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| Product: Observer |
Company: Suunto |
| Web: www.suunto.com |
Phone: ??? |
| Platform: Your wrist |
SRP: US$300
Street Price: $230 |
Cred Rating: | Special Award:
Object Value |
Like most hardcore technophiles, I expect my watch to do more than just tell time. Unfortunately, I'm not the sort to wear a calculator watch or a mini-PDA on my wrist. I prefer to cultivate a more rugged image (note I said image) -- the outdoorsy but sophisticated guy who leads an active and healthy lifestyle. If there's any watch that can do this, and still thrill the gadget weenie in me, it's the Suunto Observer.
The Observer is a redesigned version of the watches that Suunto has been putting out for several years. They are loaded with the sorts of features that appeal to hikers, skiers, and the like. Dubbed "wristop computers," by Suunto, they sport such features as a digital compass, barometer, thermometer, and in the case of the Advizor I reviewed on Street Tech last year, even a heart rate monitor.
Until now, those watches have all had the same basic formfactor: a hefty plastic housing not a lot smaller than a White Castle burger (OK, I may be exaggerating here) that housed an equally large LCD display. While these watches may be perfect for actual outdoor use (especially when strapped to the outside of your North Face parka), the look is hardly appealing to more urbane adventurers.
That's where the Observer comes in. The design is significantly slimmer and smaller (30% according to Suunto), though it is still, by no means, a diminutive timepiece. The basic model, weighing in at US$300, is brushed steel with a rubber strap. Another model adds metal accents and a clasp to the rubber strap. For those who want something a little lighter than steel, a titanium version is available for a heart-stopping US$200 extra. Although the price is higher than the base $200 for the Vector with the same features, the new design is so sleek looking, it's as at home in the boardroom as it is on the slopes.
Another appearance change on the Observer is the LCD screen. While not quite as large as other models, the Observer's LCD is significantly more legible because of the inverted LCD -- the numbers appear light green, almost yellowish, on a black background. This makes it very easy to read and it just oozes tech appeal.
But this watch is more than just a pretty face. Suunto has re-worked the internals as well. The feature set on the Observer is four-fold: time keeping, altimeter, barometer, and digital compass. While it doesn't include the heart monitor, other features are more accurate than on the Advizor.
The time features are basically the same as earlier models. When set to show time, the face displays the day of the week, hour and minute, and in the lower portion of the screen, either the date, dual time zones, or a seconds count. The seconds are also counted off around the outside of the display, but because the display is designed primarily for the compass function, the points don't match up exactly to the seconds (each dot equals two seconds, except the six dots that are always displayed, which count as one second -- I could explain the math, but it'd nearly take a Ph.D. to understand).
Also on the main display is a cool little window that shows the barometric trend over the last six hours (more on this later). There is also a chronometer with up to 99 lap and split times, plus three daily alarms. The sound level on the alarm is pitiful -- it wouldn't wake you from a glaze-over at a sales meeting, let alone warn you of approaching a particular altitude while the wind is howling. The alarm is so weak, if you ever think you'll actually need one, you should not get this watch.
The altimeter is where the first improvement over earlier models shows up. The Observer is much more accurate, gauging altitude to within three feet, rather than the 10 feet of other models (it can also be displayed in meters rather than feet, for those who are into that sort of thing). As with other models, an altitude logbook keeps track of your upward or downward progress, and an altitude alarm can be set.
Unlike other models, the Observer includes a "lock" function so that the altitude and pressure can be secured in one setting. This is in some ways an admittance of a weakness: the altitude and the barometric pressure are both determined using the same sensor, and an increase in sea level barometric pressure will read as a decrease in altitude. With the lock, either the pressure or the altitude can be fixed, and the other feature becomes more accurate.
The barometric pressure sensor is also more accurate than on previous models and can display pressure in either inches of mercury (InHG) or millibar. The barometric pressure is recorded automatically over the last five days, each hour for the last six hours, and then, every six hours. A small arrow in the upper left of the display shows the overall trend, either flat, rising, or falling. That barometric display is always visible, which means it's useful as a quick check of what the weather is doing in general (e.g. steeply falling pressure usually means rain is on the way).
The barometric pressure screen also displays current temperature. Unfortunately, the reading is not accurate while being worn on your wrist. The manual says that it takes about 15 minutes to become accurate, but I've found it actually only takes about five. While the temperature reading is inconsistently inconsistent, one of the other improvements on the Observer is a temperature compensator, so the thermometer readings do not throw the barometric pressure/altitude readings off.
The compass is the most useful feature on the watch, and the one essential tool you should never go hiking without. The Suunto compass is extremely accurate and allows for bearing tracking (i.e. set the direction you want to go, and if you get off track, the Suunto will display the difference between intended and actual course). On the digital compass, one change is immediately apparent -- the little leveling bubble is gone. While the absence of the bubble adds to the sleek look, it means that you have to be a little more careful holding it level since tilting the watch can throw off the compass readings. As with other models, the compass can be easily adjusted to correct for declination (the difference between magnetic north and true north). If the compass is thrown off by proximity to a strong magnetic source, putting it right is fairly easy. The manual recommends placing the watch on a flat surface to calibrate the compass, but I've found the best way is to put it on the top of a beer bottle and spin the bottle around. You cannot calibrate the watch by drinking the beer first, then spinning while the bottle stays still. Trust me, I've tried. That's the kind of testing we do here at Street Tech Labs (we do the heavy drinking so that you don't have to!).
While the Observer is currently my everyday watch, there are other watches with similar functions at more reasonable price. Nike recently introduced a line of watches for around $120, and Casio has a G-Shock that includes many of the same features for around $100 (street). Suunto also recently announced a line with a slimmer profile, though not nearly as stylish, that's more price-competitive with the Nikes and the Casios. For now though, I'm happy with the knowledge that should I ever become an actual outdoors person, I'm already geared up!
- Nate Heasley [3/6/02]
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