Suunto Review: 5 Key Features To Know!

Based in Finland, Suunto is a world leader in adventure-oriented products like connected sports watches, diving instruments, compasses and other accessories. The brand offers exceptional gadgets for various activities, starting from the exploration of ocean depths to mountaineering.

The Finnish company’s wristwatches are known for their features like extreme robustness, exceptional battery life, extensive functionality, versatility and weather-resistance. All these qualities are ideal for the most challenging outside sports and adventures.

(1) Robustness

Made in Finland, Suunto watches are exceptionally robust in the comparison with similar products available in the market. The brand uses high-quality and durable materials like Stainless Steel, Titanium Grade 5, Polyamide, Composite, Aluminium and Glass Fiber Reinforced Polyamide to ensure the robustness of its instruments. Depending upon the model, the dial side glass is made of gorilla glass, mineral crystal, polyamide or sapphire. These are sturdy and scratch-proof, ensuring better protection to the display. 

(2) Battery life

A connected outdoor watch should have an excellent energy source for providing long and uninterrupted functional features. Suunto offers exceptional battery life for its sports watches. Depending upon the model and functions, the power reserve varies. In time mode, the energy consumption is low, and it will become high when you activate GPS or smartwatch facilities.

For example, Suunto 7 model offers 40 days of battery life in Time mode, 12 hours with GPS and up to 2 days under smartwatch connectivity. The non-GPS watches like Suunto Core has an outstanding battery life of 12 months in time mode.

(3) Functionality

Suunto sports watches come loaded with various functions, starting from fitness tracking to health monitoring and from measuring altitude to alerting you about the climate conditions. They feature multiple applications to assist in sports events like athletics and games, swimming, diving, cycling and etc. If you are an outdoor adventurous enthusiast, they offer functionalities like altimeter, barometer, digital compass watch, GPS tracking and navigation, temperature display, sunrise/sunset times and weather information. These details are useful in various outdoor activities like fishing/hunting, hiking/trekking, mountaineering and skiing.

For fitness and wellness enthusiasts, Suunto watch provides monitoring of blood-oxygen level, heart rate, physical activity, sleep and stress levels. It assists the wearer to accomplish personal fitness/wellness goals confidently and safely. Depending upon the models, availability of these functions may vary. Some versions come with additional features. For example, Suunto 7 additionally offers online and offline music functions. The Suunto Core Alpha watch comes with a depth meter for snorkeling (10 meters).

(4) Versatility

Suunto sports watches are known for their remarkable versatility, enabling the owner to efficiently utilize them for diverse activities and purposes. They are equally suitable for your everyday wear and extreme outdoor adventures. These instruments are compact, light-weight and ergonomic for ensuring optimum comfort. The straps – textile, elastomer or silicone – are flexible, comfortable and ideal for external use. The brand also offers quickly swappable additional straps so that you can easily customize the look of the watch according to your needs.

(5) Weatherproof

Suunto’s outdoor sports watches boast excellent weather resistance features. Each of them undergoes extreme testing. They offer better resistance against moisture, atmospheric pressure, shocks and temperature variations. The water resistance usually ranges from 30 to 100 meters depending upon the model.  

The Best-selling Suunto watches

(1) Suunto 3

Suunto 3 is a lightweight yet durable connected GPS sports outdoor watch featuring ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) case, stainless steel bezel, polyamide glass and microfiber textile or silicone strap. It is available in colorways like All Black, Copper Grey, Granite Red, Light Gold, Moss Grey, Pebble White, and Slate Grey. It comes loaded with Suunto App and compatible with online sports communities like Strava, TrainingPeaks and etc. The Suunto 3 watch can be paired with a Smartphone via Blue tooth technology.

Its rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides power reserve up to 10 days in time mode, 5 days with 24/7 tracking and mobile notifications, and 30 hours in the Training mode with GPS connectivity. It has 30-meter water resistance. Its retail price in Hong Kong is HK $1,800.

(2) Suunto 5

Suunto 5 is an outdoor adventure/sports watch with GPS connectivity and exceptional battery life. It features glass fiber reinforced polycarbonate case, stainless steel bezel, mineral crystal glass and silicone strap. Winner of “iF Design Award” in 2020, Suunto 5 features a slim, comfortable yet robust structure. It has a water resistance of 50 meters. The watch offers up to 12 days battery life in the time mode, 7 days with 24/7 tracking and mobile notifications, and 40 hours in the training mode with GPS.

Powered by Suunto App and equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, this GPS watch is compatible with Strava, TrainingPeaks and other online sports communities. Suunto 5 is available in versions like All Black, Burgundy Copper, Graphite Copper, Graphite Steel, White and White Black. It has a retail price of HK $2,500.

(3) Suunto 7

Suunto 7 is the first watch from the Finnish company to be provided with the Wear OS by Google™ operating system. This purpose-built GPS smart watch is powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear™ 3100. Made for extreme adventures, it incorporates the most advanced wearable technology.

Thanks to the powerful Wear OS and its streamlined interface, Suunto 7 offers a great user experience while seamlessly providing various applications related to sports and everyday life. It can be connected to the internet using Wi-Fi technology. With blue tooth function, this watch can be paired with a Smartphone. The Suunto 7 watch is compatible with most of the Android and iOS based phones. It is also compatible with Suunto App, Strava, TrainingPeaks and more.

The watch features shock-proof, water-proof and dirt-proof structure comprised of glass fibre reinforced polyamide case, stainless steel bezel, gorilla glass and silicone strap. It has a water resistance of 50 meters.

This Suunto smart watch is available in versions like Black, Black Lime, Graphite Copper, Sandstone Rose Gold and White Burgundy. Its retail price is HK $3,400.

(4) Suunto 9

Designed and built to meet the demands of professional athletes, Suunto 9 is an all-round outdoor sports watch. It features GPS for tracking and navigational purposes. It also supports other satellite systems like GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS and BEIDOU for the same.

Suunto 9 has five intelligent battery modes: Performance, Endurance, Ultra, Tour and Custom. In the time mode, the watch offers 14 days of battery life, seven days with 24/7 tracking and mobile notifications, and up to 170 hours in the training mode with GPS. It comes with more than 80 pre-installed sport modes. It also supports Suunto App and Bluetooth connectivity.

This GPS sport watch features a robust case made of glass fiber reinforced polyamide. Tested for a water resistance of 100 meters, this watch features stainless steel bezel, mineral glass and silicone strap. Measuring 50mm diameter and 16.5mm thickness, Suunto 9 is available in black and white color versions. Its retail price is approximately HK $4,000.

The brand is also offering two enhanced variants from this series: Suunto 9 Baro and Suunto 9 Peak.

Suunto 9 Baro has the same dimensions of the initial model. It features Glass fibre reinforced polyamide case with titanium or stainless-steel bezel. Depending upon the version, each timepiece comes fitted with a nylon textile, silicone or leather strap. The retail price range is HK $4,800 to HK $8,500.

Suunto 9 Peak, which is the smallest, thinnest and toughest watch made by Suunto, features a case made of glass fiber reinforced polyamide with grade 5 titanium or stainless-steel parts. It measures 43mm diameter and 10.6mm thickness. Depending upon the model, it comes with titanium or stainless-steel bezel, sapphire crystal glass and silicone strap. The retail prices range from HK $5,700 to HK $7,000.