Suunto 7 Successor

suzzlo

I would have thought that Suunto would have a separate team for the S7 and any other potential WearOS developments

based on LinkedIn information these are the employee number in each company:

Suunto: 309
Garmin: 7309
Polar: 716
Coros: 51

Not sure if you can have dedicated teams for each device

BR

olymay

@suzzlo I’m sure someone in the know on this forum mentioned that there is a dedicated team working on the WearOS line. That doesn’t mean the team is very big (or if it even still exists).

I really want to stay with Suunto, I love the products and the app (I spent some time in the Garmin app this evening and it looks very childish in comparison).
But I want something more advanced, and if there isn’t a replacement S7 then I will shop around (pains me to say it, but Garmin Fenix 7 / Epix 2 are current favourites).
It essentially comes down to what is announced over the next few weeks as I want to take my training to the next level in 2022.

cosme.costa

@olymay said in Suunto 7 Successor:

But I want something more advanced, and if there isn’t a replacement S7 then I will shop around (pains me to say it, but Garmin Fenix 7 / Epix 2 are current favourites).
It essentially comes down to what is announced over the next few weeks as I want to take my training to the next level in 2022.

No offense here, sincere question here: what do you mean saying that you want to take your training to the next level? What you are going to do? What do you expect to achieve with a new watch that will help you?

I mean, I can understand that someone wants the latest watch with the latest/new/shiny features but this would really help the training? This can also happens with phones and other gadgets.

In my opinion, if you want to improve your training first of all is decide what you want to achieve: general fit, running, cycling, etc. And then focus in the sport/sports you like. As an example and IMHO if you like running, and do you want to improve, first question: what you want to improve: speed, longer distances or both? Important thing is the balance between you body weight and height/body structure, then short and fast for speed, long and steady for longer runs, combined for run faster and longer. Do km and km, up hill/down hill to increase you force, stairs, general core exercises… Do you need to do interval training? In my opinion you can but until you run comfortably under 5:00 min/km there is no much need for interval training…For all this, I do not think you need any advanced tool, only your body and mind and if you want a watch to check if you are improving over the time. But this is my opinion and what I do, so maybe I’m missing something that I could also use.

olymay

@cosme-costa You are absolutely right, do I NEED a top end brand new fancy dancy ultra high tech all singing all dancing do everything watch? No, of course not.
Do I even need a sports watch at all? No, not really.
Do I want one? Yes.

My current goal, as a bloke who is unfit at 188cm and 94kg, is to run a 50km ultramarathon by the end of the year. In a registered event.
Speed is not really important, I just want to finish and not be last.

So why do I want the latest and greatest top end device? Mainly because it helps me psychologically. If I have good kit then I am motivated to use it, and to (try at least) use it to it’s potential.

I also like simplicity. My gf used her Garmin Venu and the built in (free) coach to get her to her first ever half marathon distance. A friend of mine used her Forerunner to train for the London Marathon, again using the built in free coach, They both loved it and said it worked really well for them, especially as it adjusted to them as they went. I like the sound of that. A lot.
I also want a better grasp of my body, and the Garmin body battery and sleep tracing seem pretty decent. I like having them on my S7 but they are seriously basic. A fantastic first attempt at it, but it now needs to step it up to compete.
I want external sensor support so that I can run in the cold and rain without needing to keep my left sleeve part rolled up. And so that I can use it for cycling (once I buy myself a bike etc).

Do I need a Fenix? No. But I want to start as I mean to go on, I want something that will help me every step of my journey, not something I have to upgrade every few years because I’ve hit the limit of what it can do.

I did the same with my photography years ago. I bought a beginner camera and within a month realised it was a mistake, as it didn’t give me the room to learn and grow. So I bought a pro spec camera. Sure, the learning curve was insane, but I put the effort in and got to a good level much faster than I would have otherwise. I was also able to keep that camera throughout my journey and keep consistency.

My logic is similar with a watch. I have the budget to afford the best, so why should I limit myself so something basic simply because I am a beginner? All the gear and no idea? Maybe. Or maybe just someone with ambition and drive.

I’m not saying a Fenix is the only option that will do this, there are many. But that is the current lead choice for me simply because I have seen up close what the Garmin can do (body battery, sleep tracking, training plans, etc) and I know so many people with them.

If I could get something similar with a Suunto then I would stick with Suunto, but it doesn’t look like that option is there at the moment.
Maybe an S7 replacement (if it ever comes, but the radio silence is not filling me with confidence) might do what I want. It might not.
I won’t speculate until an announcement does or doesn’t come.

Sorry, this turned into a much longer post than intended…

cosme.costa

@olymay As I said my question was not with bad intention, and this training coach looks like a good feature.

I see your point, I’ve been where you are but now my approach is a bit different. I prefer make things simple now, too many things to take care make me move slower .

BTW, nice goal you have for this year! Sure you will outperform your initial expectations

Egika

@cosme-costa said in Suunto 7 Successor:

@olymay As I said my question was not with bad intention, and this training coach looks like a good feature.

Suunto has an adaptive training guidance built in the Suunto 3.

olymay

@cosme-costa oh i know it wasn’t bad intention in fact i appreciate questions like this as it makes me think long and hard about my decisions

I want thing to be simple also, which is part of why I want a watch that can essentially manage my training plan for me. I don’t have the inclination or the know how to build a training plan and then keep it up to date as my fitness changes or I miss a session etc. I know I can use a third party system to do this for me, but this is another layer, and as they do not work with the current S7 I either need to write it down or memorise it (remembering what I need to do on a run will not happen, my mind wonders when running).

And a MASSIVE thanks for the encouragement. Like I said, I simply want to survive a 50km run at the moment, and ideally not come last. Anything else is a bonus.
Right now, the furthest I have run is 22.11km (barely a warm up for many on here ) and since then I have had to scale it right back to rest a sore achillies. I’m slowly building back up (currently at 6km). A training plan here would be super useful, I have a habit of getting carried away and pushing too hard (when I went out yesterday I was enjoying the run and really REALLY wanted to keep going, but I didn’t, and i’m glad as ai ran out of gas towards the end).

olymay

@egika said in Suunto 7 Successor:

@cosme-costa said in Suunto 7 Successor:

@olymay As I said my question was not with bad intention, and this training coach looks like a good feature.

Suunto has an adaptive training guidance built in the Suunto 3.

If the same thing were available in the S7 I would be a VERY happy boy

Egika

@olymay Some ideas regading your situation:
For those longer runs you are planning, a dedicated sports watch seems to make sense for you. Like the S9P with it’s state of the art wrist HR sensor and light weight.
Regarding training plans: Have you looked at training peaks and all those free plans you can find there?
Now we just need a way to get the TP plans into our watches…

olymay

@egika Thanks, I really appreciate it

I agree, to get the most out of my longer runs a proper sports watch makes a lot of sense. This is one of the main reasons that I am looking to upgrade the S7 so something more advanced.

I have looked at Training Peaks and it seems to give me most of what I want, for a price. And that price is quite a lot. I don’t mind that if it is worth it, or offers something I can’t get for free. But the Garmin coach is free, as is the adaptive training on the S3. And I would rather not have to use a third party if I can avoid it, purely for simplicity.
But also, TP does not integrate with my S7 at all (it does receive my training data, but will not load anything to the watch regarding a plan etc).

I have looked at the S9P and really love the look of it. It’s also very expensive and for the same money I can get a Fenix 6 Pro with change to spare. It looks to me that the Fenix has better body battery and better sleep tracking, plus has the free coach built in, and links to more services should I want to.
As much as I love the S9P, it seems to lose out to the Fenix in most areas

In an ideal world I want a Suunto 7 that can do most of what the S9P and F6 can do, with proper body battery / resources and detailed sleep tracking with external sensor support and built in coach / training plan.
I realise I’m essentially asking for a unicorn watch (as in one that does not and will never exist) but if I can find the perfect product for me then I am willing to spend the cash to get it.

I guess the next few weeks will be interesting, as I am expecting Garmin to announce the Fenix 7 and Epix 2, and Suunto to announce something (probably S5Peak?)…?

Egika

@olymay I can fully understand and like your attitude
I am also motivated to excercise by new gadgets
Good thing is there will always be new products coming - while I understand that Suunto is a little more focussing on sustainability.

cosme.costa

@olymay Don’t rush, for what I have read in the forum and other places I think/hope Suunto will bring some nice update, I’ve read in some web pages that we will even have structured workouts in 2022. So maybe Suunto releases something sw, hw or both that suits you.

Don’t rush also for your goal, here my two cents: 50 km is not something trivial, and I guess that this ultramarathon takes place in trails and with some ascent, am I right? Anyway, for this distance you need to feel comfortable running around 25/30 km regularly (once a week or every 10 days at comfortable pace, controlling food and water) before you go for the next step. When you achieve that then you need to think of a more structured training, and its here when maybe you need some new gadget, IMHO.
You have said, and I saw in SA, that your last run were 6 km but you felt empty at the end, so build up your shape from here. I mean this week run 6/7 km until you are comfortable, next week try to arrive to 10 km until you are comfortable, then 15 km once per week, then 20 km once per week/10 days and 10 km during week days and so on. Eat very healthy, sometimes changes in the diet don’t pay off until some weeks have passed, learn to eat/drink while running, in a 50 km race this is basic. Rest 2 days a week non consecutives… Do recovery runs, and build up your aerobic range, I mean add km but only force yourself once or two a week.

Probably you can also find tones of trainings for this distance but I’m pretty against them, specific trainings for a single event tend to prepare you well for the event but then your recovery is really long, I’m more in favour of build up a good base and then adapt of what you want to do.

Km to the legs!!

Nigel Taylor 0

@olymay said in Suunto 7 Successor:

I guess the next few weeks will be interesting, as I am expecting Garmin to announce the Fenix 7 and Epix 2, and Suunto to announce something (probably S5Peak?)…?

The sale of Suunto to Liesheng (who have the Haylou brand) might be a bit of a complicating factor with regards to future Suunto watches?

https://www.suunto.com/en-gb/News/new-ownership-broadens-suuntos-shoulders-in-developing-fit-for-purpose-outdoor-products/

Maybe add Suunto activity tracking (and mapping) smarts to something like their RS3 >> https://haylou.info/rs3.html
…and you’ve got a future S7 fork that moves away from Wear OS (which is going to be difficult to compete against Samsung and a future Pixel) - and with that brings along improved battery life.

Jamie BG

@olymay
Also look at FR745 / FR945 / Enduro. Note that new F7 / Epix 2 (F7 with AMOLED - not sure if it loses anything or gains any extra features) are expected to be announced this month (maybe as early as the 17th/18th). No idea yet, other than stamina, whether any new additional features or improvements - so may also be a good time to pick up a second hand as people exchange for a F7.

I went from S7 to F6xPs and have pretty much found everything you point out to be very true, and helped me get from couch to 5k using one of training plans. But have also used other built in plans for strength training, cardio and even a little bit of Yoga - broadening what I do.
Am also seriously getting tempted by what these watches can do with indoor cycles that work in conjunction with the watch - which would be a nice change around for when the weather is bad.

olymay

@cosme-costa I’m happy to wait, but not forever. If new features or devices are coming then at least a rough indication of this and a timescale would be nice. Otherwise customers may think nothing is coming and buy something different. For example, if I knew for certain that a new S7 was coming in Q1/Q2 2022 then I would probably wait to see what it is like (and probably buy it). But not knowing makes me think nothing is coming and I start to look elsewhere.

Mega, thanks for the tips. It aligns roughly with how I was already thinking and it’s really great to know I wasn’t far off the mark.

There is a 50km trail race in December and that is my target. I prefer trails and despise running on tarmac.

Last year I was doing >20km and not completely dying at the end, so I know I can get to that distance again. I then just need to double it
My thoughts were to do another couple of weeks of 5-6 km runs, to build up some base stamina and then start to slowly build up the distance a little each week.
Previously, my schedule was a short (7-10km) run twice a week on weekdays (often tues and thurs) and then a longer run at the weekend. This was mainly governed by working in the week and not having a huge amount of time free to go for a long run.

olymay

@nigel-taylor-0 said in Suunto 7 Successor:

@olymay said in Suunto 7 Successor:

I guess the next few weeks will be interesting, as I am expecting Garmin to announce the Fenix 7 and Epix 2, and Suunto to announce something (probably S5Peak?)…?

The sale of Suunto to Liesheng (who have the Haylou brand) might be a bit of a complicating factor with regards to future Suunto watches?

https://www.suunto.com/en-gb/News/new-ownership-broadens-suuntos-shoulders-in-developing-fit-for-purpose-outdoor-products/

Maybe add Suunto activity tracking (and mapping) smarts to something like their RS3 >> https://haylou.info/rs3.html
…and you’ve got a future S7 fork that moves away from Wear OS (which is going to be difficult to compete against Samsung and a future Pixel) - and with that brings along improved battery life.

Yeah… I’m not sure how I feel about this sale. I’m not positive or negative. But I am, as ever, cautiously optimistic. Who knows what it will bring.

One thing I am confident on though, is there will be change, for better or worse.

olymay

@jamie-bg yeah, they are also some great watches. And if the rumours are true then the FR755 and FR955 will also be announced alongside the F7 and E2.
The same rumours also point towards a Jan 17th date.

The E2 sounds like it will be the same as the F7 but with an AMOLED screen and no solar charging. If it’s not too crazy expensive then this might be the one I look at most, purely because I have become so used to the stunning screen on the S7

If the F6 becomes available for a crazy cheap price then I’ll look at it. But rumours are that the F7 will have better sensors (HR etc), touchscreen (useful for maps), and a bunch of other major upgrades (some useful, some not for me).

I don’t need crazy battery life, as IF I can complete this 50km ultra than it will likely be as far as I go distance wise (mind you, I said that about the half marathon ).

I’m also looking at moving house soon and want to build myself a pain cave / gym area. Part of that is to get a smart bike, a rower, and weights, etc. Having a watch that can track all of that and connect to other bits of tech is going to be crucial, so I am also trying to future proof any purchases.

Brad_Olwin

@olymay I have to agree with @cosme-costa. What you are looking for is not in a watch and no watch will help you achieve a goal to train for a 50km ultra. There are a LOT of training plans developed for marathons and marathons are far, far different than ultras. The training is different and running on trails cannot be equated to interval training on the pavement or running steady state pace on pavement.
Sorry, I don’t often interject my personal beliefs here but you are making a mistake. The S7 is a perfect tool for what you are attempting to achieve. Body battery, resources, etc are NOT going to help you train, this is all just fluff to make you believe your watch is telling you something. The FirstBeat metrics are not adequate for ultras, believe me, I have a lot of experience with those metrics and my performance and how I feel!
You need base aerobic training, at your fitness level doing too much anaerobic efforts will get you nowhere.
I strongly suggest you get a copy of the Uphill Athlete, read the first few chapters and do an Aerobic Threshold Test, followed by an anaerobic test. That will set up the zones you should run in for months, it is unlikely you have a good aerobic base. The only thing you may need is a watch that will accept an HR belt, however, I have found the S7 to have the best OHR of the bunch. You can purchase Training Plans from Uphill Athlete that integrate with Training Peaks. I have looked at what I can see from them and think they are fairly good. That will help you to organize your training.

In Jason Koop’s book he believes that RPE (relative perceived effort) is the most reliable measure, not HR, not Power and frankly I would agree with that as I pay more attention to how I feel than to maintaining a particular Pace/HR.
Training for an ultra if you have no distance training requires not only training your cardiovascular system for endurance (long runs) but your ligaments, joints, etc. You cannot build up your distance quickly, you will get injured and be out. No more than 10% per week and until you have a solid aerobic base (that may take a year or more) you should not participate in hard sustained anaerobic efforts. It won’t help you. Ultra training is not a seasonal thing, it will require a substantial time commitment and effort, consistency is the key! Neither a Garmin nor a Suunto nor Polar nor Coros will get you there. All you need is time and a gauge of your effort! I could do my training without a watch and be fine.

Sorry my 2 cents worth because you are heading down the wrong path.

olymay

@brad_olwin thanks Brad, I really do appreciate the advice
Although I may not be going as wrong as you think (at least I hope not).

My plan is to increase distance at a maximum of 10% per week, most likely less (certainly at the start) and this will be based entirely on how I feel.
I have made the mistake of going too far too soon in the past and ended up either very sore or injured. I learnt the hard way.

I am not just looking at a watch to help me train for an ultra, I want a complete package, something that essentially does it all.
Yes, I will use it for the ultra training, but I also want better insights into my overall health. There is no question that the Garmin Body Battery is better than the Suunto Resources (at least when I compare my S7 to my gf’s Venu, although I appreciate neither are running the latest versions). Sleep tracking is also important to me and the S7 is basic to say the least (although it is very accurate).
The S7 has the best OHR I’ve ever used, but I want the ability to connect a chest HR for times like when the weather is cold and I want to wear sleeves, or ride a bike, or do weights, etc.

I have looked through some of the UA training plans on TP and they look great. Really great. But many of them require running at different pace/HR/etc during activities and without having that live on my wrist I simply won’t be able to follow it. I have tried to do a run based on my HR with the S7 and I spent more time looking at my watch than where I was going (yes, I fell over). It took all of the fun out of the run and I hated it. A device that tells me what I need to do and if I am straying too far from it is essential for me. Whether that be for ultra training or just a general fitness plan.
I could go running without a watch, but I would probably end up stagnating or injured.

I need a plan to keep me on target, but also one that nags me to get out and go and do the right type of run (as i’ve said before, i have a habit of going too far, simply because i love running in the countryside).
A good watch is just a tool to help me achieve the goals I want.
The S7 has helped me enormously since I bought it, but now I am running more seriously with some actual targets I need something that will help me with that.

I really want an S7gen2 to be that watch. I have everything crossed.

suzzlo

Watches don’t run, the only think you need to achieve you goal is to be motivated.

Said that, I have money reserved for my next watch

I run with both Spartan Sport and Garmin 745, and really appreciate different features from them:

design/mobile app/ Stryd integration from Suunto
training plan/structured workouts, some health metrics coming from firstbeat from Garmin

Actually I’m combining with the Humango platform which creates an adaptative training dinamicaly with the 745, and if this could come to Suunto (rumors said that something similar could work with nolio) I will immediately move to new Suunto watch.

As it said, there is no better watch/brand, it’s only about preferences

Enjoy!