Soldier loves his X10!

By Soldier Ranked #212 - Altimeters January 10, 2011

Ok, I have read a few reviews and I just want to tell my story. I am not some outdoor adventurer nor to I get my kicks trying to find some hidden treasure in the middle of nowhere. I was required to do Land Navigation for the military. To be specific, if I didn’t pass, I would be kicked out of the program. My career depended on me being able to go from the start point to a MGRS grid coordinate and write down the letters I found on a sign posted in the ground. Then off to the next point. Now, since I don’t leave anything involving my career to chance, I needed to find a GPS that was covert and dependable. The X10 military is it! GPS devices are forbidden so the watch application was perfect! Understand though that this watch is popular and should not be “shown off” to anyone. I was able to use this in two ways. First, I was able to put in the MGRS grid and walk right to my point EVERY time. I could walk around lakes, swamps and other features in the middle of November and stay dry because this device always pointed towards my target point. The second way I used it was that I set it just to display my current grid position. That way I could call in air support, or relay my position and observations to the command post. I could also use my current position setting to find where I was on the map at all times. This was helpful when I was teamed up with someone and had to make sure they did not see me walking while looking at my watch the whole time.
To answer the battery issue addressed by others... Yes, if you set the watch to update your GPS location every second, it will last you a about 6 to 8 hours. I set mine to every minute and it lasted 3 days. The best way to do it is set the gps location to report manually. That means, when you pressed the button to tell you what your location is, it told you and then shut the gps back off. I have had my watch last a month on the manual setting.
In short, if you are a military guy looking to pass that land nav course… this is the watch for you! And for in the field operations that no one cares if you have electronics. I have a solar charger that I clip to my uniform (LBV) during the day and at night in the tent, I plug in my watch and it charges it to full capacity.
This watch may not be my primary device in real world operations but it is certainly a great device for recreational, back-up, emergency and covert operations. I love it and will continue to buy suunto watches until anyone else can build a less expensive better product.

View Details: Suunto X10 Watch

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