DC Rainmaker Review
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@raven Yes, I agree, all that huge choice is pretty much confusing. I don’t know if such small companies like Suunto should stick to less models. I guess people at Suunto know better their market.
Imagine if a person wants to pick their first watch: Suunto, Garmin, Huawei, Samsung, apple, Coros, Polar and what not… -
I wish Suunto would state their strategy with regards to the OS so we can make an appropriate decision.
I wouldn’t touch the Run 2 due to its lack of third party and Suunto+ support but I also wouldn’t buy the Race 3S as it’s too expensive.
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@Steven-Hambleton I returned my Run 2 precisely because of some of the software limitations and was waiting for the new Race 3s but it is quite expensive in CAD…
For reference,
Suunto race s titanium: 500 cad
Suunto race 3s: 800 cad
Suunto race 2 titanium: 800 cad
Coros pace 4 pro: 650 cad
Suunto run 2 (64gb): 550 cadIf the “S” version of the race 3 that just released is at the same price point as the suunto race 2 Ti, does this mean that the regular Race 3 or Race 4 will be even more expensive? I am quite confused by what this pricing means for the future
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@raven said:
Let’s do it in USD too, why not?Entry price Race S: $349 USD
Entry price Race 3S: $599 USD(599 - 349) / 349 = 0.716 (71.6%)
The US dollar price hike isn’t Suunto’s fault but due to your moron in office.
You’d think so. That was certainly my first thought, and I’m more than willing to blame the moron in question. Ray thinks otherwise though, in these comments from the YouTube review.

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It’s not as simple as Ray claims. Apple may have an exception, but that doesn’t mean all brands have the same exception. It’s a bit more complicated than that.
On the other hand. Apple products are relatively expensive in Europe. A deliberate strategy Apple uses. We pay high prices so Apple can use lower prices in their main market.
Fact is, if you buy in the USA it’s relatively expensive. If you don’t need titanium bezel, saphire glass and 65 gig of storage… bad luck.
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If the “S” version of the race 3 that just released is at the same price point as the suunto race 2 Ti, does this mean that the regular Race 3 or Race 4 will be even more expensive? I am quite confused by what this pricing means for the future
Not necessarily. For instance, the 42mm garmin forerunner 570 is the same price as the 47mm variant. (Well, in Europe that is.)
Maybe Suunto does the same, or maybe not.
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@elbee I presented Ray’s claim as I recalled seeing it, but I haven’t bothered to try to research whether he’s correct or not, as it simply does not matter to me. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that’s the price of it for me in the US. I also think for most people here, this isn’t relevant, as the US is more a minority for Suunto users, so I’d use the euro pricing for more fair comparisons which removes the question of US tariffs.
Assuming the “all non-Apple watches are affected by tariffs” position is true, then Suunto’s higher price shouldn’t matter to some extent, as other watches would be similarly affected. However, the Coros Pace Pro 4 is $449 USD, which is well under the $599 for Suunto Race 3S. Or did Coros manage to get an exception from tariffs that Suunto couldn’t get?
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@elbee I presented Ray’s claim as I recalled seeing it, but I haven’t bothered to try to research whether he’s correct or not, as it simply does not matter to me. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that’s the price of it for me in the US. I also think for most people here, this isn’t relevant, as the US is more a minority for Suunto users, so I’d use the euro pricing for more fair comparisons which removes the question of US tariffs.
Assuming the “all non-Apple watches are affected by tariffs” position is true, then Suunto’s higher price shouldn’t matter to some extent, as other watches would be similarly affected. However, the Coros Pace Pro 4 is $449 USD, which is well under the $599 for Suunto Race 3S. Or did Coros manage to get an exception from tariffs that Suunto couldn’t get?
If you couldn’t bother to research, why should I?
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@elbee I presented Ray’s claim as I recalled seeing it, but I haven’t bothered to try to research whether he’s correct or not, as it simply does not matter to me. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that’s the price of it for me in the US. I also think for most people here, this isn’t relevant, as the US is more a minority for Suunto users, so I’d use the euro pricing for more fair comparisons which removes the question of US tariffs.
Assuming the “all non-Apple watches are affected by tariffs” position is true, then Suunto’s higher price shouldn’t matter to some extent, as other watches would be similarly affected. However, the Coros Pace Pro 4 is $449 USD, which is well under the $599 for Suunto Race 3S. Or did Coros manage to get an exception from tariffs that Suunto couldn’t get?
If you couldn’t bother to research, why should I?
I didn’t ask you to do so? I offered the idea tariffs are to blame for the additional cost might be wrong, but whether you care about that or not is up to you. If you agree, like me, that for an American “the cost is the cost” and trying to figuring out the reason is a waste of time, then neither of us needs to research.
Additionally, if you want to continue to claim “the tarriffs are the reason,” without having actual proof of that, then that’s on you.
You’re the one who made the claim of why the increase is more in America. Therefore, you’d be the one to present proof, I’d think, if required. But again, as I don’t care, I’m not asking you to provide proof. I’m happy to assume the moron is the reason. I’m just not going to assert that idea to others though, as I don’t know for sure, and I’ve heard from at least Ray that is wrong. I’d be happy to say “some people think it’s tariffs, some people think that’s not right,” as I can point to you for the first and Ray to the second.
As I noted elsethread, Suunto’s price raises (and taking out a low tier) are not unique, as I showed some pricing on Apple TVs, and things like PlayStations have increased in price since first released. Many call this a factor of “RAMagreddon,” prompted by the increase of AI and data centers. Even if the moron were to somehow vanish tomorrow and a new administraton happened, and we could be certain tarrifs were not a factor, I’m not sure it would mean we’d see lower prices. In Suunto’s case, it may be they sell so little in America compared to Europe they need an additional markup to make it worth the effort.
I should also point out another reason I’m not motivated to research the tariff thing is due to the fact the moron in question is mercurial, and even if it can be proven there are no additional tarrifs to explain Suunto’s pricing, that could easily change tomorrow, or even later today, or may have changed by the time I completed this sentence. It’s like trying to hit a moving target and again, what will that change for me?
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@raven said:
Or did Coros manage to get an exception from tariffs that Suunto couldn’t get?You did ask

But I think we mostly agree on the end result.
You say the entry level price increased dramatically. I see it as the entry level vanished.
End result? If we want a race 3s we pay a lot more.
And leaving the moron out of the equation, there could be dozens of reasons we can come up with. Maybe the race s entry level didn’t sell well (the argument you hear why apple killend the iPhone mini) or just because they can (doubt it. Suunto is not Apple). Or stockholders demand more revenue.
Don’t have the answer. And I do like my iPhone 12 mini. And my entry level race s. So, I don’t think it’s a good development.
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@raven said:
Or did Coros manage to get an exception from tariffs that Suunto couldn’t get?You did ask

But I think we mostly agree on the end result.
You say the entry level price increased dramatically. I see it as the entry level vanished.
End result? If we want a race 3s we pay a lot more.
And leaving the moron out of the equation, there could be dozens of reasons we can come up with. Maybe the race s entry level didn’t sell well (the argument you hear why apple killend the iPhone mini) or just because they can (doubt it. Suunto is not Apple). Or stockholders demand more revenue.
Don’t have the answer. And I do like my iPhone 12 mini. And my entry level race s. So, I don’t think it’s a good development.
“Entry price vanished” doesn’t make sense as a phrase. For many things, there’s a base price. You go to buy a specific car, there’s a minimal price for it, then you can charge more for upgrades, etc.
I get what you mean, something like “steel Race S got cancelled,” and I’m sympathetic to that point of view. At the same time, I think Ray’s point in his review is if people previous considered/bought the Race S, and are now considering the Race 3S, the entry price is much higher. Yes, it is not titanium/sapphire, etc. The price is still higher.
Oh, as for the Coros question, it was more rhethorical and/or a general “what do you think” the reason was, not a serious request for you to figure out the differences. My overall point is for the American audience, if they are considering both Coros and Suunto, that price delta is enough to be considerable. For myself, I’m not too keen on Coros designs (which is a separate conversation), so I’m not looking too closely at the deltas between them, but checked to see Coros does have titanium and sapphire screen, which it does unless I messed up that minor research.
Additionally, I should note I’m personally not upset at Race 3S pricing. I didn’t think I was going to get it anyway; I typically don’t want to get every upgrade and having the Race S, I’d need a lot of motivation to get the Race 3S. Even if it was the same price I paid for the Race S, I wouldn’t be rushing to upgrade. Maybe I’ll get Race 5S (assuming they skip 4, haha).
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“Entry price vanished” doesn’t make sense as a phrase
That might be because I didn’t say that. I said:
You say the entry level price increased dramatically. I see it as the entry level vanished.
And I said enough about it.
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“Entry price vanished” doesn’t make sense as a phrase
That might be because I didn’t say that. I said:
You say the entry level price increased dramatically. I see it as the entry level vanished.
And I said enough about it.
You’re correct; my brain mapped it a bit differently. Apologies. The point is similar though. There’s still an entry level. It’s simply the only level. It’s both the entry level and the ultimate level.
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@raven said:
. The point is similar though. There’s still an entry level. It’s simply the only level. It’s both the entry level and the ultimate level.So, there isn’t an entry anymore that is only the entry level.
There is only an entry level that is also the ultimate level. Well, there is a strange phrase

If we don’t have to specify we normally leave out the adjective. Hence, there isn’t an entry level anymore.
Next you’re going to try to convince me the iPhone mini still exists because there is always a smallest model. (I think you can take a bit of joking)
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Fascinating exchange friends. Keep it going. What are reasons Suunto and Coros range in their prices across US EU etc? I have so many questions. Regardless, I would still buy a Suunto over anything else

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