What do you think of the Suunto Spark?

safari

I’m reviewing the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjyxC6ihBbM

Brad_Olwin

@safari I have the Suunto Wing, while I like it, as an iPhone user the AirPods Pro 3 are so much better there is no comparison. I don’t use headphones often but when I do I’ll use the Apple ones.

EzioAuditore

@Brad_Olwin Running with the AirPods is terrible for me. The plugs entering the ear cannals create some pressure with each step and it is so annoying. For sports I have the wing the openrun 2 and the opendots (great but terrible if you sweat lot)

freeheeler

@EzioAuditore
I’ve got the beats fit pro with the same chipset as “some” airpod models and they work absolutely flawless in combination with an iphone.
they are insanely comfortable and I wore them during my entire 11h self supported midsummer night’s run last year.
they didn’t even make the slightest impression of moving or even falling out

EzioAuditore

@freeheeler I am tempted to get the spark since my open run were used so much that I don’t get more than 2-3h bat anymore. During the weekend I might do some research.
Does somebody know if they are touch or ‘tap’ activated?
I don’t like touch for sport earphones especially when raining or sweating they tend to press themselves and a couple of times I threw them out due to the immediate loudness increase (opendots I look at you)

Brad_Olwin

@EzioAuditore Are these the AirPods Pro 3? The new silicone + foam and multiple sizes for fitted ear tips are the only ones that work for me. They are quite comfortable. Any other AirPods fall out of my ears. @freeheeler I almost went that direction until the Pro 3 were released. The HR detection in the AirPods Pro 3 is as good as the Suunto Belt!

raven

@safari I current wear Bose Ultra Open earbuds, which design I prefer to the design of the Spark. https://www.bose.com/p/earbuds/bose-ultra-open-earbuds/ULT-HEADPHONEOPN.html

For the Spark to win me over, it would need to have music storage on it, as I run with my phone at home.

Currently my Bose streams from music on my Apple Watch as the Suunto Race S doesn’t have local storage (and the Suunto Run didn’t exist when I decided to try Suunto).

Or Suunto could add local music storage to the Race S, bit then I think I’d stick with Bose. It’s “earring style” I like better than over the ear.

safari

@raven These types of headphones aren’t very useful for people like me who wear glasses. I also use Jabra Elite 7 Pro.
But the problem is that Jabra has withdrawn from this type of headphone market. So if it breaks, it’s impossible for me to find a replacement.
I don’t find these bone conduction headphones very useful.

raven

@safari said in What do you think of the Suunto Spark?:

@raven These types of headphones aren’t very useful for people like me who wear glasses. I also use Jabra Elite 7 Pro.
But the problem is that Jabra has withdrawn from this type of headphone market. So if it breaks, it’s impossible for me to find a replacement.
I don’t find these bone conduction headphones very useful.

I wear glasses, and the Bose Ultra Open work well for me.

raven

@safari said in What do you think of the Suunto Spark?:

@raven These types of headphones aren’t very useful for people like me who wear glasses. I also use Jabra Elite 7 Pro.
But the problem is that Jabra has withdrawn from this type of headphone market. So if it breaks, it’s impossible for me to find a replacement.
I don’t find these bone conduction headphones very useful.

I wear glasses and the Bose Ultra Open work well for me.

far-blue

I really like the idea of them. I currently have the Shokz Aeropex and they work very well for me but on longer outings I do start to feel them push against the top of my ears at the back. I had been considering the shokz of a similar design but the additional run-specific features in the Spark could well win me over. I’ll wait for some reviews regarding comfort and sound quality though as I don’t think there’s going to be anywhere near me that stocks them I can try them before buying.

EzioAuditore

@Brad_Olwin Yes I have the Pro 3. Great in everything except for running. Maybe I should try other ear tips Ang give it a try. But after the open ear headphones I don’t wont to be fully isolated.

snow*

@safari Uh, but do they actually monitor:

Running Dynamics: step cadence, total steps, and vertical oscillation.
Running Symmetry: balance between your left and right feet by comparing ground contact time.
Activity Stats: records ascent and descent (elevation changes), estimated calories, and the total duration of the workout.
Cervical Mobility Assessment: perform a test where you move your head (up/down and side-to-side) to measure the symmetry of movement between your left and right sides

?

There’s no mention here

Tieutieu

Spark White just received ; test to come. Very nice packaging and design. Fits really good on ears ; have to test on exercice in comparison with my wings v1
First impressions (I’ll update gradually) :

user guide not available yet
touch buttons, great ; will have to wait for user guide to understand / learn
update available after first pairing and easily installed => it brings buttons setup and explainations => solves most of my first two points. Lot of gestures availables, can be set independtly on left and right headphone : great !
pairing with app => it seems that switching from wings to spark is not as easy as switching from a watch to another. to be confirmed
sounds great ; open air to test to see if not too much isolated from environnement
now compatible with siri on iOS (gesture to activate) : love it, was a big miss on wings V1 (don’t know if available on wings V2 or aqua)

Feedback after a first real test on a small hike/run :

no ON/OFF button : they’re ON when we get them out of the charging box (I guess there is an auto off after no activity for a while - user guide should tell ?)
fits really good also in mouvement
sounds great and far better than bone conducting, as expected, even at low volume.
low volume enough to ear well ; enough not to ear environnement
gestures work really good
touch buttons very sensitives, work very well
storage box / size : clearly small and way more easy to cary than Wing

So far the only con’s that I would see would be autonomy.

Well, I may keep my Wing maybe only for cycling (less risk to loose them ?)

A very nice piece of gear for the price.

Audaxjoe

@Tieutieu How is the battery life? The marketing info suggests two different amounts. One says 7.5 hours which wouldn’t be long enough 🫪

Thank you for the review. I’m tempted. Currently use aftershocks that I have had for around 5 years. I really like the fact you can hear what is around you.

Francesco Pagano

Are running dynamics values available on the watch as data fields during an activity?

Tieutieu

@Audaxjoe said in What do you think of the Suunto Spark?:

@Tieutieu How is the battery life? The marketing info suggests two different amounts. One says 7.5 hours which wouldn’t be long enough 🫪

Not enough tested for now to give you values, I’ll let you know. Suunto’s web site claims for 7hours per charge. Far less than my wings but charging box is small ; easy to carry to have them recharged. I’ll try to test overall battery life from 100% to 0 and time to fully recharge with the box

Tieutieu

@Francesco-Pagano said in What do you think of the Suunto Spark?:

Are running dynamics values available on the watch as data fields during an activity?

No specific fields or dedicated screen ; it may need to be set up, I wasn’t focus on that.

User guide is available I quickly looked but didn’t saw
Indications about that.

I looked again to setup in app, I don’t see any option ; maybe not available yet ?

[edit : I think I found it, « sport mode » ; there is a « start exercise option » but I had first thought it would start and stop activity on watch ; it seems that start sport mode is what make spark mesure data fields - I’ll try that]

stromdiddily

I ordered the white as well, should be here next week!

sky-runner

@safari I have Shokz OpenFit and OpenFit 2. Spark looks almost identical to OpenFit 2 but less expensive. I wonder what are the differences and in terms of sound quality and whether it is worth choosing Suunto Spark over that specific Shokz model.

My experience with using OpenFit and OpenFit 2 during trail runs and races has been very positive. The headphones stay put and are very comfortable, and I can wear them for hours and usually forget I have them on my ears if they aren’t turned on. They didn’t obstruct ambient sounds in any way. Usually I don’t use the noise cancelling feature. The reason I mention that is because again Suunto Spark looks almost identical, so I assume that everything I mentioned would apply to Spark as well.

Also. I should mention that the lack of a physical button may be an issue. That is the main difference between Shoks OpenFit and OpenFit 2, and the touch control on the first version is finicky and unreliable, especially in a rain or when headphones get wet from sweat. I much prefer the physical button on OpenFit 2.