to solar or not to solar?
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@ElectronBadger I have the solar and I agree with most. You probably do not need it, but if you really want titanium then…
The only thing I could see it being super useful for is when I do several day (I mean like 7+ days) of backpacking. The solar would potentially take a bit of edge off of the loss of battery due to GPS usage, but having said that most of my trekking is done at least half the time under tree cover so that will make it mute.
The one thing I do not like about the solar is the greenish tint that it gives the outside of the screen. Black would be much cleaner looking in my opinion.
An example for me would be last year then I did the Colorado Trail from Silverton to Durango. Didn’t really see a lot of help from the solar. The only time I would get a good solar bump was going over passes.
If you are a road cyclist and plan on strapping your watch to the handle bars you might see some solar usage out of that. Plus with the MIP it would not need to turn on the light every time you flicked your wrist to see where you were or how you were doing.
If I were to disappear into the bush for a month, maybe.
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Its a sunny but freezing winter day in Austria and the Suunto Vertical is charging indoor (!) in the sunshine. Even behind the window it has “High” values and the battery state increased. So I think it should be technically possible to only charge with sunlight.
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@VoiGAS just drove back from Tirol and wanted to say the same thing
When switched off and in sunshine, the battery charges 1% in 100-120 mins.
When using it, Suunto’s own stats tell the real story… not many people will need solar but it’s a nice to have. -
The Vertical Solar is an absolutely absurde watch. I don’t remember when I last charged it because it lasts like forever. Weeks, Months, or if you don’t use it as a Smartwatch and give it proper sun really forever.
Today in the morning it had 83%.
Put it in the sun (behind a window) for 2-3 hours: 84%.
Running 1,5 hours 82%
Placing it outside in the sun for 2 hours: 83% again! And still charging…Complete massive overkill. But I like it
Race S
Vertical Titanium Solar
Ambit3 Vertical -
I also enjoy mine A LOT. All types of my activities, bike rides, daily trainings, ultra races, adventure trekkings, yoga, you name it. Really excellent battery life. The best watch I’ve ever had.
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@VoiGAS can you share the setup of this ? Do you use oHR? Notifications? Strap ?
Thanks
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@thanasis None of that. Just syncing with the App from time to time. It would not work if you wear it between the activities. I just used it for running and then leave it in the sun.
Today was a pause day, so the watch got a full day in the sun without interruptions. Went up from 80% to 84%
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@VoiGAS
Be aware that it’s not recommended
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@sartoric Didn’t know that, thank you for the warning! Its still cold here, so I hope the watch didn’t got hurt
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@VoiGAS It all depends on the internal and thus battery temperature. You can easily check the internal temperature by looking at Alti/Baro/Temp widget after some time in direct sunlight. It depends on the ambient air temperature and also largely on the amount of infrared radiation the watch is exposed to. For example if the watch is in the interior and behind IR blocking glass window, the internal temperature would be very close to ambient temperature considering the very low charging power generated by photovoltaic panel. If this is let’s say between 20-25°C ambient air, that’s way more favorable for long term battery health than on the wrist temperature of ~32°C (currently on my wrist).
Leaving it directly outside is of course a bad idea for prolonged periods, unless you can compensate by low ambient air temperature that keeps internal temperature from raising to unhealthy levels.
