11:54 a.m. on March 6, 2002 (EST)
I wouldn't be as harsh as Brandon, but there are a number of problems with the Suunto line of "wrist computers." Most of them have to do with functions most folks don't use, so probably are of no great importance. Like Brandon, I would suggest the Avocet (currently Avocet II) as a better alternative.
I have had my Avocet for about 8 years and my Suunto for about 5 years. I have found Avocet to be a lot more responsive to questions and problems (I broke the crystal on mine by clumsily tripping on a trail and sticking my wrist onto a rock to stop the fall - they replaced the whole case with a 2-day turnaround). Of course, you do have to consider that Avocet is headquartered local to me. The Suunto USA people seem to have little understanding of atmospheric science, and Suunto's main headquarters is very slow in response.
Some problems with the Suunto line - as Brandon mentioned, the "waterproof" case has several leak points. The main one is the battery compartment. Unless you are very very careful, you will get the gasket out of alignment or worn after one or two replacements. Since the battery needs replacing about every 6 months if you use the recording functions very much, this means it will be leaking within 6-12 months. I have had serious condensation just from the sweat on my wrist. You can reduce this problem by replacing the gasket every time you replace the battery (included in Suunto's battery kit at 4 or 5 times the price of the battery alone at Radio Shack or Fry's).
For my use, the worst problem is the major bug in the "sea level" barometer function. This appears to be normal up to altitudes of 4000-5000 feet, thanks in part to the coarse steps in the barometer indication (the pressure displays move in 0.05 inch Hg steps, rather than 0.01 for everybody else who makes altimeters - but Suunto actually does carry the full precision internally). Above 5000 ft or so, the sea level reading (QNH, for the pilots out there) is increasingly high, until somewhere between 10k and 11k. At that altitude, the conversion algorithm fails completely. Instead of something near 30 inches Hg, the readings I obtained (with a half dozen other Suuntos of 3 or 4 models agreeing) were (ranges represent daily fluctuations):
11,200 feet altitude ..... 8.75 inches
14,200 feet ............ 9.70 to 9.90 inches
17,200 feet ............ 10.65 to 10.75 inches
The absolute pressure function (QFE)is normal and in agreement with other altimeter/barometers, including a calibrated one the NPS had at the 14k camp. Also, the problem does not appear to affect the altitude or altitude logging functions. If you never go above 2000 or 3000 feet or never use the "sea level" function, this won't matter to you. But if you hike in Colorado, for example, and try to use the barometer settings from nearby airports, you are out of luck. Since I and others have brought this to Suunto's attention repeatedly over the past 5 years or so, it is possible that the problem has been corrected in newer versions. My most recent check on a new unit at altitude was 1 1/2 years ago, but a quick glance at a new, just out of the box Vector at Snowbird looked like the problem might have been solved.
Another problem is that the compass function in the Vector and others in the lineup that have the electronic compass is easily de-calibrated by RFI and EMI, including the old analog frequency cell phone transmissions and leakage from certain vehicle electronic ignition systems.
A peculiarity is that if you set the time interval on the altitude logging function too long (to save memory and battery), you get a much lower accumulated climb and descent. For example, if you are skiing and set the interval to one hour, you will miss all but one of the half dozen trips up the lift and ski down (gain is done by differencing the altitude reading at the specified interval, rather than cumulative like the Avocet or Thommens electronic units). So you have to go to 1 minute or shorter intervals, which uses the memory too fast and runs the battery down faster.
There are other problems as well, but this is too long a post already. Casio does have equivalent features in their top models, but watch out for their altitude limits (13,500 for most Casio altimeter watches). Timex and Casio seem to have a technology agreement, so their models are similar.
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