Suunto X9

By Brian Hoffman Ranked #246 - Altimeters June 21, 2009

I know this is about the X9 not the X10 but bear with me here. I am in the miltary and was lookin to reduce number of items and weight. So I thought combining watch with GPS was a good idea. I recieved the first one read instructions and charged it. Never turned on at all. Called this sites customer service (they ROCK! there are none better) and they sent a new one no questions and when they finally recieved the other one my card was credited back the money. Mind you I was even shipping to a APO address. Second one comes and it turns on and charges ok (when youre charging it you can't use it). I am in Iraq and there is nothing but flat terrain for the most part except in cities. SO I try it out in open area, no obstructions for runs and walking. GPS is fickle on tracking at best and the menu really takes some getting used to. I thought well, even as an emergency backup GPS it would still serve its purpose. What I didnt realize when I bought this was that you're only gonna get about 500 charges off this battery (if that) according to the manual, then you gotta send it back to Finland to get a new one installed cause they dont do it at the watch store anywhere in US. Why not just make it so you can replace the battery at home? Anyway, you can do the math on how long that will last. Not worth it. Here's my question, has the X10 fixed these issues? I saw the charger offered as a free gift so that helps I guess, but the other stuff in my mind is more important.

BTW the Garmin Foretrex 101 is the heat and no matter what I try I keep coming back to this one for reliable GPS function. It's small compact, GPS locks on anytime everytime even after traveling to another country it took like 30 sec to lock on, it even locked on inside the airplane in a window seat in flight!, and runs off 2 AAA batteries. Only draw backs are its not really a watch you can leave on during youre normal day to day activites, so I use my Suunto Vector for that. Also the wristband pins in Garmin Foretrex models SUCK and rip right out guarrenteed (metal pin in plastic hole). London Bridge Trading Company makes a see through velcro wrist carrier and it made it through my entire tour 16 months no issues. The two together are spot on. Good luck out there, hope this helped. Let me know about the X10 thanks.

View Details: Suunto X10 Watch

Helpful Votes: 2 Yes