Suunto Race Review: The Ultimate Guide

The Suunto Race smartwatch has been making waves in the world of fitness and tech, promising a host of features that cater to the needs of athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike. This comprehensive review aims to dissect the intricacies of the Suunto Race, providing an in-depth analysis of its design, features, performance, and overall value.

Introduction: Meeting the Suunto Race

Finland-based Suunto has been a trailblazer in the world of sports and outdoor equipment, known for its precision instruments and dive computers. In fact, one of the earliest products manufactured by the esteemed company founded in 1936, was compasses. This makes sense since the Suunto founder, Tuomas Vohlonen, was an avid orienteerer, and precision guidance was close to his heart.

The Suunto Race is their latest offering, designed to bridge the gap between advanced fitness tracking and everyday convenience.

This high-endurance sports watch comes with an AMOLED touchscreen display, a revamped user interface, and a host of additional features. Additionally, it has an impressive battery life and is available in two different bezel options - stainless steel and titanium.

Availability and Customization

The Suunto Race smartwatch is competitively priced, making it a strong contender in the sports watch market. It is availible for purchase directly from Suunto on any of their e-commerce platforms, as well as big box tech retailers and stores specializing in sports and the outdoors.

Much like with previous Suunto models, as well as most smart- and sportwatches, the Race allows for customization when it comes to watchstraps and other accessories. Suunto Race straps can be found in a wide variety of colors, materials and designs, so that you can find something that fits perfectly.

Design and Build Quality

The Suunto Race sports a sturdy and robust design, with a 1.43-inch round display that comes in two different bezel options - stainless steel and titanium. The watch features a 466 x 466-pixel AMOLED touchscreen, and its brightness can reach up to 1,000 nits, ensuring excellent visibility in various lighting conditions.

The design also features a Digital Crown and two physical buttons on the right-hand side which allows easy navigation through the watch's menus. The Race is relatively large, but its size didn't compromise its comfortability and lightweight feel.

Display and User Interface

The AMOLED display of the Suunto Race is one of its most impressive features. The bright and crisp screen offers excellent clarity and visibility, even in bright, sunny conditions. The touchscreen also enhances the user experience, making navigation a breeze.

The user interface of the Suunto Race is clean and intuitive. The 'Mini-Widgets' provide a quick snapshot of your data, and you can tap into them for more detailed information.

Battery Life

The Suunto Race boasts an impressive battery life, which is a significant advantage for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Suunto claims that the watch can last up to 12 days with daily use (without recording any activities) or 26 days if you turn the heart rate monitor off.

In GPS mode, the watch can last up to 40 hours with maximum accuracy, multi-band GPS. This duration can be extended to 120 hours in low GPS mode, with heart rate monitoring turned off.

Health and Fitness Features

The Suunto Race comes packed with a range of health and fitness features that cater to the varying needs of its users. One of the highlights is its heart rate variability (HRV) tracking, which gives users insights into their recovery and readiness for training.

The watch also includes sleep tracking capabilities, which provides a detailed analysis of your sleep stages and quality. The Morning Report feature offers a summary of your sleep data and recovery status, helping you understand how well-rested you are for your next workout.

Running and Workout Features

The Suunto Race is designed to be an athlete's companion, offering a variety of workout modes and tracking features. The watch has built-in modes for running, cycling, swimming, and more, all of which provide customisable data fields.

The GPS tracking of the Suunto Race is commendable, offering accurate and consistent data across different activities. The watch also supports the connection of external sensors via Bluetooth, allowing for more accurate data tracking.

Offline Mapping and Navigation

The offline mapping feature of the Suunto Race sets it apart from many other sports watches in the market. Users can download maps to the watch and use them for navigation during workouts. The bright AMOLED screen and user-friendly navigation system make it easy to follow routes, even in unfamiliar terrain.

Smartwatch Features

While the Suunto Race primarily serves as a fitness watch, it does offer a few smartwatch features. Users can control music playing on their smartphones directly from the watch and receive smartphone notifications. However, it lacks features such as offline music storage and contactless payments.

Final Verdict

The Suunto Race is a commendable offering from Suunto, providing a host of features that cater to fitness enthusiasts and athletes. With an impressive battery life, accurate GPS tracking, and advanced health and fitness features, the Suunto Race offers excellent value for its price.

However, it does have a few shortcomings, such as limited smartwatch features and challenges in connecting multiple sensors. Nevertheless, the Suunto Race is a solid choice for those in the market for a reliable and feature-packed sports watch.