I haven't read any other reviews before the one listed here and I sure didn't before I bought it and I paid a helluva lot more than the price listed here at Amazon. I bought this very same watch before it was available to the general public when I was working in Hawaii, I had always wanted an attractive not too bulky watch with all the features for a true get away from society explorer's wet dream. This watch is definitely the answer, if you figure out electronics even ones with a complex set of multi functions like this one then you won't need it's nearly 300 page mini manual yes nearly three hundred pages. While it is true that it dosen't wipe your butt for you like some people think expensive, brainy electronics should do. If you are an avid explorer and aren't afraid of pushing a few buttons sometimes more than once then you could find no better watch but if you don't like depending on technology to do it's job and would rather use a stick then by all means do so. Just don't pick the wrong kind of plant when using the bathroom. The compass feature does stop reading after 20 seconds but guess what you can always press the compass button again. The point behind getting a compass reading is that you can check and recheck your headings, Factually, I wouldn't trust a compass who told me only one way to go as it actuates. Now, Moving on to a couple of the other features, like altimeter, have you ever wondered how many meters above the ground you were in an airplane, yeah I did too, found out too, it's really freaky to watch how fast a plane drops when descending. Barometer function does take a little bit of explaining I would suggest reading the manual if only for this caveat, Thermometer I would like to say this was really acurate while being worn but alas I don't think there is a skin liked device that can give you an accurate room temp without taking into account body temp. However if you take it off and let it naturalize you can get a realistic reading in either celsius or farenheit. The five different alarms are great if you are one of those whom need constant waking up in order to get going. Or for setting alarms for different time zones, another cool feature is the world clock, ever wondered what time it is in Tokyo, when you are having your tea and crumpets in South London. All in all it is a great watch, get it at this much cheaper retail price if you like it.