Suunto Race In-Depth Review: 30 Days Later
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- čas přidán 1. 06. 2024
- Here's your complete look at the Suunto Race and how well it actually works in real-life.
0:00 Quick Overview
1:55 Activity Tracking, HRV Status, Sleep
8:28 Sports Modes & Customization
12:17 Mapping & Navigation
15:25 Real-world Battery Test Results
16:42 GPS Accuracy Testing
20:34 Heart Rate Accuracy Testing
22:20 Final Thoughts & Recommendations
#SuuntoRace #Suunto - Sport
Since the most recent updates, this Suunto is so much nice to own than any garmin I’ve owned. (I’ve owned a Fenix 3, 3 titanium, 5x, 6x and Tactix Delta Solar)
As a mechanical watch collector, this is the only “sports” watch I enjoy wearing too, because the build quality is stunning. Well done Suunto
I agree I just received mine yesterday and I can't take my eyes off of it for it's size it's lighter then my apple watch ultra and epix Gen 2
I've had the Suunto Race for 5 days now, couldn't be happier! All the talk of lag made me think I would end up sending it back, but it's nowhere near as bad as I feared. The heart rate monitor works incredibly well for me, much more accurate than my Suunto 5. The values are very close to what I get from my Suunto chest heart rate band, so much so that I don't think I'll be using the band much anymore.
The screen is gorgeous, the maps and navigation work sooo well, and I'm still on 50% battery after recording 2 runs and 3 tennis matches. I'm absolutely blown away with it; delighted is an understatement!
I also had the opportunity to test it recently. In daily runs, the optical heart rate is the same as the Polar H9 chest strap.
If you turn off vibration lag is gone completely, try this.
Fantastic Ray!
Another 5 star review.
Really appreciate your work.
Keep it up.
Great review, as always. You have been my go-to for watch reviews for the best part of ten years. Thanks again for all you do :)
Your excellent in-depth review helped me decide to purchase the Race. Thanks for the great video and analysis. 👌👍
Thanks for your content, man. You, Des and Matt are the best. I am deciding between the 955 solar, base Fenix 7 base solar (we can find incredible discounts in the last weeks), 965, or Suunto Race. For the last 5 years, I have been using a Suunto Spartan Trainer, with zero problems, but I am noticing that the display is dimming and the battery life is not the same, though still alright. I've never had luck with Garmin devices. My Suunto survived two Vivoactive 4 (both of them died before 6 months of use), and my wife's forerunner 35. Therefore, I am having a hard time deciding to stay with Suunto and go with the Race (though it is amoled, I prefer MIP, and the Vertical is beyond my budget) or give Garmin another chance. I once saw on reddit the following comment that sure brought me LOL: "MIPS if you're an athlete who trains outdoors a lot. OLED if you just want people at the office to think you are.¨.
My man Ray spoiling us recently with these reviews
@dcrainmaker Great review, honest and good as always! 👍👍👍
Now that the weakest point of the Suunto Race is the heart rate ACCURACY can that be solved with an external monitor?
Or is the data collection during the day and at night also cloudy to monitor your Training status?
On fire with the uploads Ray! 🔥 Looking forward to that next-gen Suunto HR sensor. Loving the race though, great watch 👊🏽
Also.. very hyped about that Monday update 😍 being able to zoom out to 2k is a game changer.
@@ActiveIdeas where you got the information about the content of the update?
@@Celteron Just from listening to @Dcrainmaker in this video haha 👍🏼
Honest review, highlight positives and negatives, unlike other reviewers. The lack of native functionality (when apps are limited to 2) and poor HR is huge. The price saves this watch. Pity that the Vantage V3 is so overpriced.
The SuuntoApp has really gotten better and better the last couple of years. And looks like Race will replace my Suunto 9 💸
Heck Yeah Suunto good job !! i hope they work on their algo for the heart rate sensor and the lag, if i hear any good thing about it in that direction i'll probably just buy one to replace my suunto 9 baro i use their mapping navigation tool all the time and it's sooo awesome.
Such a fantastic watch, and great review. So awesome to see Suunto on the comeback trail. As for hr, I wear a chest monitor everywhere so it's no deal breaker for me. The quality build, sapphire glass and Suunto app might see me replace my 9 Baro one day :-) It might be old, but it's a legendary watch!
I still use 9 Baro ia great watch,just buy vertical Ss version
Thank you very much. I might purchase this if the Monday update improves daily usage.
As a suggestion, consider improving the sound quality in your videos. I would rate this video a 6 out of 10 for sound quality.
This is impressive - might be my next watch to replace my Vantage v2
I just sold my fenix 6 pro to buy the race and I’m very happy with it .
Thank you for this great review. Are you going to add the Race on your website to the comparison tool anytime soon? I really would like to see the differences to the FR265
Thanks, a review that I could actually understand.
As with all Suunto products I have not doubt that this would be another quality product. The issue I have is it looks small, and the watch strap is only 22mm. I really wish they would do like Garmin and make the same model in different sizes. The Fenix 6x, 7x has a 26mm strap and if you look at how many people opt for the bigger 51mm watch with 26mm band, there is definitely a market.
Thanks for the review. As usual, very detailed and exhaustive.
Like many, I bought the vertical few months ago, so the Race will have to wait!
Now I have a question/suggestion regarding GPS accuracy testing: in addition to comparing the GPS traces, would it be possible to compare the distances calculated by each platform? (Without necessarily saying which platform is right/wrong).
In my experience, and even if traces are identical, the distance calculated can sometimes vary by up to 3%-5% from a platform to another. and this kind of kills the GPS trace accuracy.
So it would be great if this can be benchmarked as well.
Cheers
Just bought an all black one. Super nice.
I just ordered the titanium on Amazon 😂 thanks for review
Greta job, thanks! I’m a little bit worried about the “early aging” of these amoled watch! What do you Think about it? Thx!😊
I swapped my fenix 6x pro for the Suunto Race and I couldn't be happier.
Did you tested climb feature? I'm talking about compare between Garmin climbpro and Suunto climb , is it ok in Suunto ? In hiking great feature
i did as well. 🙂
How is the recovery and HRV monitoring?
Why??
You made a mistake
Great review! How does the Race stand up against the Garmin Epix? Guess heart rate sensor is better but what else?
Great review as always. I kinda wish I knew this was coming when I bought the Vertical. I think I’d go Race.
Curious why? On paper the Vertical is superior.
@@GenjoKoan75nicer screen. Although I’m currently appreciating the crazy battery life of the Vertical! Pros and cons…
Cool thanks. Do you use the maps? I go hiking so maps are useful. Imagine I'd continue using my iPhone though.
I use the maps loads - technically they're not as advanced as Garmin as they're not re-routable. But in practice it's a great experience.@@GenjoKoan75
Well, this convinced me. Just ordered it. I’m mostly a day hiker and this is perfect for me. The heart rate sensor being spot on is not important for what I do.
so, hows it? Hows the battery life?
I'm really interested in this watch, could you please keep us updated if it gets new firmware that makes hr sensor work better?
that is the biggest no no for me because, i really dont like chest straps and my current watch has been accurate enough so i dont want to downgrade when it comes to that.
Great review as always👍
Did you have an issue with the mapping where when you zoom out or in it fails to load the layer and just shows a black grid? Seems to be common on the forums and experienced it myself was sorted by a reset. Also the compass seems to keep wanting to be calibrated all the time.
I used to have the Suunto Fitness 3, which I replaced with the 9 Peak Pro Titanium...right after, they announced the Race. So I returned it, and got the Race. I like it, downloading maps seems to take forever, and the UI seems a bit sluggish at times...but dat price tho
Hi. Thanks for the review.
The watches these days seem to all delivery the goods to some degree.
I'd be interested in a full review of the different companies eco systems. Apps web pages and head units for bikes etc.
I've stuck with Garmin for years now because it works across watches/head units/chest straps etc.
As I don't use Training Peaks etc, this is important to me
I wish someone smacked me down sooner when I dissed SUUNTO in one of these reviews, I called it no-name brand, whole they've been making measuring instruments for almost a 100 years!!! I think I mainly didn't like the design, but having found out about SUUNTO more, it started to not matter, but this black one looks really epic!
@DC rainmaker, i have a question for you. as a sports watch reviewer, and the traveling you are doing often, which watch is your fav, which watch would you pick out there ? what is your Go-to adventure watch ?
With the new firmware update, my Suunto Vertical is simply top notch. They took a while to release the new software features, but now I’m really satisfied!
no more sluggish?
@@ningma4168 no, now scrolling’s working great!
Will I be able to pair Garmin hrm pro+ with this watch? And does it have something equal to Garmin pay, so you can add your credit card to the watch?
My only regret since getting the Race switching form Garmin is not having done it earlier.
Any plans to do a video on the latest suunto updates (seen on other channels) which seem to improve lag, on the vertical in particular? Wondering as I’ve seen similar Garmin update videos before.
If you go on an epic bike ride but only record on say your wahoo bolt head unit cycle computer, will the Suunto race still add the relevant TSS etc data?
Swapped Epix 2 for Suunto race and i just love it. Underdog wins
Thank you for all your effort,
can you please inform me if there is an option to calibrate my stride length for treadmill running?
Best regards
Great review, so close to grabbing one ... the pairing of multiple same type sensors is a big let down however. Garmin even let's you rename all the sensors! But then again, I don't care for the garmin eco-system. Interesting with your swim testing that the Polar V3 seemed to do better ... just watched that video too. Given that polar is having some glitches, that hopefully a software update can fix ... which watch would you recommend for a Tri. athlete ... the V3 or the Race?? Ty, love your reviews!
What watch do you recommend for training and recovery? I do callisthenics, kettlebells, hiking.
Suunto Race, Garmin 265, Venu 3, 965?
Thank you!
Does this suunto watch syncs workouts recorded outside of the watch? I've been searching for a watch that records some of the workouts that I do that a cycling gps won't and basically syncs it all into a single metric like body battery (garmin) or resources (here in suunto). Garmin's body battery does not sync with their own cycling gps which is astonishing. Does suunto allow that?
Initially I got the Race, while waiting on the V3 to come out, especially with the solid price like that. Solid watch, but I was turned off by the inaccurate heart rate tracking and also sleep tracking, at least for me. I ended up getting VV3 (previously VV2 owner) and although, there are things that really need to be worked out on it, it's a great improvement over VV2. I'm also so used to the Polar ecosystem and reliability of fitness and sleep tracking features, that it's hard to have something different. Plus the superb compactness and build quality. I'm at a point where I think I'll be seeing the Race back and stick to VV3.
I like the price and the build materials used on this watch. That said I have so many years of the Garmin infrastructure in my blood now that I struggle to see the logic in other brands ways of presenting data on their watch face as well as in their apps. If a different brand came up with something truly unique, in a positive way that is, I would be happy to change brand as long as the price was competitive as well, but I must say that so far I have not seen or heard of anything that beats Garmin so I will likely stick with that brand for years to come.
Hey! Do you think it is worth upgrading from the Suunto 9 Peak Pro? Are there any improvements in sensor / tracking accuracy?
Thanks!
Overall great watch!! Such a pity the HR sensor isn't more accurate! Not sure if Suunto can improve this with some updates?
I think that the Polar Vantage V3 will have a hard time vs the Suunto Race.
I don't understand the comment at 11:04 about changing a custom sport mode. This is, as far as I know, perfectly possible on the Suunto Vertical and (I assume) Race? You can't change the default sport modes, but once you add a custom sport mode you can change it as much as you want. Add new data pages, change the number of data fields on existing data pages and changing the content of a specific data field, etc. The only thing that I find annoying is that you can't, on the Vertical, make a custom triathlon mode. You can either use the default triathlon mode or use the generic multisport mode with custom sport modes for swimming, biking & running. This is less ideal in a hectic transition environment.
I'll ask this question once again, why we don't have black titanium watch here in UK? any idea?
Hi Rainmaker, very nice and informative video, thanks! I do have the race already: I found the the notifications widget for phone notification cannot be switches to "mute" - vibration only (if you are not in "do not disturb" mode) which is kind of uncomfortable when you are in the office. You always completely need to disable them to stop the "beep". You seem to have a good connection to suunto, maybe you can have this as an input? Or am I wrong and there is a workaround to do so? BR and thanks, Thomas
Hi… you Can switch phone notifications to vibration only, it is just not a Logic way to so to. Look it up in the Suunto webpage under support 😊
I'm left handed and wear my watch on my right hand. does it allow you to rotate it so the crown will be on the outside of my right arm like on an apple watch or coros watch? great review thanks for what you do!!
Any ideas how to combine route navigation screen with the HR value? So when you are doing a trail race on one screen you can see where to run, and control effort of the run - with all of the uphill's and downhill's the running pace value isn't so important, as the HR
Great Review . For accurate HR I still use Suunto chest HR belt. Which to buy , still prefer the Vertical still only because of Solar charge. however before I make that decision I would like to see Vertical software upgrade first so can compare both watches like for like. Will future Vertical and Race be supported with same updates at the same time🙂 frustrating when one watch lags behind the other .
New update inb9und in the next couple days!
Love this.. the negatives don't really impact me. super cool device. but .. how good are the daily alarms? Us oldies like them! - but serously.. great product. the only real flag for me is something you touched on with the box... are not following CO2 offset trend they started with the 9 Peak? do you have any info on that? (i have to be quiet though.. I keep trying to get them to gift me one hahaha)
do you need the 32gb or are 16gb enough? is it worthy the 100 dollars more?
Great content, ty for the detailed review! Like others in the comment section, I am wondering if HR data outside of recorded activities are considered in the metrics for training load. Like in the case of bike computer recording while you wear the watch or simply commuting to work.
Would the HR somewhat poor accuracy impact these metrics (CTL, HRV) you reckon?
As far as I know, there’s no impact for the training metrics, with the exception of HRV, but I found that within 1-2ms compared to all the devices I cross-referenced it too. So you’re good there if you use an external strap for just the workout piece.
@@DcrainmakerThx!
@@Dcrainmaker thanks!
@@Dcrainmaker Hi! I wonder, if I use a chest strap, does that mean that during the exercise the Race does not read the HR via the optical sensor, so the battery should last longer? Also, your great review was the deciding factor for me to buy the Race. I have had it for 5 days and so far I am very satisfied. I have no complaints.
@Dcrainmaker Hi Ray in your video at 0:52 you say that it's the titanium version, but freezing the screen i can read stainless steel on the back of the watch. The color seems to be also more black than grey (SS vs TI) I guess that was just a misspeaking?
Thanks for the great review anyhow!
I really hope Suunto expands the zoom out! At least 10miles
Any difficulty during a workout with the Crown and activities such as a push up (where it may be pressed accidentally)? I have this problem today with the center button of the Baro 9. I recognize the solution can be to just switch to my right wrist 😉
After a few weeks of using the Suunto Race, I can confidently say that I don't think the crown will accidentally get pressed while doing pushups. Even if it did, it would only shift the screen to the right. So this should not be a concern for users 😉
Has there been a firmware update to improve the lag? Does turning off vibration fix it like someone commented?
Does it have XC Skiing and more specific cycling(gravel, mountainbike, commute...) sport modes?
Are the Heart Rate Sensors much better on the Garmin Watches? Are they worth the additional 300 to 500 bucks?
Does the titanium option really worth it? What could justified to get it for the price difference?
Will Suunto fix the HR accuracy problem in coming release? Did you email to Suunto?
Compare to the price with Garmin and Polar, Suunto race is attractive, but nowadays people hard to accept this accuracy level of HR
@dcrainmaker what I am not completely grasping from the online content (this excellent review, but especially the SUUNTO website), is the set of differences between this and the SUUNTO Vertical.
How can be justified the existing price difference ?
IMHO RACE it's going to jeopardize sales of the vertical if not properly explained.
Thank you
Is the suunto 9 baro still worth it or upgrade to race or vertical ?
Great review. Just one thing I was missing. Can you comment on the ability to have offline Spotify playlists on it?
There's no music on it, offline or otherwise. Cheers!
Thanks. Oh wow, maybe only me, but that is a big showstopper moving from Garmin FR over to Suunto Race. Are they working on fixing this? Just also strange since Suunto just released headphones, no? So how are they supposed to be used?!
Thanks
The trackback navigation feature is missing!
What's the software used to compare HRs?
Hi, great review. If anybody knows how much data about calories and steps lets say get stored in the suunto app? If I want to for example compare how much i walked in a month week by week?
How many data screens Suutno Race have? In Suunto 9 there were 3 + onee not editable.
What's the water resistant on the watch??
Since Suunto has refurbished vertical for $500, which would you prefer? And can Suunto make the heart rate better with a software update?😊
No Ray, but regarding the second question, no. It's mainly a hardware problem, the wrist sensor is not great
@@miguel__mq ok thanks
I had a suunto ambit 3 back in the day and it never transferred my activities from the watch to the app/strava. Unbelievably frustrating and I’m still salty about it. Switched to Garmin and haven’t had any similar problems so it’ll take a lot to convert me back but this watch is a great step in the right direction
im still using ambit3 peak and it does well transferring data. Maybe syncronization problem
Yes my Ambit 3 always transferred to Strava and whatever I wanted
Still on the ambit 3 also. I had a phase when they were transitioning from movescount that the apps/sync got frustrating a few years ago but its fine since. Usually plugging into a PC with sunntolink solves any issues.
If the Heart rate sensor is that inaccurate, doesn't that mean all the health metrics will be as well?
What about Spotify offline?
Nice informative review, thanks!
But it would be valuable to also rate the customer support.
I've had several Suunto watches (currently Vertical) and Suuntos customer support is horrible (i.e., nonexistent): no phone support, no support ticket system, just a support chat manned by people (or bots?) that have no clue about more serious problems. So if you get problems you're on your own...
Great review ! But you rarely compare connectivity and music offline for example whereas, I think, a lot of people are listening to music and running without the phone, just the watch is something great but I have no idea if the suunto race can play music offline for example... thank you again !
Thanks! No offline music, hence why I didn’t include it. ;) cheers!
@@Dcrainmakerlol ok makes sense now :) I mean I said you but the reviews in general… thank you !
Coros Apex 2 Pro vs Suunto Race please. I feel these 2 watches go head to head against each other.
As soon as they get rid of the lag that plagues their watches, i will buy a watch from them.Even two.
Either they don't know how to optimize the hardware or the hardware can't be optimized more than that.
I'm missing the point about sport custimisation modes around 11:00 in to the vid... You can change the screens as you wish. It's only the pre-baked / default modes which can't be changed. So if you want your own screens, AND want to change them from time to time, just create your own sport mode.
Or am I Missing something?
No, Ray is mistaken here. You can actually change sportsmodes as often as you like...just tried it 😊
I think he’s referring to the fact that the custom sports cannot be transferred to other devices? So if you have saved profiles from an old watch, you’ll need to re-create them on the new one. I was confused about what he was referring to as well.
@@duffman1990 yes that's possible 👍
Yeah, I’m referring to the stock ones, because honestly it’s a bit silly to have to create a secondary entire run mode when one already exists.
@Dcrainmaker Yes, I thought the exact same thing today as I was programming my data pages. I'm also disappointed that I can't create more than just three data pages.
Which is nice? Suunto race or garmin fr 965?
hey ! did you have the chance to test it with external sensors? I hear that you cant really pair it with more than 1 sensor?
Yup, did cycling power meters. As noted though, same old annoying Suunto max one sensor thing.
Man I wanna buy this watch in 2024 but I feel with all the brands having amoled COROS will release a fantastic amoled watch. And coros is the best company right now with regards to community
I have the pace 3 and I am hoping the next Vertix or Apex 3 pro will have amoled and more health features including incident alert. Then Nothing could compete with them.
Honestly, that lag would just kill the experience for me. Give me a watch that works properly, with music functionality, and I’m happily paying the extra 150
FYI: This watch is cheaper than the other Suunto watches before, because it is not build in finnland (china instead) and they did not compensate the co2 like on the other watches. Good price though!
The 2nd piece actually isn’t true. I specifically asked Suunto on that, and they’re working to publish their specifics there. Note that even in the case of the Suunto Vertical, Suunto states they only compensate within their manufacturing process, not the components creation prior to arrival.
Thanks fornreply. So you have more insides on that ;) Would be good for them to make this more visible!
In case of the vertical and also 9 Peak, i read it on their homepage in that way, that they compensate the whole lifespawn from raw material to finished product.
Is the 24/7 HR accurate? i.e when just at rest
Also, can the HR be fixed with updates? I managed to purchase this watch for £290 knowing the risk of the HR monitor - do you think it's worth keeping at that price?
Where sells at £290 dude? I know blue light discount can get 15% off.
@@adammillsindustries.Bit of luck getting it for that price to be honest - put it in my basket and left it there, they then emailed me to say we'll give you 10% off it, I then made the purchase but next day emailed to cancel after hearing of the HR issues, they then offered 'up to 25%' off other watches they have online, I ask for the 25% off the Suunto and they agreed. Couldn't believe it to be honest. CW Sellors is the retailer. Hopefully work for you too 👍🏻
Yes it is! I have the Race and I have tested it for 3 weeks now. I compared it with my Polar H9 chest strap and at rest, it is perfect. During workouts, the watch is not that great. I still use it with my H9 strap because I want accurate HR reading.
@@angelodebruyne4631thank you
I have Forerunner 965 for some months already. Is Polar Vantage V3 or Suunto Race better?
No, the FR965 is better in pretty much every way except battery life (GPS).
Seems like Suunto getting purchased may have saved the company
I ask on suunto chat, is it possible that suunto will fix the lags by some software updates... Thay answered they have no information about lagging issue in suunto race... WTF? On every youtube video there are lags... But they said, watch system update will be in the next week. Maybe this update will fix this watch. Can someone check this?
I literally talk about this and the fix in the video?
@@Dcrainmaker maybe I misunderstood you. Or maybe I used not a proper word. When I said "laggy" I was thinking about not smooth animations etc. Maybe next upadte fix this and I hope you will test it.
So Polar or Sunnto ?
I think Suunto and Polar are going to have to merge in order to keep up with Garmin and Coros. A blend of Suunto's mapping and battery life combined with Polar's HR and sleep metrics/recovery would make for a great watch!
Coros is cheaply made. Suunto miles infront in terms of hardware and looks
@@jasonroberts9383 yes, I agree that Suunto is better made than Coros. I guess I was thinking more about number of sales, not quality. I should have been more precise.
The HR isn’t that accurate. It can be laggy. Decent price, but I might pay more for the Garmin Epix which is on sale.
depending what you do. but running should be based on feelings, therefor the heart rate for me is less important than the route building, mapping and training algo..
I thought this was going to be a reason to switch back from Garmin to Suunto. Not sure - still seems to have limited firmware and a few niggles. Not sure
Same here. Suunto looks brilliant but the HR and lag ruin it.
Garmin Epix for me. Worth the extra.
I would be permanently annoyed with this laggy watch. Will not take the risk.
@@vpnconsult That’s why I’ve gone for Garmin Epix Sapphire titanium for not much more.
Still no track run mode?!😢
I'd buy one if they added HR broadcast. But they don't seem to care.
Why would anyone by the Vertical over the Race?
Money no object, I'd probably get the Suunto Race. But for now I'm sticking with a Polar Pacer Pro, which is much much cheaper and offers most of the same features IMO, except the battery life is worse.