by John Turner (Guest Contributor and hiking expert)

Rating for Navigation 

Suunto Traverse Amber Gray Case/Amber Silicone Strap GPS Watches – Black available  at around £229 on Amazon

Mountain Leader Aspirations

I’m a fifty seven year old male and having happily returned a business laptop and mobile phone to my employer when I retired I have the view that I left the world of “connectivity” behind. Having had an interest in rambling and walking I signed up for a Moutain Leader course taking place in the South of Ireland. The course requires students to accurately locate myself using map, compass, timing and the natural features around them.

In order to verify my location on the hill a simple six figure grid reference and a height measurement are required. That’s it!  I also needed a simple stopwatch function to aid measurement of distance travelled over ground.

As an aspirant  Mountain Leader,  a device such as the Suunto Traverse All Black  which is recommended by publications such as Gear Magazine 2017, would surely prove an aid to my navigation training.

The Test

The opportunity was take to test this watch in Connemara, Southern Ireland, for four days in early October 2017.  I camped at Eco Beach, on the Sky Road on the coast road west of Clifton, overlooking Omey Island.  The ascent of the mountains known as Diamond Hill and the Ben Gorm Horseshoe was the objective.

First Impressions of the Suunto Traverse 

The watch, once on my wrist made me feel that this was a piece of kit for a serious mountaineer and induced a certain amount of initial swagger to my walk.  It has a comfortable fit, robust build quality, together with buttons that are easy to press.  A key feature of such a watch should the length of the strap.  The Mountain Leader handbook on Navigation by Carlo Fonte clearly refers to watches that are worn on the wrist over waterproof sleeves.  The standard strap on this watch, whilst comfortable, was barely able to stretch around my waterproof sleeves and to bebuckled safely leaving me always concerned that it would unbuckle and fall off.  If the watch had fallen off it would have been very difficult to find in the storm conditions I found myself in.  I suggest a coloured hi-vis strap which is long enough to fit over sleeves.

Features 

Display

There is no doubt that the main display showing day, date and time has good font size and readily lit by the bottom right hand button. Dawn and dusk times, seconds, height, direction, number of steps taken together with battery usage are available by toggling the view button on the bottom left hand side of the watch.

For me, the crucial  six figure grid location via the GPS function is not readily available.  I had to “toggle” or depress the next button which is the middle button on the right hand side of the watch five times to get to the “current location” function.  Once this function is used then the six fiqure grid reference location can remain on the main display as you make progress along your route.  The truth is that I found this particular function difficult to find in a hurry.   I would suggest the provision of a separate button on the watch labelled “Nav” which once depressed would give the GPS location and height referenced altitude.  In my opinion, that would be a real advantage to this well made device.

Battery Life

Constant depressing of the function buttons which was a feature of my trial ran down the battery in a couple of days.  Left untouched, the battery lasted for ten days without needing a recharge which a task easily done with the crocodile clipped USB power lead.

Connectivity

I don’t need or want the connectivity functions, managing a group of six people at 700 meters height in a raging storm is challenging enough without having to be alerted that I have a missed call on my phone.  Whilst I understand that some may want to analyse their every step and  move after or during the event I will have already spent several hours route planning and have it detailed manually on a laminated map plus a spare in case the original is lost.

Advantages of this watch over my current technology

I have an iPhone 4s which has an App that gives me a quick GPS six figure grid reference and altitude. My watch is made by Casio which has a simple stopwatch.  The battery depletes quickly over circa seven hours and I would have to carry a separate battery charger.  The iPhone has to be kept in a separate waterproof pouch in the top of my ruck sack which I have to unpack to use.

The Suunto watch is always to hand and the font used displays the grid reference well.  Even when completely soaked, a quick wipe of the watch face means that you are able to see the reference.  The watch recharges well.

Summary

I was pleased with the build quality and comfort of this watch however a well placed “Nav” button which gives instant grid reference and altitude would have made it even better for someone that is working in the mountain environment. The provision of a longer, more visable strap for poor conditions would also be a bonus.