Customer Reviews

Suunto Vector Wrist-Top Computer Watch with Altimeter, Barometer, Compass, and Thermometer (Black)

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I've owned the Suunto Vector for more than three years after purchasing it when I first became interested in adventure racing. While many top racers wear it, I would highly recommend it for the serious hiker, climber or backcountry skier for it's solid construction, design and versatility.

While I also wear this as my everyday watch, it's extra large size should be taken into consideration if that's something you have in mind.

There are a couple other brands available in this market segment, but the relatively low price and exceptional feature set are what continues to set this tool apart from the crowd.

Here's what you should know:
* Expect to replace the battery at least once a year. This is due to a number of reasons, one of which is the powerful backlight on the face that when activated can nearly illuminate the inside of a small tent at night. If you believe the manufacturer's warnings and want to play it safe, you may want to have this procedure performed by a professional (watch, not outdoor) shop. Suunto sells a battery pack that comes with a replacement seal and screw-in back, and this is definitely something to consider every other replacement opportunity, but you can get by with a lower-cost Duracell type 2430 3V lithium if you're on a budget.
* The altimeter is one of the strongest features, allowing you to quickly pinpoint your location on a topo map. However, plan to reset it regularly, especially after a plane ride or frequent and significant changes in altitude, or weather. This is rather easy as along as you have a confirmed location metric, but you have to remember to do it regularly to ensure the greatest accuracy. The 24-hour memory provides a total measurement of your ups and downs (ascents and descents) over that time period, a really cool record for runners, mountain bikers and skiers.
* The compass is one of the strongest in this class of devices, which to be sure isn't the greatest to begin with ... but even the serious orienteerer would be impressed. The ability to adjust for local declination is really nice.
* The barometer is good, but not great. However, if you want to be aware of potential weather changes, this will provide you with some peace of mind. Better to be safe than sorry (or worse) in this regard.
* The thermometer isn't accurate at all unless you take the watch off for 15-20 minutes or so to eliminate the warming effect of your skin/body temperature.
* Some of the controls and settings are not easy to comprehend or remember. I've never been able to figure out how to use the stopwatch, timer and lap features. If you're a swimmer or triathlete and this is important to you, look to the Timex Ironman standby.
* Waterproofing is rock solid. No worries.
* The soft-rubber watchband is comfortable to wear, but will deteriorate over time, even more rapidly in chlorine. Suunto offers a much lighter nylon/velcro alternative that I personally prefer.

Overall, I really like the Vector. But for a number of reasons already mentioned, would not feel comfortable giving it a perfect 5.0 score. But consider my 4.0 more like a 4.7 ... you can't go wrong here.

I am a watch collector, and in many instances, the bigger the better, and it truly IS difficult to find a timepiece bigger than your average Suunto Wristop Computer (other than the Observer). But despite its size, the Vector is quite comfortable on my wrist. It doesn't seem too bulky, and I know that sounds impossible to believe -- especially once you see the beast for the first time, but its true.

If you are an avid outdoor person, whether you're into hiking, mountain climbing or just a regular fisherman, you simply should NOT leave home without a device like this. First off it has a highly accurate digital altimeter, which admittedly needs regular calibration, but as long as you keep close track of what it says, you should have no trouble keeping up on exactly where you are above (or below) sea level. Next up is another widely under-used tool, a digital barometer. Sure it may SEEM intimidating -- at FIRST, but spend a few minutes closely reading the instruction manual, and you should have it down fairly quickly. I wouldn't say you could bet your life on the accuracy of this barometer, but it IS a LOT closer to predicting the real weather than any meteorologist I've ever encountered. I'd say it was around 80% correct -- and when was the last time you could say that about your local weatherman, huh? Also, the barometer features a built-in thermometer. Now again, for a totally correct temp reading you must take the watch off your wrist for about 15 minutes first, and as far as I am aware, all watches that feature this function must be done the same way, so keep that in mind before you look at your watch and declare it's 90 degrees when it is more likely 75. Finally the last nifty gadget crammed into this watch is a highly accurate digital compass. Once calibrated (and once again you may need to re-calibrate once-a-week or so to be spot-on) this compass gives you great assistance, especially for the avid hikers out there who rely on map reading in unfamiliar territory.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it also can tell the time...it has an alarm and even a stopwatch. What will they think of next? The ONLY reason why the Vector received 4 stars instead of 5 is because despite how GOOD this timepiece really is, it really SHOULD have come with crystal or glass rather than a plastic face. I have the Suunto X-Lander which is pretty much a clone of the Vector built inside an aluminum body rather than plastic and comes with a mineral crystal face. The one thing the X-Lander is missing that the Vector has is the tiny bubble in the upper right of the watch face which is invaluable in taking accurate readings by knowing how level you are. REALLY helpful. I dunno, maybe it isn't possible to put a bubble inside of the glass face, but if it IS possible, they ought to think about doing that sometime soon.

One more thing: the various colors you can find the Vector help to make it as much an accessory to your hiking outfit as an invaluable tool needed for a safe trek. I personally like the yellow the best, but I was surprised at how cool the Khaki face looked, so I went ahead with that one.

All in all, if you are looking for something that will combine the incredible usefulness that the Vector has in such a small package, I would definitely say Suunto has another winner on their hands...or on their wrists, so to speak. Outstanding product.

I had a Suunto for 10 months. The face scratched VERY easily which was disappointing. However the worst thing is after swimming in a pool that I could stand up in the watch FILLED with water and died. On returning to Suunto they refused to fix it under warrantee because swimming is not covered ! They say the forces created by swimming are to much for this watch and it was never designed for this purpose, despite the sales literature saying it is water proof to 100m. I WOULD NEVER BUY ANOTHER SUUNTO PRODUCT. Whatsmore the shop I bought it from say they have lots returned for the same reason and non of them were fixed under warranty either. It is also very difficult to use and you cannot hear the alarm at all.

I got my first Vector about three years ago, from REI. Yes, it is large. Not a problem for me as I am large.
I am on my third Vector; the first two, for some strange reason, leaked water, the first during an incredible monsoon rainstorm in the mountains of Arizona, the second while taking a shower. No, I did not submerse the watch, nor push any buttons while the water was 'on'. Fortunately, REI accepts returns with no questions. It is a testament to how nice this watch is that I continued to replace the watch. Perhaps I had models from a bad production run, as my present Vector has lasted for over two years with nary a leak.
The good: I have found the digital compass to be very accurate and useful. Remember that it must be calibrated from time to time, and don't forget about declination.
The barometer is VERY useful. The barometer function is constantly operating, and accounts for a nice little symbol in the upper left of the display showing pressure trends over the past few hours. This is very useful if you understand barometric pressure trends and their likely results. If you do not, look it up and learn, as you will find it to be very useful if you spend a lot of time in the brush. Remember that the barometric pressure must be calibrated against absolute sea-level readings from time to time, especially during rapidly changing weather conditions. Once you understand the relationship between altitude/changing weather, you will master the complexities of both the barometer and the altimeter, and understand just how simple they are, and how reliable this device really is. I have checked it against my high-end GPS and other barometers many times, and it is very accurate indeed.
The temp is useful if you need to know the temperature; like all such devices, it will have to be taken off of your body for about ten minutes before you will get an accurate reading.
The bad: the lens is plastic. If you have any experience with fine coated-glass, you will do fine with this: DO NOT, EVER, wipe any dust or dirt off of the face. Use a lens-pen, with a fine blower-brush. Or wait until you've stepped under water with it. Put simply, it has been my experience that if you keep your grubby paws off of it, and don't try to 'clean' it with your cotton t-shirt/flannel shirt/etc, and instead use methods used for fine coated glass elements, it will look like new forever. Mine does, and it has been in desert dust and swamp mud.
The battery does, in fact, eventually lose energy! In normal use, you can expect a year or more from the battery. If you are one of those fellas that shows everyone that he meets his "neat digital compass", or actually rely on this as your primary compass in the brush, it won't last nearly so long. The digital compass is the primary energy-sucker, likely as much as the backlight. Use the compass only when needed (you should have a base-plate compass anyway...Suunto also makes some of the best of these as well).
As for the review stating the watchbands give out, I find that remarkable as I have never had a problem with mine, and I wear it constantly, day in and day out.
All in all, and in spite of the fact that I had to return my first two, I heartily recommend the Vector. Tough and useful.

... and buy a GPS instead. I agree with previous reviewer (Dave57), I WOULD NEVER BUY A SUUNTO AGAIN. Worst than Dave, I simply got caught in heavy rain during a hike and my Vector was full of water, couldn't even tell the time. I send it to Suunto Finland for repair and they say that it leaked from the housing and "kindly" offered a repair for 140 Euros.

This may be the 'outdoorsy' ubergeek watch. It's big, it's ugly, but has functions to make the fattest Swiss Army Knife sit in the corner sobbing in jealousy. Overall, I like it but there are a couple of things that sound better than they are.

The timepiece: Outstanding. It has HH:MM:SS DD:MMM, of course, with a year setting to avoid leap year issues. This should go without saying in a modern digital watch. Stopwatch with lap function (not that I ever use the lap function, but I'm sure someone is interested). Countdown timer that can run up to a 24 hour countdown (very easy to set). Three daily alarms. Special kudos for the alarms, this is one of the loudest watch alarms I've heard, and I've missed too many watch alarms to not appreciate this.

The Altimeter: largely eye candy, but kind of neat. Over four days, my bedroom went from 100m above sea level to 25 m below sea level (by the maps, about 40m ASL). Not surprising because it is driven by the barometer, and I never recalibrated it, but a graphic demonstration of the importance of calibrating it when you want/need it.

The Barometer: Yup, it's a barometer. The part I like is the little display that shows the rising/falling trend, especially as this is always active (even in normal 'time' mode).

The Thermometer: Take the watch off to get an accurate reading as the sensor is too close to the wrist.

The compass: Easily the best 'special' feature. Accurate, precise (enough for orienteering, not for surveying), easy to use. It can be programmed for a declination, but knowing me, I'd forget to reset it, so I do declination the hard way. The sighting notches are small but servicable. The spirit level bubble is unique among digital watch compasses to Suunto, and greatly enhances accuracy and confidence in the compass. An outstanding wrist compass.

The package: Big. Really, really big. But the controls are very easy to use and seem fairly resistant to accidental button pressing (a problem for me with other watches). The battery has a shortish (12-18 month) life, but has a hatch, so you don't need to take it to a jeweller to get it replaced without ruining the water resistance. The display has large characters and high contrast to the back ground, and the display light is just right, readible, even, and glare free, but not an emergency flashlight. Personally, I'm going to swap the resin band for a velcro strap, but the stock strap isn't bad, just not great.

Overall, not a watch for the office or a suit but very good as a watch, compass and barometer, and about what you could expect as a thermometer and altimeter. Well designed, thought-out, and manufactured, but really big.

I got a vector 3 years ago and was very pleased with it most of the time. The altimiter is not very useful because it is based off barometric pressure so your reading will vary wildly and you need to keep resetting it. The big flaw with this watch is that in 3 years the face has broken twice. The first time the bezel broke off. Luckly it was still under warranty and they replaced it. Now the faceplate has cracked and is letting moisture in. I don't use the watch for any crazy sports, it's just my everyday watch so the fact that it is broken astounds me. Sunnto have a minimum $85 repair charge, which could go up, so at this stage I'm bowing out with two watch failures in 3 years.

I bought this watch several years ago thinking that it would be just a fun gadget to try out. I was wrong. It's not just a fun gadget, it's a tool that I will never trek without. My friends and I do long, often trailless hauls over high mountain terrain. We often navigate long distances relying heavily on topo maps and compass. (I'm not talking Central Park; I'm talking vast stretches of Cascade and Canadian wilderness.) This watch has become a tool that I constantly use: the barometer to keep a sense of changing weather, the altimeter to validate my assumptions about topography, the compass as a backup in case my main compass dies (this happened), the thermometer to see how cold the morning is, and of course the time.

Some things you should know: It's big, so treat this watch only as something you wear while doing outdoor sports. The thermometer is only useful when you're not wearing it, so expect only to know the temperature first thing in the morning (or expect to take it off and let it sit for about 10 minutes). The battery lasts for about a year (backlight use minimal).

In sum: This watch should be on your wrist if and when you do serious outdoor sports such as distance mountain trekking. This watch should NOT be on your wrist if you think that mountain trekking means walking along a lovely gravel-lined trail at a nearby national park.

Final Note: Since I bought mine, Suunto has come out with several variations on the same watch. You might check the others out; they may be tailored to different sports.

I've had a VECTOR for more than 5 years, GREAT TOOL, but it finally slipped away to lost-watch land. I bought a new one and was very sad to send it back. You see, I could see the old black letters on a white face just fine, even in bright sunshine. The new improved model has faint green letters on a black background -- much harder to see while hiking or sailing, especially when wearing polarized sunglasses. The graphics on the new model are also much harder to discern --for example, the indicator for degrees F or degrees C is tiny (granted that is probably an issue only during set-up). The good folk at Suunto have still not addressed the problem of accidentally uncalibrating the barometric sensor -- that's a problem if you hit the buttons while running -- and the manual still doesn't help you get out of the mess in the field. It was a great product for backcountry activity, now it's mostly for show. Look for the old version and buy a new battery ...

This is the second Vector I have purchased. My first six year old one has gotten beat up and the compass no longer works. The watch has a large dial and is a little bulky, but you get used to it. You trade that for a large easy to read dial. The watch has more features than you can use and a large instruction manual to go with it. It has the compass, barometer, temperature, and altimeter. The 6 hour barametric pressure history box is nice to warn you of incoming bad weather. The watch is a nice instrument, but I would warn against abusing it. It is shock resistant, not shock proof!