There have been vital variations between Suunto and the opposite main GPS sports activities watch firms, which have turn out to be much more pronounced up to now 5 years.

Battery life? Coros took the lead in a significant means. Entry to 3rd celebration apps and an enormous ecosystem of builders? Garmin has no peer. Integration along with your way of life past working? Apple has options no different firm can provide. None of those manufacturers can compete with Suunto’s stunning Scandinavian aesthetic — okay, perhaps Apple — however most of us aren’t keen to fork over the identical amount of cash for a very good wanting, however substandard, GPS working watch.

All that mentioned, with the brand new Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic ($839), the model has reasserted itself in an enormous means — bringing a totally carbon-compensated system — that now actually competes.

What makes the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic aggressive with the perfect choices from Garmin and Coros are its fantastically sharp show, new downloadable maps by state or nation, touchscreen scrolling and zooming, photo voltaic charging, and maybe most significantly, a huge battery that when paired with that photo voltaic charging is unbelievable.

The Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is sweet for as much as 500 hours in its most conservative GPS setting. In its greatest efficiency setting, it is going to final round 85 hours. For comparability, the Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version — see our Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version assessment— has a battery lifetime of 57 hours in full GPS mode and the Coros Apex 2 Professional has round 75 hours of full GPS.

The modern and downsized Suunto 9 Peak Professional would show to be the ultimate watch underneath Suunto’s Amer Sports activities possession. Amer nonetheless owns Salomon, Arc’teryx, and lots of different manufacturers, however the Chinese language private electronics firm Liesheng formally purchased Suunto in Might 2022. Liesheng inspired the nonetheless Finnish-based Suunto to return to its extra rugged and multisport mountain heritage and the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic displays this. Most of the watches are nonetheless manufactured in Vantaa, Finland, in a manufacturing facility utilizing 100% renewable power. Suunto says this mannequin is totally carbon compensated.

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The Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic. All photographs iRunFar/Craig Randall except in any other case famous.

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic Styling

The Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic alerts a return to the rugged, large shows the model was synonymous with, previous to the extra lifestyle-oriented design of the Suunto 9 Peak Professional. This mannequin now has the largest show of their assortment at 1.4 inches. The Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic has a claimed weight of 74 grams; 12 grams lighter than its cheaper stainless-steel counterpart.

It’s a hefty package deal in your wrist. I’m a big particular person at six ft 4 inches tall, and the watch appears comparatively regular on me. Put it on my 5 foot eight inches tall spouse, although, and it swallows her wrist. It has way more in widespread with the Coros Vertix 2 — see our assessment of the Coros Vertix 2 — than it does with the Suunto 9 Peak Professional. The grade 5 titanium bezel is in stunning situation after three months of day by day put on and tear whereas not solely working, however mountain climbing and climbing. The sapphire crystal glass face is exquisitely sturdy and clear.

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic Battery Efficiency

The route of the Hardrock 100 has turn out to be more and more common as a multi-day run, dubbed “Softrock,” the place you may eat dinner and sleep in a single day in a mattress in one of many 4 city’s the race passes via. My spouse, two pals, and I ran Softrock in late August of this 12 months, and it was a really perfect strategy to stress take a look at the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic’s battery over 4 consecutive grueling days.

The battery was set to “Efficiency,” which logs knowledge each single second and offers the perfect GPS accuracy in dual-band GNSS, which incorporates entry to all 5 main international satellites, GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, QZSS, and BEIDOU.

I disabled the wrist-based coronary heart price monitor, besides in the course of the evening the place I re-enabled it for sleep monitoring. Beginning the run with the battery at 98% full, over 4 days the watch tracked about 32 hours of working and round 24 hours of sleep, and nonetheless had 22% battery remaining by the top of the 98-mile route. (We made a number of detours and errors in comparison with the 102.5 miles of the Hardrock 100 course.)

The Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is, because it sounds, solar-equipped. Whereas the interface may be very helpful — in the event you select to show its energy on the display screen, it’s conveniently damaged into 10-minute bars of acquired power — it’s nonetheless sketchy at greatest in how dependable photo voltaic charging is when the battery energy is actually drained; the corporate even describes it as giving the battery only a “increase.”

Suunto claims that if the watch is just used for time protecting with no options enabled, that with the photo voltaic increase, the battery would final a full 12 months.

A again view of the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic.

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic Mapping

Till now, Suunto famously had little mapping performance thus far past its “breadcrumb” characteristic and route import. Each had been unlabeled and unfeatured shows merely displaying you a line that you simply had been both “on” or “off” and with none context when it comes to terrain sort or elevation. However the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic makes Suunto aggressive with Garmin and Coros, as a result of you may truly make the most of labeled maps offline.

Although maps don’t come preloaded like Garmin’s fēnix collection, you merely should make the most of the Suunto app to seek out the map associated to the world the place you’re working, then obtain and ship it over the air to your watch. The obtain and map switch takes 15 to twenty minutes relying on the power of your Wi-Fi connection.

Suunto’s power in aesthetics and person interface shines within the mapping mode. The readability and ease of the maps when navigating a route is superior to Garmin and Coros. However not like the newest Garmin, you can not transfer across the map with a touchscreen; it’s a must to make incremental clicks across the map to get round. It is a main downside as a result of for the price of this watch and the expertise accessible, it actually should match Garmin’s management right here.

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic Apps and Connectivity

The “SuuntoPlus” retailer is just not not like Garmin’s “Join IQ” app in that you simply get entry to tons of further options from third celebration suppliers like Strava, Coaching Peaks, and Suunto’s personal distinctive coaching exams — some as obscure as “Shoe Tester,” which is alleged that can assist you decide the perfect performing shoe to your working mechanics — to make use of with the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic.

Of most curiosity from the app integrations for me was how Strava’s Reside Segments performance integrates on this watch. Reside Segments works like this: within the Strava app you “star” the segments you wish to race for both the crown or a brand new PR. Then, when this info is distributed to the watch, it mechanically alerts you to the beginning of your close by phase. When you’re on the phase, it tells you ways far forward or behind you’re of your purpose time and the way a lot distance is remaining.

I take advantage of this characteristic nearly weekly as a strategy to make my exercises extra enjoyable. I’m a longtime person of this integration on the Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version and sadly this watch makes use of a a lot worse person interface and knowledge display screen in comparison with Garmin’s. Though it’s good that it’s now an choice, I nonetheless go for the fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version after I wish to use Reside Segments.

The wrist strap on the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic.

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic GPS Efficiency and Processing Velocity

Suunto has by no means had issues with GPS accuracy, however it has traditionally been very gradual to hook up with satellites earlier than beginning a run. Nevertheless, connection pace on the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is now higher than any of the opposite watches we’ve examined up to now two years, save for the Apple Watch Extremely — see our Apple Watch Extremely assessment for extra on that — and you may count on to get transferring way more shortly than up to now, once we’d wildly level our wrist to the sky or tempo backwards and forwards, maddeningly ready for Suunto to seek out the sign.

Accuracy is phenomenal due to the newly added dual-band GNSS, which is able to crisscross the globe looking for a secure satellite tv for pc from both the GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, QZSS, or BEIDOU techniques. This multi-band method actually improves reception in tough locations like canyons or in cities with tall buildings. This places Suunto on tempo with the opposite premium watches we’ve talked about from Coros and Garmin.

The processing pace — how briskly the watch switches between screens, features, and saving information — is improved. However we’ll say that with a caveat: Suunto traditionally has had worst-class processing efficiency. The Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is an actual enchancment over Suunto’s watches of previous, however it’s nonetheless frustratingly gradual. The place Garmin’s app is so quick it virtually sends information to Strava earlier than it’s completed syncing, you may count on to attend tens of minutes earlier than a file is posted from this watch.

Creator Craig Randall testing the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic at evening. Photograph: iRunFar/Christin Randall

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic Total Impressions

The Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is a fantastic watch. I’ve by no means thought that of the rivals’ merchandise. Every little thing on this watch, from the standard of the design to the elements and supplies, and even the typography on the show, is simply beautiful. However in order for you a fantastic watch, purchase a Rolex.

For the value, the Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is a slightly robust purchase when related watches embody higher options and sooner processing with the identical accuracy at a less expensive value.

This watch’s most related competitors is the Coros Vertix line. Each watches are very massive on the wrist however pack a ton of multisport modes, large batteries, and bomb proof building for actions means past working. The Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic has over 90 exercise varieties, together with “Mermaiding” — it’s a sort of diving, Google it! — so it’s an incredible alternative for practically any sport you follow.

The GPS watch market is a really crowded house, however few firms do nearly as good a job for runners as Suunto. And while you issue within the externalities of client merchandise manufacturing, it’s heartening to know this watch is produced with 100% renewable power. Whether or not renewable power is price an extra $100 to 200 is as much as you, however it’s a really constructive profit in shopping for this spectacular — however not good — GPS watch.

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Name for Feedback

• Have you ever tried the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic and, in that case, what had been your ideas?
• How essential are aesthetics to you when selecting a working watch?

Testing the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic. Photograph: iRunFar/Christin Randall