Reviews > Electronic Devices > Watches > Suunto Vector Wristop Computer Watch > Thomas Vickers > Field Report

Suunto Vector Wristop Computer Field Test Report

May 30, 2006

Tester Background:
I grew up in the piney woods of southeast Texas. Camping was a quick trip into the mosquito-infested woods behind the house. My style has evolved and over the last 4 or 5 years, I have begun to take a lighter weight approach to hiking gear (I still use sleeping bags and tents, just lighter versions). While I have flirted with lightweight hiking, I feel that I am more of a mid-weight hiker now. My philosophy is one of comfort, while carrying the lightest load possible.

Setting things up:
The first thing I did with the Suunto Vector was to set it up the way I liked it. I needed the manual to do this, but I didn't see that as a drawback. Other than changing the time, setting the measurements to imperial and calibrating the compass, I don't think that I will be changing these settings anytime soon.  Setting everything up was quick and easy and the manual was very easy to follow.  Most of the initial set up is things that don't have to be done over and over, so using the manual was not a drawback. In fact, using the manual to get the Vector set up was a good way for me to learn the basic functions within each mode of the watch.     

Time Mode:

From the Vector Manual (page13): "The Time Mode provides the user with: an adjustable 24/12 hour clock display; a calender pre-programmed to the year 2089; and three sub modes."

Time Sub Modes: Daily Alarm Stopwatch Countdown Timer

I have worn the Suunto Vector Wristop Computer every day of the test period. I have only had it off of my wrist for short amounts of time, which means I even sleep and shower with it on. I don't take my watches off and the Vector is handling this part of the test pretty well.  It has been wet, sweaty, and banged around with no obvious damage. Not only does it still work, but it still looks like new.   I must not be trying hard enough. 

I found that once I got into one of the four basic modes of the Vector, it was easy to use the functions found in each mode.  During the first part of this test I used the Time mode the most.  Within the first two weeks of having the Vector I had to reset the time twice. Once was when the Vector arrived and once when Daylight Savings Time started.  It took about five minutes, with the manual, to set the watch the first time and even less, without the manual the second time.

The most commonly used part of the Time mode was the watch. I kept the time and date display on the watch for almost the entire time that I have worn it.   This is the default display that I find the most useful to have handy at all times.   The next most used function of the Time Mode was the countdown timer.  I didn't realize how much I needed this until I actually was able to use it on dayhikes.   Some of the food that I take requires a presoak in water before it can be cooked.   In the past, I have had to use my watch or stop watch to time the soak and it was easy for me to get distracted around camp and overshoot my soak time. With the Vector I simply set the countdown timer to the desired amount of time and walked away from the pot.   This gave me the chance to set up my hammock and get ready for my nap.  When the timer went off, I was able to stop what I was doing and start cooking.  If the food needed to boil for a set amount of time, I set the countdown timer again and went back to getting my rest site nap ready.  I haven't been out overnight yet, but I can say that using the countdown timer for outdoor  cooking is great.  I don't have to keep watching my watch and worrying about getting distracted and letting the food soak or cook   too long.  Best of all, I didn't have to "find a way to use it." The Vector filled the gap for me that most watches can't.  One thing that I really like about the countdown timer is that once you set it for a given time, say 45 minutes, it automatically defaults back to this time when the countdown is over.  I found this to be very helpful on several different occasions. One was when I was jogging and wanted to run and fast walk in intervals.  I set the timer for five minutes, then set out running. When the alarm went off, I restarted the timer (already back at five minutes) and then went into my fast walk.  The other use I have found for this is when I am dayhiking and I want to check distance traveled versus time.  I set the timer for 45 minutes and then off I go. When I hear the alarm, I check the GPS for distance traveled and then simply restart the countdown timer or take a rest. The last and least impressive use I have found for the countdown timer is watering my yard. I move my sprinklers every 50 minutes and the countdown timer is great for this. When the alarm goes off I move the sprinklers and restart the timer.
I tried to use the countdown timer while running (no walking intervals), but I wear headphones and listen to music. The alarm was not loud enough to catch my attention if I was focused on the music, so it was not as useful as I had hoped for running. 

The next function in the Time Mode that gets a lot of use is the alarm.  The Vector has three separate alarms that can be set.  At first I could not figure out what I would need three alarms for, but after awhile it became evident.  If I am outdoors, hanging in a hammock and napping, the alarm wakes me up. It is more than loud enough and I normally only set one alarm for these occasions.  When I tried to use the Vector alarm instead of my alarm clock (I don't take my watch off, ever) I ran into problems.   The alarm is not loud enough in an everyday  home environment.  I slept through the first alarm and quickly realized that I needed to set at least two alarms in order to get the hint to wake up. So, during the week, I set all three alarms at 10 minute intervals in order to make sure I hear the Vector go off.  Even with this, I don't think the alarms are loud enough for everyday use.  My wife, who is a very light sleeper, didn't realize I was using the Vector as an alarm for over a week.  This really proves to me that while it wakes me up outdoors when I don't expect alarm clocks, it just isn't loud enough to wake me up at home.  One thing I do like about the Vector alarm is that it is turned off by pressing any button on the watch. There is no bleary eyed fumbling to find the correct button to make it stop.

For my jogging I have left the old stop watch that hung around my neck at home. The Vector stop watch is easy to start, stop and even read in the dark without a headlamp.  I simply start the stop watch function and when I need to see how much time I have used, I hold down the  button till the light comes on.  It is very nice to be able to remove two rather bulky items from my running inventory and replace with with one small one that I wear on my wrist.

There are a lot of uses that I have found around camp and around the house for the Time Mode of the Suunto Vector.  What I really like is that if I switch from the Time Mode for some reason, the Vector will tell me if the countdown timer or stop watch is still running. At the bottom of the display, to the right of the date, the words "stop watch" or "timer" flash to remind me that I have left one of those two submodes running while using the Vector in another mode or function. It also tells me if the alarm is set (small bell icon to the left of the main time display) and activated no matter what other mode I may switch to.  I really do think that for this part of the test, the Time Mode has proven the most versatile and easy to use for me.

Altimeter Mode:
From the Vector Manual (page 20):"The Altimeter mode provides the user with: an adjustable unit of measure either meter or feet: meter range -500 to 9,000; ft range -1600 to 29,500; a resolution of 5m or 10ft; a display up-date on the rate of vertical movement in intervals of 1 second for 3 minutes, then every 10 seconds or less; an automatic 24-hour memory in one hour intervals showing altitude and vertical ascent/descent rate ; and a logbook, recording approximately 3800 sets of data."

Altimeter Sub Modes: Altitude Difference Measurement 24-hour Memory Logbook Logbook History

The next mode is the Altimeter mode. This is almost the least used mode for me so far.  Living in Southeast Texas just doesn't allow for much altitude change.  What I have discovered is that most all of my daily life, whether it is hiking or working, takes place between 200 feet (61 m) and 350 feet (107 m) in altitude.  I know that isn't very exciting, but when sitting in traffic and bored, it gives me something to ponder as I cycle through the functions of the Vector.  I used my GPS to set the initial altitude for the Vector, so these measurements might be off a bit, but I feel pretty secure in their accuracy.  In the next portion of the test I will spend more time with my GPS and will do more comparison between the GPS and Vector altitude readings. One thing I like about the Vector that I have not used so far is the altitude alarm. More than once I have been in situations on the trail when I needed to get a hiking partner below a certain altitude so that a fire could be started to warm them up.  Rather than jiggering with maps and topo lines, it would have been nice to set the altitude alarm on the Vector and head out knowing that I could stop as soon as the watch beeped. 

Barometer Mode:
From the Vector Manual (page 28): "The Barometer Mode provides the user with: an adjustable unit of measure mbar or inHg; mbar range 300 to 1100 mbar, inHg range 8.90 to 32.40; a resolution of 1 mbar or 0.05 inHg; a one hour interval measuring to estimate barometric trend; an automatic 4-day memory of atmospheric pressure for the last 6 hours in 1-hour intervals, thereafter, in 6-hour intervals; temperature compensation (temperature does not effect the pressure within the specified temperature range); a temperature range -20 to 60 C or -5 to 140 F; and a temperature resolution of 1 C or F."

Barometer Sub Modes: Pressure Difference Measurment 4-day Memory Sea Level Pressure Barometric Trend Indicator Temperature

If the Time mode is the most useful and the Altimeter the least useful for me, the Barometer mode is the sexiest one.  The minute I mention that the Vector tracks barometric pressure and temperature, people pay attention.  There are several times that I am sure that I could have gotten a date just by showing off the barometric display on the Vector.  One thing that I have tried and not always been successful with is the display which tracks the barometric pressure over the last six hours.  I have always believed that barometric pressure drops and the weather changes. I haven't verified this conclusively, but it does add some peace of mind when I can tell what the pressure change has been like over the last four hours at a glance.  In the next portion of the test I will try and see if my dropping pressure equals weather change theory  is accurate or not. I will also try and test my belief that a change in barometric pressure leads to better fishing.  If not, at least the pressure graph is cool to look at.

The other major function of the barometer mode is the thermometer.  The watch has to be off of my wrist in order to get a reliable temperature reading, which is a bit disappointing to me.  When I realized this, I quickly set out to see if there was a set difference between "wrist top temperature" and "off the wrist temperature" so that I could wear the Vector and just calculate the temperature based on the difference.  I had no luck. I found that the ambient air temperature varied from 5-14 degrees F (3-8 degrees C) from the temperature the watch displayed while on my wrist.  On most days I just told myself that the air temperature was 12 degrees F (7 degrees C) lower than what the watch displayed on my wrist.  Not the best or most accurate reading, but since it took about 45 minutes for the temperature sensor to adjust (the manual states at least 15 minutes are necessary for this) and accurately report the temperature after I took the Vector off, I figured this was the best way for me to handle this issue. 

Compass Mode:
From the Vector Manual (page 32-22): "The Compass  Mode provides the user with: a cardinal or half cardinal point abbreviation; bearing degrees; a North-South arrow; a bearing track mode showing desired direction and actual bearing; a bubble level for accuracy reading +3 degrees; a rotating bezel; a resolution of 1 degree for the bearing, +5 degrees for North-South direction; and a declination correction feature."

Compass Sub Modes: Bearing Tracking Declination Adjustment

This is the least used mode for me so far, but not the least useful.  I calibrated the compass as soon as I found the appropriate page in the manual and figured out the instructions.  I really enjoyed the fact that if the compass doesn't calibrate properly, the Vector will issue a warning telling me to try again.  No worrying about goofing up the process since I will know instantly if it worked.  The manual also warns that the compass should be recalibrated before every outdoor trip that is going to require its use.  Of all the things that I figured would bother me this doesn't. It makes me feel more secure using the compass feature since I have to calibrate it correctly and often to make sure it is accurate. Other than calibrating the compass, the only other feature of this sub mode that I used was the declination adjustment.  I used a topo map of my area and corrected the declination of the compass mode from this map.  This seems to be another add on that sweetens my impressions of the Vector. 

So far, I haven't been able to use the compass feature. Mainly because I haven't had a chance to geocache yet, but also because the Vector has to be off of my wrist to use the compass (or so the manual claims).   Since the Vector is advertised as a Wristop Computer, I am a little put off by the fact that two of its main features (temperature and compass) can not be used while I am wearing the Vector.  This creates the biggest issue for me when I go geocaching because I wanted to wear the Vector and use it as a compass while also using my GPS and keeping a hand free. Now it appears that I will have to have the Vector in one hand and my GPS in the other hand to use both while geocaching.  I don't know this for sure right now, but I will be testing this issue out in the next phase of the test.

Things I like:
The Vector has proven to be very durable and reliable as a watch.   I like the countdown timer and the three alarms.  These are functions that make it a good watch, even if it didn't do anything else.  I also like the backlighting feature. The light doesn't stay on too long and it gives me plenty of time and light to see what time it is, especially in the middle of the night when I don't want to be digging around for a headlamp. I do wish that the time the light stayed on was adjustable.  This would give me a chance to set it to stay just a bit longer if needed, especially if I decide to switch modes while the light is on.  I also like the fact that I have skinny wrists and the band supplied with the Vector adjusts to fit my wrist. It isn't too loose or too tight and the Vector doesn't slide around on my arm.  Definitely a good feature for people like me who are "wrist challenged." As I mentioned earlier, I am also very happy that the countdown timer defaults back to the last time used, and the fact that once I leave the timer mode, the Vector displays the fact that I am still running the stopwatch or countdown timer. 

Things I am not happy about:
The main complaint that I have about the Vector is that I need to take the watch off in order to correctly use some of its important functions.  This means that I have to take it off and fumble with it or in some instances, hook it around a belt loop.   Either way, the Vector is hard to handle and use in these manners.  After revisiting the Suunto website I discovered that there is a lanyard available as an accessory for the Vector.  This gave me a brilliant idea that I am going to look into. During the next phase of the test, I am going to remove the watch band from the Vector and wear it around my neck on a lanyard.  I am hoping that this will make using the compass and thermometer features easier and allow me to easily access the time functions that I use the most often. My last complaint is the display in the different aspects of the time mode.  In the normal, watch portion of this mode, it is easy to see the day, time, date, and barometric pressure graph. If I switch to the stopwatch submode, then I get the seconds on top,  real time in the middle (large), and the minutes on the bottom.  This screen is dominated by the current time and the stopwatch portions are small, and confusing to follow.  It took a great deal of time for me to adjust to the stopwatch not being the dominate part of the display in this submode.   The same is what happens in the countdown timer submode.  The display is dominated by the time, with the seconds above the time and the minutes being counted down below the time.  While I do like the fact that the current time is visible in the time submodes, I feel that its prominence makes the usage of these submodes more difficult for me.

More testing:
Life has conspired to keep me out of the woods during the first part of this test.   The next phase of the test is going to see more extensive use of the compass feature (geocaching) and hopefully more accurate usage of the barometer mode (temperature).  I have several overnight and long hikes planned during this test period and I will definitely be putting the Vector through its paces.      

Reviews > Electronic Devices > Watches > Suunto Vector Wristop Computer Watch > Thomas Vickers > Field Report