The watch thread last week got me thinking that a Core would be top notch as my ‘non-dress’ watch – ie the one that goes golfing, travelling to scary places, beach and hike holidays, possibly biking and suchlike.

So, is it up to those tasks, and would you recommend it? It looks effing huge, too – how does it look on girly wrists? Any complaints?

Edit: Another question – is it worth the cash? The missus has pointed out that a G-Shock is about half the price, for example. I’m not averse to spending money on a watch, my ‘dress’ watch is rather more, but for something that’s for everyday/ action, is it worth it?

I thought about a Suunto, but now I’m waiting for the Garmin Fenix.

The Core is a big watch but it doesn’t look like a clock on a strap. Generally it’s a step up from a G-Shock in all departments a bit like XT vs SLX.

It has a fabulous display that is visible in all conditions from bright sunlight to total darkness and yet it looks the same in all conditions you have to see it to appreciate it

The barometer/altimeter is basically a pressure sensor and if you’re not climbing it works fine as a barometer and if you are climbing it works fine providing the weather doesn’t change 🙂

Temperature gauge is not so handy it only works properly when you’re not wearing the watch

The watch has a precision feel to it, it’s not like a toy it has a purpose and looks and feels good. Nice strap that stays put even when it’s fairly loose. IIRC mine was £199 from Taunton Leisure worth every penny.

Golfing – nope it’s too big and gets in the way of your grip
Travelling to scary places – yes it’s mint but it does attract attention sometimes, also it eats batteries every 3-6 months but they’re easily available.
Beach – yep, fine for that, has a depth thing for snorkelling
and hike holidays – perfect
Possibly biking – It’s ok, but i’m concious that when I fall off it’s going to take a beating.

For the most part I love it, it’s brilliant. The accuracy of the altimeter is excellent even if you don’t calibrate it that often. The compass is good and useful in hi-rise cities to get your bearings, the sunset sunrise is a nice feature not to mention all of the other watch type things that it does very well thanks to the massive display.

You will clobber it against doors and things but mines not had any significant damage from that. It feels big when you first get it but after a short while it shrinks (if that makes sense) and you hardly notice it due to it’s low weight and it matches the contours of your arms, that’s another thing, it’s only going to look right if you have proper mans arms, if yours are like spaghetti then you might want to consider something else.

If it broke tomorrow, i’d immediately buy another.

Edit:

Generally it’s a step up from a G-Shock in all departments a bit like XT vs SLX.

+1 I got mine to replace a G-Shock.

don’t wear a watch when playing golf – that’s putting a lot of shock into the watch for not much reason.

If it broke tomorrow, i’d immediately buy another.

+1

I love mine.

Used it for 10,000ft of climbing over the weekend and the accuracy of the alitmeter was only out by about 10-20ft at any time (I only calibrated at the start of each peak).

Compass is also pretty accurate, I was only getting a few degrees of variation against my proper compass (so fine for short nav distances, but obviously if you’re a few degrees out on a 6 mile section, you might be a bit off!).

It looks good (subtle), I have girly wrists and it doesnt feel or look anywhere near as big as it looks in the shop/online.

Also very fond of mine and it has been quite bulletproof along the way.

Only real drawback is the need to change the battery quite often, but there is some warning and it’s a cheap DIY job.

I would like to know how to pronounce Suunto.

soon-toe

There are tougher watches out there, but I’ve warrantied mine twice and the service from Suunto has been unbelievably amazing.
As above, battery does need changing fairly regularly and I’ve also found the altimeter to be in constant need of calibration, but as a tough watch you can wear every day it’s pretty good.

Excellent, lots of good feedback there, appreciate the input. The OH is pushing me to come up with a list of things for my birthday, so this might be on it 🙂

A lot depends on if you *really* need an altimeter/barometer/compass as well as a tough watch. If you don’t, there are more contenders

I thought about a Sunnto as well but ended up with a G Shock tough solar/atomic . £250 but never needs batteries or the time setting , you can see it in darkness, is very tough , sensible size and as I don’t climb mountains or need a barometer I thought it fitted my needs better .

fd3chris +1 G shock for all the things you mention. Apart from golf obviously where you will need something much more expensive to match the checked jumper and plus fours 😀

So big gimmicky watch that eats batteries, isn’t that tough and can’t be relied on 100% to give your bearing or elevation?

fourbanger – a 5.99 casio will tell you the time, so pretty much everything is ‘gimmiky’ on a watch if all you want it do is tell the time.

I like the core all black, but yes it has some flaws, I also looked through heaps of g-shocks and just found most of them to be a bit ugly or over-engineered.

A lot depends on if you *really* need an altimeter/barometer/compass as well as a tough watch.

True. As someone who owns a ridiculously expensive bike that I use less than 20% of the time, the answer is no, of course not, but I’d quite like it… 🙂

I have a suunto core light green I can sell if you want it.
Nice watch, just that I have too many..

Great choice, I looked at the Core as well but decided on a Casio ABC instead – the PRW-2000. Brilliant as an everyday watch, riding, outdoors work… the lot. Not as pretty as the Core but slimmer and sat better on my wrist, and I have quite wide wrists. No battery issues and a heap of useful features.

Would not wish to change your mind but as noted above there are options and I can recommend this one.

Sold my Core on the bay as I never used all the functions, prefer me old map and compass when out and about, with a GPS for backup. I’ve got a Suunto T3 as my everyday watch, smaller size and with heart rate for the gym if needed. My spare watch is a Casio Solar Atomic which needs no batteries and no setting, pretty small, light and inexpensive.