Opinions on the Suunto Quest GPS watch?

[bse]

Has anyone tried one of these out? they seem pretty slick... it's not the traditional GT31, but it'd be a lot more multipurpose, lighter and in theory be able to see my speed in real time. I like the idea of the remote gps receiver, no point in it being on my wrist and it looks like the watch battery lasts a lot longer for it as well. (assuming it doesn't have trouble keeping a connection like my stupid bluetooth headphones!)

Anyone see any downsides?

http://www.amazon.com/Suunto-Quest-GPS-Pack-Black/dp/B00C3R8J8S/ref=sr_1_7?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1402614109&sr=1-7&keywords=suunto+quest

[boardsurfr]

Downsides:
1. No support from Suuonto for windsurfing (because there are thousands of runners for every windsurfer).
2. Limited to 1 Hz or less. Some reports that getting 1 Hz data can be a problem. Other GPS units now support 5 Hz or 10 Hz.
3. Not accepted at GPSspeedsurfing.com and GPS Team Challenge (mostly because of 1 - they could simply update the firmware).
4. Two pieces of equipment to carry instead of just one. Loose or break one, no data.

Suunto makes GPS watches with built-in GPS, too. A tad more expensive, but easy to write your own software for it. Points #1-3 still apply.

[KevinDo]

As much as I'd like to look at my speed while sailing, I have found that it increases the likelyhood of me crashing when hitting voodoo chop on a speed run lol. I agree with all of boardsurfr's points. Even with an updated firmware, the GP3S tech team would still have to test it and approve it.

Instead of looking at your speed, you could set a GT-31 to beep when you pass a set speed limit (speed genie and the speed notification feature)

-Kevin

[norcom]

Don't know about the Quest but I love my Suunto Ambit 2 watch. I've also had the Suunto X9Mi and Suunto X10 over the last four years.

The GPS speed has improved tremendously with each model. Ambit2 has small apps you can install that include sailing, tides and tons more stuff. It works really well, acquires the GPS fast and doesn't require a separate unit for GPS. But it's a bit more expensive than the Quest. In my opinion still the best GPS watch out there and I 'm always looking to upgrade.

The downside of the separate unit is that you'll never have it on you or you can lose it. More stuff to mess/sync with.

[bse]

All good points.

I hesitate at buying the GT-31 as it seems like it's due for a replacement and it uses really old tech compared to the newer GPS units (seems like watches are the new thing). It's really hard to tell if/which watches are using the doppler thing...

Not to mention I just looked to price one and I can't even find a US dealer.

[KevinDo]

[bse]

If i could find it (a GT-31 in the US) i would probably buy it (assuming it's under 150 or so). I think the speedsurfing sites are stuck in about 2008 in terms of products, you'd think they'd have found some newer units that work. This looks pretty cool too:http://www.activereplay.com/trace/pre-order, but not out yet.

[KevinDo]

[bse]

Well, I may still go with the the GT-31, but in the meantime i got one of these units: http://www.amazon.com/G-PORTER-GP-102-Multifunction-Device-Logger/dp/B00F8AJQ9S It was cheap enough that I figured i'd experiment a bit with it. After seeing it was SIRF IV, and SIRF IV is doppler capable, I did send an email to the company and they replied saying it was doppler based... I'll take it with a grain of salt since there seems to be a few ways that 'doppler' can be recorded. I figured I'd get some data and see how it looks. As much as I like going as fast as I can, i'm still not on the level where i'd be joining one of the speed sites. At the very least maybe I can be a guinea pig for this unit.

... now that I think about it, it's a long ways away from the suunto, but if it works out i can put the extra $$ towards more equipment!

[KevinDo]