There have been vital variations between Suunto and the opposite main GPS sports activities watch corporations, which have grow to be much more pronounced prior to now 5 years.

Battery life? Coros took the lead in a serious approach. Entry to 3rd social gathering apps and an enormous ecosystem of builders? Garmin has no peer. Integration together with your way of life past operating? Apple has options no different firm can supply. None of those manufacturers can compete with Suunto’s stunning Scandinavian aesthetic — okay, perhaps Apple — however most of us aren’t prepared to fork over the identical amount of cash for a very good trying, however substandard, GPS operating watch.

All that stated, with the brand new Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic ($839), the model has reasserted itself in a giant approach — bringing a totally carbon-compensated gadget — that now really competes.

What makes the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic aggressive with the very best 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 incredible.

The Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is nice for as much as 500 hours in its most conservative GPS setting. In its finest efficiency setting, it’ll final round 85 hours. For comparability, the Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version — see our Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version evaluation— 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 beneath 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. Lots of the watches are nonetheless manufactured in Vantaa, Finland, in a manufacturing facility utilizing 100% renewable vitality. Suunto says this mannequin is totally carbon compensated.

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The Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic. All pictures 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 bundle 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 rather more in frequent with the Coros Vertix 2 — see our evaluation 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 each day put on and tear whereas not solely operating, however mountaineering and mountain 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 grow to be more and more fashionable as a multi-day run, dubbed “Softrock,” the place you’ll be able to eat dinner and sleep in a single day in a mattress in one of many 4 city’s the race passes by means of. My spouse, two mates, and I ran Softrock in late August of this yr, and it was an excellent solution 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 gives the very best 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 charge monitor, besides through 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 operating and round 24 hours of sleep, and nonetheless had 22% battery remaining by the tip 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 could be very useful — should you select to show its energy on the display screen, it’s conveniently damaged into 10-minute bars of acquired vitality — it’s nonetheless sketchy at finest in how dependable photo voltaic charging is when the battery energy is really drained; the corporate even describes it as giving the battery only a “increase.”

Suunto claims that if the watch is simply used for time maintaining with no options enabled, that with the photo voltaic increase, the battery would final a full yr.

A again view of the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic.

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic Mapping

Till now, Suunto famously had little mapping performance up to now past its “breadcrumb” characteristic and route import. Each have been unlabeled and unfeatured shows merely exhibiting you a line that you just have been both “on” or “off” and with none context by way of terrain kind or elevation. However the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic makes Suunto aggressive with Garmin and Coros, as a result of you’ll be able to 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 search out the map associated to the world the place you’re operating, then obtain and ship it over the air to your watch. The obtain and map switch takes 15 to twenty minutes relying on the energy of your Wi-Fi connection.

Suunto’s energy in aesthetics and consumer 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; you must 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 obtainable, it actually must match Garmin’s management right here.

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic Apps and Connectivity

The “SuuntoPlus” retailer shouldn’t be not like Garmin’s “Join IQ” app in that you just get entry to tons of further options from third social gathering 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 choose the very best performing shoe in your operating 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 Stay Segments performance integrates on this watch. Stay Segments works like this: within the Strava app you “star” the segments you need to race for both the crown or a brand new PR. Then, when this data is distributed to the watch, it robotically 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 might be of your purpose time and the way a lot distance is remaining.

I take advantage of this characteristic virtually weekly as a solution to make my exercises extra enjoyable. I’m a longtime consumer of this integration on the Garmin fēnix 7 — Photo voltaic Version and sadly this watch makes use of a a lot worse consumer 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 need to use Stay Segments.

The wrist strap on the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic.

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic GPS Efficiency and Processing Pace

Suunto has by no means had issues with GPS accuracy, nevertheless it has traditionally been very gradual to connect 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 prior to now two years, save for the Apple Watch Extremely — see our Apple Watch Extremely evaluation for extra on that — and you’ll anticipate to get transferring rather more shortly than prior to now, once we’d wildly level our wrist to the sky or tempo backwards and forwards, maddeningly ready for Suunto to search out the sign.

Accuracy is phenomenal due to the newly added dual-band GNSS, which can crisscross the globe in quest of a steady satellite tv for pc from both the GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, QZSS, or BEIDOU techniques. This multi-band strategy 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 outdated, nevertheless 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’ll be able to anticipate 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 good looking 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 attractive. However if you’d like a good looking watch, purchase a Rolex.

For the worth, the Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is a quite robust purchase when comparable watches embrace higher options and quicker processing with the identical accuracy at a less expensive worth.

This watch’s most comparable competitors is the Coros Vertix line. Each watches are very huge on the wrist however pack a ton of multisport modes, large batteries, and bomb proof building for actions approach past operating. The Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic has over 90 exercise varieties, together with “Mermaiding” — it’s a kind of diving, Google it! — so it’s an awesome alternative for almost any sport you apply.

The GPS watch market is a really crowded house, however few corporations do pretty much as good a job for runners as Suunto. And if you issue within the externalities of shopper merchandise manufacturing, it’s heartening to know this watch is produced with 100% renewable vitality. Whether or not renewable vitality is value an extra $100 to 200 is as much as you, nevertheless it’s a really constructive profit in shopping for this spectacular — however not excellent — GPS watch.

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Name for Feedback

• Have you ever tried the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic and, if that’s the case, what have been your ideas?
• How essential are aesthetics to you when selecting a operating watch?

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