Suunto Race 2 General Discussion

Steven Hambleton

@daveathletic I’d love it if Race S could be updated to support MP3 upload and headphone support.

Josaiplu

@isazi
Hmm quite a nice upgrade !
Any idea on the battery life with always on as you manage to test it since some week ? (As it now use this LTPO technology maybe it add some days when AOD is used) it’s one of the few things that made me prefer mips display
I m tempted but I did not order (yet because no torch let’s see Vertical 2)

Tieutieu

@Josaiplu said in Suunto Race 2 General Discussion:

Hmm quite a nice upgrade !
Any idea on the battery life with always on ? As it now use this LTPO technology ?
I m tempted but I did not order (yet)

Jerome from French blog « montres cardio gps » (see topic of reviews) mention around 25 hours with extensive map use and backlight always on, if I’m not wrong

Josaiplu

@Tieutieu Thanks I saw it

I was more asking regarding number of day it will last with AOD, Suunto say 18 days without AOD but nothing regarding AOD batery life

It seems SV2 could be amoled so wondering how much LTPO help improve this aspect. I just HATE raising my arm to see the time, heart rate, temp etc

2b2bff

@isazi the software within the watch that is consuming the data from the sensor.

And to all the guys that are downvoting my comments: explain yourself.

I know how software can improve or ruin the experience of what you get from the same hardware. The back and forth in swim style detection over the last firmwares as an example. Or the Garmin Epix Pro (and similar) that had a very good HR reading on its launch, just to get worse - or rather unreliable - with software updates.

isazi

@Josaiplu to be honest I do not have numbers, the AOD consumes more battery but I still got a week in daily mode, with some activities and 1-2 firmware updates per week

isazi

@2b2bff for me the last OHR that did not work almost at all during activity was the S9 Baro, since the S9 Peak I could rely on it for most activities, and every watch improved a bit. Race 2 is good for me also mountain biking and strength training, but for my own watch (and for comparisons) I use a chest strap all the time.

Fact is, that you make it sound like the software itself is not developed The OHR firmware is updated often, and for example the Run is getting even better OHR readings with new firmware, same happened to Race 2, since I got it until now performance improved. Race during development had terrible OHR, locking on cadence in all activities, and right now works very well in all my tests.

Josaiplu

@isazi
Thanks it’s quite the number I expect, with the fast charge (during shower) it made it usable this way, I think I’m still too in love of my mips to switch to amoled but I will maybe give it a try depending on what came with SV2

2b2bff

@isazi ok. Maybe I have been a bit harsh and English is not my native language…

Having a Race S I can see that the sensor itself seems to read HR quite well. If I step out of the door to go for a walk, more often than not the HR reading is about the same as what my chest strap reads. Should be around the 70 or 80 mark. Sometimes it shows on that occation 105 or 110. The same as I’m walking through the park. Most time it shows something realistic, part of the time it is way off. For no appearant reason. Watch is firm on my arm, I don’t hold something in my hand, I don’t adjust the watch on my arm. Just strange…
Therefore I think the sensor itself - hardware - is good enough, just the software that is interpreting the data needs tuning…

duffman19

@Ecki-D. said in Suunto Race 2 General Discussion:

Still waiting for a Vertical S (with no AMOLED) or a 10PP with maps

Yes, please. I really hope that the smaller watches won’t be limited to the less premium models like the Run. It was only four years ago that the 9P was released and marketed as “the thinnest, smallest and toughest watch Suunto has ever made.”

The SR2 looks like it wears well with a thinner body and redesigned lugs, but I’m not in the market for a larger screen on my wrist. I am glad the option is here for those that appreciate or need it, but I prefer my tech to do its job while staying out of the way as much as possible.

duffman19

Can any of the testers who’ve been wearing one (@isazi, etc.) comment about whether the new WHR design leaves an imprint on the wrist? It looks very similar to Garmin’s which always left a large, irritating circle on my wrist, especially after tightening it down for activities.

isazi

@duffman19 nothing irritating, but my wrists are both accustomed to wear tight watches

sky-runner

My impression is that there is nothing new that we haven’t already learned from the leaks. There is new more powerful SoC, larger display, improved HR sensor, improved charger, and slightly longer battery life, but no new features compared to what we already have in the latest update. And twice the $$$ (at least in the USA). Is this a good way to summarize it?

Also, there are troubling examples of reduced GPS accuracy.

Brad_Olwin

I too have been testing the Race 2 for months. I have the titanium version. What I think is vastly improved over other Suunto watches, this includes the Run, Race 1, Race S and Vertical.

This is the most comfortable Suunto watch I have ever worn. I typically wear smaller watches for sleep; Race S or Run but the Race 2 is as comfortable even though much larger. It is thinner and lighter than Race 1 and the lugs are different so extremely comfortable sleeping or exercising.
OHR on Suunto watches has never worked well for me, not the Run or the Race S. (Run is better with new firmware but still not perfect). However the new OHR on the Race 2 is finally usable for me and as good as my Apple Watch Ultra 2. I am getting excellent OHR across all exercises and during daily use. A big win for me.
The screen is amazing. I am not a fan of AMOLED and have long complained in the bright Colorado sun at altitude the screens are hard to see. The LTPO is great in the sun and now I am conflicted:) Comparing with the Vertical I prefer the Race 2 overall, it is as good in the sun and much, much better in shade and cloudy weather.
The CPU is fast and raise to wake is great as is panning maps on the watch.

Battery life is great, I recently tested Ultra Mode on a 4 day fastpack trip and my estimates ranged from 80h to 133h during the trip.

I am using with a textile band that sold with the Suunto Run, the watch is extremely light and comfortable.

Hari Seldon

Now that the heart rate monitor has been significantly improved, it looks quite promising. That said, it’s really too much for me, and fortunately Run suits all my activities perfectly. Now I’m even more curious to see what Vertical has to offer…

Josaiplu

@Brad_Olwin Thanks Brad, really valuable feedback as I know you are a huge vertical fan, to be honnest I had always considered the sharp lugs on suunto a design flaw that I have to cope with and I was glad they change it on the race S that my wife use, nice to read.
Hope one day we will see a red shift for night mode appear, on my side I’m really use to the torch on my watch and I can’t considered a watch without this feature but reading how you feel conviced by amoled and the watch make it appealing anyway

Tami999

@v.sacre said in Suunto Race 2 General Discussion:

No waouw effect for me with this new Suunto Race 2.
Hope that Vertical 2 will impress me much more.

I would call it Race 1.5

maszop

@Tami999 The hardware in the Race 2 is more future-proof and after a few major updates (e.g. in a year) it could be a completely different watch, just like the 9PP or Vertical were at launch and today.

Brad_Olwin

@sky-runner I have not seen any issues with GPS accuracy but most of my testing is in Colorado and not typically GPS challenging.

raven

The Race 2 is a sort of exasperated “fine” but when compared to the Run really feels like two different companies made each watch. Having MP3 music playback on the Run and not back porting it to Race / Race S might have made sense if there were technical limitations of the older hardware, but now with a refresh with Race 2 it’s like they forgot they had the feature on the cheaper watch. Perhaps that will come in an update to Race 2.

Possibly more troubling is the charger, which yet again is a different design. They changed it for the Run, and now changing it again for the Race 2. While likely not a real issue for most people who will only ever have one or the other watch, it still seems like Suunto isn’t well optimized to make a design that can last more than three months or so. Compare with the Apple Watch which still uses the same overall charger design since the original; new cables can charge faster, but I believe an original charging cable would still work with today’s models.

At least now those choosing between sizes of Race and Race S should be less concerned about the optical sensor differences, although really my guess is for ambient walking around 24/7 the optical was ok for the original, and for actual workouts people should have a chest strap anyway, especially as it’s a requirement for ZoneSense.