Man isn’t meant to stay indoors — our weekly “Trekking” column can attest to that. It’s a column dedicated to the adventurer inside of all of us, the one pining to ditch the office humdrum for a quick surf session or seven-week jaunt in the Grand Tetons. One day we may highlight an ultra-light stove and the next a set of handmade canoe paddles. Life doesn’t just happen inside the workplace, so get outside and live it.
Watches these days do it all — or attempt to, anyway. We’ve moved beyond the realm of traditional timepieces and into an age of constant connectivity, one where we sync up with our family and friends using social media apps, texting, and the like. That said, the backside of your favorite peak or the unexplored terrain outside your hometown is no place for unwanted notifications, especially when service is at a minimum. Perhaps that’s why the Suunto Traverse Watch ($450+) provides the metrics that matter.
Born and initially bred in Finland, Suunto is a company that knows its way around a sports watch, having manufactured a swath of premium timepieces, instruments, and dive computers over the course of the past 75 years. The Traverse is tailored for outdoor exploration, lined with GPS navigation, rugged construction, and a simple design that’s as apt for your everyday adventures as those that reside outside the norm. Barometric trends predict weather changes and alert you of approaching storms, while sunrise and sunset times keep you in the loop regarding how much daylight you have left. The aforementioned GPS function keeps your location and altitude in check, allowing you to plan your own treks or explore ready-made routes using the Movescount app.
Other Traverse facets are just as noteworthy. The watch provides other metrics such as your vertical speed and total ascent, along with a digital compass and a battery built to last 100 hours when in the wild. It’s all contained beneath a stainless-steel bezel and within a lightweight composite case, that latter of which is water resistant up to 100 feet. It even touts push notifications and vibrating alerts, just in case truly severing your connection with the outside world isn’t an option. After all, it can be hard to get away.
Check out Suunto online for more information, or to check out the company’s excellent line of athletic watches and wears.
