The Adventurer’s Sidekick: A Complete Guide To Suunto Watches For Every Budget

Suunto is a Finnish company that manufactures sports and fitness devices and gadgets meant to help with outdoor activities. Running, hiking, diving, skydiving, mountain-climbing, you name it, Suunto provides for most of the sports activities that people do. 

 

This all started on a cold, dark, and intimidating day in the Arctic unknown when Tuomas Vohlonen got stranded knee-deep in the snow, thinking about the dissatisfaction he had from current technology. After that dilemma, he created his first prototype of a liquid-filled compass, and the rest is history. Here are some of the best Suunto watches for every budget.

Suunto 3

The Suunto 3 is a solid starter for beginners looking to explore a healthier and more active lifestyle. Coming at around $229, the Suunto 3 is within the budget range for entry-level fitness trackers that can handle all your daily exercise activities such as swimming, running, and light workouts at the gym. 

 

The design for the Suunto 3 is also quite sleek and minimal, mimicking that of a regular smartwatch. The strap is silicone and quite durable against everyday nicks and hits, but we wouldn’t advise too much leniency in taking care of any of these watches as they are mostly made of plastic.

 

A touchscreen isn’t available on this watch, but that may be a good thing as having a touch display can sometimes get quite fiddly and annoying for people with bigger hands. The LCD screen won’t surprise any enthusiasts, but it does what it’s supposed to do with large text and a minimal interface free of unnecessary software clutter.

 

There are five tactile buttons used to navigate the operating system and are physically pronounced, making them satisfying to use with the responsive menus. Calibration may have a learning curve for new users, but the manual is available for people who like to read.

Suunto 5

At the mid-range portion of our list is the Suunto 5, and this is an excellent mediating piece for beginners looking to take that next step into a more active lifestyle. The Suunto 5 is ideal for those just getting into Ironman events, triathlons, and even some light decathlon events. Retailing around $329, this sports watch is the middle ground for amateurs and sports enthusiasts.

 

The Suunto 5 is the successor to the Spartan Trainer Wrist HR, and along with this new generation comes a few features that have been ported over from the previous models. The rigid and trademark 5-button layout is still present with a side-protruding shoulder design that flows seamlessly with the strap.

 

As for the design, the watch is definitely on the smaller and hefty side as it is more massive than Vantage M and a Garmin Forerunner 245, making it feel like the information on the screen is cramped at times. The Suunto 5 is marketed as a compact GPS watch, and it will undoubtedly appeal to customers that have smaller hands but want the versatility of a fitness tracker.

 

The fitness tracking features are what you would expect as with any other sports watch, and the tried and true operating system is snappy and responsive like the watches in the collection. The Suunto 5 comes in four different colors, and pair that with the eight different display themes, you can get a pretty flexible sports watch that can match with most outfits.

Suunto 9

The Suunto 9 is at the top of our list for Suunto sports watches as it is also the most expensive, coming in at $499. This sports watch is a complete and feature-packed fitness tracker that can monitor almost everything you could think of that’s related to physical training. A wide array of biological monitoring software, eighty different sport modes, and 120-hour battery life on ultra make this the ultimate sports watch.

 

The Suunto 9 boasts the trademark Suunto design with a chunky feel and solid exterior meant for extreme sports. The AMOLED touchscreen display is quick and responsive even though it doesn’t get as bright as the other sports watches at this price range.

Takeaway

Whatever budget you have, these Suunto sports watches are tested with rigorous conditions and given the highest quality control level. Suunto makes sure that their watches are in perfect quality before releasing it to the public, and if you’re looking to buy a new fitness tracker anytime soon, this list is a great reference point for your next purchase.

 

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