Customer Reviews

Suunto Observer SR Wrist-Top Computer Watch with Altimeter, Barometer, and Compass (Black)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this watch for my husband. He loves it and all of its capabilities. He now always knows what the temperature is, where north is, what his altitude is and the time too! He's looking forward to the watch calculating the number of ski runs he'll be doing this winter. Pretty cool watch - and not as big and bulky as some of the other suunto watches with the same capabilites.

I decided to complete my Suunto "Black Collection" with the Observer SR "Black Collection". I wanted a smaller more stealth size watch for under my hunting/fishing gear and it had to be tough and have bullet proof reliability. It is a much simpler animal than my X6M and is thinner and smaller. It feels solid on the wrist but could be worn without notice for days. Its stainless steel construction is solid and has just the right amount of weight without feeling heavy. Just like the X6M, the Observer is made and built in FINLAND and it feels like it. Button push is silky smooth and the construction is professional quality.


"The Black Collection" This is a special all black collection of ABC watches Suunto came out with in late 2007. It was designed to be a upscale tactical look. The Collection includes The Observer Sr, Observer ST, and X6M. The Observer has a matt black finish on the case. The X6M has a polished black finish on the case. Very tactical bling looking. I absolutely love the look and the wrist presence is awesome!! The pics don't do this watch justice. It marries fine jewelry and tactical tech perfectly.


The Observer "Black Collection" has a flat matt finish as oppose to a satin black finish on my X6M "Black Collection". The Observer reminds me of a stealth bomber with its flat angles and matt black finish. Very cool looking.

I would say this would be the perfect ABC watch I would recommend to any military personnel. It looks more "military special ops" because of its smaller more concealable size than other Suunto models. Its made out of Stainless Steel and has a mineral glass face. The cr2032 battery is user replaceable and can be done quickly in the field. Battery life, I am told by members is excellent (over 2 years!)

Even though the Observer is smaller than other Suunto models, it still is a 45mm diameter watch case. That is about what most large dive watches measure. It sits lower than most ABC models so it wears smaller than it appears. It still is a large watch and has a lot of wrist presents. The functions of the watch are pretty strait-up and easy to work with if you are a Suunto veteran like myself. A good user manual read through would be necessary if you are not familiar with the Suunto set-up system.

The negative display is very easy to read and appears to sit higher up, just under the mineral glass than other models. This makes it easier to see from viewing off angle. The constant second display that travels around the outer face is excellent. I love this feature and it does not disappear after 10 minutes like the Core does. The barometer trend, day, month,year,time,and seconds,AM/PM are all displayed at one time in the main time display. In addition, Alarm notification, Altimeter alarm, log activation and chrono notification can also be displayed in the main time mode in addition to my first list of information. A tremendous amount of information is displayed at a glance. This is what makes the Observer stand out from the rest of the ABC watches.





The light on the Observer is excellent. Its lume is very bright and does not flicker in compass mode like the Core. It is activated by holding the "mode" button down for 2 seconds. The light stays on for a generous 10 seconds after the last button push.

Water resistant is also excellent at 100meters. In typical fashion, Suunto doesn't recommend diving with their ABC watches but swimming,showering,etc.. is fine.



Compass is very good with bearing track feature. It uses a progress graph as you turn the watch when calibrating like the X6M. Why doesn't Suunto have this on the Core? It is a great feature and should be on ALL Suunto ABC watches.

I tested the accuracy of the altimeter and it is typical spot on with my X6M. That means it is THE most accurate altimeter on any ABC watch brand available. Its sensors are all also Thermo Compensated. This means their accuracy will not be effected by temperature change. Its as accurate on the wrist as it is sitting out side on a table. (unlike other brands of sudo tough ABC watches)

The barometer can also be calibrated globally or use its factory default setting. This is another excellent feature and lets the owner sync the barometer to another ABC watch or weather station. This feature should have also been on the Core.

All main displays has the typical sub modes to display the information of your choice.


The strap is also another big plus for this watch. Its very comfortable. The flat black rubber strap is flexible and tapers up in thickness to meet the watch case seamlessly. The buckle is also flat black and completes the over all stealth look.

I really like the Observer for a "do-it-all, "all occasion" ABC watch. It really is very easy to live with and it is easy to see why this was Suunto's professional flagship model. Its also one of the Models Suunto states is "Shock Resistant". Most member will attest it is one of, if not Suunto's toughest models. Its holds up very well to any of the most recent ABC watches and still has a unique personality that sets its self apart from the other Suunto line.

The Observer is the Suunto abc model I am going to recommend to owner that needs, and can only have one Suunto model. It does every thing well and is reliable with bullet proof construction.


The Observer has been endorsed by about every one that owns one and I can see why.
I think the Observer is one of the best kept secrets in the Suunto catalog. I think the Observer might be another professional abc Suunto model that doesn't get much press.
Its "Made in Finland" build quality is excellent. Fit and finish is top shelf. Its just a beautiful Suunto for all occasions and activities. If you only could own 1 Suunto,...This would be it.

Specs:
Vertical speed
Temperature compensation
Resolution1 m Quick access to logbook
Altimeter/barometer lock
Altitude range -500m - 9000m/-1600ft - 29500ft
History memory
Logbook function
Chronograph
Stopwatch
Scrolling of lap times
Max number of split times in memory99 Compass
North-South indicatorNorth-South indicator Heading in degrees
Declination setting
Cardinal directions
Bearing tracking
Watch
12/24h
Calendar clock
Dual time
Daily alarms3
Weather
Absolute barometric pressure
Temperature resolution1°C/1°F Weather memory4 days Trend indicator
Temperature range-20°C - +60°C/-5°F - +140°F Altimeter/barometer lock
Temperature
Sea level pressure
Barometer resolution 0,05 inHg/1 mbar
Barometer range 8,9 -32,4 inHg/300-1100 mbar
Power
Low battery warning
User replaceable battery
Other
Weight75g / 80g / 100g Operating temperature-20°C - +60°C/-5°F - +140°F Water resistance100m/330ft Storage temperature-30°C - +60°C/-22°F - +140°F Selectable metric/imperial units
Mineral crystal glass
Backlight typeElectro-
luminescent Display
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I purchased a Suunto Observer back in '04 for myself. Was tired of the big plastic Casio DW6500 and felt this would be an excellent choice for a replacement watch.
Not one problem with it for 2 years, then it started. At first, I would notice that the time and date were wiped out when I would wake up in the morning, then I started seeing weird things like the light not turning off and the watch flipping through different screens like the buttons were stuck.
Replaced the battery, thinking that it was long overdue, but that only seemed to make the issue worse! I finally sent the watch back to Suunto for repairs, and a hundred bucks later, they sent me a brand new watch. Cool! I'm okay with that, since it was probably just a fluke and I don't have to buy another 400 dollar watch!
Skip a little over a year later, the new one starts doing the same thing! I know its not the battery, but I'll replace it anyways (taking it to a local jewelry store who sells Suunto watches-I figure they know what they're doing!). No dice, its doing EXACTLY the same thing the first one did. Flipping through screens and light stuck on for 15 minutes straight!

Whack it a few times (out of frustration) and its working again-but not for long. Two days later and its back to the same thing, this time I tried to use the stopwatch, now I can't get out of that mode!

After dealing with this for the past 3 months (it will work for a week straight with no issues, then flip out 3 times a day for 2 days!), I've finally had enough with this 400 dollar piece of junk and thrown it away.

I guarantee I will never buy another Suunto product again! Its back to the old Casio DW6500 (which amazingly still works after 15 years!) and my Tissot T-Touch when I feel like wearing a nice watch.

Sharp looking watch. Comfortable on the wrist. Keeps great time. I've had mine for a month now and it hasn't gain or lost a second. The display is a little hard to read in some low light conditions but I guess that is the price you pay for that cool negative green-amber and black display. The back light works great when it's dark but sometimes when things are just a bit dim the lighting conditions are too bright for the backlight to work well and too dark for the negative display to stand out properly. Not a major issue for me, just a quibble, but I see how it could be a problem for some.

The altimeter appears to be extremely accurate, ( I am a airline pilot so I have had many chances to check it already) but its only good if you know the proper barometric pressure and vis-versa for the barometer function; accurate as well, but only if you know your elevation. The barometer is a little annoying because it can only be set in 5 one-hundredths of one inch of mercury. So you can't set 29.97 for example, you have to set either 29.95 or 30.00, not a huge deal but I'm not sure why this is the case. For anyone who hasn't owned a ABC watch before, this watch can only sense changes in pressure, the owner has to tell the watch if the pressure change is due to a ascent/descent or a change in atmospheric pressure/weather. It can only do one thing at at time, pressure reading wise, and the owner of the watch must decide if they want to estimate altitude or atmospheric pressure and once again, garbage in = garbage out, if you set the wrong elevation or pressure your reading will be off. The compass does work great, IF you calibrate it often and IF you know the proper declination of the geographic area you will be using the watch. The thermometer function works great as well, but not for air temperature while on your wrist. Its an awesome water temp sensor but the temperature sensor will skew hot while measuring air temperatures on your wrist.

The owner's manual sucks, and only explains how to utilize about half the features of the watch. There's several features and modes programed into my watch that I haven't the slightest clue how to use and the manual is no help what so ever. I know how to use the features that matter to me so figuring out the altitude and descent logs, and other more arcane features aren't keeping me up at night.

I purchased my Suunto Observer Black SR after the model was discontinued so I thought the watch probably could have came with sapphire crystal or maybe been water resistant down to 200 meters for the price paid relative to the other less comely Observers, but considering all of the watch's capabilities and how much more money Suunto is asking for the very comparable, no-less-capable Elementum Terra Black I guess anything sub-$400 is a pretty good deal. I think the Observer Black is a cooler looking watch with comparable ability for half the price. Which is also my theory as to why this particular model was discontinued.

I've owned 2 Suunto's. This one and a Core. The Core was a great watch until a battery-change and then the crystal fogged and the watch stopped working-but that is a review I still need to write. Back to this watch.

I have owned this watch for over 3 years. It has been on my nightstand for at least half of that time for one simple reason, the stupid band. In the short time I have actually worn it, I have gone through 2 bands. Because of the proprietary design, you are stuck with their (2) band selection, the primary one being $39. The sad part is that I have not even used this watch in the field, the dumb bands have worn out during daily office/living use. I hate devoting this review to the band because the watch itself appears to be a nice watch. The problem is that between the bands and a battery change, I have sunk an additional $100 in to this watch. To me, this is ridiculous at this price-point.

The design on the band and the thought behind replacing it is in a word, 'fail'. If you make a watch with this feature set, assume it's probably going to get used in austere environments. This really is a shame.

Aside from the maintenance cost, this is a pretty darn good watch. The display is nice, the buttons make sense, and it's a nice watch to wear just about anywhere.

Would I buy it again? No. I'm going to rate it low for this reason.

Pros:
Great feature set
Good lighting on the display- easily read and operated in the dark
Attractive looking
Good size-much smaller than other Suunto's with the same features

Cons:
Crappy, non-third party replace-able, flimsy, expensive (for what it is) band
Don't buy this for the alarm, it's almost inaudible
Short Battery Life
Expensive for what you get all-in-all

I was scared to get a "wrist top computer" at first but the size and feel of this watch are very similar to any "regular" watch. I only wish it had sunrise and sun set like the X-lander. Also would be nice to have the safety of pressing mode buttons underwater.... other than that it is a breeze to work and set up!!! Alarm is loud enough despite what other comments may say.

So far this watch is ok. I haven't experienced the battery issues some have mentioned. The fit and finish is top shelf. The buttons and functions are relatively intuitive. Thing this watch lacks is a countdown timer, I can't understand why that wouldn't be included. The other irksome issue is that the altimeter and barometer function separately, unlike on the Casio Pathfinders, which can do weather trends and track altitude simultaneously (and the Casio's have a countdown timer). I like the look, size (the Suunto is considerably smaller than the Casio), and exclusivity of the Suunto Observer SR Black, but prefer the functionality of the Casio. If I could do it over again I'd purchase the Casio Men's Amazon Exclusive Reverse LCD Atomic Pathfinder Watch #PAW1300Y-1VCR