Suunto bills the Vector as a ‘wrist computer’. In addition to keeping the time and date, it has a magnetic compass, barometric altimeter, alarm, stopwatch and an internal log to keep track of your day’s climbing. The compass makes it particularly useful to geocachers who own GPS units without a built in magnetic compass. It’s convenient to have a compass on your wrist and not have rummage through your pack when you need it.

Using the Vector’s compass alongside a traditional handheld compass showed it to be accurate, though I found it difficult to read at first. A second reading of the owners manual got me past that. When used alongside my Garmin GPS 60CS and Garmin Vista, the altitude shown on the Vector was always within 100 feet of that shown on the GPS units. The Vector’s altimeter does require frequent re-calibration and to do this you need to know your altitude. This is not an issue if you have a topo map or know your altitude, but can be if you don’t.

It’s very easy to navigate between the Vector’s features. Actually it can be a bit too easy as I find that I often accidentally hit the mode button and wind up looking at my compass or altimeter when I want to check the time.

The instruction booklet is well written and it’s easy to figure out how to use the watch using the booklet. The Vector is large and bulky for a watch and I find the rubber watch band to be uncomfortable in the heat. Replacing the band with a more comfortable cloth, or leather one isn’t possible because if its proprietary design.

The Vector has a backlight feature for night use and the manufacturer claims its waterproof down to 100 feet. I didn’t test it at 100 feet, but it did pass the shower test and and was “still ticking” after a swim and a dunk in a hot tub.

Geocaching application(s): The Vector can be used like any handheld compass to augment your GPS. You can project a waypoint if your GPS loses its signal, or use it to get a bearing for caches that use a directional offset.

Pros: Accurate timepiece. Compass. Water resistant. Easy to use.

Cons: Size.

Bottom line: Most geocachers would find the Vector to be a useful addition to their gear, especially if their GPS unit doesn’t have a built in magnetic compass.