Reviews > Electronic Devices > Watches > Suunto Vector Wristop Computer Watch > Jennifer Pope > Field Report

Field Conditions (back to top)

I used the watch day hiking in Death Valley National Park in California. Elevations ranged from 282 ft below sea level to about 5,475 ft (86 m below sea level to 1,669 m). Temperatures ranged from approximately 50 to 85 F (10 to 30 C). There was no precipitation but it was windy with frequent strong gusts.

I also used the watch on short day hikes, bike rides and to the gym at elevations near sea level. I never experienced any precipitation and temperatures were between 60 and 75 F (15 to 25 C).

Field Test (back to top)

Day Hiking and Car Camping in Death Valley National Park

I wore this watch during a four day trip to Death Valley. The watch was on my wrist, somewhere on my person, or laying next to me the whole trip. The watch served several functions throughout the trip. Its first and most basic function was as my daily alarm clock. Each day my husband and I planned on getting up a different time- the earliest being 4:30 AM! Since these times were much earlier than I get up on a normal day I worried that I might sleep through the alarm and not get up (I really didn’t want to miss sunrise). However, my worries were unfounded. I set the watch on the floor of my tent next to my head while I slept and I woke up without any problems each morning.

One of the cooler things I did on this trip was that I got to take the watch down to the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere- Badwater at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. To my delight the watch displays negative elevations (my GPS stops at sea level). This was also the first opportunity I had to set the elevation (the manual recommends setting a reference elevation each time the user is at a know elevation; either with a topo map or a summit). When I originally arrived at this low point my watch was about 150 ft (45 m) off (not too bad). Later in the day I noticed that my watch read more than 300 ft (90 m) below sea level. Since I knew this wasn’t possible (since the lowest point is only 282 ft /86 m below sea level) I set another reference altitude (I guessed that it was probably around 280 ft/85 m below sea level since I was again in the basin of Death Valley).

During the trip I went on several fairly short day hikes. For each of these trips I set up a logbook. This turned out to be a pretty cool feature. Starting a logbook is extremely easy (one button press when I’m in the altimeter mode). Unfortunately the log is stopped the same way it’s started so it’s easy to stop by accident. The manual advises that the user switch to a different mode while the logbook is logging data. I thought it was neat to be able to get some information about a hike after it was over. I was able to see how much elevation gain and loss I had covered as well as how long it took me to complete the hike. I thought this information was useful and helped me to evaluate the hike afterwards.

One morning I went to Dante’s View at 5,475 ft (1,669 m) for sunrise. I was wearing a jacket and gloves so it was pretty difficult accessing the watch on my wrist (and I didn’t want to expose my wrist to the cold anyway). So I took off the watch and attached it to the draw cord of my jacket hood. This put the watch right next to my face so it was easy to read. I could press the buttons of the watch reasonably well with fleece gloves on. It was cold too; thanks to my watch I could tell that it was in the low 30s F (0 C).

Sea World
The watch came with me for a wet day at Sea World. When I’m not carrying a pack I’ve found that a good place to carry the watch is strapped to my belt loop. This way my wrist doesn’t get sweaty, I don’t get a watch tan, and I can accurately monitor the temperature. At one point during the day I heard someone remark that “it must be 85 F” (29 C). I was able to confirm that it was actually only 81 F (27 C). During the day the watch also survived a Shamu Encounter in the soak zone (55 F/13 C salt water) and a bone chilling white water rapids ride where I got completely drenched.

New York City
Right off the bat I didn’t necessarily think that a watch like this would help me out all that much in a big city environment except for giving me the time. However, a few days into a recent trip to New York City (a city that I’m unfamiliar with) I realized that the compass could help me out quite a bit. When I traveled by subway I’d often come up from underground without any clear idea of which way I needed to go. Since higher numbered streets are North and higher numbered avenues are West (approximately) I was able to come above ground, quickly check a compass reading and know which way I needed to walk. It was surprising how helpful this was in an unfamiliar environment.

Biking
I ride my bike quite a bit- almost every weekend and I’m experimenting riding it to work a few times a week. Suunto makes a handy accessory for attaching the watch to the handlebar of a bike. I haven’t been able to see their accessory in person, only a knock-off in REI, but it looks like it’s just a plastic piece the user attaches to the handlebar approximately the size of a wrist so the watch can be strapped to the handlebar. I’ve avoided having to buy this by strapping the watch around my handlebar and the bike’s brake cables. This keeps the watch attached securely and keeps if from swinging around to a position where I can't read it. I love having the watch sitting on my handlebars rather than on my wrist. It’s easier and much less dangerous (and the streets of Los Angeles for a bike rider are dangerous enough). I can easily switch between modes to check the temperature and I always know what time it is.

Everyday Use
I use the watch a lot just for every day tasks. My most common use for the watch is to tell the time obviously and this is the default mode I leave it on. My next most-used function is the countdown timer. When I’m at home I often use the timer on my microwave but if I’m not in the immediate area I often can’t hear it going off. With the watch I can take my timer mobile, which is of course useful for timing things outside my apartment.

Comfort
I prefer to wear the watch strapped to something other than my wrist. When I’m doing any kind of physical activity- especially in the outdoors- my wrist gets really sweaty under the watch. Plus this is a rather large watch and I’m not really keen on getting a watch tan that large. I have found it easy to find something to strap the watch to. I strap it to my bike or my belt loop as I’ve mentioned. I’ve also attached it to the draw cord of my jacket and on various straps on different packs (see my right shoulder in the picture at left). I’ve never been in a situation where I didn’t want to wear the watch on my wrist and I didn’t have something to strap it to. If I’m not doing any physical activity, just wearing the watch, I have not had a problem wearing it on my wrist and it’s quite comfortable.

Durability
Unfortunately I have had a minor issue with the watch so far. Somehow I managed to scratch the face of the watch (see picture below). This was very near the beginning of the test period so I think I just wasn’t used to wearing a watch of this size (it’s not huge, but larger than a regular watch). I’m completely uncertain about where I got the scratch; I must have bumped something without even realizing it. I have had no other issues with durability. I haven’t had any issues with the watch getting dirty and needing to be cleaned at all.

Watch Functions (back to top)

Use of Functions
I have mentioned many of the functions of this watch already so I won’t rehash that here. Suffice it to say that I find the time, date, temperature, countdown timer, and alarm extremely useful pretty much every time I have the watch on. Now on to some of the other features…

The logbook
I have used this feature on several occasions for day hiking. After the logbook is activated it will track elevation gain and loss and elevation change per minute. I think this is useful information when hiking but there are a few things that keep me from taking full advantage of it. I forget to turn it on or off. Since it’s still a relatively new feature to add to my hiking routine I haven’t gotten in the habit of starting it on time and remembering to stop it at the end of the hike. I imagine this will become more natural as I use this feature more. It’s easy to accidentally turn off. One button press will turn off the logbook while in altimeter mode. The manual advises users to change to a different mode while using the logbook but there are other items I like to watch on that display while I have the logbook running. If it weren’t for this inconvenience I would probably hike with the watch in the altimeter mode.

The barometer
This is a feature I haven’t used all that much yet. I’m not quite sure how useful it will be for me. When I’m out hiking I often experience a lot of elevation change which can affect barometric pressure readings. When I’m at home at a consistent elevation I have more accurate ways to get weather forecasts. I don’t do much, if any, overnight hiking with less than 1,000 ft (300 m) of elevation change.

The altimeter
I’ve touched on my use of this feature a little bit already. It’s nice to have but it needs to be calibrated a lot. Over the course of a morning in Death Valley I already needed to recalibrate it. In other areas I may not realize that the altitude reading I’m getting is not correct. I only knew that to be the case in this instance because it gave me an elevation below the lowest elevation in Death Valley- perhaps extremely low elevations aren’t as accurate. I’ll try to get some more experience with this in the remainder of the test period.

Summary (back to top)

I really like this watch. So far this watch is right on par with what I expected. I knew going into this test that barometric pressure was affected by elevation change and altitude measured in this manner wasn’t entirely accurate. For the large number of features I find the watch remarkably easy to use. I can use every feature of the time mode without the manual- and I could do this from almost the beginning. The features and button presses are almost intuitive and all with only four buttons on the watch.

Future Test Plan (back to top)

I’ll continue to test this watch in much the same way as I have been. The watch will get significant use in various outdoor activities. I plan to get some more use with the altimeter and barometer including testing their accuracy and trying my hand at some weather prediction while I’m at a constant elevation (i.e. in my day-to-day life at sea level).

I will continue to wear the watch under situations similar to those in the field test period. I hope to also take the watch to some higher elevations and to get some rain exposure.

I want to thank BackpackGearTest.org and Suunto Oy for giving me the opportunity to test this item.

Reviews > Electronic Devices > Watches > Suunto Vector Wristop Computer Watch > Jennifer Pope > Field Report