Race S Tempting Me Back Into Suunto...

Fenr1r

@andrewjknox Righto. Re: roadmaps - Suunto doesn’t do them. If you read this Forum avidly enough you may pick up (and/or misinterpret) hints from certain contributors but that’s about as far as it goes.

As for the on-watch OS coordinate entry: it was deprecated some watches back and suggestions here haven’t had a lot of traction over the intervening years. Its radial cousin, Bearing Navigation, did get a bit of a fanfare-free improvement, however.

So if you don’t hope in any particular regard, you won’t be disappointed.

andrewjknox

@Fenr1r There are roads marked on the watch right? I don’t need road names though. Typically I create a route, I’ve probably never been there and I rely on the watch to navigate and won’t have my phone (usually).

Surprised on grid reference though, as it’s just displaying data in a different format (e.g. British National Grid - BNG) using data it already has, i.e. lat/lng. Sounds like an app idea if not implemented natively?

Fenr1r

@andrewjknox said in Race S Tempting Me Back Into Suunto...:

There are roads marked on the watch right?

Yup.

I don’t need road names though.

Fortunate: there are no labels at all. Although your synced and active Route and POI symbols will appear.

In case you venture off roads, it’s also worth pointing out that contour lines disappear above the watch’s 200m/face zoom level. This might be changed but it has been some months in the works and the UK may or may not be in the next tranche. Whenever that occurs.

Surprised on grid reference though, as it’s just displaying data in a different format (e.g. British National Grid - BNG) using data it already has, i.e. lat/lng. Sounds like an app idea if not implemented natively?

To clarify: the watch will show your current location in BNG (and other formats) quite happily. No interaction other than saving that location. The App won’t work with anything other than dec. Lat/Lon.

andrewjknox

@Fenr1r

To clarify: the watch will show your current location in BNG (and other formats) quite happily. No interaction other than saving that location. The App won’t work with anything other than dec. Lat/Lon.

Ooo, that’s great - all I need, displaying (for map reading) and saving (marking water sources, places to eat, toilets etc for future reference)

I’m just reading about Suunto ZoneSense - that sounds so good… shame all my chest heart rate straps have died (after a battery change, I appear to compromise the rubber seal, then my sweat (boy do I sweat) gets into the electronics and thus begins the slow death of the monitor. Happened on every chest strap I’ve owned.

Fenr1r

@andrewjknox said in Race S Tempting Me Back Into Suunto...:

chest strap

Not my dept. but lots of threads here if you Search the Forum. Maybe some perspicacity.

Maximilian Mustermann

@Fenr1r @andrewjknox I’ve just tried the following and it worked no problem:

Went to “Settings”, “Navigation”, “Position Format” and changed to the Swiss CH1903 format. BNG-UK is available as well.
Chose “Map”, “Your Location” and the position is indeed displayed CH1903.

andrewjknox

@Maximilian-Mustermann Cheers for that @Fenr1r later confirmed it was indeed possible to display coordinates using a configurable format.

Egika

@andrewjknox as for your other questions:

Yes, you can select to get call only notifications. You do this in the app:

Step count has no bug. It works well for walking and running. As the watch is on your arm, it might or might not interpret other wrist movements as steps. So the basic idea is not to actually count steps, but use this metric as a general movement indicator.

There is no public roadmap, as in the past it caused more trouble if certain features did not make it in time or at all, that had been announced. But the FW is constantly updated also with new features.

Climbing guidance is great in Suunto Race S. It has all the needed data and notification.

andrewjknox

@Egika Fantastic, all I need to know, thank you for the details. I’ll be buying this watch in that case!

I’ll finish off that Suunto lecture video tomorrow on ZoneSense re: using HRV as a training tool

sky-runner

@andrewjknox I was in a similar situation of being intrigued by Suunto Race S. I ended up mostly switching from Garmin Fenix 7X to Suunto Race S and using as everyday watch and for all my current training despite a few glaring shortcomings when compared to Fenix 7X. I must admit that I really enjoy its light weight and comfort, especially once I’ve switched the original band to a hook and loop nylon band (Abanen brand).

Still, it likely will not be sufficient for me for longer ultramarathons or summer adventures in 2025. I am looking to buy either an another Suunto model (such as an improved Race or Vertical with better HR sensor) or perhaps a new Coros watch with Amoled display and a longer battery life of either of them is released. If not, I’ll have to either use my old Garmin or buy another Garmin.

Brad_Olwin

@sky-runner With a 50h battery life on Ultra mode the Race S should be enough for all ultras 200k and less. The only missing feature would be maps, which I really don’t need in a race. The route, altitude profile, Climb Guidance will work. Plus, if you wear a belt you will get ZoneSense.
Something else you might like is the nutrition feature Näak has implemented, I have found it very useful and much better than a food or drink reminder. I have had issues with nausea and the Näak food and liquid calories seem to work better for me.

andrewjknox

@sky-runner Even though I’m not looking to replace my Fenix 7X (just my Pace 3), I reckon Suunto will have something based on the success of the Race series soon enough - larger battery with sapphire glass. Perhaps an increase in watch face size to 51mm? The “Race X” perhaps?

I think then I’ll go full Suunto as I don’t need a shed-load of the Garmin features. Of all the brands, it’s the one I’d love to go all-in on and support them.

Main requirements for me on that kind of watch are mapping, battery life, sapphire watch face, large watch face, a climb pro/guidance feature and accurate sensors. Sort of indifferent between AMOLED & MIP in fairness though the former would be nicer. I’m never going to have one watch to rule them all as it’s not possible given the opposing requirements between a daily driver and a mountain adventure.

I’ll have to check out that nutrition feature @Brad_Olwin in more depth, thanks for the heads-up

PS: Ordered the watch last night even though I’m recovering from a triple hernia surgery and no running until late January - too excited to start using it!

gerasimos

@Brad_Olwin you mean in ultra battery mode you have the route line - breadcrumb but not maps , like suunto 9?

Brad_Olwin

@gerasimos Yes exactly like the 9 plus with the added benefits of climb guidance.

gerasimos

@Brad_Olwin thanks!

sky-runner

@Brad_Olwin said in Race S Tempting Me Back Into Suunto...:

With a 50h battery life on Ultra mode the Race S should be enough for all ultras 200k and less

No, I am not going to consider Ultra (GPS only) mode. That’s not accurate enough for the distance because of the possible GPS glitches. I’d strongly prefer to have at least All Satellites and preferably All Satellites + Dual Band. And in general extended modes are infrequently used and therefore less well tested.

I’ve already had a negative experience with Suunto in the past when Ambit 3 Peak was supposed to last 30 hours in extended battery mode and it lasted less than 26 hours, and distance was highly inaccurate. I am not going to repeat that mistake. That spoiled my Western States experience.

sky-runner

@andrewjknox said in Race S Tempting Me Back Into Suunto...:

I reckon Suunto will have something based on the success of the Race series soon enough - larger battery with sapphire glass. Perhaps an increase in watch face size to 51mm? The “Race X” perhaps?

This would be great!

VoiGAS

@sky-runner Wow, I think that was the first time I read about Ambit3 Peak not being accurate. I thought its still the benchmark or at least one of the best
But always good to hear different opinions

Edit: Or do you just mean the endurance mode?

Egika

@VoiGAS yes, he was referring to battery saving mode.
Back in Ambit times, the low power GPS indeed was not really accurate. You could select between 1s, 5s and 60s fix rate. nothing else
This has changed dramatically with the introduction of FusedSpeed and FusedTrack, not to speak of the new GPS chips themselves.

VoiGAS

@Egika Right, this was also unusable on the Ambit3 Vertical I had. But on the 9 and now the Race S the GPS only mode is perfectly usable. I didn’t know about the settings of the ultra mode @Brad_Olwin mentioned, thats very interesting!
For my maximum distance of 50k the Race S with maps and navigation in Performance mode is sufficient - about 18 hours if you use the navigation screen a lot. Should also be ok for 100k I guess.