Suunto Yachtsman Wrist Top Computer Watch with Barometer and Compass

The watch displays day, time, and date with three programmable alarms plus a stopwatch and countdown timer. But the Yachtsman really stands out in its combination of sailing timer, barometer, and compass functions. The sailing timer allows you to easily set the correct sequence and synchronize the timer with the race committee with the push of a button. Large numerals and audible warning signals let you concentrate more on maneuvering your boat in the swarming of the start while Suunto Yachtsman keeps you informed on up-coming critical moments. The race timer range of the stopwatch is 120 hours, and it features a countdown from 60 minutes. You can store 50 split times in the memory for later analysis.

The barometer allows you to measure the temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit, absolute pressure, and a difference measurement to follow changes in barometric pressure and temperature. The automatic four-day memory keeps track of atmospheric pressure. Another feature is the adjustable sea-level pressure function.

The Yachtsman's compass shows directional bearing in degrees and cardinal or half-cardinal point. There is a north-south arrow and a bearing tracking function that displays locked bearing, actual bearing, and the difference between these declination adjustments. The compass's bubble level indicates a level position to ensure accuracy within 2 or 3 degrees.

The Suunto Yachtsman is water resistant, tested to 100 meters/330 feet according to ISO 2281 standard, which means you can use it for swimming or other water sports activities--but it should not be used for scuba diving or freediving. The non-allergenic aluminum casing and the durable mineral crystal glass combined with a weatherproof band make it the ultimate tool for discerning boaters.

What's in the Box This package includes the Suunto Yachtsman wrist-top computer and printed operating instructions. It is covered by a one-year warranty.

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Gentleman's Plastic Watch   January 4, 2009
P. White (New York, NY)
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.


Good Buy but be prepared!   January 18, 2007
S. Lopez (Los Angeles, CA USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

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.


Spiffy but bizarre   July 7, 2006
Karl P. Brummel (Chicago, IL USA)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

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.