This watch is great. I have had the watch for a month. I am addicted to logging how much vert I climb and drop. I like this function when I am mt biking mostly. But I can't wait to use it skiing. It also has compass, sunrise/sunset, storm alarm, barometer, etc. Just yesterday I did the crest mountain bike ride starting from Guardsman and ended up at MIll D in Big Cottonwood Canyon. 822ft of climbing overall for the ride, and 3200ft down! I'll take it.!

this watch has a lot of great features. however i've arrived at this watch as my "go to" for logging my training after using the suunto t6 for years and trying to use the 305 and 406 garmin forerunners. i'm a trail runner mtn biker so gps doesn't work in the bush. also foot pods inevitably break. so i use this watch for time, elevation gain and the occasional "which direction am i facing" check of the compass.

the altimeter i find to be pretty good, although usually when i check it against topo or some other resource it seems to be a tad bit low - but since it uses barometric pressure i think that is acceptable and expected. the compass is good enough in a pinch and for general direction, but anyone really navigating knows to bring a real compass anyway. the features and screen are good. i leave mine in altitude mode and it shoes me the time of day on top and the log run time on the bottom. i can change the bottom view to show me total vert gained or lost on the day too, which i do frequently.

my bottom line: this watch simply works and isn't packed with so many features they get in each others way. simplicity.

For summer or moderate weather activities, wristwatch altimeters are great. But for winter or cold weather, clothing layers and gloves make it difficult to access the watch- especially with an ice tool leash. For winter or cold weather I use an external clip-on altimeter like the High Gear ATF8 (lightest, most functional I've found). I used the Suunto Core (Organge/black)for two Himalayan expeditions in 2008, and the functionality was great, battery life was good, and the black face version was the best for viewing the display on bright days and in snow- especially when wearing eye wear. Also, the buttons do not involuntarily depress against the back of your hand when climbing- a big issue with some other models. However, after 50 days or so, the orange band began to seriously discolor, so I recommended getting the black band version. Also, the threads on the battery cover have now stripped, and I had to send it in. Luckily, Suunto has a strong return policy- at least for a year. Confident 4 stars.

Well it might not be as blingy as your diamond Piaget, but it can do a whole lot more. I rock the Core on and off the hill. Unless I'm trying to measure my vert and runs skied, or I'm on an expedition, this is my go to wristop computer. It's a great looking watch with easy to use features, not like those lame watches that are so packed with unnecessary features that the manual is a hundred pages long.

The bottom line with the Core is it looks great and works great, both on and off the hill.

I've had my Core for a couple months now, and just started skiing with it. The interface is really easy to use, and it has a more intuitive menu setup than my old Vector. It's also about half as thick as Vector, but still has a big, easy to read face. I used it a bunch this fall on hiking and climbing trips, and it worked great. The extra features are nice too; sunrise/sunset, snorkeling and storm alarm. Plus, it looks much nicer than older versions, with an aluminum bezel (or steel for the steezee) and mineral crystal face. Great update to a classic!

Received my core light black around the first of November. Within a day the sound went out on it, after a call to Suunto USA, they confirmed it to be a bug in the firmware and stated that I needed to remove, wait, and then replace the battery each time this happened to get the sound back. A couple of days later I found that the reference altitude could not be set correctly, after another call to Suunto this was also blamed on the firmware version and I was ask to send the watch back to SuuntoUSA for replacement.

That was over a month ago and Suunto now states that I will not get my warranty replacement until after they have filled all their new Holiday orders. (Next year some time...) That is a crock. Do yourself a favor, buy another watch, or if you must have the Suunto, wait until they work the bugs out.

I currently own a Suunto Core Light Black model and love this watch. I have also owned Highgear, Casio, and Timex watches and consider Suuntos, in general and the new Core, the most accurate. The positive display of the Light Black Core is by far the easiest to read of all my digital watches. The barometer reading is consistantly dead on when I compare it to CNN weather readings on the web. The "auto" function for barometer and altitude is a great feature that works perfectly and the sunrise/sunset feature is a first for Suunto and is also accurate. The mineral glass face on the Core is also much more durable than the plastic faces on other Suunto models. I did experience a battery problem like many Core owners but I replaced the original battery with a new Duracell 2032 and the Core works fine. Battery replacement was easy and fast. Watchbands are easily replaceable and all are interchangable too. The watch is very intuitive to set up and it is not necessary to refer to the manual after you use the watch for awhile. The technology of the Core is far better than previous Suuntos. All in all, a great watch and the positives of the Core far out weigh and few issues. Customer service at this site has also been great for me with respect to orders, returns, questions, or concerns.

Okay, so I've written a review not too long after I got my first of these watches. Now that I have a bunch more experience with it I have a few more thoughts. The 1st watch ended up having problems with the buttons....they stopped working. I returned it and Backcountry.com replaced it no questions asked. The 2nd one worked for about 5 or 6 weeks. At that point it started doing a global reset at least once per week. That required to go back in and set all values for the entire watch again. I gave up on it at that point. I absolutely love the functions of this watch, just couldn't get it to work long enough to make it worth while. Luckily Backcountry.com completely rocks and gave me a full refund.....no questions asked. Thanks folks!!!

I had the gold core and I loved it for the two months it lasted,it was very user friendly.
It seemed to suck a lot of battery juice,I even started bringing extra batteries.Finally after two months it just stoped working.The store wear I bought it replaced my watch but not the same one because they returned all the core's back to the suunto.I hope they fix the issue because when the watch works I would give it a five.

Fantastic piece of kit. The Suunto Core is truly the most complete ABC (Altimeter/Barometer/Compass) watch to date. I bought the Light Green Core and have been very pleased. The watch gives extremely accurate readings and is easy to use and easy to read, plus it fits very comfortably on the wrist. The storm alarm and sunrise/sunset features are an added bonus too. Highly recommended!!!!

I really like my light green Core watch. Everyone’s first impression says: it's big! I like big so I can see the time without my glasses. The barometer, altimeter and compass function well. It was a little hard to get used to switching between the barometer and altimeter selection since it requires choosing only one view in a submenu profile first. Now I set it to 'auto' on trips which changes to the appropriate setting based on my activity of standing still vs. moving. The plastic body does soften and begins to melt when it comes in contact with bug repellent sprayed on your arm. The black band is not affected by the repellent.

This is a great find! This thing has about every function you could want. All functions are kind of "on the go" or as necessity calls for instead of extremely meticulous measurements..... meaning, the compass is close but not perfect, the barom./Alti. are really close but not perfect etc. They're all close enough for what this is intended for but don't expect to use this as a main source of Map/Compass. I found that the Barom./Alti. works best in Auto mode so you don't have to set the reference all the time. All in all this is a great watch with a ton of functions that come in really, really handy at some crucial times.

This is a really amazing piece of equipment! There a a million functions.....which I plan to use. The alarm for nasty storms came in handy recently. There isn't a lot more you could ask for. Kind of your personal weatherman!

I had this watch for about 2 months and loved it. I was surprised how accurate the altimeter was and I loved the big numbers making it easy to read at a glance. After casual use one of the buttons stopped working, making all other functions besides time useless. I returned it and got a new one, but then about 3 or 4 months later I had the same problem. Again I returned it and got a new one. Then it happened again, so I got another one. Finally the 3rd watch I got seems to be holding up, I've had it for almost a year and a half. One thing I do notice is that this watch goes though batteries extremely quickly compared to other watches I've had, every 4 or 5 months. I love this watch when it works, but it has failed me so many times that I cannot recommend it.

I got this watch last November and love the watch. I had mixed feelings after ordering it due to a few reviews I read. But I love this watch. I got the one with the orange band. If you are a clean freak you will have to get over the fact that the band does show dirt. All the features thus far have been super accurate(must read instructions and set watch to altitude when it is given in and area) If you do that it is great. You must also take the watch of to get an accurate reading of the temperature. I haven't found a watch yet that reads the temperature accurately on the wrist. So that is just part of it. Highly recommend this guy.

The negative display on this watch can be difficult to read, but the deal-breaker for me was the battery life. In my experience, battery life is about 1 month with normal usage. The altimeter and barmoeter are excellent, but I decided to return the watch due to the battery issue. Also, in general, the quality of the Core reflects it being made in China. If I had to purchase one Suunto watch, it would be the X-lander military edition, which is still made in Finland.

Looks like a few users are upset because the alti function needs to be reset often...that is because the altimeter uses barometric pressure to determine altitude, so whenever the barometer changes the alti will change also. You need to either: set the watch to the correct altitude each day or adjust the barometer to your local value. This is the nature of the altimeter, and is true for all altimeters except those using GPS to determine altitude. As for the compass, I have found mine to be pretty true UNTIL I head back into town. Being anywhere near moving current (powerlines, electrical devices, etc) will skew the compass reading since current moving produces magnetic fields. And, just like the alti you need to reset the compass every once and a while. Overall, suuntos are pretty magnificent watches, and once you get the hang of the buttons and the programming all is well

I've had the Light Black model for 3 months, built quality seems OK, and it's been totally waterproof for several swims in salt water. It's a comfortable, light, and stylish watch, and the first wrist watch I've worn in years.

Operation is good, apart from several important functions that require opening the menu (which means holding a button for several seconds), and then navigating around:
- altimeter recalibration: I found that variations in barometric pressure over a day can easily equal 100m or more in altitude difference, so regular recalibration during a day is useful
- switching between barometer/altimeter: I don't find automatic switching helpful
- switching between metric/imperial units: at least in Canada, different maps use different units
- alarm: something I may change on a daily basis

The original battery just died (after 3 months), let's see how long the next one lasts. I've only considered the compass a back-up option, but it's been quite unpredictable for the last few weeks, maybe that 's related to the low battery, but it's not confidence inspiring.

i already got my third core watch and now have to decide to returne it for good or get an oter replacement.
1st had buttonproblems, 2nd one didn't work after three weeks either (buttons) and the 3rd has display problems (pixels are missing).
it's a great watch as long it works. but what do you want to do with a that watch (unfortunately the first one by suunto made in china) that always breaks down. so only buy it if you want to make multiple replacements.

Is it going to snow? How much vert have we swallowed up today? Which way is back home? With this watch you can have all the answers, the barometer has a storm alarm feature so you can get out before you get yourself in a whiteout, a super accurate compass will help you find your correct direction, and a altitude log book to show your friends that you really did bag that 13K peak. I have the orange and black CORE, I do not really like the strap (buckle kind of digs into my wrist sometimes, but I am used to wrap around fabric bands. The good thing about the orange band it that a regular band could be interchanged just finding one that is an inch+ is a little hard. Overall, this is an expensive watch, but when you think of the things that it does and its durabilty, you have a solid investment for many many years!

This was my upgrade from the vector and I am happy with it. It is much more slim and looks better on my wrist. The metal body is an upgrade from the plastic one as well

The one I have is the Orange/Black. The orange strap is a big turn-off. So I end up spending an extra $50 for the black strap. That's why I gave it only 4 stars. As for the performance, altimeter, barometer, compass, and storm alarm were accurate. One night I had the storm alarm activated and it suddenly alarmed. An hour later, California got hit by the recent arctic storm. Now that's pretty handy on the trails.

If the stopwatch would record splits, all my needs would be met. But that said, this thing is surprisingly comfortable for a watch the size of a biscuit. The band is very secure and it's not heavy or hot like you might expect with something this size. The interface is very intuitive. Even if you're more concerned about when to get the rain gear out of the pack than a sudeen whiteout in the Khumbu Icefall, the storm alarm is a handy tool to have. It's also great to play with when the staff meetings drag on way longer than they should.

This watch is very nice and has a solid build. It altimeter seems to be pretty accurate. The compass is a great function to have. The display is clear and crisp. Still playing around with the barometer functions. Complaint so far is the battery life stinks. Replaced the battery twice in little over a year...it is a juice sucker.

The watch seems a little pricey in comparison to others, but you are getting the Suunto brand.

Altimeter works well... alarm works... sunrise/sunset is a useful feature... tells the time. All pretty easy to use.

Other than that what I like is the strap is long enough to wrap around the outside of several layers, so you can wear it on cold days and easily tell the time/altitude.

Other people have commented on the watch - it's got a really large face and apparently looks cool.

Biggest downside is the face scratched easily. Battery life has been ok, though have had to replace once in the past year.

I've heard so many great things about Suunto watches, however I've not personally experienced them. I have an X6, T1, and a Core. The X6 completely died on me 3 times and I had to send it back to Suunto each time. I bought the Core due to the functionality and sleek looks, however 2 months into owning it I had to send it back to the factory due to a malfunction as well (it is still there, and has been for 2 months). I'm currently wearing the T1 which is a cool little heart rate monitor watch with a much smaller face than the others. It's making due while my Core is away. I have to complain about the quality that I've gotten out of the watches. For a high end, high priced brand I've not seen the quality or customer service from them that I would expect.

I've had my Core for about a month now and have done a little exploration on it. I think things are fairly simple to understand on this watch, though setting barometric pressure is a headache. Though the problem occurs in both areas not just the watch but finding the proper pressure in your area. I am over in the middle east right now and the compass has come in handy a few times.
I have the black/yellow watch, the yellow is a different color as most people say. I knew this going into it, looks more gold. I don't mind the look of it, stands out and kinda 'gawdy' which I find funny. If you are going to use the features, then purchase this watch. The programing is easier than most watches. Which is always a plus.

It's an awesome watch. It's very easy to learn to use it has served me well ski touring in Peru, Argentina, and Japan. The Altimeter, Barometer, and compass do have to be reset relatively frequently, but that is true for every altimeter watch with a barometer. I love it. I would recommend it to anyone willing to spend the time to learn how to use their watch and to know all of its functions. enjoy

first i received an already used watch. well what went wrong? just really strange!!!
but after i got the replacement i was just stoked for all the feautures. altimeter and compass function as they should (watch out: only if compass was first decalinated for your region).
Nice watch, great customer service, poor first delivery.

I'll try to give some info that hasn't been covered by the others. I have found that as an altimeter, this watch is very accurate. Run after run on Okemo and Killington this watch tracked altitude changes very well (about +- 30ft or so). The only problem I've encountered is that it needs regular calibration, due to changes in barometric pressure through the day. I don't see this as a fault in the watch, but in altimeters in general. There really isn't any way your watch knows if you are changing altitude, or the barometric pressure is changing. The watch only measures absolute pressure. So as long as you calibrate it (which is very easy, just read the manual) with either sea level reference pressure or current altitude every few hours or so, It will remain true. The thermometer is accurate, as long as you take it off and give it 10min or so to equalize; your body heat will cause it to run high. I only have 2 problems with this watch. 1) the automatic feature, which is supposed to switch between altimiter and barometer without you calibrating it, doesn't work in my opinion. If you want accuracy, calibrate it yourself. 2) The Alu Black watch is kind of hard to read. I wish the display was brighter.
Other than that I am satisfied. I haven't encountered the technical problems that other reviewers have reported, mabey I got lucky. I agree with the reviewer who recommends getting a new battery right off the bat, they are very cheap anyway. One last thing, this watch will set off metal detectors.

This watch is good but could be better. Apart from all the goods things you’d expect from this watch, there are a few flaws. I live in Western Australia and they recently (2006) re-introduced daylight savings time. Unfortunately, the core does not have a feature which allows you to calibrate the sunrise-sunset time and thus displays my sunrise-sunset time 1 hour out for the daylight savings period of the year. Also, the stop watch only goes to tenths of seconds and not the standard hundreds (but that’s not too bad, I was just surprised). The backlight is a little weak too. Otherwise, I’m pretty happy with the watch.

I dont know where to begin with this watch... I bought this watch specifically for my 5 month patagonia/antarctica trip. Just so people dont think I was cold turkey on this, I had previously read about how you have to recalibrate the watch somewhat often before i bought the watch.

So my trip started with a month long trip on a russian ice breaker. I calibrated the compass with the ships compass, and that includes changing the inclination. The compass was always different than what the boats direction was just a couple hours after calibration and inclination adjustments. In fact, one time I did not change it for 2 days. After these 2 days, the watch was almost 180 degrees off of where the boat was heading.

So the compass didnt work... big deal right? 1 month into the watch's life, the "master button", which controls all of the toggling through the alt, comp, and time suddenly stops working. All of the other buttons on the watch work, except for the master button. Luckily, it is stuck on the altimeter function, and i can scroll through the other options so i can get it too altimeter with a small clock on the screen. This serves as my watch for the next month... (2/5 months done, 3 to go with this malfunctioning watch).

The altimeter would change altitude by hundreds of meters while sitting at camp, and without the weather/temperatures changing. One day, it was reading 500ft alt... and approx 2 hours later it said 1700ft.

OK, so all I care about now is that the watch continues to function so that i can tell the time. About 2.5 months into the watch's life, the battery dies. Now the watch is a complete failure. Luckily, I am in a town where there are watch batteries available. So i attempt to take off the back of the watch to get at the battery. The casing was really stuck on there, and it starts to strip the metal indentation to unscrew the backing. I could not get the back off because the metal casing was made of extremely soft metal....... If it was not $25 to ship this watch back to the states from argentina, i would have shipped it back immediately. I ended up buying a used womens watch (made in china) for $2 to get me through the rest of trip.

I really did take care of this watch, and it was not exposed to water (did not fall in a stream or anything), and i did not drop it ever.

Luckily, BC.com is one of the best outdoor companies, because they took the watch back with no questions asked. I just hope nobody makes the mistake of buying this terrible watch.

I receive many compliments regarding watch appearance. All functions are accurate except temperature, which consistently runs high. Suunto recommends taking the watch off to avoid the body heat effect, but I just subtract 10-12 degrees and get close. The only negative surprise is how easily the stainless steel band will scratch. You can't rest your wrist on a table or desk without picking up brush scratches on the band. Otherwise, the watch is a great timepiece.

Into the first month with this watch and I've had no problems. Display is great and easy to see. Baro/Alti are functional along with the compass. The other functions complete this watch. I would recommend to anyone.

I haven't used this watch anywhere in the back country yet, but it has been very timely in letting me know about approaching storms, and altitude changes. I've read other reviews harping on the batteries, but mine arrived from backcountry.com 'off'. The instructions state how to turn it on, and I haven't had any issues at all. Great watch. The simpleness of it is great, and underwrites the things it can do. It did take a little getting used to the subdued display, and if you wear polarized sunglasses you can't see the display at all, so keep that in mind.

Thus far I've had to reset the altitude function each and every weekend since I've owned it to reflect the correct altitude. Otherwise the time function functions well and as a Tucson resident and avid hiker of southern AZ I haven't needed to use the barometer function until I leave town next. The temperature function would have been better if the watch didn't need to be removed from my wrist each time I desired the temperature as I ascended. All-in-all I enjoy the functionality more than not having it at all. Hoping my battery life is better than the previous reviewers:) We'll see...

Having reviewed this watch a month or so after buying it last February (2008), I have been asked to write a review a 2nd time because it returned this first watch because the battery lasted only 6 months....I'm not surprised as the watch was activated upon arrival. I returned it and requested a replacement which had not been activated....guess what? It was activated when I received it. It doesn't bother me if it only lasts another 6 months. I'll keep sending it back to get a brand new one each time.

This watched worked fine for a couple months, and i took care of it too, then after that time the middle button on the right wouldn't respond, the watch kept resetting the time (back to 12:00pm) at random intervals, and the battery didn't last long at all..

perhaps i had a defective product, but just be aware

I received my first Suunto Core Light Black Watch just 2 weeks ago. Upon delivery, the watch did not work. I sent the watch into Suunto for Warranty / Repair and found out that it was an old model that had older software on it and was recalled. Suunto provided me with a NEW update version. Then I wore this watch for 2 whole days. Wore it only around the house. I did not even have a change to test it mountain climbing, and then, on 3 occasions around the house the Crown/Stem fell out. Yup. The truth for just wearing a watch around the house. I thought it was supposed to be rugged and stood up to all kinds of punishment. It didn't even make it out of house. And my house it not a mountain or cliff. Then to day I sent in this second watch for Warranty/Repair. Stay tuned.........So much for a quality time piece. You can' always believe what you read. One star for this watch Quality and 5 Stars for Suunto Outstanding Service and responsivness.

I love the look, size, and ease of use this watch offers, but I have had a lot of trouble with the internals. I have found myself constantly reseting the altimeter, the barometer is issuing storm warnings on gorgeous sunny days where there isn't even a change in cloud cover hours after the warning. The face is a little hard to read in certain light, I am a young man with good eyes, so it is not just an issue for people with glasses (I have the black face orange band one). I am taking a week long camping trip to Montana in 2 weeks and will give this watch one last try. If it does not behave, I may have to return it to Backcountry. I think you can find a better quality watch for the money. I have read multiple other reviews that have worried me about getting it wet, but I have taken it fishing and it has been in 1-2 ft of water with no issues. Just don't go scuba diving with it!!!
I'll follow up and edit this review when I get back from my trip.

the watch is nice to wear and not too big . at least too many function to use :)
it is good for travelling, hiking and backcountry skiing. a good compromise between tecnology and prize

After years and years of use and abuse, my Vector was so worn and scratched that I could barely read the numbers, so I got the new standard. This watch feels much more durable and is just as lightweight as the old style. Arc'teryx made the face and numbers a bit bigger, so you can read them at a quick glance during approach. My only complaint is that the alarm is still pretty quite. I've slept through it a couple times (with the old watch) and was hoping it would change, bit that's not the case. Either way, if you don't want need a heart rate monitor in the same watch, this is the one to get.

All the same features, in a stylish new design. This watch offers amazing information. From dual times zones, sunrise/sunset feature and as always, compass and Altimeter.

I bought the light green version of the Core, and it worked for about a month before the total ascent measurement went bonkers. I returned it, got another, and in two days the log stopped working entirely. Bad run of luck, or crappy quality? All you have to do is hold the thing in your hand to realize how poorly made it is. Very cheap construction. Seems to me that Suunto should be building them a little better after all these years.

When I first got this watch, I hoped it would live up to the expectations and it never really did. It has a lot of things the avid hiker/camper could user, but the watch simply does not work as advertised. On mine, the compass was never accurate and neither was the temperature gauge. With that in mind, I have no idea if the barometer or altimeter were ever right either. I considered everything from the watch to be "general" information to use when comparing and contrasting the environment and I definitely wouldn't rely on it to be my saving grace. The watch interface seems old and support from Suunto is poor. I've heard Suunto customer service isn't great and I'd have to admit I wasn't impressed either. Their website is slow, poorly organized, and you won't find anyone to talk to. If I could return my watch, I would, but right now it's in the hands of Suunto to see if they can fix any of the problems...of course, I haven't received any contact from them either. I think the only feature which I liked and seemed to work well was the Storm Warning feature which is essentially nothing more then a comparision of recent barometer pressure readings. When it falls rapidly, an alarm sounds which indicates an approaching storm. It works well in the wild, but it stinks for every day use as it goes off constantly in the car, office, and home when manufactured A/C and heat effect it.