Suunto Yachtsman Wrist Top Computer Watch with Barometer and Compass

User Review: - Gentleman's Plastic Watch
I like this watch a lot. Picked this up in order to give my Omega Seamaster a break (needs to be sent back to switzerland to get polished up). This watch is big, but very, very light. At the store where I picked mine up, I had the Seamaster in one hand and the Yachtsman in the other. The Yachtsman has probably twice the mass, but less than half the weight. It is good looking, and will be a conversation piece when worn with a suit at business meetings.

The good: Time, stopwatch, barometer, thermometer, compass, and race timer. The race timer is essentially a countdown (you synchronize with race committee gunshots) followed by a stopwatch, with split time viewing and one-race memory. A couple good features: it can only be stopped by hitting the stop button twice in two seconds - good for those of you that wear sailing gloves. Beeps are audible unless the wind is howling above 20 knots. If you aren't a racer, you might do just as well with the x-lander, which excludes the racing timer but includes an altimeter, all within the same aesthetic package. The barometer includes a 1 hour interval memory (remember, 3 mbar change in under an hour and you're probably in trouble) and a thermometer. All units can be changed between imperial and metric. I haven't changed the battery yet but the compartment is opened with a coin, and looks very easy. Also, its a great looking watch if you can pull off the large size, and its relatively inexpensive.

The bad: The contrast could be a little darker, and the backlight could be a little brighter. No seconds display on the standard time view. You can toggle seconds display briefly via pushing a button. Reading the manual (twice or three times) is an absolute must, because the buttons are unmarked. The thermometer doesn't take accurate readings while strapped on due to the heat from your wrist. The compass reading is a little jumpy (though in my experience, accurate). Lastly, I already knicked the aluminum bezel reaching into a closet... when I'm rolling around on the foredeck and trimming sails, its probably going to get pretty beat up.

Overall, good product. Well done Suunto.

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User Review: - Disappointment
This watch was a disappointment for what you pay for it. It is hard to read at an angle, the countdown timer you would use to start a race is difficult to use and nearly inaudible. The concept behind this watch is neat, it looks nice, but Suunto should update this product and stop selling this particular watch. For a simpler, more user friendly Suunto sailing watch I recommend the M3.

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User Review: - Good Buy but be prepared!
This is a really good watch. The features are pretty handy - barometer, temperature, can store readings, etc.
The only concern is regarding the size of the watch. I gave it to my boyfriend for Christmas and that was the key thing he mentioned - it is really big. So I recommend seeing it beforehand.
So if you can live with the size, it's a good buy.

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User Review: - Excellent Regatta Watch
I have been looking for quite some time at different sailing watches. As a bowman, I compete quite heavily in sailing regatta's and have tried several different watches. I have now had this watch for a few months and I must admit it is the best watch I have ever used. It is very user friendly and has an excellent countdown timer. Having the temperature and pressure is nice, but okay... they are extras. It is a nice looking watch, good display, and very easy to use. I would highly recommend this watch for anyone who truly competes in sailing regatta's.

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User Review: - Spiffy but bizarre
I want to like this watch a lot, but I am having to admit that my inexpensive Timex Ironman (now at the bottom of Lake Michigan ticking away) did the basics better. The baro and compass features are cool, although I don't use them that much.

I find it odd that in "Time" mode it doesn't show the seconds digitally, instead preferring to show the day of week, month, and day of month. You can get it to show seconds by pressing one of the unlabelled and not particularly intuitive buttons, but only for ten seconds, then it's back to the day (or date, I can't remember which). I generally want to know seconds, not what month it is, on the race course. There is a 36 element ring that does some stuff as seconds elapse but it isn't easy to read at a glance.

The countdown timer is odd too. There is no repeat mode, which I used to set to five minutes and just let roll during starting sequences. Instead there is a one shot timer that, once started, it seems that no force in the universe can reset, although you can get it to jump (either up or down, I can't remember which) by pressing one of the buttons.

Finally, I am reasonably intelligent but I'm no good at this thing's interface. Navigating through functions involves pressing one of three buttons either once, twice in two seconds, or holding it down for two seconds. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to when you do what.

In all, I'm disappointed with the lack of flexibility for displaying the time (you'd think they could splurge for a six digit display for the time, it is a watch, after all). The timer is "use it our way or not at all" as well. I could fight through the interface by reading the manual every night for a week, but really, it's not supposed to be that hard.

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