I acquired a Suunto Race evaluate unit in mid-May, just for Suunto to launch a more moderen Race S the following month with doubled coronary heart price LEDs, a lighter design, and few downgrades for $100 much less. That, together with a bundle of Wear OS watches from Samsung, Google, and OnePlus to check all summer time, put it on my again burner.
So sure, this Suunto Race evaluate is almost a yr outdated from its late 2023 launch. It stayed in my thoughts, although, as a result of it has most of the essential components I need in a contemporary working watch: a shiny AMOLED show (sorry, MIP followers), a 16-day battery life, dual-band GPS, coaching load information borrowed straight from TrainingPeaks, downloadable topographic maps, and a novel app retailer for downloading area of interest coaching instruments.
Once I discovered the time to place it via its paces, the Suunto Race software program — significantly its SuuntoPlus apps — took a very long time to grasp, but it surely rewards you for the effort. Perhaps my greatest problem with the Suunto Race is with the fundamentals: after I examined its HR and GPS accuracy, they did not fairly dwell as much as my expectations.
That mentioned, this can be a very robust look ahead to the $450 worth vary, giving the equally-priced Garmin Forerunner 265 and COROS APEX 2 Pro a run on your cash.
Suunto Race evaluate: Price, availability, and specs
The Suunto Race was launched in October 2023. The newer Race S launched in June 2024, including just a few new software program options that additionally arrived on the Suunto Race.
It begins at $449 for the stainless-steel model and $549 for the titanium model, which weighs barely much less and has double the map space for storing. The metal variations ship in All Black, Midnight Blue, Birch White, and “UTMB World Series,” which has a black case and distinctive strap. The titanium version ships in Charcoal and Amethyst.
| Category | Suunto Race |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 49 x 49 x 13.3mm |
| Weight | 69g (titanium) or 83g (metal) |
| Band | 22mm silicone, matches 125-175mm wrists |
| Materials | Glass fibre strengthened polyamide case, stainless-steel or titanium bezel |
| Protection | 10ATM, sapphire crystal glass |
| Display | 1.43-inch (466 x 466) AMOLED, 1,000 nits |
| Storage | 16GB (metal) or 32GB (titanium) |
| Health information & sensors | HR, HRV (stress and restoration), SpO2, sleep evaluation, altimeter, compass |
| Mapping and monitoring | Downloadable topo maps for any area; dual-band (L1 + L5) GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BEIDOU |
| Battery life | 60 days; 65 GPS hours; 40 dual-band GPS hours |
Suunto Race evaluate: What you will like
Most health watch manufacturers are transitioning from MIP to AMOLED shows, and the Suunto Race is exhibit A for why it is a good factor. You’re getting a watch that lasts over two weeks per cost or about 40 hours, utilizing 4 satellite tv for pc techniques and dual-band GPS concurrently, and nonetheless getting a 1,000-nit, high-res show. I do not begrudge individuals who want max battery life like the 90-day Garmin Enduro 3, however I’d say the Suunto Race has hit the good-enough threshold for many athletes.
The Suunto Race makes use of a rotating crown and begin/again buttons, providing you with three customizable shortcuts for the crown press and prime/down long-presses. You can prioritize features like the flashlight, music controls, notifications, alarms, or climate. The crown shortcut highlights one pinned widget, so you possibly can bounce rapidly to information like your coaching progress widget or exercise logbook, or open the compass or map rapidly.
The Suunto app splits off between a Home feed of your exercises, a Calendar view, a Training Zone — which summarizes your latest Training Load, Intensity, Impact, and Recovery — and a map view with warmth maps that present the place Suunto customers prepare. Unlike different apps that put extra give attention to well being, sleep, paid teaching, or tie-ins to different merchandise, Suunto retains issues targeted on coaching, which I admire.
In explicit, the Training Zone part is fairly neat. You get a Suunto Coach textual content abstract that clearly describes your latest progress, earlier than you dive into the charts and numbers. You see a weekly abstract of your coaching load and coaching stress (aka depth) that is in contrast towards your persistent coaching load for a type (Training Stress Balance) rating. It all could sound sophisticated at first, however when you memorize the acronyms, it offers a ton of helpful context for severe runners.
I particularly like how Suunto offers an Intensity chart that reveals how a lot time you spend in HR zones 1–5 throughout the week, in addition to tempo zones and working energy zones. I wrote about wanting higher coaching load zone evaluation just lately, and Suunto checks lots of these bins.
You can obtain offline maps throughout a whole bunch of nations and territories, with the maps break up up for the bigger international locations. In the U.S., for instance, I downloaded Northern California (2GB), however most different states (and plenty of international locations) are smaller. Most individuals will have the ability to make do with the customary 16GB of storage except you often journey for coaching; downloading maps is painfully gradual, so you are not going to need to swap map packs typically.
Next you possibly can create a route, both by utilizing the easy map creation software and tapping waypoints or importing a GPX file from third-party apps like Strava. You can even discover different individuals’s public routes utilizing heatmaps, although it’s possible you’ll not discover many besides in main inhabitants areas or nationwide parks. Uploading them to your watch is fast and managing your route library is painless.
Speaking of third-party integrations, Suunto presents loads of SuuntoPlus apps made by third-party tech manufacturers or neighborhood members, filling the gaps left behind in Suunto’s software program. You can add SuuntoPlus apps on the watch itself, naturally integrating the new tech into your favourite sports activities modes. They additionally allow you to sync with sure gadgets, together with the CORE Body Temp sensor I examined earlier this yr.
Suunto Race evaluate: HR and GPS accuracy
Suunto Race GPS accuracy assessments
How I check
For GPS accuracy, I exploit my Garmin Forerunner 965, which beat different dual-band GPS watches from COROS, Polar, Samsung, and Apple in earlier assessments. For testing optical HR accuracy, I exploit my COROS Heart Rate Monitor, which in contrast favorably towards a HRM chest strap.
At the finish of a number of runs and a protracted hike, the Suunto Race added not less than one-tenth of a mile to every exercise in comparison with what my Garmin Forerunner 965 tracked. Given how properly the latter normally does for dual-band GPS accuracy, that had me apprehensive about the Suunto Race’s personal accuracy. Analyzing the charts, although, the reply is a bit more sophisticated.
Image 1 of 3
In every of the GPS paths above, the Suunto Race (blue line) usually matches my location, typically doing higher than Garmin (orange) at figuring out which aspect of the path I’m on. The instantly apparent drawback is how each one-second studying appears to fling me from one diagonal to a different, like I’m a working again working towards my juking abilities.
I’m nonetheless shifting ahead and avoiding the drastic monitoring points I see with GPS-only watches like the Pixel Watch 3; I do not need to give the impression that Suunto does terribly right here. But with out fail, after each mile Suunto is an additional one-hundredth of a mile forward of Garmin, and by the finish of a protracted exercise the hole provides up.
Image 1 of 5
I additionally took each watches out on a ten-mile hike; by the finish, Suunto had added two-tenths of a mile. You can see in the screens above how properly it does monitoring me in dense foliage, by no means dropping me the method most smartwatches would. But whether or not my sign is obscured or direct, you see that very same frantic zig-zagging impact at random moments.
The Suunto Race does not have a observe run exercise, but it surely did fairly properly at matching my lane-3 sprints round my native observe, regardless of some wobbliness. It ended up including about 80m to my whole after ten laps. (Garmin’s observe line is artificially centered due to its Track Run exercise, so ignore it.)
This watch is sufficiently old that Suunto might be previous the level of algorithm fixes, however I really feel like Suunto is shut to nailing its monitoring, in some methods higher than different dual-band watches at avoiding straying strains.
Suunto Race HR accuracy assessments
With the Suunto Race’s optical coronary heart price monitor, I’d already heard that Suunto doubled the LED sensors in its Race S successor watch and tweaked its algorithm in response to Race HR criticism. So I in contrast it towards my COROS Heart Rate Monitor to see the way it matches towards a dependable optical sensor (the above chart says “Garmin Forerunner” as a result of my COROS synced to that watch).
For all 4 actions, the Suunto’s HR common fell 1–2 bpm quick. During the 15K run above, the Race at all times stays shut, but it surely’s obvious how its studying by no means fairly catches as much as my precise coronary heart price, averaging 2 bpm quick (166 vs. 164).
During a shorter 10K, the hole was just one bpm, however the shorter timeline makes it simpler to see moments the place Suunto’s studying dips and rises at odd increments whereas the secured COROS band has my coronary heart price staying regular. That has me suspecting that the Suunto Race does have small monitoring blips that add up, and that the Race S’ additional LEDs may assist with that.
For my remaining observe exercise, the Suunto Race struggled. Some gaps could be resulting from inconsistent pausing after laps, however that does not clarify the Race registering me at my max 200 bpm throughout my first 800m; belief me, I wasn’t working that tough but. Otherwise, there have been two clear moments the place its HR was ten bpm above my precise price, and two moments the place it was ten bpm under. The general common was simply 2 bpm off, however I wasn’t thrilled with the information.
Overall, I’d say the Suunto Race’s GPS accuracy is sweet sufficient to get by and higher than no matter GPS-only watch you at the moment have, but it surely may very well be higher. As for coronary heart price, this can be a watch the place I’d in all probability advocate you retain sporting an exterior coronary heart price monitor for those who want hyper-accurate outcomes, but it surely’s in any other case ok to present you correct HR zones on your coaching load information.
Suunto Race evaluate: What you will not like
Aside from my complaints about accuracy, my greatest observe with the Suunto Race is its weight. Suunto despatched me the titanium mannequin, and at 69g, it is on the heavy aspect for a running-focused watch; most different flagships weigh in the mid-50s with a silicone band, or use a nylon band to hit that vary. I really feel a bit little bit of wobble when pumping my arms laborious, although it is nonetheless not as heavy as, say, a Samsung or Apple Ultra watch.
My problem is that almost all patrons will select the 83g stainless-steel Race to save cash. For individuals used to all-steel watches, they will not thoughts, however many runners will discover that weight onerous. That’s why many runners will favor the 60g Race S, accepting the smaller and less-protected show.
While I by no means thoughts working with my cellphone, the Suunto Race mandates it if you need music playlists or contactless funds. Some of that is exterior of Suunto’s management — it is laborious for smaller manufacturers to get banks and streaming companies to play ball — but many runners will select different manufacturers as a result of they cannot do with out music storage and NFC.
While I praised most of the essential Suunto app instruments, one conspicuous absence is any form of free coaching plan software program that adapts to your latest exercises, such as you get with Garmin or COROS. Suunto has an inventory of SuuntoPlus app integrations for coaching guides, however most of them (like TrainingPeaks) require a cost or syncing your information recurrently with one other platform. I’d argue Suunto wants its personal native equal.
As for different lacking options different health manufacturers provide, Suunto does not have security instruments like location sharing, challenges, gear monitoring, or the choice to pre-select multisport choices. You will not discover any ECG or pores and skin temp readings, both.
Lastly, I’m not the greatest fan of Suunto’s watch face system. You can solely save 9 to the watch, they usually’re hidden in the SuuntoPlus retailer with solely 21 whole choices by my depend, none of them particularly fairly or inventive. You cannot add a customized background, most faces solely allow you to add three problems at most, and syncing faces to the watch is weirdly gradual.
Competition
The Garmin Forerunner 265 is ranked as our greatest working watch as a result of it presents nice coaching instruments with out costing as a lot as flagship fashions. Compared to the Suunto Race, it has some deficiencies: its Gorilla Glass 3-protected show is not as shiny or scratch-proof. It solely has breadcrumb navigation, with maps reserved for the 965. Its plastic bezel does not look practically as elegant. And whereas their each day battery is not so totally different (16 vs. 13 days), the Suunto Race crushes the Forerunner 265 for dual-band GPS hours (40 vs. 14 hours).
Still, it has its perks! The Forerunner 265 is considerably lighter, even for those who do not buy the smaller 265S, and it has the upside of contactless funds and music storage if you wish to go phone-less on your run. It additionally does barely higher on the GPS accuracy entrance, and presents each each day recommended exercises and adaptable Garmin Coach coaching plans. Whether you like the up/down buttons or Suunto’s crown is a matter of choice.
Aside from Garmin, Suunto’s greatest fitness-watch rivals are COROS and Polar. The COROS APEX 2 Pro additionally prices $449, and due to its MIP show it might final 30 days per cost, although its 26-hour dual-band GPS monitoring nonetheless falls in need of Suunto’s. It has a titanium bezel, ECG readings, 32GB for downloadable maps, comparable coaching load software program, and downloadable coaching plans.
The Polar Vantage V3 is a pricier $599, making it a tough ask except you are contemplating the titanium Suunto Race. It, too, has all the coaching steering, restoration recs, correct GPS and coronary heart price information, and full-color maps on an AMOLED show that you would ask for. I particularly like its assessments for issues like muscle soreness and present VO2 Max.
Suunto Race evaluate: Should you purchase it?
You should purchase the Suunto Race if…
- You want a long-lived AMOLED working watch with in-depth coaching metrics.
- You need premium options at a mid-range working watch worth.
- You need the Suunto Race’s 10ATM water resistance, sapphire glass, and further week of battery life in comparison with the Suunto Race S.
You should not purchase the Suunto Race if…
- The Suunto Race S, with its revamped HR information, lighter design, and lower cost, appeals to you extra.
- You want music storage or contactless funds.
- You need an adaptive coaching program that sends exercises to your wrist based mostly on previous actions.
My evaluate title says all of it: The Suunto Race is close to the finish line for me.
The Suunto Race S allegedly fastened a few of the optical HR points and made it much more reasonably priced and extra comfortably light-weight. Once Suunto catches up on adaptive coaching plans and a few different areas, it will have every part I’d need in a working watch at a lower cost tier than different manufacturers, like COROS besides with AMOLED as a substitute of MIP shows.
Still, as comparatively minor as the Suunto Race accuracy points are in comparison with different mainstream smartwatches, they’re sufficiently big that I’ll fortunately flip to different manufacturers that keep away from these points.
Marathoner AMOLED
The Suunto Race arguably beats different $450 working watches like the Garmin Forerunner 265 and COROS APEX 2 Pro in key areas. It has a 16-day battery life, dual-band GPS, superior coaching metrics, downloadable offline maps, and powerful water and scratch safety.