Vertical 2 feedback from using it during Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc race
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Also, I’d really like to have a rest timer feature with an ability to track time spent at an aid station or other stops without pausing the watch. The goal is to be aware of the time spent at the stop but without losing any of the metrics. I know that most people would simply pause their watch in a similar situation and that would display the paused time. However pausing during a race is not an acceptable solution because the elapsed time must continue going the entire time.
Are you using a custom sport mode? Usually what I do is create a custom sport mode and I add the “total time” data field. This keeps going even if the activity is paused.
On the general topic, it looks like a similar situation to when the Vertical 1 was launched - lots of crashes and issues. I got mine almost 2 years later and it works properly, with just one crash a long time ago. Even though there are lots of embarrassing bugs, it doesn’t crash any more.
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Is using laps an option? That would mean you cannot have autolap for every 1k (or so), but every lap is either a run from aid station to aid station or time spend at a aid station.
Yes, I turned auto-lap off and used one of the data screens to track manual laps, including time spent at aid stations.
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Are you using a custom sport mode? Usually what I do is create a custom sport mode and I add the “total time” data field. This keeps going even if the activity is paused.
I don’t think 3rd part platforms like Strava would understand that, would they? More likely then not there will be gaps in the exported FIT file. Also, with pausing, the main risk is to forget to unpause when leaving aid station. Essentially, what I want is an ability to track rest time while continuing to collect all other metrics and tracking GPS positions. Ideally this would be engaged by pressing the lap button as Garmin does it and recorded in activity as a lap. Furthermore, the rest timer could automatically disengage when users starts moving again. Garmin has this feature - essentially what I described - in their “Ultra Run” activity. In Garmin you can see rests as laps, and they are even maked in the app UI as rest intervals.
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I never experienced (or noticed) a crash with my Race S. Does the watch automatically restart and continue the activity after the crash?
The watch automatically restarts and saves the data collected prior to the crash. However the previous activity isn’t continued. I ended up having 3 separate activities recorded from the race. Furthermore, all of them got auto-uploaded to Strava before I could do anything (such as stitch them together in a 3rd part tool), and my Strava followers have already given me kudos and commented on separate activities. So now I am sort of stuck with not having a single complete 170 km race record on Strava, which makes me a bit sad.
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@sky-runner I always put my Strava activities on private at first to let me the time to accept or reject in those case of issues (activities splitted, gps errors, etc)… Because as you said, it is sad to remove an activity that has already some comments on it from your friends.
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@sky-runner Hotfix 2.56.28 (31/08/2026)
Suunto has just released a FW hotfix - Vertical 2 and Race 2.
This update mainly improves firmware stability and fixes several crash issues. It also fixes an issue where pool swimming distance and duration could be displayed incorrectly in certain scenarios.
This is a staged update - so maybe not everyone will get it on the first day.
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S sky-runner referenced this topic
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@sky-runner said:
If the watch can’t be dependable, nothing else matters - no matter what great features it has.Amen.
Also, I’d really like to have a rest timer feature with an ability to track time spent at an aid station or other stops without pausing the watch. The goal is to be aware of the time spent at the stop but without losing any of the metrics. I know that most people would simply pause their watch in a similar situation and that would display the paused time. However pausing during a race is not an acceptable solution because the elapsed time must continue going the entire time.
Garmin has a feature where the lap button can alternate between “activity” and “rest” and both is recorded in the activity. I guess this would suit your needs.
Suunto Race S
Garmin Epix Pro -
However, the watch had crashed twice during the race, which is completely unacceptable! The first time - after 5 hours as I was entering Les Contamines aid station. I suspect the crash was triggered by waypoint notification. The second time - after another 22 hours as I was approaching Champex-Lac aid station but still had a few hundred meters to go. This time I suspect the crash was triggered by receiving a phone text message notification as a family member texted me.
My 9 Baro would crash if I was navigating a route and executing an S+ Guides workout. The crashes were rare but happened at least once every 30-40 runs. Then it happened during a trail race and that was the point I dropped it for the Race S.
I love my Race S, but if I have the exact same setup: a S+ Guides workout and navigating a route, it crashes. I couldn’t figure it out with my 9 Baro, but with my Race S, it seems navigation is the source of the bug triggering the crash. I execute S+ Guides workouts 3x per week, every week as my only running S+ app and it never crashes, regular running or track mode. But if I’m navigating a route, it’ll crash more often than not.
On top of that, I’ve also used the 3rd party Live.τ live tracking S+ app to share my location with my wife on solo long runs, especially in the mountains. If I’m using Live.τ while also navigating a route, my watch will crash.
I’m heading to The Rut 50K in 2 weeks and want to navigate the route with waypoints during the race, but I don’t trust it. I’m worried my watch will crash during the race, which is something I do not want to deal with at that time. I don’t mind merging GPX files together after-the-fact, whatever. But my watch crashing during a race? Nope.
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@sky-runner First, congratulations!
Sorry to hear about the crashes. On my race and for long mountaineering trips I did not experience a crash this summer for my V2.The off route is now quite sensitive and if you varied from the track by only a bit it will off route. It has been easy for me to see I am still on route. Better this way as you can check.
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@Brad_Olwin Thank you for the response!
Edit: now I read about the hotfix, my concerns are less urgent. Thanks for the update @The_People_Who_Work there. I’ll check if there are still crashes, but will less hestistant in using all the functions I want
Do you know what triggers the crashes or what makes the chance increase? I try to use as less functionalities as possible since I experience crashes, but on long runs like races or in mountains it’s useful to have things like waypoints along the route. I feel like that triggers it sometimes.
I don’t feel like sending the watch in for reparation will do the job, like someone else in this thread did
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@sky-runner how frustrating. Reliability is the number item no matter what. If you are in the mountains and the watch fails, its very frustrating and problematic imo.
Sure, important to always have a back up gps unit with you but still.
I haven’t had any issues with my watches during long outings but it does concern me.
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