When compared to Swiss design, the Finnish have made a very competing watch. The case of the Suunto Elementum Ventus is first class using a “carved not stamped” sense to it. I enjoy the sapphire crystal, but I am let down that it must be nor glare-proofed or domed. Therefore in a pinch, you should use it as a mirror to fix your hair.

The pushers perform effectively, although much lauded “spinning A pusher” would seem slightly less than “swiss rugged” in my experience.

The display…. alright, after years of Swiss timepieces which beautifully performed legible negative displays, I can’t “get it” with this particular watch. Why can’t Suunto make a negative display with sufficient quality and contrast to compete with the likes of a Breitling, TAG or RADO? From my own limited understanding of LCD technologies, the gap between a positive and a negative display will be the polarizing filter. There isn’t much else into it. So I’m perplexed why this is so difficult to read.

I’m satisfied with the function of the watch. Suunto seems to have sought to make this watch as straightforward as possible! You will find basically four modes.The particular main time display that may show either barometric pressure numerically or, inside the same area, show the dat. The barometric record, that is accessed by rotating the A pusher counter clockwise and scrolls the baro graph by hour increment. The compass, available via the C pusher in all modes with the exception of when the “race timer” is working; and also the race timer itself.

The count down chronograph is quite… awkward. It resets to zero by holding the C pusher after it has been stopped by hitting the A pusher. When zeroed, it assumes five mins as the start time, despite the fact that it is possible to swivel the A pusher to regulate this by minute steps. If set to zero, it works like a modest chronograph. Why modest? It counts 10ths of seconds until 1 minute, after that changes to mins and seconds, and to minutes only. When it comes to last mode, no one is able to detect it is still working without catching a digit change. In contrast to the “standard” convention of flashing the “:” to show a going chronograph, the “:” is static. Additionally regrettable is that, whenever halted, the timepiece will not display the greater precise readings. Compare this to an Aerospace Watch, where once the chronograph is stopped, the watch alternates between displaying the minutes and the seconds, to enable you to at least access the degree of accuracy kept in the watch.

Mario Bosemon is a long time timepiece enthusiast and understands few things about them, particularly the outside/sport kinds. So his opnion on SuuntoElementum and especially his favorite Suunto Elementum Aqua might be taken into account before purchasing one. To find out more: http://suuntoelementum.com/