Suunto - Suunto Run All Black

I had a Garmin and I came from an AW series 10, I switched to a Suunto Run, the truth is I am very satisfied, I am a marathoner and I train every day. Very good watch and quite cheap for what it gives ($199 usd)

I've had a Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 for the past 3 years, and recently I picked up the Suunto Run, which I've had for a little over a week now. I thought I'd share my experience with it, what I like and dislike, and so forth, to help other potential buyers Googling right now :) *TL;DR verdict: I highly recommend picking up this watch. It's affordable and feature-packed, and is a very solid product that can compete with a lot of higher-end watches. Read on to find out if it's good for you and your particular scenario.* **Why I bought a new watch:** My biggest issue with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 was its absolutely terrible GPS. I wasn't much of a runner when I got that watch; otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten it in the first place. The GPS on that thing is atrocious and a disgrace for a watch claiming to be a "fitness" watch. It'd always add 4-500 meters to any activity, the pacing would be incredibly inaccurate (it made me run a 3:25/km once even though I'd be dead if I actually ran that), the path would be all squiggly, and there would be lots of snapping and teleports (for example if I turned ever so slightly right to go around a traffic circle, the watch would pick me up going 150m down the street to the right then teleport me back to my route). I had dozens of other watches at run clubs, plus my own phone's GPS to confirm that pretty much every walk and run coming from my Galaxy Watch 5 was inaccurate to some degree. To add to that, if the weather was even slightly overcast or if I was under trees or buildings, it'd take 3-4 minutes to get a GPS lock in the first place. It got extremely frustrating and eventually pushed me beyond the tipping point to start looking at getting a better watch. Apart from the GPS, some minor issues I had were the heart rate sensor being erratic at times, and Samsung Health's integration with Strava was... Interesting. To say the least. **What criteria was I looking for:** Given the above, obviously, an accurate GPS was at the top of the list. However, I didn't have an infinite amount of money to spend, so budget was also a top priority. In terms of features, I wanted something that would accurately (as accurately as optical sensors can, anyway) track HR, have sports profiles for the different types of exercises I do (running, walking, weightlifting, occasionally bike riding), have sleep tracking and 24/7 HR tracking, pretty much the usual health and fitness-oriented smartwatch features. **Other watches I considered and why I didn't choose them:** Garmin Forerunner 165. Costs roughly the same as the Run, but it only has a single-band GPS. Garmin Forerunner 570. Had all the features I wanted, plus some more, but it was too expensive. Coros Pace 3. Heard mixed reviews about the HR sensor. **Things the Suunto Run shines at:** I'm happy to report that the GPS on this thing is a delight, and honestly, I can't believe that such a good GPS module is available at this price point. For starters, it's got dual-band GPS, which is something typically available only on much higher-end watches. In my experience, taking it for runs and walks in different terrains and weather, it's never taken more than 20 seconds to acquire a lock, the longest of which was in thick clouds and rainy weather. The track is smooth and accurate, and it's incredibly precise, down to showing whether I was walking on the road or the sidewalk. I've yet to notice any weird snaps or teleports, and overall it's an incredibly no-nonsense, "just-works", hassle-free GPS experience. For this alone, the watch has been extremely worth it for me. The sports profiles are extremely customizable, and there are tons of features. There are duration goals, calorie goals, and intensity goals, plus you can create your own modes under each sport profile. There are also nifty features like a metronome for running cadence if that's something you're interested in. You can also do multisport mode, if you're combining cardio and weights, or triathlon, etc. HR tracking has been okay in my experience. When walking, running, and biking, there isn't any cadence lock or freezing, and I'm able to train using HR as a guide pretty effectively. Resting HR is pretty accurate, too. The way the HR data is displayed and the way it adapts to sudden changes (e.g, heavy weights) is not the best, but I'll expand on that later. Overall, though, I'm satisfied. The Strava integration is extremely reliable and fast, and even syncs non-GPS activities. On Samsung, only GPS activities would get synced to Strava, and only if Samsung was in the mood for it. So many times, the sync wouldn't work until I'd go and delink and then link Strava again. Sometimes it'd just randomly delink from Strava for no reason. Sometimes it wouldn't sync HR data. On the Suunto Run, the Strava integration just works. The UI is responsive and easy to use. The button and crown combo works nicely; the touchscreen is pretty responsive, too. I have not used it in heavy rain yet, so I can't comment on whether water causes phantom taps. The watch is physically lightweight and sits pretty nicely on my hand; I pretty much forget it's there. Also, Suunto seems to support their watches for years and keeps pushing software updates and improvements, which is a good thing! Breadcrumbs navigation is very cool. I don't particularly have any use for it, since I'm always in places where I know my way, but it's cool to look at and visualize my path. It's also fast and accurate, and I've tested it by crossing the same junction a few times over to see whether it gets confused or overlaps. It doesn't. **Things that could be better/I miss about my previous watch:** The biggest adjustment for me has been switching from a Wear OS watch to a non-Wear OS watch. I miss a lot of the smart Android features, especially Google Pay. I never realized how much I would tap my watch to pay until I couldn't do it anymore. Notifications on the Suunto Run are terrible. I had to turn them off since I'd keep getting random system notifications bugging me constantly. While the Run has Bluetooth media controls, and they work, I miss having the full Spotify app available on my watch. Sleep tracking is a bit inaccurate. Don't get me wrong, it works, and I primarily use it to monitor my HRV, and in that regard, it's okay; however, the Samsung was better at tracking when I'd wake up, and my sleep stages were better. With this watch, there are times during the night when I know I was awake, but the graph still shows me as sleeping. While HR tracking on this watch is pretty accurate and reliable, it's not instantaneous. For example, on the Galaxy, it'd show me my HR live, and the number would be shifting all the time. This watch smooths the data out in some way because it shows the same number for a few minutes, even though it's still tracking. Then it'll update a few minutes later. This is especially apparent during lifting heavy weights when my HR will spike up, then go down rapidly again. There's almost a lagging effect when recording the HR. And I know that it's not an issue with recording but rather with displaying, because when I look at the stats and graphs on the app, it shows the HR peaks accurately. Which leads me to the next point: The Suunto app's data visualization is not as well-designed as Samsung's. Samsung laid out the data in a much easier-to-view layout as opposed to Suunto. For example, after a run, Samsung had 3 graphs. Graph 1 showed your HR, and you could overlay it with cadence, pace, elevation, etc. Graph 2 showed running specific metrics such as flight time, ground contact time, asymmetry, vertical stiffness, etc. Graph 3 showed HR recovery. Suunto has all of the data available, but it's all on one graph where you change the metrics to the ones you want to view. As someone who's a bit of a stats nerd, I think Samsung was better at giving you an "at a glance" view, whereas with Suunto, you have to actually find the data you want to view. The watch faces that come installed are meh, and because this watch doesn't support Suunto Plus, there is no way of downloading new watch faces. **Conclusion:** The Suunto Run is an amazing product, and I highly recommend it to any runners looking for a no-nonsense fitness watch that does what it does extremely well, if you don't need a lot of extra bells and whistles. It addressed the major issues I had with my Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 that made me switch in the first place, and any complaints/issues I have are pretty minor and primarily to do with a different watch philosophy (switching from a smart watch with some fitness features to a fitness watch with some smart features). I think, unless you spend a lot of time in trails or do some very advanced training that requires maps, or if streaming music and using contactless payments is a dealbreaker to you, this watch is an amazing product for runners of all levels. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me!

I bought Suu to RUN: Amoled screen and larger.

I find that the intervals on the RUN work well: there is a percentage countdown (circle) of the current action and a countdown of the current interval (numbering) https://preview.redd.it/eckij2dq60nf1.jpeg?width=2296&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c2a156fa3be6839cce913a9d2a0ef5e4840a8588

I think if you dig in my posts you could find a few detailed comparison answers.  I personally would stay away from Run, as it’s a different underlying platform from the rest of Suunto family and is thus incompatible with many Suunto features like S+ apps. Moreover, it seems it was more of a one shot attempt at alternative to the development that started with S9PP and isn’t going forward. Race S is a great watch though, which brings me to my next point. V3 is more akin to Race, so your real comparison is down to S vs M3. Both size, screen size, weight, and price wise.  Sleep, recovery, and general activity tracking is absolutely better on Polar assuming you can stomach their embarrassingly outdated app. They promised to overhaul it next year, but for now it is ass ugly and keeling over. That said Polar does have a web version (Suunto doesn’t anymore), with tons of useful reports and features. Also included are several adaptive fitness programs, from their  running programs to FitSpark to paid Fitness program. I think their training load and training load status are far easier and more intuitive for most people to deal with than Suunto’s stuff licensed from TrainingPeaks. On a flip side, Suunto has a very gorgeous and super informative app with ton of features (and sadly ridden with many bugs) and many great watch features targeting more advanced users, from ability to import workouts from third party systems, to track running mode, to structured workouts targeting specific intensity ranges not just plain 5 zones like Polar, to ZoneSense, to climb guidance, S+ apps and device integrations, and so on. I believe Suunto and Race S do have an edge for more training and fitness oriented people.  Getting to things like accuracy I’d say Suunto owns Polar on GPS (M3 is quite decent but not as good as Races). Also Polar tends to do some weird altitude thing that results in elevation gains 20-30% lower than other watches. On OHR, it’s the opposite. I find Polar far more stable and accurate. If you care about heart rate, unless you go for the latest gen, you’ll want that chest strap with Suunto for sure. Accidentally, Race S is better than other Suuntos, but far from perfect.  I’d say if your focus is more on general wellness and activity tracking and your fitness needs are generally to support that, M3 will be a great choice. If you need something sportier and with more advanced modern day training features go Suunto.  One other consideration is Suunto does update their watches with new features regularly (like 3-4 times a year) and does so for years. On a flip side, those updates lately bring unwanted bugs like HR dropping out in the middle of an activity, sleep tracking not working, etc.  Now my personal solution when faced with a similar dilemma?  I have Vertical 2 on one hand and Polar Loop on another. I do have V3 too for morning orthostatic, jump, and VO2 Max tests and a few other things Polar does well.   It’s either that, or get a single Garmin really… 

they are fairly different devices, Garmin is over 2x the price, and has features that the Suunto Run doesn't have such as 3rd party apps, incl. spotify etc., nfc payments, live tracking, plentiful support for bike sensors (Suunto Run only works with power meters), and then the coaching features you mentioned. Suunto does have a (pretty basic) coaching/training plan builder, but that's not compatible with the Run. Full comparison on DCR's site here: [Product Comparison Calculator | DC Rainmaker](https://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-comparison-calculator?type=watch&ids=163117%2C162960#results) I guess all depends on whether these differences are important to you and worth the big cost difference?

not compatible with the Run watch

Yeah it works using SuuntoPlus Guides, which for now at least isn’t supported on the Run. Hopefully they’ll add support in the future as it fits the target market of this watch imo. 

The 165 will check all the boxes. If you like the price but would like something capable of tracking even more sports (myltiaport especially) then the Suunto Run would be a great choice.

I'd recommend a Suunto for the long-term investment in a platform and training system. Suunto, having been acquired by a Chinese company, has been infused with cash and this has played out in their app development as well as the watches they've been releasing. The Vertical 2 (AMOLED) virtually matches the first gen. Vertical hour to hour in battery life. Not to mention the Run which is the best value fitness watch on the market at this time. Suunto Coach is a good way to structure your training and the Suunto Plus store offers a ton of utility to Suunto watches (sans Run). On the flip side, Polar has floundered in recent years, lacking innovation and repackaging features into new hardware. The new M3 is a nice looking watch and is the best value of their newest releases, but they are so far behind in the digital realm, it's honestly depressing. Sure, they are updating Flow, but it feels too little too late. They have some training guidance, but unless FitSpark has had a MASSIVE update I've missed, it recommends really simple workouts that lack adaptation to current training which something like Gemini or ChatGPT could outclass given the right prompts.

If you are using a watch that is older than 3 years its very likely (outside of apple watch, garmin, coros, polar and suunto) that it doesn't come close to matching current models accuracy levels - especially as most brands (wear os / apple / garmin / coros / polar / suunto / fitbit / huawei / amazfit) update the sensor and gps chipset every 2-3 years (if not more frequently) and there have been significant improvements all around. For example current garmins are either using the elevate 4 or elevate 5 HR sensor (from health 24/7 perspecive virtually immaterial difference in results, but from an activity perspective especially around strength and cycling their is a more marked improvement - plus the elevate 5 sensors include ECG and baseline temp monitoring) however the elevate 4 was a significant jump from the elevate 3 sensor (4 veritcal led lights) which was an even bigger jump from the sensor prior to that (3 leds in a triangular shape). Huge jumps and leaps have been made in sleep tracking too, and for most its way more accurate than it used to be - though don't get me wrong it still can be fooled (i.e. sitting/lying and being super inactive (i.e. reading / watching tv) and its possible the watch can potentially record that as sleep. Garmin Forerunner 165 - its on special on Garmin sales at just under $200. (or could look to see what deals you can find for the instinct 2 or vivoactive 5). These are all running pretty much garmin's latest version of sleep tracking which is way better at determining sleep duration (I find start time is rock solid and seldom gets fooled - if it does at the worst it records it as light sleep so doesn't really impaact recovery at all -as would be giving you that as recovery anyway and the recharge rate from light compared to resting is so simliar I haven't noticed a difference in recharge rate; and wake time is rock solid as long as using morning report - cause as soon as you access morning report it switches off sleep - so if you wake up and want to go back to sleep don't access morning report - the morning report front screen includes time so no need to access it until you want to be up and about). The sleep tracking algorithms are from firstbeat and includes the use of accelerometer, HR and HRV compared to the older garmin sleep tracking which per my understanding was accerlerometer based. You could also look at anything from amazift (stick to bip 6, active 2, t-rex3 or balance - as all running most current version of their software and alogorithms); Huawei including Fit 3 is worth a look; and could consider anything from coros, suunto (just released the run which should be around the $200 mark) and polar. And you could also look at fitbit charge 6, sense 2 or vera. There is also xiaomi but their HR isn't as good as the others... But worth noting the accuracy of optical HR is still impacted by skin tone, body comp, hair, tats, weight & size of watch, how you wear it and if doing an activity the activity type - and until you use it there is no way to know if it will be accurate for you or not. However for most people most of the sensors of the brands I have mentioned tend to do a good job re accuracy for 24/7 health metrics and steady state activities (walking, steady running etc).

Suunto Run rin!! Naghahanap rin ako ng mga nagamit ng Suunto kasi I felt that it's either Coros or Garmin lang ang ginagamit ng mga tumatakbo.

If my polar had to die today I don’t know what I’d choose between the suunto run or the m3 The suunto run, while on a different software platform , looks to be quite good and reliable. Cheap. All major features built in so the lack of the suunto+ store doesn’t bother me. It seems to be updated fairy frequently to address issues or interface concerns. I don’t need maps. Accuracy looks to be really decent. It’s very lightweight. I’m just not convinced on the Digital Crown and AMOLED. With polar I don’t care that the app isn’t updated, I really like flow web. I like the 5 buttons. I’m not convinced on the look or the additional weight compared to the suunto. I really want to stay with polar but the run is really compelling. If either brought a lightweight watch with MIP, I’d go there first but I’m really keen to try out the Suunto and maybe find a solution to send my data to flow (rungap)

Hello, share ko lang my new watch Saw some reviews on the Suunto Run and got curious so I picked this up for 14.5k sa Shopee Suunto. This is a Finnish 🇫🇮 brand First yung build feels premium and light on the wrist, UI is malinis and smooth to navigate. GPS is really really good - super accurate and clean! Ganda ng mukha ng watch din hehe Battery life ok naman so far for daily runs and tracking. Cons: Limited watch faces konti lang talaga :( hope to get some updates so if you like customizing your look, medyo kulang. Overall solid value if you mainly care about training and GPS accuracy 👌

suunto vo2 max accuracy is incredible

I almost completely agree with you. Excellent quality-price watch, after about 3 months of use I can only criticize 4 aspects: Poor watch face management during custom interval training. Discrepancy between some data provided directly on the watch compared to what is reported on the application (iOS) such as recovery or fatigue. Lack of the store in a new device. Workouts created with mediocre Suunto coaches. What do you think of these critical issues?

I try to give you few options , -swim 2 : have everything for swimming but is really focus only on swimming, heart rate is really good , but if you want to do others sports than is lacking a lot. Have drills mode and don’t miss a lap normally. -Suunto run/run s , if you change the strap get an amazing hr underwater (outside of water is way worse ) 🤷🏻‍♂️, is perfect on lap counting , have integrations with Suunto aqua headphone who give you some extra metrics on head rotations ( is still a new come , so something isn’t perfect yet) , can use for any other sports , but doesn’t have any drills mode -instinct series , actually similar to swim 2 but less accurate on hr reading and sometimes miss laps , can do so many things outside water , huge battery , but as a swimmer I felt not worth for only swimming so I send it back - forerunner series , it come in 2 versions , the small 200 series (the last one is called 500) , and the 900 series , go for the smallest , is lighter have everything you need and more stuff you won’t ever use , for the fact is smaller it is more comfy to use in water and hr just little bit more accurate , never miss a lap , and got all function of swim 2 for swimming plus tons of functions for many sports - in conclusion I use many times the Suunto but because is missing the drills mode I go back to forerunner when I need it , than I still using swim 2 bought so many years ago , I use for css , but honestly just because I feel nostalgic on it , after swim with him for many years

I have used AW, Garmin, Polar and Suunto and AW is by far the worst sportwatch. After switching back to Polar after AW the quality of life improved immediately by not having to charge the thing more than once a week.