The Suunto 9 Baro is the nicest GPS watch I’ve used yet, and would be even better with a simple firmware fix.
For five months I’ve been using the Suunto 9 Baro GPS Sport Watch on a near daily basis, mostly while trail and road running, and occasionally backpacking. With few exceptions, it has supplanted my trusted Suunto Ambit3 Peak (long-term review). It’s the nicest Suunto watch that I’ve used yet, but has one significant blemish that I hope will be rectified in a future firmware update.
Long-term review: Suunto 9 Baro GPS Sport Watch
Suunto launched its fifth-generation GPS watch series with the Suunto 9 in June 2016. It expanded the family in September with the Suunto 9 Baro, which was sent to me for review several months before its release.
The Suunto 9 retails for $500; the Suunto 9 Baro, for $600. Nearly everything I say about the Suunto 9 Baro will apply to the Suunto 9 as well.
The Suunto 9 Baro is a legitimate flagship product — it either improves upon or rivals the performance and features of previous generations like the Ambit3 and Spartan. (As you might expect, it has taken over Suunto’s flagship price point, too.) It’s the most accurate and richly featured watch in Suunto’s line, while also being the nicest to look at, wear, and use.
Key product specs
- Sapphire crystal glass, titanium bezel, and glass fiber polyamide case
- Interchangeable silicone strap
- Touchscreen color display with 320 x 300 pixels and LED backlight
- FusedTrack (more info)
- Optical heart rate sensor
- Bluetooth connectivity
- Built-in barometer
- Battery life: 25, 50, and 120 hours at 1-, 60-, and 120-second intervals
- Intelligent battery technology (more info)
- $600 MSRP
- More info
Form factor
The Suunto 9 looks nearly identical to a Suunto Spartan, sharing the same:
- Easy-to-ready screen that can display up to seven data fields (although my 20/20 eyes will tolerate only five);
- Three right-side buttons, which are smooth and responsive;
- Integrated GPS antenna, so there is no awkward “hump” like on the Ambit2 and Ambit3 Peak;
- Vibration alarm;
- Magnetic charging/download cable, which secures quickly and precisely to the watch; and,
- Optical heart rate monitor from Vallencel.
The Suunto 9 shares the same charging/data cord as the Spartan. It reliably locks into place with a magnet.
Thankfully, Suunto made one physical change to the Suunto 9: its silicone band. The band on the Spartan Sport Wrist HR (my review) was grabby and excessively pliable, causing it to catch clothing (and, worse, arm hair) and to collect lint; it also would not slide easily through its retention loops.
The band on the Suunto 9 does none of those things, and is notably more comfortable than the stiffer Ambit3 band. I’d like to see its “top” section perforated to improve airflow and evaporation, however.
The new band is also easily changeable, and can be swapped with third-party options to dress it up or give it more style.
The comfortable silicone band is easily detachable, so it can be swapped with infinite third-party options.
Battery life
The Suunto 9 is rated to 25, 40, and 120 hours when the GPS reading interval is set to 1, 60, and 120 seconds (described by Suunto as Best, Good, and Okay), respectively. This is substantially better than optical HR-equipped Spartan watches (e.g. Sport HR, Sport HR Baro), which were rated to 10, 20, and 40 hours. And at the 1-second interval, it’s even better than the Ambit3 Peak, which is rated to 20, 30, and 200 hours at 1-, 5-, and 60-second intervals.
Does five extra hours of battery life matter? Interestingly, for me it would make a big difference: I’ve completed five 100-mile ultras since 2015, and my finish times have all been between 20:12 and 24:44. With my Ambit3 Peak, I’ve had to set the GPS interval to 5 seconds. But with the Suunto 9, I could run it at 1-second intervals, which would be slightly more accurate.
Intelligent battery modes
Suunto has always allowed users to extend the battery life by adjusting the GPS ping interval. But it had to be done at the Movescount website or through the Movescount app, and it required a sync afterwards; the setting was also specific to a sport mode.
With the Suunto 9, the ping interval can be adjusted online or through its smartphone app, but also directly in the watch before the start of an activity. The ping interval is part of a “basket” of battery-saving adjustments, along with screen colors, screen brightness, touchscreen on/off, display auto-shutoff, Bluetooth on/off, and vibration alarms on/off. Suunto describes these grouped settings as:
- Performance (1-second interval (“Best”), and most features are turned on or up)
- Endurance (60-second interval (“Good”))
- Ultra (120-second interval (“Okay”) and most things are turned off or down)
This on-watch adjustment is convenient, and could save the day if you forget to update your settings or charge your watch prior to an activity.
The battery settings can be changed directly on the Suunto 9 immediately before starting an activity, rather than going through the Suunto app or Movescount.
Accuracy
From what I can tell, the Suunto 9 is at least as accurate as the Ambit3 Peak when its GPS ping interval is set to 1 second. During track workouts, it has seemed spot on, and recorded distances for my most established runs are about the same. I have yet to complete a marked course with the Suunto 9.
GPS track recorded by the Suunto 9 in Best mode while running the switchbacks in lower Skunk Canyon. The track is never off by more than a yard or two.
FusedTrack
The most exciting technology in the Suunto 9 is FusedTrack, which activates in the Endurance or Ultra battery mode (or when the GPS ping interval is set to Good or Okay through the website or app). It combines data from the built-in accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass to “fill in” location data between GPS pings. The resulting data is not as accurate as a 1-second track, or a 5-second track recorded by an Ambit3 Peak. But the Suunto 9 does not cut corners as badly as the Ambit3 Peak in 60-second mode.
A satellite view of a recent run that I recorded with the Suunto 9 (blue, set to 60-sec pings) and Ambit3 Peak (red, set to 5-sec pings). The Ambit3 records a more accurate track, but the Suunto 9 is never too far off, despite grabbing its GPS location only about four times in this image.
Optical heart rate
Wrist-based heart rate technology is not yet as accurate as chest straps. So for serious heart rate training, you’ll need the Suunto Smart Sensor or another Bluetooth-compatible device. (Note: I’ve been frustrated with the Smart Sensor’s long-term performance, but it sounds like competing straps have their own issues.)
The Suunto 9’s optical heart rate sensor should be sufficient for more casual activities and users. Based on reviews, it sounds like that’s generally the case.
The optical heart rate monitor seems to work for most, but unfortunately not for me.
But that has not been my experience. The heart rate readings seem accurate when my arm is mostly still, like when I’m sleeping or when I’m waiting for the watch to connect with GPS satellites immediately before a run. During a run, however, the HR readings are rarely accurate, and thus largely worthless.
I don’t have an explanation for this, and I have not found a solution (besides wearing my chest strap when I want HR data). I suspect it may relate to the size of my wrist (6.75 inches/17 mm in circumference) and/or how I position or tighten the watch.
November 13. The HR reading was roughly accurate from 15-30 minutes, and maybe 35-45, although I think it was probably reading 5-10 bpm high.
November 23. Sustained readings at around 180 bpm, which is approximately my cadence and about 5 bpm higher than my max HR.
November 28. Accurate HR readings from 10 to 35 minutes, and maybe from 55 to the finish.
Smartwatch and activity tracking
The Suunto 9 offers basic smartwatch and activity tracking features. Specifically:
- Several watch face options,
- Push notifications from a smartphone,
- Step and calorie counting, and
- Sleep tracking.
In this area, the Suunto 9 falls short of the Garmin Fenix 5. Some users might care, but I don’t. It’s not important to me that I can control my music selection through my watch, that I know how many flights of stairs I’ve climbed in a day, or that I can download new watch faces in an online store.
Like its predecessors, the Suunto 9 is best considered a piece of equipment, like running shoes or a running vest. I put it on before an activity, and take it off afterwards. For the remainder of the day, I wear a Bertucci A-2T Super Classic or a dressy Citizen. Even with a nice leather strap, a clunky GPS sport watch will still look like a, well, clunky GPS sport watch.
Firmware fix request: Custom sport modes
Pre-installed on the Suunto 9 are 80 “sport modes.” Each mode displays data that Suunto thought would be relevant for an activity. For example, one pre-installed running mode is described as “Interval,” and its description says, “Designed for interval running. Use the lap table view to compare intervals with duration, average heart rate and max heart rate. This mode stores the run with the Move type ‘interval’ so you can follow your progress over time.”
These modes may be helpful for someone unwilling to dig into the functionality of the Suunto 9. (Dare I ask: If you spend $500+ on a watch, why aren’t you digging into its functionality?”)
But I’m not one of those customers, and none of the pre-installed modes are set up the way I want them. For example, my go-to settings for backpacking, for road marathons, and for mountain ultra trail marathons look nothing like the pre-installed modes.
Unfortunately, the pre-installed modes cannot be modified.
Custom sport modes would seem to be a workaround. However, these modes are limited to just four display screens, one of which must be dedicated to a breadcrumb navigation track. That screen is useless to me, so essentially Suunto has given me only three screens to display all the data that I want.
Why did Suunto limit the number of custom sport mode screens to four, especially when its pre-installed modes have up to six and when the Ambit3 Peak allows up to eight? And who at Suunto thought three screens was enough?
Suunto, please address this. It’s the most significant flaw of the Suunto 9 Baro, and it seems entirely fixable.
Suunto 9 vs. the competition
How does the Suunto 9 compare to other popular GPS sport watches?
Suunto 9 vs. Suunto 9 Baro
The Suunto 9 and Suunto 9 Baro differ in just one respect: the 9 Baro has a built-in sensor to measure barometric pressure and to help generate altitude readings. The original Suunto 9 cannot display barometric pressure and relies solely on GPS to calculate its altitude, which will be less accurate if GPS strength is low (e.g. when running under heavy tree cover).
The barometer becomes helpful in two situations:
- When the 9 Baro is not tracking an activity, it still tracks trends in barometric pressure, which can forecast changes in the weather; and,
- When the GPS ping interval is set to 60 or 120 seconds (“Good” and “Okay” in Suunto speak), the 9 Baro will more accurately record vertical gain and loss.
If these situations don’t sound relevant to you, stick with the Suunto 9 and save $100.
For a more in-depth explanation of baro vs. non-baro watches, read this.
Suunto 9 vs. Suunto Ambit3
The Ambit3 was Suunto’s third-generation GPS watch series. The “newest” Ambit3 product was released in early-2016, and the last firmware update was December 2016. Suunto still produces the Ambit3 Peak and Ambit3 Vertical, but has discontinued the Ambit3 Sport and Ambit3 Run (although it’s still liquidating inventory).
Between the Ambit3 Peak and Ambit3 Vertical, I preferred the Peak. (Read my long-term review.) Its battery was longer-lasting and its GPS accuracy was better. The Vertical was more svelte and had vibration alarms.
Versus the Suunto 9, the Ambit3 Peak has three advantages:
- Price. The Ambit3 Peak retailed for $500, but is now regularly available for less than $300 on Amazon.
- Battery life. When backpacking, I set the GPS ping interval to 60 seconds, which gives the Ambit3 Peak a 200-hour lifespan. The 9 Baro lasts 50 hours at this setting and 120 hours when set to a 120-second interval, although its accuracy will be better because of FusedTrack.
- Sport modes. Within each sport mode, the Ambit3 Peak allows up to 8 display screens. The Suunto 9 only allows three, plus a required breadcrumb track screen.
Otherwise the Suunto 9 is a better watch.
Suunto 9 Baro (left) and Suunto Ambit3 Peak (right)
Suunto 9 vs. Suunto Spartan
The Spartan was Suunto’s fourth-generation GPS watch series, and was last expanded in September 2017 with the Spartan Sport Wrist HR Baro (my review). In almost all respects, the Suunto 9 matches or exceeds the Spartan watches. The major exception is price — Suunto currently lists the Spartan Sport HR Baro for $440, and I’m sure it’s available for less elsewhere.
Questions about the Suunto 9 Baro, or have an experience with it? Leave a comment.
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Does the Suunto 9 Baro have an alarm that senses a rapid drop in pressure to alert you of an approaching storm?
On a personal note I have a Suunto x9i I purchased around 2005. The watch still works but even new the GPS would usually drain the battery before it acquired a lock. The barometer on the other hand is more accurate than my modern Garmin watch(es).
Yes, the Suunto 9 has a storm alarm. Go to Settings, then Alarms. Same place for alarm clock, sunrise and sunset.
It depends on where you are, what you’re doing, and what other equipment you have with you, but personally I find little value in a storm alarm anymore. Most of my trips are 5-7 days long, and I can get a decent weather forecast before I go. While on a trip, I can also pull weather off my inReach and/or if I get temporary cell service.
How has the distance accuracy been for backpacking, especially in 120s mode?
At 60 sec (“Good”), it’s better than the Ambit3 Peak, because it utilizes the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass to track its location between GPS pings. All previous Suunto watches rely on GPS only.
At 120 sec (“Okay”), I don’t know how it compares to the Ambit3 Peak at 60 sec. But these tracks might give you a sense:
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move227468407
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move227468396
http://www.movescount.com/moves/move227468375
Optical heart rate sensors work best when there is minimal light pollution. This happens most reliably when the watch has well padded skin to seal against, so it doesn’t work well if you are lean.
On the other hand, electrode based sensors like chest straps work best when there is minimal insulating material under the skin, so they are reliable if you are lean (and sweaty).
So you’re telling me that my scrawny runner arms leaves my wife wanting more AND messes up the optical HRM?
I find chest straps uncomfortable stretched around my more than ample frame. I was wonder if you ever tried an armband optical sensor (worn around the forearm) and if so, is it any better/more accurate than what’s built into the watch?
I’m not bothered by them so I’ve never tried another style (besides wrist).
😂 haha but isn’t your wife impressed by how well your chest strap works???
The wrist is about the worst place to try to measure heart rate, and the lighter the device the less it will tend to bounce around when you move, which means a better signal, so on paper a dedicated optical sensor worn on the forearm or bicep would be more accurate than one worn on the wrist and encumbered with a screen and other watch hardware.
I personally have very skinny wrists and have gotten better optical HR data from watches by wearing them on my forearm or ankle (my forearms and ankles are also quite skinny so a normal watch fits). Cranking the band down super (painfully) tight also helps optical HR to work better.
Most products also do some sort of signal processing, so you’ll see better results if your movements introduce noise that they specifically happen to be able to filter.
There’s really no substitute for trying HR sensors yourself while doing the activity you want it to measure if you want to know if it will be accurate for you.
Is this Suunto’s best watch for backpacking and hiking?
Hmm. It’s definitely between the Suunto 9 Baro and Ambit3 Peak.
With the Ambit3 Peak, you get a break on the price and better battery life. But with the Suunto 9 Baro you get more technology (e.g. optical HR, FusedTrack, activity tracking & smartwatch features) and a much better looking watch. I really like both models and you can’t go wrong. You just need to prioritize your needs in consideration of your available funds.
Hello Andrew,
Thanks for another very nice review.
Battery life is my concern as I am looking for a backpacking watch for trips of a week or more.
If I only set the GPS during walking hours, would it last a week? Could it be recharged? Does the charging cable have a USB ending so it would fit to a battery?
Thanks in advance.
For backpacking trips of 7+ days, you options are the Ambit3 Peak, Spartan Ultra, and Suunto 9. No other Suunto rivals the battery life of these models, and really neither does the Fenix 5, which is rated to 75 hours in Ultratrac mode.
The Suunto 9 is spec’d at 120 hours when set the watch to Ultra mode. In that mode, GPS readings happen every 120 seconds (and in between those readings, the watch pulls in data from less battery-intensive sensors like the compass and accelerometer), the optical HR is turned off, and the display is turned down.
In comparison, the Ambit3 Peak gets 200 hours when it’s set to 60-sec pings, although it does not have the FusedTrack technology.
These estimates are for pure run times. But both watches consume some battery when they’re not in use, the Suunto 9 more so. You’d want to get into the setting and turn off most features in order to hit that 120-hour mark. If, for example, you left on the optical HR while you slept, the battery would drain some overnight.
These watches can be easily and quickly recharged in the field. The batteries are not big and you can give it more than enough power for the following day in the time it takes you to make dinner. The charging cables are USB on one end, so you can plug them into portable batteries like you do with cables for your phone and inReach.
OK, great thanks for all the details Andrew, I am going to put the Suunto 9 on top of my gift list!
Ok, I have a very late and very dumb question. I just got the suunto 9 and cannot figure out how to create a poi while in a sport mode. When I’m hiking and (mostly) hunting, I want to be recording, but also create poi’s both for navigational purposes (like, ok here’s a game trail through this horrid blowdown to hit on my return) or the future (like, ok here’s a really active wallow that I want to save for the future). When I go to “navigate” while recording, I can only navigate to pre-recorded poi’s. I can create poi’s by going to the navigate screen before the sport mode is started, like when marking the truck, but not after. Am I missing something here? Haven’t been able to track down answers elsewhere. Thank you!
I’ve not worked with this feature at all, because I don’t think a GPS watch is the right tool for these tasks. A GPS watch works great for *recording* — a track, vertical change, your pace, distance, etc.
But for any *navigation*, I think you really want to be using a paper map and/or a GPS app on a smarthphone like Gaia or CalTopo. For hunting, the pinpointing accuracy of a GPS is very helpful for the reasons you mentioned (marking very specific game trails, wallows, tree raking, etc).
Does the 9 Baro allow for structured workouts to be uploaded like the Garmins, e.g. 10 mins at certain HR, 4x:20 at certain pace, 10 mins at certain HR?
Yes, it does. Instructions, https://www.suunto.com/en-us/Support/Product-support/suunto_9/suunto_9/features/interval-training/
With HR disabled and all other options unchanged Suunto 9 lasts 34 hours in Best mode. Perhaps that should be mentioned in the review.
Right, thanks for pointing that out. This watch has a lot of battery-sucking features AND individual controls over them, so actual battery max life is probably more of a range than set numbers like previous generations.
I’ve been going through the manual of the 9 (I’ve owned a Peak 3 for years) but one thing is unclear to me – perhaps somebody can shed some light?
Can you put a timer on the 9 and have it vibrate, and then have it automatically repeat?
I would love to be able to set a repeating timer for every 20 or 30 minutes and just get a subtle vibration, not a full alarm like on my cheap Casio.
Thanks in advance for any info.
In the Sport Mode settings, there is an Auto Lap feature that can be set to distance or duration. I don’t know if it will beep or vibrate at you, or both.
Hi a question which Suunto has yet to give me a respond. I have a spartan ultra and 4 times now it won’t find gps single. For days! It will track time like a stop watch but no gps. It just keeps searching. Any tips or others with this problem.
When did you last hardwire it with the sync program? The satellite locations probably need updating — it needs to know about where to look.
Hi, I had the same problem with the Suunto Spartan Ultra, as did many of my running friends. It was to the point that I would have to connect it to my computer or do a hard reset in order for the GPS to be tracked. I eventually sold the spartan and went back to my Ambit3 peak. I got a Suunto 9 for Christmas, but am thinking about getting rid of it and just keeping the Ambit3 peak. maybe I am just partial to my first Suunto!!
This happened on my Spartan Ultra when I switched from the Movescount to Suunto app on my Android phone. I had to completely reset the watch using the Suuntolink software on a computer to fix it.
Since this is not clear anywhere else, you can use the new Suunto app on your phone (not Movescount) and the Suuntolink app simultaneously on your computer if you want to try the new Suunto phone app but also have the computer upload and sync with Movescount. With the Suunto phone app I missed the planning calendar from Movescount and having preplanned workouts load onto the watch.
Brian I also really like the planning calendar in Movescount. If my workout for the day is e.g. 120min easy, my Ambit3 Peak lets me know when I’m at the half-way (time) point. I’m concerned with the news that Suunto is going to phase out the Movescount web-based platform and not replace it with another. Will the phone-based Suunto app replace these functions? Big bummer if not.
I previously had the Ambit3 Peak, the only frustrating issue was the amount of time it would take to sync my run to Strava. Can I ask if sync time is any better ?
I hard sync my Ambit and Suunto 9, just because it’s so much quicker than Bluetooth.
Hello , I shiped my ambit 2 to suunto repair centre because problems with altimeter. They offer my a replacement new ambit3 peak for 250$. Is it a deal? Is it better to ask to have a suunto 9 for a bit more $ ? I’m a marathoners and 100 miler . Thanks
You could comparison shop to determine if it’s a good deal.
As far as Ambit3 Peak vs Suunto 9…
The Peak is a great watch, but the 9 is better in just about every way, except price and battery life (depending on the settings).
Also, Suunto is more committed to the 9’s platform than they are to the Ambit. Be aware that Suunto is winding down some features associated with the Ambit, https://www.suunto.com/en-us/Content-pages/digital-service-transition/.
Hi,i had an ambit3 vertical as i was more into hiking before i switch into running,is it worth it to upgrade to a suunto 9 now?
There are a few reasons to upgrade, but without knowing your budget I can’t say if it’s right for you.
The Suunto 9 is better looking, more featured, more comfortable, and at least as long-lasting as the Vertical. But the Vertical is still entirely functional — before the 9 existed, I didn’t really hear of anyone complaining about it missing this or that.
Yeah. It works just fine in every single one of my hiking trips and even when i did 31 miles. Just want to see if it is worth the upgrade since I am planning to do more running than hiking this year, and Suunto 9 is still in my budget range. Thanks
Hi thanks for the awesome review. I am getting into triathlon. I am looking for a watch that can play podcast during the long-distance training. It seems not many people have reviewed on that aspect. You mentioned that you don’t care about being able to control music playing on your watch. Can you elaborate on that? Maybe Garmin Felix 5 is a better option for me since I am not planning getting into ultra running.
Hi,
First of all great review! Secondly, what are your thoughts on the migration from Movescount to Suunto app and more specifically, the lack of POI, sports mode and route functionality in the Suunto app? Seeing as there is no web-interface for the app, we are handcuffed to the phone when it comes to analysis etc, this is a BIG disadvantage for Suunto in the Suunto vs. Garmin match.
At the moment, I am using ambit peak 3 and pondering an upgrade – this considered I might skip Suunto 9 and go for a Fenix 5 instead. Thoughts on that?
I don’t understand why Suunto is ditching the website. An app might be more convenient, but full websites are always best for almost all power applications. I guess they think the bulk of the market is not that serious about their workouts, and they might be right.
Since the website is still functional, I have not played with the app much, so I don’t know what that post-website experience will be like. If the app isn’t cutting it, if Strava doesn’t give you what you need, and if you don’t want to plug into another high-tech platform, then I can understand why you’re looking at Garmin.
I am with you fully here and I’ve tried discussing this with Suunto, however customer service is not initiated enough to give full answers. I don’t mind if they are right, however they are at risk of losing influential / power users while catering to the masses. The old movescount app was fairly shitty as a stand-alone (although it had the functionality regarding plans) and so is Suunto app. Movescount has the handsdown best utitlity when it comes to planning routes imo, especially since you can import GPX-routes.
Good on ya, I did the reverse and migrated to the app since it promised so much. At the time I was injured and not until I started planning this summers hikes and mountain runs did I discover that I had no way of doing so. I am running TrainingPeaks for analysis, but that won’t help me plot and plan routes – unless you can do that in Strava?
Is it possible to disable optical heart rate under the Performance battery setting? I’d like to keep all other settings (best GPS etc), but the inaccurate heart rate data is just a waste of time. I do own the Suunto heart rate strap, but don’t always want/need to wear it. Thanks for a great review!
You should be able to do that through the online portal in Sport Modes.
Hi Andrew. A couple of questions. Do you need to recalibrate the watch for mileage. I went for a hike the other day and did 5.3 miles as calculated by my phone. The watch read 21.32 miles. And I have always noticed it is about .2 miles off from other peoples watches and phones. Is it off? Why? And how to fix? Also, is there a way to turn the sensor lights off? When the watch is off my arm at night for example the lights shine. And I notice them form the night stand or the tent at night. Just pretty annoying. Thanks
I’ve never seen the mileage that far off, unless I accidentally jumped on my bike or car after the run without turning it off first. Maybe it hadn’t successfully connected with the satellites. Sync it regularly so that it gets updates on their locations.
As far as the normal 0.2 miles, it’s tough to say what watches or phones are the most accurate. In my experience with the Ambit3 Peak and Suunto 9 on marked courses, I’ve always been really impressed with the accuracy for a 2.5-ounce wrist watch.
You can turn off the optical light in the settings.
I sent you an email about this, but long story short, I recently picked up a used Ambit3 unit on eBay for $150 and am getting slightly spooked with this Movescount/Suunto App discussion that seems to be breaking out on all the discussion boards (and Suunto’s site). Do I hold out as long as I can with my Ambit3 Peak or do I sell it and invest in a unit that will be guaranteed support for years to come (Suunto 5 or 9).
I am a casual runner, hiker, biker and swimmer, but am getting more and more serious about running, trail running and hiking. My budget supports picking up the 9 but I would rather my Ambit support my needs for a little while longer. I am mostly concerned with holding out too long, Suunto drops support, and this thing is a paperweight that I can’t sell 2nd hand on eBay or Craigslist.
You can still change the sport modes through the Movescount website, right? If so, just do it through that — it’s more user-friendly than the app anyway.
I still really like the Ambit3 and wish that Suunto wasn’t abandoning it entirely. It has better battery life than any other watch; it’s extremely accurate, and has 90 percent of the features/capabilities that you really need; and its price is extremely reasonable.
If you already own the Ambit3, I would probably try to milk it until you’re tired of fighting its obsolescence. By then, you can probably get a Suunto 9 for a good price, and it seems like the 9 is on Suunto’s tech platform for the foreseeable future.
How to you like this Suunto 9 Baro compared to the new Garmin Fenix 6x Plus Solar?
When I saw that it retailed for $1,000, I stopped reading.
You got the point. I own Suunto 9 baro (but consider myself no Suunto addict). I think this is for vast majority of people a very good watch, stripped off many unnecessary features Garmin has (admittedly there are some which I wish and Suunto promises them in upcoming firmware update)
What do you think about the Coros Apex?
Haven’t used it.
Reviewing your website, you use paper maps for navigation and bearing, but did you use the Ambit3 bearing navigation tool? If so, was that useful backcountry hiking?
I use the GPS watch for measuring distance and vertical I’ve covered, and recording a GPX track, plus also time and altitude. I don’t use it for following bearings, using the compass or go-to waypoint nav.
Not sure if you found this, https://andrewskurka.com/navigation-system-equipment-watch-compass-altimeter-gps/
Good review. I also came from an Ambit3, which I loved and still own, however Suunto forced me to upgrade after six years of total contentment due to the discontinuation of Movescount.
I am sorely disappointed with my Suunto 9 Baro. I really dislike having a touchscreen, especially one that I cannot lock and unlock manually. For instance when I am out in the rain or having a shower (not in training mode,) if I press a button on the watch there is no way of locking it again and the water droplets mess everything up and I have to reset all my settings again. It is a ridiculous oversight on the part of Suunto. If this isn’t rectified very soon in a firmware update I will definitely be switching over to a Garmin Fenix.
Hi Andrew, did Suunto finally release a firmware update and if so, has that addressed your reservations about the watch?
No such firmware has hit my watch. However:
* The breadcrumb track can be turned off, in the watch settings.
* Time was added to the top of the face, on all screens, so 5-field screens are really now six.
* With as many as 7 fields per screen (though, realistically, five is the max, unless you have really good vision or are doing something with less bounce than running), you really don’t need more than 3 screen displays — you should be able to feature all the info that you want.
Sounds like plenty of data for my aging eyes, thanks for the response. I am tempted to update from the Suunto Ambit3 Peak, so long as it is also an upgrade.
Hi Andrew
I bought a 9 BARO last august.
From the very start, the watch shows unconsistent measures of asc. & desc. elevation (3 to 4 times the real measure) – whatever sports, whatever settings used and after multiple firmware resets -, all other figures of routes being accurate.
Suunto finally changed the watch (support is not easy to catch in France) but I get the same issue.
Did you or somebody of your audience heard of that kind of troubles ? and the way it was solved if any ?
Thanks
Eric
I used to have Ambit3 Vertical, but it had issues with altimeter – during exercise outdoors, especially in cold weather, it would show that I am climbing 100 meters a minute, even though I was on a flat terrain. Whenever that happened a display would go very dim – a strange combination of issues.
I was wondering if anyone experienced the same issues with baro/alti measurements on the Suunto 9? It was released shortly after the Vertical model, so I was wondering if these models use the same hardware that causes these issues? Thank you!
Was the crystal display just frozen up? If the data exported was actually correct, then this maybe was going on.
I’ve not seen errors like this with the Suunto 9, or the Ambit3 Peak.
Thank you for your comment! The exported data also showed incorrect measurements. Altitude just kept going up to 9999 m in one instance, and there were wild swings in speed, even though I was walking or even standing still. At the same time, the screen just turned very low contrast, but it was still working. Suunto sent me 2 Vertical watches as a replacement and all had the same issue.
My 9 baro is significantly inaccurate when I use it on the middle or worst battery settings. I had to switch to ultra mode on a 100 miler and it somehow recorded a mile in like 21 seconds, which set all kinds of crazy Strava records I can’t change. I try to keep it on performance mode for the most accurate readings.
Andrew,
Is the Suunto 9 Baro still your favorite? Is there anything else worth a look now?
Thanks!
I’m still using it for road/trail running and I’m very happy with it.
For backpacking I still go back to my Ambit3 Peak because of its awesome battery life.
Thanks much, Andrew!
Hi Andrew, thanks for the excellent review.
After using the suunto9 for a couple of years the battery is draining very fast. I can’t find anywhere if it can be changed or doesn’t have to be sent to Suunto? Thanks
That’s a bummer, sorry you’re dealing with that.
I’d contact Suunto customer service.
FWIW, my watch is still getting excellent battery life. 25 hours it says, when it’s fully charged. And that seems about right, because I need to charge it about every other week, and I’ve been running 10-ish hours per week all winter.
Suunto seems to have reversed course on supporting the Ambit 3 Peak. I just saw today that they have a Suunto Link app you can download and use like you used to with the Movescount site and app. I was about ready to ditch my Ambit 3 Peak but it now has new life. I can change the GOS ping settings and define custom sport modes once again.
Andrew, I’ve had the 9 Baro for a couple years now and I still love it. My biggest complaint is that when I switch it to a different mode than performance, it wants to calibrate fused track and I find it very difficult to accomplish the calibration. If I ignore the calibration, it’ll bug me sometimes for the first hour until my activity accomplishes the calibration.
HR data is inaccurate, but I don’t really care. It gives me a nice frame of reference regardless.
I’ve managed 4-5 days of tracking during the AMWC before, despite the charging cord dying on me during that slog.
Sometimes the center button sticks and I have to pull it out with pliers, and for several months last year during a long bike tour the touch screen stopped working, but it came back after a hard reset after not being used for a long time.
This watch works amazingly for everything I put it through, and it’s surprisingly quite tough.
Hello,
It is gift time these days, so Suunto watches are on sale.350eur for a Suunto9 baro is a very tempting price. However,
Before spending my money, a couple of notes:
-> we are end 2022. What has happened with the software of the Suunto9 since your review?
-> i’m a Suunto user from the beginning, currently stuck with the Spartan sport Wr. If i compare the table with the Suunto9 i don’t see any added value(https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/07/suunto-9-multisport-gps-in-depth-review.html#comments). Does time stood still at Suunto?
-> flaws of my Spartan are not addressed in the Suunto9, so why should i upgrade than?
->flaw1: routing when following a gpx via breadcrumble: the gps is not accurate enough(especially when running in a forest). I need my garmin530 cycling gps to follow the gpx. How ridiculous is that?
Using the workaround to get your turn by turn info via the Komoot app on the Suunto9 is even more ridiculous: why do you still have your gps for than?
->wrist hr:not reliable. At least not for getting accurate recovery info during sleep(accurate rest hr)
->sleep not accurate:the Spartan thinks i’m awake as soon as i turn myself in bed.
->swim: ‘not accurate’ would be an underestimated expression. Far off in distance, and wrist HR not useable.
->Suunto9 has a bigger screen. I don’t want that. The Spartan is still to be worn as a ‘normal’ watch.
->have all issues with the new gps chip been resolved after all these years?
For running more than 15 years with a Suunto, i’m becoming very sceptic to buy another one.
If somebody can change my mind, i would be glad to get some insight.