i'm seriously thinking about picking one of these up pretty soon, i've watched a ton of video's online and read a bunch of reviews

i think i've settled on the Core black with the regular screen due to all of the negative stuff i've seen on the black/black core and not being able to read it very easily

so to all of you guys wearing one would you buy it again? give me some insight, the only thing that makes me nervous about it is it's water proof rating (or lack there of) i hope i dont fry it when i wash my hands and the watch gets wet

You certainly would not have to worry about the water resistance of washing your hands.  The CORE is a very nice durable watch.  Mine has lasted me almost 4 years, and looks pretty beat up, but keeps on ticking.  I would not buy one again simply because it does not have many of the timer options that are available with more sport oriented watches, but for outdoor use, it is a solid buy.

Specs say water proof to 100 ft/30 m with underwater buttons and depth meter. So I think you're ok!

i had a suunto watch before. it was pretty nice. i have had a few pretty nice watches.

what would i suggest???   a kenetic seiko, that never needs a battery. or a $30.00 timex ironman.  if lost too many watches, and broken too many to want to spend a lot of money on one.

but suunto are very cool watches ! ! ! !  enjoy it !

I was given one when I was active duty, was a pretty awesome watch except that the battery died in 6 months tops, getting the back off was a fricking nightmare so I had a watchguy take it apart and replace the battery.  That battery died 6 months later.  I have no idea where it is now, probably a drawer some where.   I was also not the only one to have these problems, tons of guys in my squadron hated them, so when purchasing came around again we went with Casio sport pathfinder 3070's.  Now it has been badass for 3 years so far.

I love mine, I've never had any problems with the black on black screen. I unfortunately broke my screen on deployment. I just sent it back and should be getting it back soon.

I'm on my second suunto and I love them.

I've had the X6 an now the black/black Core for over a year.
It's a great watch and been pretty durable. Sunnto weak point is the strap.
Batteries last about a year too.

I have a black/black Core and it has held up very well. Changing the battery is a must every year, but you access the battery through the back of the case, removing the access cover using a coin.

yeah that's another thing i've read about them was their battery life, some ppl get really bad bat life and some get the advertised 1yr +/- life, i wonder if that's how you have it setup? what do you guys run yours on the altimiter/barometer combo setting or one or the other? i read the compass will eat your battery alive if you use it a lot

edit, you guys got me re thinking the black/black screen, i like the way that watch looks over the "normal" one but i want something easy to read

The screen contrast can be adjusted in the start-up menu, however more contrast = more work on the battery

I love my black/black core, no problems reading it.

correct me if i'm wrong but....

once you set the altimiter/barometer on your core watch it's g2g correct? not something you have to mess with all the time?

I have a X-Lander Military that hasn't left my wrist for more than a couple of minutes for close to a year.  I shower and swim with it.  No issues whatsoever. I'm thinking of picking up an Ambit when I get back in the states.

Over all yeah I think I'd buy it again.  A few annoying things though.  The outer bezel coating is thin and when it scratches it shows silver.  I would rather have the bezel in carbon fiber or something that won't show silver when scratched.  I actually use mine in Colorado on the 14ers, and even when zeroed out, the altimeter sucks above 10k.  At the top it'd be off 4-500 feet consistently.  

Yeah the altimeter on them isn't great, its really just a "close enough" kind of calculation.  If you are wanting accurate readings for weather I used the Kestrel 4000/4500 when I was active and we never had a problem, though we did do barometer comparisons every quarter to make sure they were still on target.

watch is on it's way i should actually have it tomorrow i think

You'll like it. I went several years with a Xlander that I gifted to a brother after I bought a black/black core a year ago.

i tried to read as much as of the user manual online as i could so proper setup will be a bit easier and i also looked up my current magnetic declination lol

I had one for a while, cant say I'm impressed with it. Yes, its a Suunto, but at least to me I didnt want to sacrifice anything on the toughness and waterproof deparment. From a survivalist perspective it sucks that batteries need to be replaced and can die on you. They are easy to change, yet water resistance wont be that great eventually. The construction is all around plastic and rubber, and the display is pretty exposed to scratches and such.
After not being impressed with the Suunto Core I ended up with a titanium Casio Protrek Triple Sensor Tough Solar.

It is not as accurate on the readings as the Suunto but then again I'm not picky and can live with a 5 meter margin of error, or 1  or 2 +- C temps . The compass though, its pretty accurate on the Casio, you wont find a difference with the Suntoo. Regarding the altimeter, the fact still remains, Casio or Suunto you still need to caliber it often enough. The Casio wins on ruggedness too, it can take the beating that the Suunto cant come close to. I find the titanium material much nicer than the rubber wristband. I lost more than one watch to a rotted or broken wristband, sometimes a complete surprsie the rubber just snaps and bye bye watch.
The real winning point is that the Casio is solar powered, so it will be decades (several!) before it needs a new rechargable battery. The compass is pretty accurate, the baromether chart always is always dispalyed and works like a great bad weather warning. The steeper it goes down, the more the pressure is dropping and the worse weather you'll be facing soon.  There Atomic model is radio controled  in most of the northern hemislphere, always perfectly on time. I'm pretty happy with my choice, here's a vvideo review I did on the watch if you'd like a closer look.
FerFAL

I got one, not impressed.





the plastic screen models scratch to shit in no time at all. Also don't weld with one





controls are kinda kooky and it has alot of stuff I think is useless



eta



a bunch of us got them last deployment (mil), a lot of them are in the trash now (no kidding)




 

i got the watch a few days ago and set it up

inital thoughts
i'm blown away as to how accurate the barometer stays true to my local readings via my phones weather app
screen is very easy to read and controls are pretty straight forward if you do your reading
backlight is great
barometer chart is extremly detailed and easy to read
compass is spot on after setting my declination
feels great and is very comfortable to wear

i can see where you guys would say the screen is easy to scratch, it's giant, nothing some $1 screen protectors from ebay wont prevent


i will admit i was eyeing the solar powered Casio's when i purchased this watch as the solar power would be a really nice feature to have, they look really nice but IMO not as nice as the suunto, yeah they're rugged and alot tougher but i'm not gonna be beating mine around this isn't my only watch, as for the water resistance if i'm gonna be going scuba diving ect i'll wear my luminox better suited for the task at hand

No. If you want to be accurate, you'll need to adjust the pressure settings. I would adjust the setting to match the altimeters in the plane each flight in Afghanistan and it proved to be pretty darn accurate most of the time.

Suunto's are a nice way to keep a compass on you at all times, but you have to calibrate them. Just remember to buy several batteries with the watch and to replace them at the first sign of weakness.

This is my next move, I'm gonna try to pick up 6-10 of them, one of my red dots uses the same battery so that's an added bonus

Been wearing a Bertucci A-2T Titanium for almost 2 1/2 years now.  Been taken off only for official .mil photos and MCMAP/Krav Maga.  Been through the Agile Spirit 2011, Partnership of the Americas 2012, multiple gas chambers, rifle/pistol ranges, swim qualifications.  Had to change the battery right before Christmas this year.  The phosphorescent hands and tick marks get pretty dim as the night wears on, but I've recharged using a 2 second burst with a red lens flashlight.  Watch is very comfortable, other than a few lite scratches on the face crystal it still looks like new.

I watched a buddy lose his hands in a IED explosion in Afghanistan last year.  I found his suunto about 50m away still ticking.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_2/1305899_Watch_Subforum.html







just sayin.........

Have a black on black.  Like it, little hard to read (old eyes).  Works well, haven't had it but a few months, so I don't know about longevity.