Sunnto 7 Sensor Support

Jamie BG

@aeroild I think a lot depends on person and activity. Lots of reviewers have noted that when it comes to running/cycling the S7 sensor can do a good job for most people, however same and different people/reviewers have all pretty much noted that strength training, HIIT etc (sharp movements, where HR may elevate/descend dramatically) it isn’t great - but then other than the Apple Watch sensor, most aren’t that good either.

This is why most fitness watches cater for external sensors and the S7 should too.

Aleksander H

I compared my S7 to the Polar OH1 doing intervals. For me, it worked. they kept within 1 - 2 beats of each other (I used DCRainmakers tool to compare). Only difference I noticed is that the S7 lagged behind the OH1 by maybe 1 second. So the optical sensor seems pretty good for me. That said, my main issue isn’t the accuracy. It’s the simple fact that I want to be able to wear it over my jacket sleeve during winter which, obviously, prevents any kind of optical heart rate sensor from working.

aeroild

@Jamie-BG The internal optical HR sensor works great for me when running and cycling in summertime. My wish is the ability to connect an external sensor during wintertime when I want to see the screen

Egika

@Brad_Olwin said in Sunnto 7 Sensor Support:

If Suunto could leverage the smartsensor to sync less often and not reduce battery life anymore than OHR I’d be for it.

And this is something with potential probably!!
The Suunto HR sensor is capable of data storage that will be synced after the activity, when no live data transfer is possible (eg. during swimming).
How about leaving the high power processor in sleep state and only wake it up every 10s or so for a HR data sync.
Possibly the time could be user selectable - some might only want it for analysis after the training. Then only sync HR once when training is stopped. Others might be fine with data every minute etc.

I love this idea that could be even more power saving than wrist heart rate

Aleksander H

@Egika Could be “activated” when raising the wrist, much like maps are. That said, I think it would be a bit confusing for people to have to have a specific hrm belt. Or is this kind of thing part of the BLE standard for HRM belts?

Egika

@Aleksander-H this is not BTLE spec - but it is a function already built in the Suunto HR belts. So no special needed.

olymay

As the weather here in the UK is getting colder and wetter, it would be hugely beneficial for me to have external sensor support, simply so that I can wear the S7 on the outside of my sleeve.

I am also considering getting back into cycling later this year, and it would be nice to mount the S7 on the handlebars.

External sensor support seems like a simple software update (this is just my opinion as I am NOT a software developer) and it is my only real frustration with the S7.

pilleus

Because it was discussed here.

Today I did a cardio test on the ergometer. Ten electrodes and cables, measuring all kind of data.

I started my S7 with the activity indoor cycling to have a comparison to the machine of the cardiologist. The doctor was very interested and astonished, that the difference of the Suunto 7 OHR at no point of the test was bigger than 2 bpm.

That’s indeed a great result and worth to report here in the forum.

Jamie BG

@pilleus would have been really interesting to have seen the result against something more challenging for the sensor i.e. a HIIT session.
I think based on most peoples experience the optical HR is good for hiking/walking, running and cycling (which will be fine for most) - but doesn’t distract from where an external sensor would be beneficial i.e. cold weather etc, HIIT sessions, swimming (though when I go a chance it looked fine, but difficult to tell as no comparison so basing it on feeling and how my body feels against other activities). etc.

Brad_Olwin

@jamie-bg I have dozens of HIIT Interval runs wearing an S7 and S9baro with smartsensor to compare. The S7 OHR does very well and well enough for me that it doesn’t typically matter which I post to Training Peaks. In winter if very cold out the OHR can be less accurate.

brotzfrog10

@brad_olwin I’m glad to hear you had success in the numbers matching. Mine wasn’t even close. During a CrossFit workout it was about 20 plus beats behind the Apple Watch 6 and 25 beats behind the H10 chest strap I had on. I would be in the 140s for the Apple Watch and H10 and sitting in the high 110s or low 120s with the Suunto. It was honestly one of the worst I’ve seen. Which doesn’t surprise me given the light arrangement and what appears to be much lower light output compared to the Apple Watch and even the Suunto 5/9.

I’m glad still it worked well for you but reviewing professional testing reviews it doesn’t seem like that’s the case the majority of the time.

Brad_Olwin

@brotzfrog10 I clearly stated HIIT Interval Runs. I doubt that any OHR would do well with Crossfit given the extensive wrist movements involved that will differ depending on the equipment that is used. I was responding to @Jamie-BG regarding HIIT sessions. For me the S7 has worked well for Interval running and SkiMo racing, which are high intensity.

Kiriakos Chaldezos

Hello
Im thinking to buy S7 for swimming pool and less for outdoor running
Anyone used it inside swimming pool?everything worked fine with the distance calculate?

herlas

@kiriakos-chaldezos my wife swims with her S7 in the pool and the distance is always pretty close to the right number, just make sure you set the pool distance, and the optical HR on her swims works crazy good, almost like she had a belt on, it’s hard to believe

Suunto app on the S7 is missing additional swim features, like drills etc but it’s also not there on my SB9 so . Overall it’s good

Kiriakos Chaldezos

@herlas thanks for your answer

Jamie BG

@kiriakos-chaldezos all good but can only shows backstroke or freestyle, doesn’t seem to recognise breaststroke.

Egika

@jamie-bg said in Sunnto 7 Sensor Support:

@kiriakos-chaldezos all good but can only shows backstroke or freestyle, doesn’t seem to recognise breaststroke.

It does all three of those.
See below.
Don’t know if it has butterfly though…

Nigel Taylor 0

@egika said in Sunnto 7 Sensor Support:

@Brad_Olwin said in Sunnto 7 Sensor Support:

If Suunto could leverage the smartsensor to sync less often and not reduce battery life anymore than OHR I’d be for it.

And this is something with potential probably!!
The Suunto HR sensor is capable of data storage that will be synced after the activity, when no live data transfer is possible (eg. during swimming).
How about leaving the high power processor in sleep state and only wake it up every 10s or so for a HR data sync.
Possibly the time could be user selectable - some might only want it for analysis after the training. Then only sync HR once when training is stopped. Others might be fine with data every minute etc.

I love this idea that could be even more power saving than wrist heart rate

I like where this could go.

I’ve been running with Suunto App, doing offline sync of my Stryd and then combining the data in GoldenCheetah.

Would be more than happy to see a live Power stat updated every 10 or 30 (or 60 even!) seconds whilst running, causing little extra battery drain on the watch, knowing I’ve got the full data to pull in post-workout.

Similar I guess to HR bands…display the data polled every minute on watch and you’ll get a reasonable idea of how you’re performing whilst mid-activity…and yet you’ve got the per-second data to pull in and sync after the fact for that deep dive analysis.

Jamie BG

@egika maybe they have fixed it. Hopefully at some point I will be allowed back in a pool and can check if it got fixed.

When swimming breaststroke do you use wide pull or tight tucked in pull?

Egika

@jamie-bg erm… I use the one stroke that feels ok for me… Sorry, no technique expert here.

But you might be able to try it out in your room as well just simulating the different strokes.
Just make sure to simulate the turn at the wall as well