Calling the SUUNTO VECTOR BLACK just a watch for outdoor professionals will be like calling a sophisticated fighter jet just an aeroplane. The differences are, actually, a lot greater than that; but let us go easy on the analogy and see into what the X Vector has on offer.
In plain words, the Suunto X-Lander is an instrument meant for the extreme outdoors. It comes with an altimeter, a barometer and a compass; all that imply it is a watch that’ll be immensely helpful especially to the mountaineers and trekkers with an unbending attitude.
Coming to the quality of materials, it is solid, light and robust aluminium case that packs in a lot of durability and tactical, super hard-ass package to keep the functions and features intact. The aluminium has a high-quality polymer finish to it. The glass face is a welcome addition; most of the other ABC watches come with a plastic face.
Also known as the Mil-X in the geek circles, its proven design and functionality grows out of that of the standard X-Lander. Just browsing through the manual lightly is enough to get you set with its modes and options. That includes setting the time and date; changing the units (of measurements) and calibrating the compass. In about 10 minutes, you are ready for the show!
The Suunto controls are different from other ABC watches; say the GShock or the Pathfinder. The Mode and Select buttons are located differently; here at 2’0 clock and 10’ clock positions respectively. At 4 and 8, are the ‘minus and ‘plus’ buttons, respectively.
There’s a reason the X-Mil has a negative display and that’s for extremely readability. There is no such situation where reading the display easily is going to be a problem. Even if it does, you can activate the backlight with the mode button (hold it down for about 2 seconds) and a green hue is going to make everything clear for you.
The seconds-hand is a bit different in the X-Lander black; it’s the digital blocks that travel around the bezel. Only the normal watch-mode displays the date, but it also displays the barometric trends (last 6 hours; arrow pointing up/level/down) along with the display of recent barometric-pressure changes. Alongside, there’s the Day of the week to be found; Time and the Mode Status.
The X-Lander Black also has several sub-modes under each primary mode, like the stopwatch, the countdown timer and the alarms under the ‘Time’ mode. Press the mode again and you will return to the primary mode. The watch will coach you through the other processes and within a few minutes, you can show your wizardry with your instrument. In terms of accuracy and responsiveness, the
Suunto Core Glacier is above the rest of the ABC watches, with almost zero latency.
So what it all boils down to? A lightweight watch that’s tough as a nail and can be worn while in the marshlands or during a rain-dance.