How is the 9PP positioned with the new arrival of the RaceS?

Todd Danielczyk

@VoiGAS @isazi I stated this a while back where the distinction being gone make the already saturated market space even more so.

https://forum.suunto.com/post/146330

To me it comes down to price alone at that point. That is not how I prefer to make my decisions and one of the reasons I went with Suunto in the first place.

Ze Stuart

@isazi yes, from watching videos with Killian talking about his training, his watch seems to be unnecessary to him. I remember one asking him if he used maps on his watch, and he said something like ‘no, I’d prefer to explore’.

VoiGAS

@Ze-Stuart Yes, but he seemed proud to show his (thousands) of yearly training hours. And he is absolutly right to do it. So he at least used the watch…

VoiGAS

@isazi said in How is the 9PP positioned with the new arrival of the RaceS?:

@VoiGAS unfortunately, you don’t get paid to wear it, like Kilian

I can ask . But you could be right…

VoiGAS

@isazi said in How is the 9PP positioned with the new arrival of the RaceS?:

@VoiGAS unfortunately, you don’t get paid to wear it, like Kilian

Regarding Coros as a Suunto alternative: I would prefer Coros Pace 3 over 9PP for a similar price. But for Race S there is no competition in Coros Land, the Apex is much more expensive - and the Pace has no maps. So I think I’ll keep the Race S, even if its made in China. Same for Garmin, 265 has no maps, 965 is much more expensive.

Suunto really found a sweetspot with the Race S

A Former User

@Umer-Javed I still use the A3P and after 2 battery replacements (almost 9 years so far) I started looking around (it still works wonderfully but after so many years I would like to see something else on my wrist). The SRS is very tempting but I am not convinced yet.

A Former User

@VoiGAS said in How is the 9PP positioned with the new arrival of the RaceS?:

and the Pace has no maps

Coros recently added a nice feature called Screen Mirroring that allows you to view data or navigation w/ maps on your phone. Sure, it’s not the same as having maps on the watch, but it’s definitely a useful and interesting addition.

VoiGAS

@ferns Nice! For navigation it would be great to have it the other way round, but still a nice and innovative feature!

VoiGAS

@ferns As I had the Ambit3 Vertical, the 9 Peak and now the Race S I think I can say a little bit about the differences.

Ambit3 is still great. The big advantages you get with the new ones is OHR, Running Power and the depth meter for snorkeling. There are some other features of course, but for a sportswatch I think these are the relevant.
Between 9PP and SRS the Race S its not so easy like I thought. SRS has maps, 9PP is better build and cheaper. Regarding the display I like the size of the SRS more than the small one in the 9PP.
AMOLED vs MIP is for me a big suprise. AMOLED in the SRS is really eye candy indoor and has also a good visibility outdoor. But I don’t like that its dark most of the time. It reacts late on lifting the arm and darkens again after a few seconds. MIP on the 9PP can be always on without big battery drain and has a great visibility outdoor.

I am not unhappy with the SRS, but in some moments I think the 9PP would have been the better choice. But if you choose the wrong way on a Y crossing in unknown areas often enough the maps are really welcome.

So: Get the SRS just because its the cheapest way to have a GPS watch with maps

VoiGAS

An update here after more usage: Yes, maps are great - but not as much as I thought. After a longer Trail Run today I noticed that about 50% of the trails on Y crossings were not in the map. So it also didn’t help in this case. And in the case where it helped I’m not sure if I would also be able to find the right way with the old maps.

And Display: AMOLED is rubbish. I really, really hate it after I did some workouts and the longer run today. Its like the watch is trying to work against you, turning of the screen all the time. Even when I activated AOD in every sportsmode the map still gets dark until its not readable anymore. And still, after 9h running with navigation the battery was below 50%.

I’m sure the 9PP works equal or better for sports with navigation. For 50€ less I think I made the wrong choice with the Race S.

I can live with it as I don’t plan to do a 100k, but still this performance is underwhelming. Hopefully there is an update making the map readable without pushing a button every 20 seconds or so…

wakarimasen

@VoiGAS said in How is the 9PP positioned with the new arrival of the RaceS?:

And Display: AMOLED is rubbish. I really, really hate it after I did some workouts and the longer run today. Its like the watch is trying to work against you, turning of the screen all the time. Even when I activated AOD in every sportsmode the map still gets dark until its not readable anymore. And still, after 9h running with navigation the battery was below 50%.

That’s really interesting for me. I also have a 9PP which I love, except the display is too small for me when running. I’ve considered both the Race and the Vertical, and really haven’t been able to decide between the two. I’ve been leaning towards the Vertical, because I’m also not so sure about AMOLED displays, so your feedback is very valuable.

VoiGAS

@wakarimasen Yes, I think the Vertical combines the best Suunto Hardware and Software. Its just a little heavy and expensive, thats why my choice was between 9PP and Race S

isazi

@wakarimasen I do not like AMOLED much myself, and still prefer MIP, but AMOLED (when on) is so much more readable in every condition

DirkM

@wakarimasen I have just switched from 9P to Race S and completed my first training session with the new device yesterday.

I can confirm that the AMOLED display is much easier to read than the MIP, especially in low light conditions. It was also no problem for me that the display is not constantly on.

VoiGAS

@DirkM Did you run following a route in sunny conditions? This was the biggest problem for me

fv4500

On the discussion about the future of the 9PP, the other day I was shopping for a new pair of trail shoes. They were showcasing Suunto watches and you could touch and feel them. These were nonfunctional mock-ups, by the way. I discussed with the guy the new Race S and asked about how many Suunto AMOLED vs. MIP watches they were selling. The answer was that 4 out of 5 watches sold were AMOLED, with 1 out of 5 MIP (and these were Verticals), reason being that people feel AMOLED “the next big thing” in display technologies: they look much better.

AMOLED sells watches, that’s the fact.

IMHO, unless Suunto launches a Vertical-S anytime soon, MIP will die with the Vertical. Let’s face it, Suunto nailed it with the Race S in price and features packed. I’ll miss MIP.

VoiGAS

Maybe my Watch is different from the others, I have other expectations or I am not able to set the watch correctly

My Watch: Race S, made in China…

My Use Case: Running at daylight, if possible sunny conditions

My settings: Highest Brightness and AOD on, lift to wake off ( I have AOD on, so…)

Sounds like it should be always readable, right? But it is not. The display is reducing the brightness after a few seconds to a level below “low” and doesn’t go up anymore. This brightness level is unreadable in the sunlight

So you have to activate lift to wake, else you brightness setting is ignored. That works, but it takes about 1 second. Sounds not like much, but during running its an additional stride you have with your hand lifted. For me thats at least annoying if not unacceptable for a sportwatch.

Maybe I got something wrong, but I don’t get how this can be better than the 9 Peaks MIP for running outdoor. For indoor AMOLED is much better, I agree on this.

VoiGAS

At least I am not the only one https://forum.suunto.com/post/144517
And for cycling:
https://forum.suunto.com/topic/10268/bright-mode-cycling/

Too bad I didn’t read them before buying the Race S. If the AOD setting will be fixed to “Always On” instead of “Always Off” the AMOLED display will be absolutly fine. Until then I cannot recommend the Race S for “Sun Runners”. I guess for biking its even worse because Lift to wake doesn’t work on a mount.
9PP is currently the better choice I would say, anyone planning to buy Race (S) should be aware of the problem

isazi

@VoiGAS both posts you mention are before the update that allowed display setting to be specified per sport.

DirkM

@VoiGAS I have been a runner for many years and see no problem in raising my wrist and waiting for the display to activate - in less than a second, in my opinion. But maybe we have different needs. Besides, the MIP display has been no different in twilight and darkness with the backlight turning on.