Suunto Unisex's Core Outdoor Watch
Suunto Unisex's Core Outdoor Watch
Altimeter
FusedAlti, exact altitude measurement thanks to the combination of GPS and barometric altimeter. Create accurate elevation profiles and identify weather changes so you can cancel your tour in time. The optimal solution for hikers, geocachers or skiers.
Weather report and light hours
Air pressure trends alert you to weather changes and the storm alarm lets you know when it’s time to find shelter. Sunrise and sunset times show you how many hours of light you have per day.
Compass
Find your bearings in nature and in very poor visibility with easy navigation.
Tested in Finnish winter
Sturdy and durable design made from the best materials to meet all athletes’ requirements, withstands all challenges. Designed, manufactured and tested in Finland! The high quality bezel and mineral glass have been tested by external testers through thousands of hours of training in the harsh winter of Finland and its hinterland. Whether at home, at work or in the wild, you don’t have to worry about your watch.
 |  |  |  |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 52 g – 62 g | 81 g | 64 – 67 – 120 g | 70 g | 66 g | 29 g |
| Sealing | 100 m | 100 m | 30 m | 50 m | 50 m | 50 m |
| Watch glass | Sapphire crystal | Sapphire crystal | Mineral glass | Gorilla Glass | Mineral glass | Polyamide |
| Battery life in training mode with GPS | Up to 170 h | Up to 170 h | – | Up to 12 h | Up to 40 h | Up to 30 hours with connected GPS |
| Weather, external and navigation functions | Oxygen level, bad weather warning, sunrise and sunset, visual navigation and landmarks | Bad weather warning, sunrise and sunset, sight navigation and landmarks | Sunrise and sunset, alimeter, barometer, compass, depth gauge for free diving | Free offline maps, visual navigation of routes and landmarks, various weather apps via Google Play | Sunrise and sunset, visual navigation and landmarks | – |
| Smartwatch functions | Smartphone notifications | Smartphone notifications | – | Smartphone notifications, full smartphone functions thanks to Wear OS operating system | Smartphone notifications | Smartphone notifications |
| Heart rate measurement | On the wrist, compatible with Bluetooth Smart heart rate monitors | On the wrist, compatible with Bluetooth Smart heart rate monitors | – | On the wrist | On the wrist, compatible with Bluetooth Smart heart rate monitors | On the wrist, compatible with Bluetooth Smart heart rate monitors |
| Weight: | 64 Grams |
| Size: | One Size |
| Dimensions: | 4.9 x 1.45 x 4.9 cm; 64 Grams |
| Brand: | Suunto |
| Model: | SS014279010 |
| Colour: | All Black |
| Pack Quantity: | 1 |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Suunto |
| Age: | Adult |
| Department: | Unisex |
| Dimensions: | 4.9 x 1.45 x 4.9 cm; 64 Grams |
| Quantity: | 1 |
| Size: | One Size |
This is a great sturdy watch. An alternative to smart watches and possibly a foil for casio. For those looking for something different. It’s lightweight, fits comfortably on the wrist great value for money. The display isn’t very readable. It needs to be back lit.
This is a stylish looking watch
I have 4 of the Suunto Core watches already, not for any other reason than I really like them. This time I decided to buy the one with the ‘white’ face, which is more silver than white and I’m glad I did because it is by far the easiest to read dial, and at 130 its an absolute bargain. As with all Suunto Core watches, they are a bit tricky to set up, but as I’ve had my collection for quite a few years, I can set the watch up completely in just a few minutes. Suunto watches are extremely good quality, and the packaging and presentation is equally as good. If you want to try a Suunto Core watch, then buy the one with the white face and I’m sure you will be as pleased with it as I am with mine.
Very easy to use, it’s comfortable on the wrist. The only down side I find is that the watch face is not as big as I would have liked. Overall a very good watch
The Core is a great watch for urban wear / work – I thought I would buy it to add to my watch collection. My opinion is that Suunto makes very good watches, that last, are tough, accurate and look good.
The Core won’t make you a Special Action Soldier overnight – but it looks good and tells the time !!!
PS – I adjusted the contrast to 11…I can see the screen more clearly now.
I always wanted a Suunto watch and when I saw this and the price I thought why not. Its a nice watch but not a great watch. The main issue I think is the display. It always looks really good in the pictures but in reality it is quite dim and not that easy to read. I have tried adjusting the contrast but not much better. The white face is certainly easier to read but doesn’t look as cool as the black.
I didn’t want a watch that had to be charged regurarly or tracked my every move. Ideal for military worried about such things.
A very robust watch with intuitive screen and activity selection.
The colour of the screen coukd be more like the images which would be a great help though.
Face easier to see than the Suunto black face, got a nice weight to it and the strap is pretty sturdy, mega bit of ki
I wanted a watch that performed in the outdoors, while not having mobile notifications and a short battery life. It’s great for the mountains, and performs well in the office, look no further for a watch that is gloriously limited, and rugged.
Pros
-Great battery life
-Easy to use
-Night light is top notch, and emits low light which provides some visibility in complete darkness
-Feels like I’m in the special forces
Cons
-Have found I often press the buttons with my wrist.
-Haven’t found the compass intuitive, needs some work to set up/figure out
A good buy, and will probably buy again when (more like if) mine dies.
This replaced my ageing Suunto Vector and is equally impressive.
I don’t know why people have issues seeing the face because if you angle the watch correctly then it’s perfectly fine even in bright sunlight.
My ONLY gripe is that the buttons aren’t marked as to what they do requiring some feat of mental recall to operate it; they WERE on my old Vector.
A good all-round outdoor watch with every feature includes altimeter as well
Could not get the compass to calibrate, tried for hours. Left it overnight and it calibrated. Who knows. Nice watch though, lightweight and slim
Great watch! Looks good and feels good.
Gives you the ABC’s quite easily. It is a bit of pain to switch between barometer and alitmeter easily.
I bought my first suunto core watch in 2009 and it’s lasted me 13 hard working years as you can see on the picture. The screens are hard to scratch and the straps are super comfortable and very robust. The bezel was lost a long time ago but the watch feels bomb proof. Because of its cosmetic look now after 13 years I’ve decide to invest in another one and purchased the white face version which I’m extremely pleased with. It looks great and it’s still got the comfortable feel and robustness like my old watch. Long may they continue to make these watches as I’ll probably be needing another in another 13 years
I found the suunto incredibly light weight and comfortable to wear. It will fit most wrists and with other reviews saying it was larger than other watches, I was surprised to find it wasn’t as big as I had expected.
What I really love knowing is that I’m currently 65m above sea level and what the current air pressure is and it appears to be fairly accurate.
The 1st image is an accurate representation of the contrast which can be adjusted from 1 to 15, mine is set to 9 in the first photo, I tried 15 but this does affect the back light also and makes it brighter and less easily readable when the light is on.
This low contrast display isn’t going to suit everyone and yes it is hard to see in some light but this doesn’t bother me.
Remember, it’s advertised as a STEALTH watch, the display needs to be low contrast and just barely visible so don’t grumble about the display being hard to read, simply buy a different watch.
It’s packed with features with my personal fav being the storm alert.
The watch was easy to set up and calibration for the barometer, altimeter and compass were straight forward.
The alarm is quieter than I’d have liked but it did wake me up this morning.
One thing you’ll find is that due to the dim display your battery will last a loooong time, unless you constantly use the compass etc so you’ll be replacing the battery 2 to 3 times per year., otherwise I found it lasts 12 months. Battery is easily replaced at around 1.69 (at time of writing this) for one cr2032 standard lithium battery.
You can easily replace the strap or change it for nato, canvas or other silicon straps by buying suunto lug adapters. They are under a tenner.
The time accuracy – gains between 0.03 to 0.07 seconds per day.
I’ve added another photo to show what the watch looks like on a nato.
I knocked down a star for accuracy because the compass waves about a bit, and the bearings are a bit vague. I think that is more down to me being used to using mils insterad of degrees though, and to use the comass well you need to hold it very very still, which is hard when it is strapped to your wrist.
A second point is the thermometer, right now as I write, says 35 degrees centigrade, but the BBC weather web-page says 42 degrees.
Now, to be fair, I am indoors, but with no air conditioning or fan, and I assume the BBC rages an aggregate reading.
Now that the down side is out of the way, the upsides:
– it that it is very very comfortable to wear, even in this scorching weather.
– the display is wonderful, even in direct, bright sunlight
– the buttons are well spaced and big, so easy to use even with my eyes closed
– you can take a bearing off the inbuilt compass, which is accurate enough for most work
– there’s an altimeter, which seems accurate enough
It’s simply a wonderful, nice watch to use, and feels very robust. I haven’t tested it by trying to run it over or anything like that, but it FEELS like quality.
UPDATE
More than six months in and still going strong. All functions still spot on without need for calibration. The battery is still the original and shows no signs of fading yet. I put on JK strap adaptors and can now use NATO or leather straps as required. As for the reviewers that question whether its as good as Casio Protrek the the answer is yes – quite easily. Is at as tough as a G Shock ? – I wear mine without a thought for its welfare and its still alive and kicking. Its a better looking watch than either of the Casios mentioned and the user replaceable battery is a great feature although most Casio owners will shout about solar power. Have you seen the price of the rechargeable batteries in the Casio ? – I bought ten CR batteries for the Core for three quid which keeps it going for about eight years. No contest really as they take about thirty seconds to change.
However when it arrived and reading the absolutely rubbish quick start guide I couldn’t even get it to start, so I changed the battery and it sprung into life, that made it a little easier to set up although for someone who is short of patience it was quite painful!
I tested the supplied battery and it didn’t even make the tester flicker. I raised the issue with Amazon (and Suunto and they said it may have been older stock!?) and they have issued a suitable credit (well done Amazon). I am also not entirely sure of the altimeter accuracy as after setting a start reference point it didn’t read the same upon return. The compass does seem fairy good against a traditional type although it wouldn’t be my main choice if I needed to navigate properly.
So overall very pleased but some what shocked that it was sent out with a totally dead battery.
Update. This item has been returned for a replacement as it was using a battery in less than 2 weeks!
The new one arrived today and the box had a seal on it advising not to accept if this seal was broken or tampered with the first watch did not come in a sealed box so not sure what to conclude from this? The old watch didn’t even go through the same initial start up processes.
Hopefully this replacement will behave properly.
Well done Amazon for a very swift exchange on this item, thank you.
Update no 2.
The replacement item is still on the same battery and is functioning perfectly.
I really like this watch, smart and stylish and a useful item too.
I will still use my old Garmin 305(GPS) watch for races and training but this is now my everyday watch, + mountain marathons!
Went for the ‘Core Premium’ Brushed Steel for everyday use, love it. Heavy enough to know you’re wearing it – if you want a lighter one, get the plastic bodied versions(Ultimate Black, All Black etc.) This version is more expensive, with a larger sapphire crystal screen area – you need to buy specific screen protectors for this model(if you use them).
Love it; the geek in my likes the storm warning(when barometric pressure falls over successive hours to indicate a low pressure front coming) and the Auto baro/alti switching option – when you’re moving quickly it switches to altimeter, then back to barometer when stationary(This is a function of the rate of apparent altitude change, NOT GPS, as you can change height much faster than the weather can change pressure). There is a graphic display of the recent pressure as well as a log of half hourly readings.
Setup was easy, the menu system is intuitive, and it is quick to reset the barometer or altimeter reference to known pressure or height – all ABC devices of this type do ‘drift’ as the weather and the barometric pressure changes. I know what height my house is, and it generally doesn’t move much, so just check the reference height every so often.
As a medic the second indicator ticking around the rim of the display means I can still take a pulse ‘old style’ without needing an analogue watch for work, which my cheaper Casio alti/baro watch(which this replaces, and will now be used only for DIY and gardening) didn’t have.
Compass is actually pretty accurate and consistent, as long as away from steel-framed buildings and cars, like any other compass.
I have no problem reading the display; the button lock is easy and the backlight is easy to use in dark, whilst low enough to maintain night vision. Deliberated a long time over this Christmas-present choice; very happy with it. Recommended+++
It is a very cool looking watch and all the functions are easy to understand and use. It does not look big at all on my small 6.5″ wrist.
Another thing I like is how comfy it is on the wrist, not just because it’s so light but also because the band is made of some semi-soft silicon and ‘wraps’ the wrist perfectly and comfortably. I had planned to replace the band with one of those NATO/zulu bands, but I won’t.
As you know the battery is very common and user-changeable, another plus.
Having two separate profiles, one for alti and one for baro, means that your altitude does not need to be adjusted even when the weather changes.
If you want an ABC watch and don’t like Casio Protreks and also are not interested in the new models from Suunto and Garmin etc. with GPS, short battery life (or solar, which means showing off the watch out of your sleeve), fitness ‘modes’ and so on I think the Core is the best alternative (and cheaper). I am glad Suunto is still making them. The one dispatched from Amazon is very recent (built in August 2015) and has the latest firmware.
As for functions – they are accurate – I have synced the barometer with a barometer station and it tracks very well – at fixed altitude – however:
The temperature gauge is foolishly on the back next to your skin. I had an old casio decades ago that had one on the side. D’oh!
The barometer is effectively useless if you live anywhere near hills > 2m, take stairs, use escalators, work above the first floor in the office, enjoy jumping or are tall. The storm alarm will go off walking up stairs or if you climb a ladder. It will go off just driving around in your car unless you’re in Holland or the fens. You need to switch to “Altitude mode” if you’re likely to go up into your loft and “Baro Mode” if you’re sitting still at a fixed altitude like having a poo or watching TV. Only ALTI mode does not give you weather information or storm alarms, which you would want ideally in the mountains. A limitation with a pure barometer I know and not a pure issue with the product. Obviously it’s not designed for suburban scenarios – driving around quickly with lots of altitude changes – but if you happen to traverse terrain with any altitude at a certain rate AND are interested in the weather it’s a sticky problem.
Having said – there is a useful AUTO mode that switches between ALTI and BARO for you – if it detects impossible normal pressure changes it will assume you are climbing/descending and lock the reference sea-level atmospheric pressure and adjust the altitude accordingly. It’s useful but does not seem to return to the starting altitude if you e.g. descend and ascend back to the same position over a short period. So you need to keep calibrating it. More testing to be done but essentially it works within reasonable error margins (10% or so).
The compass is accurate and impressive. Especially the LOCK feature which locks onto a bearing if you have no reference point to navigate (e.g. dense woodland or night scenarios). It tells you if you are veering off course quite clearly.
So – big marks for certain features – and a nice looking watch.
The display can be difficult to see in dierect strong light but not a great deal to render the watch unusable. Also the barometer or altimeter promts for somewhat regular updates to the reference this can be a little annoying but this can be dismissed with one button and giving you a slightly inaccurate reading, but only being off but a few metres (with the altimeter).
Overall it is a useful, stylish lightweight outdoor watch that is both practical and strong enough to in demanding conditions. With only a few minor faults or improvements it is definitely a good buy.
All in all not a bad watch, Id still expect alittle more for the money, esp with the paint coming off.
I am currently serving in Afghanistan and I have found it a necessary bit of kit to have with me before going out on the ground. I have seen plenty of reviews questioning the display and I can say that even in the bright sunlight I have had no problems reading the time, the display is big and clear and can be read at a glance. The compass has come in handy on a number of occasions although I do double and triple check this using a GPS and standard compass but it has never given me a false reading. The sunset / rise alarm has been useful when out on the ground and lets me know when to either stop or get going. The altimeter application hasn’t really had much use but the couple of times I have been up in the mountains it has given a similar reading to the GPS so the figures are accurate. The thermometer doesn’t really get used apart from to tell me that it is ridiculously hot during the day and cold at night something I am all to aware of already. The watch is comfortable to wear and doest rub on the skin and is easily cleaned.
All round a great watch with many uses on the job and I am sure I will have use for it when I return to the UK. I would recommend this watch to both military and civilian personal.
Really pleased with this watch. I’d done a lot of research first before making my choice. Without doubt this watch represents best value for money. I was concerned that it might be too chunky for my wrist but it isn’t at all and I think it looks the business. The watch is light and comfortable although the anti-release element on the strap can be a bit fiddly. I have had a Suunto t3c HRM watch for years and so am used to the way Suunto set up access to various functions. The Core is pretty much based on the same thinking. I do remember struggling with the t3c to begin with but no problems at all with the Core – that’s probably based on my familiarity with Suuntos so for novices get ready to consult the 57 page Core user guide to begin with. One of the reasons I went with Suunto again is because I have had first class service from the company in the past. Very minor niggles holding me back from a 5 star review are the strap and the fact the characters could be a little brighter on the screen although I expect that would reduce battery life. Altimeter is pretty accurate when compared against a measurement on a GPS. I haven’t used the barometer function yet. Overall a first class watch which I would highly recommend.