Mixed feelings about the "All Black"

[ins0ma]

After a lot of reading on this forum and others, I made the plunge the other day and bought an "All Black Core," despite my concerns about the reliability of the watch expressed by so many on-line Core owners. I also worried that the Core would be too big, since I have fairly thin wrists, and I didn't want it to look absurdly huge, or have issues with the amount of strap left over after I tightened it where I like it.

Out of the box, after I pushed a button to turn it on, I was disappointed with the brightness of the screen. I'd already read about this, and knew how to adjust the contrast (its in the owners manual ), but it really didn't do that much. Too much contrast, and the screen starts to look bad, with lots of lines where they don't belong, becoming more apparent as you increase the contrast value. I left mine set on +6, and wish there was the kind of "standing/seated" angle adjustment that you find in other types of displays. The watch looks best, with the backlight and without, when you angle your wrist downwards. A lot. I can only accomplish this by twisting the face of the watch downwards until the negative display looks the way it should: crisp and clearly defined numerals against a solid dark background. Its too bad they haven't figured out a way to make the display look it's best when held at a normal viewing angle.

I immediately started thinking about how long I had to return the watch. The brightness problem really seemed like a deal-breaker as I paced around the house, fiddling with the contrast. You have to kind of focus your eyes and concentrate to read the time, and I find myself using my right hand to move the watch slightly on my wrist so I can see it. The backlight helps, but you still have to twist your wrist around, and usually the backlight goes out just as you've found the optimum viewing angle.

I'd planned to go on a short hike to test the "Core" features, so I set my disappointment aside, adjusted the watch to my local altitude, put it in Baro mode, and set off on a grey and rainy day to test all the features I'd been reading about online. As soon as I looked at the watch outside I started feeling a little better about it. The display is much better in natural light than inside, I've found, and as you keep using the watch you kind of get used to the dimness and wrist-twisting. I also liked how light it feels on the wrist -- I usually wear analog watches (a Tag Link auto is my favorite), and found that I like the Core worn tighter around my wrist, with no play or looseness, than I do the Tag. The strap is awkward to take off, and I'm trying to be careful with it and patient every time I take it on or off, since its not really that substantial and seems like it might be possible to tear it right off the watch body if you pull it too hard trying to get it off your wrist.

Once I got out to the trails I set the Core's compass to "bearing tracking mode," aimed at a landmark, and set out walking. The temperature on my wrist at home registered about 12 degrees warmer than the room actually was, and on the trail it was similarly inaccurate. There is some utility in being able to tell the temperature in the morning before you put the watch on, I guess, but it seems like there should be some way for the watch to compensate for body temperature and be able to display an accurate temperature. Two sensors, maybe, one to read body temperature, and the other the ambient temp, and some kind of algorithm to tell the difference and display something useful? As I walked along I got into setting the sunrise/sunset location, and as soon as I found my city in the menu, it occurred to me that Suunto could do more with this. It would be awesome to be able to select a location from the list, or enter coordinates for places not on the list, and have the watch automatically set all of its parameters to local specs. The Dual Time setting should stay constant (I'll use it as "home time"), but it seems like they should be able to make the watch more user friendly by simplifying the local settings procedures. They already have the menu and locations set up for the sunrise/sunset function, so its too bad they didn't do more with the location list. I wonder if software updates will exist for the Core someday. . .


I kept moving, getting about a mile into the trails before I checked the Core's compass. I put the watch in compass mode and checked my bearing. The Core seemed spot on, indicating the direction of my landmark, and I left the watch in compass mode and kept moving. I checked it a couple times more, and then stopped dead in my tracks as I looked at the face and saw the flashing words "Start Compass" -- the same display you get when you initially set your bearing marker. I pressed the view button a few times and nothing happened, and it seemed like the **** thing had reset itself, but happily, when I went through the modes and came back to compass, my original setting were still there. I that hadn't have been the case, I'm sure I would've sent it back today, since the combination of a very dim display and unreliable "Core" features would've just been too much to stomach for something that costs this much. It was a terrible blow to my confidence in the watch when I thought the flashing "start compass" screen meant a re-set, so I'm very glad that wasn't the case. Anyway, it seems like the return to the "start compass" screen is probably a battery-saving function: it goes to "sleep" after a short time of being left as the active display, but retains the settings, so that you can cycle back to them when you want to check your bearings. The compass continued to work perfectly once I'd figured out that little quirk, although as many others have pointed out, its pretty stupid that the backlight flashes when in compass mode.


The storm alarm actually worked, going off about an hour into my walk. When I found a hill I saw that dark clouds were indeed rolling in, and I got my rain jacket on in time to avoid getting drenched by a quick but enthusiastic afternoon shower that stopped after a few minutes. The storm alarm has gone off twice since then, and it was followed by rain another time, and heavy winds and darkening clouds the third. I really like this feature: I often work outdoors with equipment that has to be covered when it rains, so I can see this coming in handy a lot in the future. Yes, I can check weather on my iPhone or on TV or the net, but its really cool to have a device on your wrist that you don't have to think about (or have signal!) to use, that warns you about impending weather events.

The stopwatch and countdown timer worked the way you'd expect, and as I kept looking at and using the Core from time to time I found myself liking it more, as I got used to the dim screen, and started trusting the functions. I veered off the trail for a bit, purposefully looping and turning en route to give myself a challenge to navigate out of, and the Core functioned well enough for me to easily find my way back to the trail. You do have to pay attention to the angle you hold your wrist at when using the compass, but you get used to it after a while.

By the time I'd finished my hike and headed home, I'd gone from being very disappointed to pretty happy. I haven't had any failures or hiccups, the battery hasn't died within the first two days of use, and the functions seem accurate and reliable. I do think there are several tweaks, some of which I mentioned above, that would make the Core better, but for now I'm happy with my watch and I'm not planning to return it. I enjoy using and wearing it, and my initial disappointment over the screen's brightness has pretty much abated. I'm used to it, and now find the dim display "subtle" instead of "near-invisible," like I did when I first looked at it. It actually woke me up with the storm alarm this morning (I'm going to turn it off at night from now on, unless I'm outdoors), and about 5 minutes after I turned the alarm off the rain started pouring down. Pretty cool.

I am planning to buy a few extra batteries for it the next time I'm near the right kind of store, but all in all, I'm pretty happy with the Core. It does what it says it would, albeit very [i]dimly.[i] Those with less-than perfect eyesight would do well to look at the watch in person before deciding to buy, to make sure the watch will be functional for you. Its that dim. If you can stomach "getting used to" something on a $350 watch, like I'm talking myself into, and you can make use of the ABC functions, then this is probably one of the coolest digital watches out there. It looks and wears great, very comfortable and unobtrusive on the wrist, and I'll be wearing it on all of my adventure-oriented activities from now on. At this point, since I keep looking at it and playing with the functions, I'm used to the screen brightness and actually find it kind of nice, easier on the eyes, maybe, than if it was, say, too intense or bright. I know I'm making excuses to myself here, but what the ****. I wanted to like this watch and I do, but if I hadn't have taken it into the great outdoors right away, I probably would've ended up sending it back, all because of the screen brightness.

	Suunto Visit SuuntoWatches.com to see Suunto's full line of wrist top computers and compasses.

	Suunto Core - Click for more info The Suunto Core is the benchmark of Suunto's ABC (Altimeter, Barometer, Compass) wristop computers, furnishing the best features of top-selling Suunto predecessors, and then advancing upon their legacy with innovative environmental monitoring functions that any outdoor adventurer will find invaluable. The Suunto Core is the culmination of years of testing, research, user feedback from the field, and technological advancements in the Suunto laboratory.

	Compass Compasses are sensitive, absolutely crucial instruments to precision navigation. The earth's magnetic field, inclination, and your longitude and latitude all influence the horizontal plane of a compass needle. As a result, compasses are balanced for different geographical zones. Suunto Compasses overcome this limitation to traditional compasses by using a simple 'Two Zone System'. With a Suunto Compass, the only 'balancing zones' are the northern and southern hemispheres. In addition to this innovation, certain Suunto Compasses come equipped with useful features like luminous needles and marks, centimeter/inch scales, magnifying glasses, clinometers, sighting notches, and more.

	Suunto Bands - Click for more info The range of Suunto Core Acessory Straps include the six straps as found on the various Suunto Core wristop computer models as well as three additional straps. All straps are compatible with every Core model, allowing you to custom-tailor your Core to your tastes and needs.

[zilver]

Thanks to Magnum IP and Geremy for sharing!!! *NOTE* In order to change the contrast on your Core you will need to put it in sleep mode and this will erase all logs! 1. Press and hold the upper left, lower left, upper right and lower right buttons until 'SUUNTO' appears on the display. 2. When the display is blank press the upper left button once - 'SUUNTO' will appear on the screen 3. While 'SUUNTO' is still displayed press and hold the upper left button 4. Highlight the 'contrast' option then press the middle right button. 5. Change the contrast using the upper right and lower right buttons 6. Press the lower left then upper left buttons to exit With Best Regards, Suunto Helpdesk

hope it will help some one works for my own core just fine..

	Suunto Visit SuuntoWatches.com to see Suunto's full line of wrist top computers and compasses.

	Suunto Core - Click for more info The Suunto Core is the benchmark of Suunto's ABC (Altimeter, Barometer, Compass) wristop computers, furnishing the best features of top-selling Suunto predecessors, and then advancing upon their legacy with innovative environmental monitoring functions that any outdoor adventurer will find invaluable. The Suunto Core is the culmination of years of testing, research, user feedback from the field, and technological advancements in the Suunto laboratory.

[ins0ma]

Well, its 2 months since I bought the watch, and I'm happy to report that I like it now better than when I bought it. My main complaint then was the dim screen, which I've now gotten quite used to, it adds a stealth appeal to the watch, in that it appears all black until you look closely. I've had quite a few compliments on it.

So far I've taken it snorkeling (down to 14 feet on the depth gauge!), hiking, in planes and to work, and while I put a ding into the outer edge of the rotating bezel, everything continues to function correctly and apart from the cosmetic damage (which I don't really mind, it just looks like I've been using it for what its intended) its its in great shape. The alarm is loud enough to wake me up and I've been using it regularly, though I still set my cell phone as a backup. The battery hasn't died, the watch hasn't "crashed" or otherwise failed to work, and I'm after 2 months of hard use, I'm happy with it.

A couple things I've learned that are useful to know:
1. I think the point of the thermometer function must be to measure water temperature. It seems senseless, as others have pointed out, that you have to take the watch off and let it sit 10 minutes before you get an accurate reading, and I thought so too until I went snorkeling with it, and then suddenly it made sense.
2. The Storm Alarm works well, but only if you've set the barometric parameters correctly. You have to tell the watch what the current elevation is, and then run it on Auto and let it figure out what's going on. After I've taken those steps, the Storm Alarm has been accurate (and useful!) in several different parts of the US and Europe so far.

There we have it. Good luck with your Suuntos!

	Suunto Visit SuuntoWatches.com to see Suunto's full line of wrist top computers and compasses.

[ins0ma]

I had to replace the Core's battery about 2 weeks ago, about 8 months after I got the watch. For about a month before I finally replaced the battery, the compass would only point West, and when I turned on the backlight the numerals disappeared, so actually I only got about 7 months of full use from the factory battery. Happily, with a $5 replacement from Radio Shack, the watch is functioning correctly again.

	Suunto Core - Click for more info The Suunto Core is the benchmark of Suunto's ABC (Altimeter, Barometer, Compass) wristop computers, furnishing the best features of top-selling Suunto predecessors, and then advancing upon their legacy with innovative environmental monitoring functions that any outdoor adventurer will find invaluable. The Suunto Core is the culmination of years of testing, research, user feedback from the field, and technological advancements in the Suunto laboratory.

	Compass Compasses are sensitive, absolutely crucial instruments to precision navigation. The earth's magnetic field, inclination, and your longitude and latitude all influence the horizontal plane of a compass needle. As a result, compasses are balanced for different geographical zones. Suunto Compasses overcome this limitation to traditional compasses by using a simple 'Two Zone System'. With a Suunto Compass, the only 'balancing zones' are the northern and southern hemispheres. In addition to this innovation, certain Suunto Compasses come equipped with useful features like luminous needles and marks, centimeter/inch scales, magnifying glasses, clinometers, sighting notches, and more.