Soon to be Suunto owner.

Hello everyone.
I’am coming back to running again after a long convalece (Covid paralysed 25%of my right lounge) but now I’am healthy again and training (hopefully back to Ultras again)
I have always had Garmin watches but now as a new start in life and running it will be Suunto on my arm.
I have read a lot on line about and the use of Suunto watches.
I have not desided if it will be 9 peak pro or the titanium version yet but next week I will order one of them.
Do you as long time users have some input what the main difference will be Garmin vs Suunto?
Tips and tricks, everything is more than welcome.
Thanks// Thomas

freeheeler

@Thomas-Bolstad
welcome to the team Suunto and nice to hear that you recovered well
I know some people who are still suffering from covid…

I have used the fenix3 long time ago and don’t have an updated opinion or insights of garmin. from discussions with friends I have learned that garmin is still relatively complex compared to Suunto. Suunto watches have a reasonable level of customisation and the app is clean and intuitive.
maybe you can download Suunto App and transfer your data to SA with syncmytracks and play with it already.

a side comment: the S9PP is a nice and compact watch. but I would recommend to buy either a Vertical for many reasons. e.g. battery life and maps.

@freeheeler
Thanks for input.
I have not even consider Vertical, have to read and think a bit more it seems.
The app is already in my phone but I did not think about importing different experiences and play with it, good idea.
// Thomas

ChrisA

@Thomas-Bolstad I find Suuntos app way more informative and structured than Garmins (even with the new betaversion design now, Garmin still is worse). While Garmin offers a lot of features, which are useful - , it lacks eg. a weekly overview of the hr zones you trained in, or how your pace over the last week, months etc. developed. And - at least for me - Garmin tracks my sleep wrong, showing me awake too long and therefore calculates wrong training readines. etc. Planning routes and the heat map feature also is much better in the Suunto app. What you might miss is the lack of customizable watch faces. That’s much better on Garmins side!

Brad_Olwin

@Thomas-Bolstad welcome, consider a Suunto Race or Vertical instead of the 9 peak pro. They are nearly identical except for the screen technology and the Digital Crown

@Thomas-Bolstad said in Soon to be Suunto owner.:

Hello everyone.
I’am coming back to running again after a long convalece (Covid paralysed 25%of my right lounge) but now I’am healthy again and training (hopefully back to Ultras again)
I have always had Garmin watches but now as a new start in life and running it will be Suunto on my arm.
I have read a lot on line about and the use of Suunto watches.
I have not desided if it will be 9 peak pro or the titanium version yet but next week I will order one of them.
Do you as long time users have some input what the main difference will be Garmin vs Suunto?
Tips and tricks, everything is more than welcome.
Thanks// Thomas

I have been a Garmin user for years and decided to venture out with Suunto years ago. both have their strengths, so it is up to you to decide what suits your needs best. I chose the 9PP Titanium because of the size and it really is a gem, almost on par with its young siblings. the only thing it lacks is the dual frequency, which on a few occasions made itself felt. the maps then might be another element to consider which in my case I didn’t care about. last but not least if you do ultra is to evaluate well the battery life and here the clear winner is the vertical. good choice!

glad you are ok!

@ChrisA
Thank you.
I have imported a run to the app and toyed around a lot.
Things are very different and I have to search a lot but when I have learned it will be
// Thomas

@Brad_Olwin
Thank you.
Another watch to check up, Race.
Vertical is just a bit too large for me, have Garmin Fenix 5 and that one is 47 mm wich is borderline big already.
// Thomas

freeheeler

@Thomas-Bolstad
Race is definitely lighter than the Vertical but the same diameter. it has a different shape and due to that feels slightly more comfortable. I don’t really notice the difference.
the question is if you like amoled vs mip screen (with all pros and cons of either), operating the watch by crown or buttons only and of course battery life.

@cjanevate
Thank you
Back to ultra is at least the goal, hopefully it will be.
Vertical is just a smudge to big fore my small wrist but I have to consider it anyway it seems.
Maps is something I think is fun and important in planing training.
The answers I have got from you and the others in this thread have been really useful but given me headache.
A good one.
// Thomas

surfboomerang

@Thomas-Bolstad I switched from S9P to Vertical Solar. I have small wrist, but the Vertical doesn’t feel bulky at all. Having a map is a huge advantage over the S9P. Especially for hiking and trailrunning.
And the extreme battery life ofcourse

@freeheeler
Thank you again.
I really have to go over everything one more time.
Function, size and material and in that order.
// Thomas

@surfboomerang
Thank you
More things to consider, I really have much to go through now.
// Thomas

Mff73

@Thomas-Bolstad
If you are not too carbon footprint extremist, you could consider to buy both of your choices, and try side by side with enough trial days at home before returning.
Of course it requires also some extra bucks to ingest temporarily .

freeheeler

@Thomas-Bolstad
while you mention materials, based on my experience, I would recommend to go for titanium in any case.
I am not lightweight fanatic by any means (bikes, boards, gear etc.) but it is a noticeable difference with the watches

@Mff73
Thank you
The cost are secondary for me, if it is really steep I always think it is one time investment over long time.
Two watches are although not an alternative.
// Thomas

@freeheeler
I have titanium today and it just feels a bit better and smoother.
Weight difference is very small so …
Strange to describe feelings.
// Thomas

@Thomas-Bolstad have a look at DC Rainmaker here and here as well and please note that some issues have been fixed with latest fw

@cjanevate

I like Rainmaker, he is brutal onest and can really express what he feel and means.
// Thomas

Mff73

@Thomas-Bolstad said in Soon to be Suunto owner.:

I have titanium today and it just feels a bit better and smoother.
Weight difference is very small so …

i had both SV Ti and Steel at the same time while purchasing, and weight diff was huge in term of sensation. I kept the steel one thinking i doesn’t worth the extra buck just for this, but i am thinking each time that i may have made a mistake.

10g is not huge, but out of 60g, it is really noticeable.