I imagine it's all of the above Ian! Reassuring to know you've changed yours without any problem.

I have a Suunto Vector, and first batt. replacment I got from cotswolds £5 for one!!!

I went into a pound shop and got "6 for a pound" they are lithium so last 5 times longer, especialy sub zero...and are the larger 2032 as Phil mentioned for Suunto.

forgot to mention "Clas Olson" the swedish company in Leeds has them too for a bargain price

It's not the battery here - they're cheap as chips. It's the back cover that Suunto supplies that's important. I've a Suunto Altimax that I bought back in '99, and everytime I've replaced the battery I've gone for the full-on Suunto replacement that includes the cover.

Once you remove the cover you compromise the integrity of the seal. When you replace the battery and cover with Suunto's material you once again have a solid system.

I've read reports where people have commented that their Suunto products have misted up and/or presented condensation. I've never encountered this, but I've always used their replacement kit, and I suspect that these issues devolve from attempting to save a few pennies and dispense with the replacement cover.

Frankly, the extra cost - some £4 - ain't important. My Suunto Altimax is, after compass, probably my most important navigational tool. Combined with a paper map an altimeter can give you an excellent location.

I have to admit, Humphrey, your post caused me a bit of concern. My Core is around 7 years old and though I've had no problems with condensation I thought I probably should take your advice and get a kit with the new cover and seal. After I while checking various Suunto stockists and not being able to find the kit, for the Core, I checked on Suunto's website and it turns out the Core is designed differently to the Altimax and they don't make such kits. With the Core all you need to do is clean the seal and back cover, which I've always done, and the unit will maintain a proper seal.

Ian C.

If they invented an altimeter watch which you could switch off between trips, the battery would last for decades and replacing the battery would be much less of an issue.

Check out the Suunto website Vincent, it shows how to 'sleep' your Core. Press all the 4 diagonal buttons together.

I have a working suunto core with new battery and now resting in 'sleep' mode! This makes me very happy (must get out more!) and even happier that I won't need to worry about it waking me up in the wee hours to tell me a storm's coming when I am in the comfort of my bed! Thanks everyone!

P.S. Are you lot as good as this on all life issues? - I might replace my search engine with the TGO message board!!

If you put it to sleep to turn off weather warnings, what is the point?

Andy, I've replaced the battery in mine before every trip. Zero problems, zero condensation. The trick is to replace the battery in a very dry environment. Send me your Suunto and I'll fix it for you. RH here on a mild day is 25%, and it only gets lower than that.

I too have repeatedly replaced my battery in my suunto without difficulty or ensuing condensation. I think the problems occur when folk do it themselves without realising the small rubber seal is there.
As regards the storm alert, it can be switched off without turning the other functions off.

[quote
As regards the storm alert, it can be switched off without turning the other functions off. [/quote]

Thanks, I'm aware of that, but at 3am in the morning I can never remember how and don't fancy having to look it up in the manual! It's good to know there's a much simpler solution of just switching the thing off.

I need CR2032 batteries for several items at home and buy them on line 12 for £2.86 post paid. As supermarkets seem to charge about £2.00 each I think I get quite a good deal.