Suunto X9i GPS Watch

 Brand : Suunto
Item : SUN0079
The Suunto X9i GPS Watch tracks waypoints along your route, interfaces with digital mapping software, and even tracks speed, distance, altitude, and weather as you hike, climb, or ski. Pre-plan your routes by uploading data from digital maps or Google Earth, so you never lose your trail. Suunto made the GPS with an incredibly accurate 3-foot resolution and gave it the ability to show your current speed, distance traveled, distance to you next waypoint. It also has enough memory to store a ridiculous amount of information for future reference. Find your way through a whiteout, battle through brush to a remote peak, and know exactly how many vertical feet you ski in a season with this amazing GPS watch.
Price: $498.95
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Product Reviews
Suunto X9i GPS Watch



Not the best.... depending on why you're buying it
I purchased this watch/"GPS" a few weeks ago and I must admit, I'm pretty disappointed. I intended to use it to track routes and keep up with my training (trail run, bike, paddle, etc.) but it turns out that this is probably not what this device is best suited for. It seems that it would be best used strictly as a traditional GPS unit to track routes while hiking/camping. I would however highly recommend the Garmin Forerunner 305 (see my review for it) for anyone wanting a good (not perfect) GPS unit to track progress while training. Overall the X9i only gets 2 stars from me mainly because 1) It is not intuitive (included instructions help some, but keep them close at hand), 2) The distance it recorded for my run was way off (I ran approx 4.5 miles; it recorded 7.75) and 3) It is gigantic (I understand this is necessary to cram all of the circuitry needed for GPS) Bottom line: If you want a compact GPS training device, go with the Forerunner 205 or 305. If you want a GPS for hiking/camping buy a real GPS. Sure, it won't be quite as small, but it will work much better.


This Watch is Great
I've bought this watch and am VERY HAPPY with it. It has worked flawlessly and has been exceptionally accurate. I have used it while operating my car and it was perfect in distance over 103 miles. It can gauge speed and was dead on with the speedometer of my auto. I tracked back from 140 miles out and it was within .01 dead on accurate. You MUST read the manual from the CD. The watch is complicated and you must understand the functions to succeed with it. If you don't, you'll end up unhappy. Spend time reading and you'll find a new best friend.


Does What It Is Supposed to Do
The Suunto watch entirely lives up to what advertising and reviews say it will do, and I am well satisfied with it. It is more useful and accurate than a somewhat similar device from Garmin which I got a couple of years ago. That said, the operations, or better, the instructions for them, could be simplified and improved.


Good watch... but not perfect
Purchased this watch as a replacement for a Suunto X9. Overall, the X9i is a great improvement over its predecessor. The USB interface and charging system are much better than the old cradle. Battery life is also significantly improved. One disappointment is the removal of the ability to calibrate the altimeter by setting the reference barometric pressure. With the X9i, the only calibration option is to set a known elevation into the watch. As for the GPS functions, there are performance improvements over the old watch, but it is still slow to acquire an initial position and loses satellite lock quite easily due to the antenna design. Like all GPS units, tree cover or anything that blocks the unit's view of the sky will degrade signal reception, resulting in inaccurate positions or loss of signal altogether. The X9i must download satellite almanac data every time the GPS is turned on, and so it can take a really long time for it to acquire an initial position. Unfortunately, there is no provision to manually enter a known position, which shortens the acquisition time in other units. The included Suunto Trek Manager software is quite good and is essential for building a route to transfer to the watch. Overall, it's a good, functional watch, but because of the inherent limitations of putting a GPS into such a small package, you're better off using a traditional GPS unit with mapping capabilities (such as the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx) for serious outdoor activities. I mostly use this watch for the altimeter and compass features, which are excellent. The GPS feature is best used as a back-up source of position information.




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