New owner of Suunto Race - first feelings
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@Highlands as I mentioned in my previous post, it’s a matter of being aware that the optical heart rate (OHR) sensor on the vertical/race doesn’t work well. For whatever reason, SUUNTO has decided to include that sensor, and we as customers can decide whether it’s not important (currently, the other advantages of the Race outweigh the sensor’s malfunction for me, and I accept it) or if it is. It’s true that the watch calculates many metrics based on heart rate, so all of them will be inaccurate. If that is important to you, either use a chest strap or switch to another brand with a good OHR.
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@Luis-Andés-Olmedo Agreed. I just wanted to mention here that I’m one of the users for whom the oHR doesn’t work well. Before I bought the SR I knew the sensor was the same, so I hadn’t had any positive expectations about it and still I bought the watch. More or less I like the watch. It’s a good product.
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@Luis-Andés-Olmedo @Highlands fully agree with you.
I had no expectations on OHR except for daily and night tracking (where it works just fine).
Anyone who choose any brand with hight OHR expectations propably expose himself to high disappointment.
Even if OHR (of any brands) work sometimes “well” for some people, nobody that want to use HR for training should rely on OHR. It is never as precise as a chest strap, for now.
I find boring that we have all the time the same feedback about OHR that “doesn’t work well”.
But I guess it is the power of marketing that make us believe that OHR is “just greal all the time”… -
The reliability of cardiac sensors is known not to be “reliable” data, a small margin of error is considered acceptable. In this case, it’s a complete crash. The data communicated by the watch are all incorrect when considering the heart values. I like the design of Suunto, the application is great but I can’t spend 550 euros on a sports tool that gives totally crazy values. Reading all the reviews, everyone is unanimous with the race and the vertical (myself included) These are excellent watches but the sensor is frankly not up to par.
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@Fizzgig you’re right, but not everybody has such trash values…also I have plenty of friends using other brands and very recent watches that have the same issues.
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Probably Suunto’s ohr are not the best on the market, but I don’t think there are any reliable statistics that prove it.
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I’m not a fan of OHR because when I’m cycling I want to have the watch attached to the handlebars and OHR is of no use. Likewise when kayaking, the watch is attached to the deck and I wouldn’t be able to read the values on my wrist. Hence the old SSU, where I have to and can use an external source for the heart rate.
Nevertheless, I have to say that I don’t have any problems with OHR with any current watch. Suunto Vertical, TicWatch Pro 5, Garmin Fenix 6X Pro, Huawei Watch GT Runner, Oppo Watch, all work for me under all circumstances (I don’t swim) as well as an external device (Polar Verity Sense, H10).
But only on my right wrist. I keep getting unrealistically high readings on my left wrist with all models. Suunto is no better and no worse, at least not for me.
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@Fizzgig said in New owner of Suunto Race - first feelings:
The reliability of cardiac sensors is known not to be “reliable” data, a small margin of error is considered acceptable. In this case, it’s a complete crash. The data communicated by the watch are all incorrect when considering the heart values. I like the design of Suunto, the application is great but I can’t spend 550 euros on a sports tool that gives totally crazy values. Reading all the reviews, everyone is unanimous with the race and the vertical (myself included) These are excellent watches but the sensor is frankly not up to par.
Agree (although I did spend 400€ on the race
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@Fizzgig I have the same experience. Crazy spikes that I see at my desk or when making sudden movements. I’ve even had my Garmin 7X on the other wrist just to note my heart rate was normal.
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@GiPFELKiND I do not know, it works very well for me. If there are tattoos or dark skin I think a problem as well. I have shaved the area around the watch and that seems to help. You need blood flow close to the skin for this to work. The measurement relies on blood flow.
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@Fizzgig Your wrists are quite thin from the photo. The wristbone may interfere with the readings. You could try moving the position of the watch and see what happens. The reliability of the OHR will vary by individual and it does not matter the brand! My wife, who is very small cannot get an Apple Watch OHR to work either sitting or exercising, she uses a belt for exercising.
For me when exercising Suunto, Garmin are not good; Apple Watch Ultra is ok if low intensity. For not exercising Suunto, Garmin and Apple work equivalently.
I do think Suunto’s sensor is more sensitive to position and movement but I see reports from testers where it works well for some even exercising. I think one has to be careful to generalize quality based on a single individual and their experience. -
I tried a Garmin Forerunner 965 today in the same conditions as the Race. This is what the HR gives in the afternoon with two peaks going up the floors and the rest of the trips to site meetings at work. We also clearly see the return to seated calm at the end of the afternoon.
The data collected is overall much better and consistent.
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@Fizzgig As I said in my post, OHR will vary from individual to individual, just because one brand works for you does not mean it works for everyone. For me, Suunto 9PP and Garmin Epix gen 2 were about equal.
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I wore 6 Garmin, 2 Coros (pace and vertix), Apple S5 and S8), a Fitbit bracelet and all measured accurately. It would still be strange if Suunto was not compatible with me…
Being on a dedicated Suunto forum, I suspect that a moderator will not recognize the failure of the HR sensor. I am still interested in a copy of your daily HR statement. With certainty, we will obtain the same uncontrolled variations. -
@Fizzgig Here is today, nothing unusual. Run in the morning has normal HR with belt. No spikes.
And the watch
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Thanks ! all the day with belt ? Or only the small running?
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@Fizzgig only running for 45 minutes at 07:15 with belt
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My HR for the day via OHR. Very up and down but this corresponds with my movement around the classroom and school. The slide down @ 6pm is where I get home and have a brew……
I do think it comes down to how you wear your watch. I’ve looked at the last 3 months worth of data and it is very similar to my previous Fenix 6X. As others have stated, use a strap if you want accuracy and precision. The Race works well, if used correctly.
As for saying that a moderator wouldn’t say there was an issue, I think that’s actually a tad out of order. Of all the forums I use or have used, the mods here are pretty good and switched on.
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Thank you for your reply. The curves look cleaner than I was able to achieve with my Race. I don’t understand why I get these values because quite honestly, I have been wearing and using GPS watches for over 10 years with 40 km of running per week and 100 to 150 km of cycling on Sundays. I run and trail run competition. I am absolutely not trying to criticize anything and am just simply trying to understand. I love the simplicity of the app and the design. I would really like to make it a training buddy. Maybe I’ll try a vertical one.
Finally, the moderation team seems dedicated and quite open to dialogue. I may have been a little directive in my remarks and I apologize for that. -
@Fizzgig thanks for your reply. Are you using the original strap? It’s probably not anything but I have had a fabric strap (bought from corus via decathlon for half the price of the Suunto version). It’s slightly elasticated so gives a good but not tight fit.
