There have been vital variations between Suunto and the opposite main GPS sports activities watch firms, which have turn into 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 life-style 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 prepared to fork over the identical amount of cash for a superb 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 a giant means — bringing a completely carbon-compensated machine — that now really competes.

What makes the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic aggressive with the most effective 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 would 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 glossy 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 plenty 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 unit utilizing 100% renewable vitality. Suunto says this mannequin is totally carbon compensated.

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

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic Styling

The Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic alerts a return to the rugged, huge shows the model was synonymous with, previous to the extra lifestyle-oriented design of the Suunto 9 Peak Professional. This mannequin now has the most important 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 seems 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 widespread 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 working, however mountain climbing and mountaineering. 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 into more and more fashionable as a multi-day run, dubbed “Softrock,” the place you possibly can eat dinner and sleep in a single day in a mattress in one of many 4 city’s the race passes by. My spouse, two associates, and I ran Softrock in late August of this yr, and it was a super 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 information each single second and offers the most effective GPS accuracy in dual-band GNSS, which incorporates entry to all 5 main world satellites, GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, QZSS, and BEIDOU.

I disabled the wrist-based coronary heart fee 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 tip of the 98-mile route. (We made just a few 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 — when 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 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 simply used for time holding 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 to this point past its “breadcrumb” function and route import. Each have been unlabeled and unfeatured shows merely displaying you a line that you simply have been both “on” or “off” and with none context when it comes to terrain kind or elevation. However the Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic makes Suunto aggressive with Garmin and Coros, as a result of you possibly can truly make the most of labeled maps offline.

Although maps don’t come preloaded like Garmin’s fēnix collection, you merely need to make the most of the Suunto app to search out the map associated to the realm 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 energy of your Wi-Fi connection.

Suunto’s energy 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 in contrast to the newest Garmin, you can’t transfer across the map with a touchscreen; it’s important to make incremental clicks across the map to get round. This can be a main disadvantage as a result of for the price of this watch and the expertise out there, it actually should match Garmin’s management right here.

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic Apps and Connectivity

The “SuuntoPlus” retailer just isn’t in contrast to Garmin’s “Join IQ” app in that you simply get entry to tons of extra options from third celebration suppliers like Strava, Coaching Peaks, and Suunto’s personal distinctive coaching exams — some as obscure as “Shoe Tester,” which is claimed that can assist you choose the most effective 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 Stay Segments performance integrates on this watch. Stay 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 data 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 the way far forward or behind you’re of your purpose time and the way a lot distance is remaining.

I exploit this function virtually weekly as a solution 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 information 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 once I wish to use Stay 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 connect with satellites earlier than beginning a run. Nonetheless, 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 evaluation for extra on that — and you may count on to get transferring rather more shortly than up to now, after 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 seeking 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, capabilities, and saving recordsdata — 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, however it’s nonetheless frustratingly gradual. The place Garmin’s app is so quick it virtually sends recordsdata to Strava earlier than it’s completed syncing, you possibly can count on to attend tens of minutes earlier than a file is posted from this watch.

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

Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic General Impressions

The Suunto Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is a lovely watch. I’ve by no means thought that of the rivals’ merchandise. All the pieces on this watch, from the standard of the design to the components and supplies, and even the typography on the show, is simply attractive. However if you need a lovely watch, purchase a Rolex.

For the worth, the Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic is a fairly powerful purchase when related watches embody higher options and quicker 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, big batteries, and bomb proof development for actions means past working. The Vertical Titanium Photo voltaic has over 90 exercise sorts, together with “Mermaiding” — it’s a sort of diving, Google it! — so it’s an incredible alternative for almost any sport you observe.

The GPS watch market is a really crowded area, however few firms do nearly as good a job for runners as Suunto. And if you issue within the externalities of client merchandise manufacturing, it’s heartening to know this watch is produced with 100% renewable vitality. Whether or not renewable vitality is value a further $100 to 200 is as much as you, however it’s a really optimistic 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 vital are aesthetics to you when selecting a working watch?

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