Upgrade from spartan trainer
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well … for a hundred euros … it’s a small price step for money, but a giant leap for quality
anyway, it depends on your needs
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@sartoric Thanks. I need my watch to basically at minimum do what the Spartan Trainer wrist hr does. Follow routes, water and sweat resistance, wrist hr. But you would recommend the 9? Is the step between 5 and 9 greater than between Trainer and 5?
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@Marcus do you run flat? I believe the 5 does not have a barometer.
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I recently bought a S5 as replacement for my old Ambit 2R. I debated between that and the 9. The S5 is considered to be the successor to the Spartan Trainer, so if the Trainer meets your needs the S5 will also.
The S5 is more compact than the 9 but has the GPS antenna bump while the 9 is bulkier with a bigger screen but no bump. The screen on the 5 can seem dim in some situations but I find it adequate when outdoors. The 9 has a touchscreen which i didn’t feel that I need. For me the 9 didn’t seem worth the extra price. For everyday use, I like the more compact design but lots of people like the 9.
The 9 baro will give more accurate altitude but costs even more than the 9 without baro.
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@isazi Mostly flat, sometimes hill intervalls (75m) but it’s always nice to be somewhat future proof.
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@pikeviewer I do have tiny wrists so the 9 might look like a UFO on me?
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My wife hast a 5 , I have a 9 (non baro). All in all I can highly recommend the 5 which functions like a compact non-baro 9 with better GPS and without touchscreen and … excellent value.
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Hi @Marcus !
As a person who migrated from Spartan Trainer to S9 (I have a Baro version, but it’s not necessary in your case) I can write down here some points that for me were final:- Long battery life (really long) - I’m a traveller a little and I always wanted the watch that can last at least half of a week (with precise GPS settings). I really like how my S9 works in this scenario;
- One watch for everything - I like to use my watch as a bike computer. A normal screen and sensor display (and battery life, of course) make this watch a not-bad solution;
- Changeable wristbands - I can use my watch in any situation (I really like cloth wristbands - my hand can rest at night)
- Navigation - I really like how my S9 work (if compare with my Trainer), but maybe the other users from our community can give you more info about it.
And some points regarding the size of a watch - they are not so big as it seemed at first - they are almost like my Trainer but without bezel (in S9 there is a small frame).
And some words about screen brightness - with S9 you will be more flexible (I guess). -
@Shrek3k Thanks!
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@Eugene-Benkovskiy Thank you very much! What do you like about the navigation compared to your old Spartan?
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@Marcus said in Upgrade from spartan trainer:
@Eugene-Benkovskiy Thank you very much! What do you like about the navigation compared to your old Spartan?
First of all, in this watch I can, finally, select the GPS system to use (Galileo, GLONASS, etc.) because in different situations you can be more flexible and not waste time on researching about what system would be better to use.
Also, I enjoy using Bearing navigation - helps to navigate to an object without routes or POIs.
I am not sure if the S5 have the compass - but in S9 you can use it without any problem.
And the size of the screen of course (in this case watch can be really used for navigation - it has more sense now).P.S. But in case of using S9 for navigation, I can suggest using Baro version - altimeter, in this case, can be really helpful.
Suunto Race + Suunto app (Android Beta)
Suunto 9 Baro - donated to the military forces of Ukraine
Suunto 7 - gifted -
@Eugene-Benkovskiy Thanks!
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@Eugene-Benkovskiy @Marcus The S5 does not have a compass so bearing navigation is not possible, only GPS route navigation and GPS poi navigation.
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And also, here you can see (I hope) the size of a watch.
I have the model with red lines and red cloth strap. -
@Brad_Olwin Is it useful? It seem more like a gimmick but I could be wrong.
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@Eugene-Benkovskiy Thanks! Does it feel big or cumbersome when sleeping or outside of training?
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@Marcus I wear my watch all day/night using different wrist straps. I fully got used to my watch after a week of usage.
The size/format of the watch (as for me) - fully balanced. I don’t like big watches too, so I made some comparison with other brands and found them medium-sized.
I don’t feel them during the sleep - with the cloth strap they are perfectly mounted on a wrist. But, as I was said previously - it’s my own opinion. I will recommend you to try them on before buy (if you have the local store nearby). -
@Eugene-Benkovskiy Cool, thanks again!
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@Marcus said in Upgrade from spartan trainer:
@Brad_Olwin Is it useful? It seem more like a gimmick but I could be wrong.
It works well, you can load routes but it does not work as well as having a compass. A good place to get the information you want is the user manual.
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@Brad_Olwin said in Upgrade from spartan trainer:
@Eugene-Benkovskiy @Marcus The S5 does not have a compass so bearing navigation is not possible, only GPS route navigation and GPS poi navigation.
If you don’t have compass, the watch doesn’t show direction if you are stopped, you have to move to have direction. It’s not essential but when you are a bit lost, you can’t stop to watch your path, you must keep moving to know in which direction you are going. And in this situation, a little stop to think can be useful…
