core all black watch.

I have never had an watch before because it looked pointless to me, i always had an iphone in my right pocket.

But when i was lookiing in a tactical stuff catalog i noticed some nice wachtes. I've looked a KHS watches but didn't read a lot of good reviews about the watch that i was interested. Also looked at Casio G shock watches but i did not like the bulky look of it because it would not match my casual clothes that well.

Then i saw about the Suunto Core all black. I was immediately attracted to the simple design and the large screen. I also read a lot of good things in reviews about the Core all black watch.

When i looked for the watch online i saw they retailed for about 200 euros, which i personally find too much for a watch no matter how good it is. As i am an technical person and work a lot on cars etc... i knew it was going to be banged pretty fast. That was also the reason why i insisted on a glass display instead of polycarbonate.

I looked online and found this 5 year old used example for 45 euros. So i bought it and put a new battery in it. I have not been a day without this watch, the only time i don't wear it is under the shower and in bed.

This watch came without out the turning bezel because that broke off when the previous owner had it. The watch did come with a strap that had large cut outs for the locking plate that you use to adjust the strap. I already thought this was a weak point and this was confirmed after two weeks of use when the strap had ripped in two pieces. So i looked online and found a new improved version that is much stronger. This costed me 25 euros but will last much longer.

The watch glass, body and the strap are covered under small melted spots because of the sparks that hit the watch when i am using an angle grinder or when i am welding something. Also the glass is scratched because when i am working on cars i lay on the ground a lot or i am reaching in between pieces of metal.
I do have to say that the watch glass is pretty scratch resistant because i have not managed to make deep scratches into it. The previous owner did do that and i don't know how he managed that

The watch is very light and sits comfortable on my wrist. This is mainly because the watch body and strap are made from polycarbonate.

The watch has three main functions: Time, Altimeter/barometer and compass. You can switch between modes using the right middle button. When in one of the main modes you can switch between temperature, sunrise/sunset, seconds, date/month, stopwatch and many more.
Because i live in the flat Netherlands i have locked the altimeter/barometer to only barometer because i have no interest in the current height.

I do use the barometer to estimate how the weather will be like today. On the watch face you see an arrow, if this arrow points up it lets you know the air pressure is rising. If it goes down it shows that the airpressure is falling. If the airpressure has fallen for a certain amount it gives you a beep tone and the screen says storm alarm. This probably means that there is a storm coming and it has saved me a couple of times to finish my work and go seek shelter. 1 hour later we had one of the worst rainfalls in months.

The watch still has its time running parallel with the macbook i used to set it up over two months ago so i have no issues with false time readings.

I have calibrated the compass about a month ago but it looks like have to do it again. But this function does not really bother me because i never use it.

I personally find the watch easy to read in direct sunlight and in the darkness by using the back light which is activated by using the right lower button.
Also one of the reasons why i bought this watch is because it has an user replaceable battery which according to Suuntos website should last a year. Despite the user replaceable battery the watch is waterproof to a depth of 30 meters 100 feet.

I definitely think this watch will last me another 5 years of hard use and i am pretty sure my next watch will be a Suunto again.

I highly recommend them because they offer a lot of good watches for decent prices (also look for second hand watches) that have a lot of useable functions, they're also very robust and go well with almost every clothing style 

You can find the full Suunto range and alle the different modes and specs that i forgot on the Suunto website.

[SolomonKane79]

Thank you very much for this interesting review

Inviato dal mio LG-H500 utilizzando Tapatalk

[zoidberg]

Thank you very much for this interesting review

Inviato dal mio LG-H500 utilizzando Tapatalk

+1   

[anditsgone]

Last week in the swimming pool i tested the dive function, and i was amazed at how precise it is.
A sign on the wall of the pool stated that it was exactly 1.70 meters deep, when i touched the the ground of the pool the depth meter said that it was 1.7 meters maximum depth. After that i tested it in a pool that has a sign of 1.30 meters. And once again the watch said maximum depth was 1.3 meters.

The watch is waterproof for 30 meters / 100 feet so this function will be really handy in the summer when i go freediving again to see how deep i can go because i always wondered that.

[zoidberg]

How deep do you think you can go down?

[anditsgone]

How deep do you think you can go down?

It is very hard to estimate but i think around 6 to 8 meters. I am not really an expert in holding my breath very long but i like the challenge to go deeper and deeper again. This summer we will see how deep i can go.

I have added a picture of the watch in diving mode.
The large numbers display the current depth, the small numbers display the maximum measured depth and the optional info is temperature, time and stop watch.

Without diving goggles you can't read it underwater but with goggles you can read it very clear underwater.

I have not tested it in dark water and don't know how much the backlight will improve the visibility.

[zoidberg]

Good info and pic, thanks.   

[jzmtl]

You can even use the buttons while underwater, however probably shouldn't since grits can get trapped making button push scratchy.