The Suunto Race, launched in October 2023, is a bold and substantial device that commands attention on your wrist. Its large 49mm watch face is a definite statement, with many people commenting on its size. This is understandable considering the impressive tech packed into this watch. Suunto clearly listened to previous feedback and developed a smaller version, the Suunto Race S, which we hope to try out soon. Suunto also demonstrates their commitment to sustainability by offsetting the carbon footprint of each watch through a Tree-Nation reforestation project, planting coastal mangrove forests.
We’ve spent over two months testing the Suunto Race and explored its extensive features (though not all the sports modes, which would require much more time!). Read on to discover if we think it can rival the fitness trackers in our best fitness tracker guide (spoiler alert: we do!). Our review focuses on the Titanium finish model with 32GB internal storage.
Design
The Suunto Race is undeniably large. Its AMOLED display spans 36.33mm, and the watch measures 13.33mm thick, making it quite prominent on the wrist. At 83g, it carries some weight, though some users might appreciate the substantial feel. The silicone strap, featuring a pin closure and plenty of ventilation holes, ensures comfort and breathability. It’s also quick-release, allowing easy swapping with other 22mm watch bands. When tightened securely, the watch sits close to the skin, enabling accurate sensor readings.
Display
The Suunto Race boasts a large, bright AMOLED screen with 1,000-nit brightness, making it clear and readable in various lighting conditions. The Sapphire Crystal glass offers excellent scratch resistance, a welcome feature for the clumsy among us. The display features two modes: always-on, which dims the screen when your wrist is lowered, and gesture-based, which turns off the screen until your arm is raised. You can also customize what’s displayed when the screen is activated, choosing to show only the time or the entire watch face. A ‘do not disturb’ mode mutes sounds and vibrations, keeping the screen dim until deactivated or an alarm triggers. Notably, the watch includes a handy ‘torch’ function, effectively turning the watch face into a bright white light, which we found useful for navigating in the dark.
Suunto provides fifteen customizable watch faces, with each face offering various ‘complications’ (data points like heart rate, step count, blood oxygen, etc.). While the customization options are extensive, we found it a bit tricky to find faces with the exact data points we wanted, as not all complications are available on all faces. We also experienced a minor software update issue that reset our watch face, requiring a brief but slightly annoying reconfiguration.
Features
The Suunto Race is packed with features, offering most of what you’d expect from a fitness watch, including a heart monitor, oxygen levels, sleep quality tracking, heart rate variability (HRV), calories burned, and energy levels (dubbed ‘resources’). Historical data is readily accessible within the Suunto App. While we haven’t fully maximized the use of all the data collected, it has motivated us to strive for personal bests, monitor sleep regularly, be more mindful of bedtime, hit our step count goals, and maintain consistent exercise routines – all valid reasons to utilize a fitness tracker. While primarily a fitness tracker, the Suunto Race also offers some smartwatch functionality, allowing music control, phone call notifications, and pre-defined reply options for messages. However, it lacks NFC for contactless payments, something we didn’t miss too much given our primary focus on fitness tracking. The hardware for NFC is present in the watch, hinting at a potential future update to include this feature.
The Suunto Race offers nearly 100 pre-defined sports modes and allows adding custom modes. This wide range covers both common activities like hiking, swimming, running, weight training, and uncommon ones like roller skating, horseback riding, and even cheerleading. Our testing focused on weight training, hiking, and swimming.
Performance
The Suunto Race delivers impressive health tracking accuracy. For weight training, it records session duration, average/max heart rate, calories burned, Peak Training Effect (PTE), Training Stress Score (TSS), and Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). If you’re new to fitness tracking, a quick online search will clarify how these metrics contribute to your training progress. However, our favorite aspect was hiking. The ability to load GPX or KML routes directly onto the watch and follow navigation without needing your phone is fantastic. You can zoom in and out of the map, receive audio/visual alerts if you veer off course, and even leave ‘breadcrumbs’ to track your path for easy backtracking. The auto-pause feature, while useful, can be overly sensitive, leading to frequent beeps, which we found distracting. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a setting to disable these beeps despite having tones turned off.
Swimming presented some issues, which could be a major concern if swimming is your primary focus. The distance tracking was inaccurate in our initial tests. Despite setting the pool length correctly and adhering to recommended guidelines, the watch consistently logged incorrect distances. However, after a recent software update, the swim distance tracking significantly improved. While the update notes didn’t mention any swim mode changes, the GPS tracking was updated, likely contributing to the improved accuracy. If you encounter issues with swim distance tracking, we recommend updating your firmware.
Outside of swimming, the GPS tracking is remarkably accurate. After a walk, the watch displays precise elevation gain, descent, distance, and even replays your route, showcasing every turn and stop with surprising detail.
The Suunto Race’s standout feature is its exceptional battery life. We couldn’t believe how much longer it lasted compared to our previous Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, which barely made it a day and a half. Even with 24/7 heart rate monitoring, frequent hiking, daily walks, daily swimming, and weightlifting two to three times a week, we only had to charge the watch twice over two months. It’s a fantastic perk!
User Reviews
The Suunto Race holds a 4.2/5 star rating on Amazon, with users praising its underappreciated brand and highlighting its impressive battery life and large screen, which aids visibility outdoors. Users, like ourselves, rave about the accurate GPS and its utility for following trails.
Should You Buy the Suunto Race?
✅ Buy It If:
* You prioritize a fitness tracker with excellent battery life and accurate GPS for tracking daily walks, weightlifting, and hiking.
* You need a reliable device for monitoring your health data, including sleep, oxygen levels, and performance improvements.
❌ Don’t Buy It If:
* You expect a smartwatch experience. While it offers some smartwatch functionality, it’s primarily designed for fitness tracking.
* You prioritize a smaller watch design. Its size might not appeal to everyone.
* You rely heavily on swim tracking. The distance measurements are inconsistent and often inaccurate, though a recent software update has shown improvement.
Alternatives:
* If swim tracking is crucial, consider the Whoop 4.0. While lacking a screen, it’s streamlined for swimming and offers detailed health metrics for performance improvement. However, it lacks basic functionalities like step tracking.
* For a similarly designed fitness tracker, check out the Garmin Fenix 7, which offers comparable performance and eliminates the need for a separate phone.
* Apple Watch Series 8 offers a sleeker design and excellent health/fitness tracking, though its battery life is limited to a single day.
How We Tested:
We spent approximately two months testing the Suunto Race, utilizing various features through weight training, hiking, and swimming. We monitored our fitness and exercise stats, comparing the watch’s data with our own observations and our Myzone heart rate monitor and Samsung Galaxy 4 watch. We wore the watch around the clock throughout the testing period.
