I bought this waterproof watch specfically for the countdown feature which I use for timing myself in the sauna/hot tub at my gym. The timer feature for laps was a plus that I use for running. But I found it hard to remember the directions for using both the countdown and the lap timer, as they both seemed counter intuitive.  Also, the timer feature doesn't seem to always set back to zero or pause properly. But when it does, this watch is great.  I had to knock off a star for that. It also has a very large face which is extremely large, but wearable, on the average women's wrist.