When we talk about hand watches or trekking/tracking watches then the Finnish company Suunto is always on top of the list. They are making some extremely user-friendly and simple, yet stylish watches that you should be trying out in 2022.
Suunto is best known for its strong build-up, customizable options in battery management and also the battery life of the Suunto watches are second to none.
Suunto is also the best suitable option for running a marathon whilst the casual designs are also there to help you look good in the gym or at a park while running or jogging.
The Suunto company also has a rich history as the founder of Suunto, Tuomas Vohlonen, first started his business by selling his patented liquid-filled compasses with better performance than the dry compasses at that time. It was Tuomas who first started this and the story is a symbol of pursuit and precision.
Suunto is almost 80 years old but the products of this company are not counted amongst some of the best manufacturers like Garmin or Fitbit. However, Suunto provides almost the same services and it is also highly acknowledged by the critics, while measuring the performance of Suunto watches.
Which Suunto Watch is best for you?
With great money comes great features but everyone doesn’t need all the features and functions that Suunto 9 Baro is offering. So it might become a little hard for some to justify the high price of the product. There are two products that might get your attention when we talk about the Suunto smartwatches. Suunto 3 is being sold around 150 to 200 Pounds. It has all the basic necessities like measuring your heart-rate and other trekking capabilities.
Although, none of the Suunto watches are going to offer you music storage, that’s why we are recommending Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 which are coming with an integrated GPS. It is going to save you from carrying your Smartphone with you if you want to track all of your outdoor routes.
Mid- to high-end Suunto smartwatches track-in all the great details about the most common athletic activities, including running, real-time average/max/lap pace, cycling e.g. speed and even swimming to measure the speed and distance covered.
Best Suunto Watches:
Suunto 9 Baro
Check Price On Amazon
Apart from two major factors, the Suunto 9 Baro is almost similar to the Suunto 9. The Baro has a barometer, as the name suggests, and also comes with a front scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass. You’ll have to pay about 20 percent premium for these two features, but it’s actually worth it.
Trail runners who climb mountains and want to keep track of the altitude gain/loss of their runs will enjoy the extra functions of the Suunto 9 Baro. The Suunto 9 Baro offers a storm alarm which is even better for them, so you can seek shelter in time, or just miss outdoor training, as you wish.
The Suunto 9 Baro’s additional features do not compromise the excellent battery life, another bonus for people who not only like running in the mountains, but also do it for long periods of time whenever they are out for running. We know we’re talking about a niche market here, but for those, the Suunto 9 Baro is sent from heaven.
Suunto 9
Check Price On Amazon
The Suunto 9 has almost all the features that the Finnish brand has to deliver, apart from the barometer. We’re not sure if it is because of the barometer which is not present in Suunto 9, but the Suunto 9 is smaller than the Suunto 9 Baro.
There’s a difference of almost 9 grams and also it is cheaper than its sibling packed with more features. You get a lot of watch as option for the price. And we mean a big watch; one of the largest and heavy smartwatches on the market is the Suunto 9.
While wearing the Garmin Forerunner 945, you can definitely feel it on your wrist when you exercise. It has some appeal to it and recalls more than a running watch than that of a divers watch.
Although it misses the barometer, it still has quite a few other functionalities, such as the heart rate sensor for the wrist, the touch-sensitive screen, the vibration motor, water-resistance up to 100 meters and, of course, a variety of battery management options, with which the Suunto 9 can last up to 120 hours longer.
This won’t be as accurate as wearing a chest strap, same is the case with any smartwatches measuring heart rate on the wrist, but the average will be good enough for most. The digital compass and GPS are also reliable, the latter using the mixture of four global positioning systems like GPS, GLONASS GALILEO, and QZSS.
Suunto 5
Check Price On Amazon
You should definitely get the Suunto 5 if you’re going to worry about the weight of the watch. It is a light-weight and more compact design compared to the Suunto 9. That is the main reason that people like the Suunto 5.
It is coming in a smaller weight however it still has the most interesting features like its sibling such as two-weeks of battery-life in Time mode. Also, the improved global positioning system, smart-battery mode and wrist-heart sensor are amongst other notable features.
Nevertheless, some corners needed to be cut to keep the price down, which is quite obvious when you look at the screen. It only has a resolution of 218 x 218 pixels, which would not actually be a problem, but the messages are displayed with tiny little fonts for an unknown reason, so it might be difficult to read the screen, particularly if you are exercising.
It works just fine for day-to-day activity tracking and for the same reason the Suunto 5 was originally made.
It is also going to provide you with useful metrics once you finish the running laps like the advanced training load features, moving summary with lap details and also the training logbook for long-term overviews.
Suunto Traverse Alpha
Check Price On Amazon
Not a lot of watches are going to provide you with the feature of hunting and fishing. So the Suunto Traverse Alpha is coming with a lower than usual screen resolution but the features which are being offered by this watch are not offered by many others.
These features are going to help you in different tasks like keeping a calendar of the moon phase, shot detection, sunrise alerts and weather trends in your area. Also, it will provide you the backlight for night-time as well.
Features offered by the watch are probably enough for many athletes who have clearly felt left out well before. With all these special features, you’re going to get scratch-free sapphire crystal glass at the front. Also, the water-resistant stain-less steel with 100-hour battery life in tracking mode is added in the Suunto Traverse Alpha. The blocky look is the only drawback, but there are so many specifics that you can view with 128 x 128-pixel screen resolution. In exchange, the screen’s backlight can be used in the dark like a torch.
Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR
Check Price On Amazon
The smart-battery mode and the updated GPS are not present in its features but still the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR is a special watch made by the company.
It is slightly less intelligent in working but with the same screen and almost the same built as the Suunto 9. Even the prices are almost the same and it is confusing why this watch is still available to be sold. We’re not saying that the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR is not a capable multi-sport smart-watch, on the contrary.
For its price, you’re going to get a watch that would give you a strong feeling with a large touch-screen display. It is also waterproof to 100 meters and can work for almost two weeks in ‘Time’ mode. However, in the activity or tracking mode, you can get up to 40 hours of battery. That is because the smart-battery management function is missing in this product. Also adding, the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR is going to feel much-sleeker than the Suunto 9.