Suunto Vs Polar | Evaluating Options and Fashions

Discovering the proper GPS watch is value some research time as a result of it’s a excessive ticket piece of drugs and also you need it meet your wants! As we speak we’re Suunto vs Polar health watches to see how they stack up.

A couple of key variations in Suunto vs Polar vs Garmin:

• Suunto feels prefer it needs to be the for rugged gritty particular person. Google integrations make it extra Android like.
• Polar is concentrated on enhancing the main points of your coaching – most correct HR, GPS.
• Garmin provides you all the approach to life knowledge too (hormone monitoring, quickest 5K celebration, and many others)

In the event you’re seeking to buy your first GPS look ahead to working, take a look at my publish on GPS watch errors to not make, so that you don’t find yourself getting greater than what you want and spending extra money than vital.

This side-by-side comparability ought to assist you higher perceive the totally different options and slim down your decisions.

Suunto vs Polar Characteristic Comparability

Even essentially the most primary of GPS watches right now embody the identical options corresponding to coronary heart price monitor, tempo, distance, calorie monitoring, and lap perform.

The place the 2 manufacturers differ is within the {hardware}, coaching instruments, alerts, and extra knowledge recording options.

Show and Monitoring – Tie

Each Polar and Suunto watches show customizable real-time knowledge, corresponding to tempo, time, distance run, energy burned, and coronary heart price, plus extra should you want. Each manufacturers even have glorious satellite tv for pc tie ins, so they need to be equally correct on roads and trails.

Abstract info like common tempo, stride rely, and elevation acquire are all additionally accessible real-time by the push of a button.

The largest distinction between the 2 manufacturers on this enviornment is available in show customization.

• Each Suunto and Polar help you make modifications through their app to screens after which sync to the watch. No on the fly modifications to show.
• Each watches have shade show.
• Suunto watches seem to have extra watch face designs which you could obtain. (particularly the Suunto 7OS)

Suunto has been making a giant deal of those SuuntoPlus screens accessible on some modes, however minus the security/climate display screen they appear pretty just like knowledge on many different watches.

Battery Life – Suunto

The Suunto 9 makes use of three totally different battery modes with built-in intelligence methods that estimate the remaining battery time left on a selected mode. If the watch notices that you simply’re working low on battery, it’s going to counsel that you simply swap to a special mode.

In steady coaching mode, the Vantage V2 lasts 40 to 100 hours, relying on the settings, the place its Suunto competitor the 9 says it could actually go 24 to 170 hours in several GPS mode.

• Sporting with HR on on a regular basis will imply you want to cost watch a bit of extra.
• Nonetheless as soon as every week charging might be the norm.
• Polar has a brilliant quick cost.

Mapping and Navigation – Suunto

For these working new routes or who tend to get circled throughout a run, the navigational options on Suunto and Polar watches will be sure you keep on track and return dwelling safely. (not accessible on all fashions)

For backcountry folks (whether or not working, snowboarding, or mountaineering), Suunto is well-known for its altimeter and barometric capabilities that make off-trail navigation simpler and safer. Critical backcountry wanderers can even admire the barometric options accessible from each manufacturers.

• Polar and Suunto maps offers you a line to observe and let you know when to show
• For each you’ll plan your route after which load it to the watch
• Garmin can obtain a full topo map giving particulars concerning the space

How Correct is Suunto wrist HR?

Sadly this was the foremost downfall of Suunto for me. In testing a number of totally different watches I couldn’t ever get an excellent studying. To verify this wasn’t simply me, my husband examined it as properly and we’d discover it displaying 165 whereas working simply downhill.

On the flips facet, Polar Vantage V and V2 completely crush on this division.

They’ve been essentially the most correct wrist based mostly readings, I’ve discovered since TomTom got here out a few years in the past.

Essential to know that the V and V2 have the next finish expertise than the decrease fashions, which provides to their accuracy.

Information Administration and Apps – Winner Suunto

In the summertime of 2020, Suunto transitioned from Movescount to the Suunto app. The app is appropriate with nearly all of the brand new Suunto merchandise, with restricted capabilities for decrease finish or older fashions.

All watches can have the power to synchronize and analyze coaching knowledge, add images, movies, and descriptions out of your exercise, social sharing, ship notifications out of your telephone to your watch, GPS optimization, and sync to sports activities companies and different companions built-in to Suunto app.

Polar makes use of a program known as Polar Movement, which is pretty straight ahead. Charts to simply see sleep knowledge, exercises, steps and coaching standing. You may also hold extra notes on every session for the way it felt.

You may also add a photograph, then it’s going to over lay your exercise stats to publish to social.

• Once more Garmin beats each on this space I feel. I do know this isn’t about Garmin, however you had been questioning.
• Coros actually comes out on prime with the power to create energy exercises from a library of actions with demos.

Polar VS Suunto For Working

Let’s formally take a look at watches from low finish to excessive finish by each manufacturers. You’ll be have the ability to see how they match up and what may greatest meet your working wants.

Price range Working Watches

I wrestle a bit to place these in the identical class as a result of it seems like Suunto has fairly a bit extra included. The Pacer is actually designed to be that scaled again entry stage watch.

• Polar Pacer max battery life 35 hours, Suunto 5 GPS battery life as much as 40 hours
• Suunto contains Altimeter and maps
• Polar has 3 satellite tv for pc choices, Suunto has 5
• Roughly the identical dimension and weight
• Each watches can be utilized for swimming
• Each supply HR monitoring and sleep monitoring
• Each observe Distance, Energy Burned, Exercise, Sleep, Coronary heart Charge, Steps, Exercise Pace, Time

Polar Pacer ($199)

That is now what’s thought-about an entry stage working watch and it has EVERYTHING together with good watch options. No have to overspend to only get the fundamental knowledge you want to run.

• wrist based mostly HR, sleep monitoring
• GPS options
• Security options, good telephone notifications
• VO2Max

It’s a terrific worth after I suppose I paid greater than this for my first Garmin that would solely observe how far I ran!

Suunto 5 ($172)

Having eliminated many earlier fashions that is now their entry stage watch and it contains EVERYTHING you can presumably want, particularly as a path runner.

Options embody primary capabilities + altitude measurement, route navigation and observe again, interval exercise planner, working cadence, and activity-based restoration time. I say throughout my testing, I discovered the HR monitor to be very unreliable.

If you’d like one thing easy to make use of that data your whole working knowledge and gives a bit extra feature-wise than the Garmin Forerunner 55, this can be a nice decide.

Midrange Working Watches

The variations begin to grow to be extra obvious right here.

• Suunto 7 max GPS battery life 12 hours, Polar M2 GPS battery life 40 hours
• Garmin barely lighter at 70 grams to 45.5 grams Suunto
• Suunto supplies a superior map expertise
• Each watches can be utilized for swimming and a large number of different sports activities
• Each observe Distance, Energy Burned, Exercise, Sleep, Coronary heart Charge, Steps, Exercise Pace, Time

Polar Vantage M2 ($299)

For about $100 extra, you may get the Polar Vantage M…however I’m gonna say maintain out and go for the Vantage V! It undoubtedly has extra bells and whistles, however I’m telling you the V is value it should you’re upgrading.

This watch will observe working, swimming, and biking and let you know your floor contact time stability, stride size, and extra.

• HR Monitoring
• GPS
• Longer battery life
• Multisport, waterproof to swim
• Coaching Load, altitude, ascent and descent monitoring
• Sensible telephone notifications

Suunto 7 ($400)

As famous I imagine they might section out the Suunto 5 and as a substitute broaden the 7 line as they’ve with the 9.

This watch goes to cowl your whole every day bases, whereas including in a few of these increased stage options you need to begin tailoring your coaching. Like coaching load, altimeter, music controls, dawn/sundown monitoring to assist time your path decisions, in addition to coaching load suggestions.

Excessive Finish Working Watches

You’ll discover with each excessive finish GPS watches that the worth relies on all of the options you need included. The extra involved you’re about sturdiness, altitude or climate extremes, the upper the worth.

Right here I’m offering for the fundamental Garmin Fenix 7 and Suunto 9 Peak. These watches are bigger than different fashions, until you get the Garmin Fenix S (which I like to recommend for anybody like me with a smaller wrist).

• Suunto GPS battery life as much as 170 hours, Polar as much as 100 Hours in GPS mode
  
• Suunto is heavier at 84 grams to Polar 34 grams
• Suunto maps are nonetheless superior
• Polar has higher wrist based mostly HR monitoring
• Each watches can be utilized for swimming and a large number of different sports activities
• Each observe Distance, Energy Burned, Exercise, Sleep, Coronary heart Charge, Steps, Exercise Pace, Time

Polar Vantage V2 ($499)