Onebag: Suunto 9 GPS Watch
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In case you couldn't guess, I'm not traveling anytime soon. I've been doing exactly what you're probably doing: staying at home. My onebag is currently gathering dust in the closet as I wait for the coronavirus to resolve — it's just too difficult to make any firm travel plans at the moment. But that doesn't mean I can't still review a few things that have made a semi-permanent home in my pack, because a lot of these items are things that I use in everyday life anyway.
Let's take a look at one of my favorite new pieces of gear that have been putting in the miles.
Let's play a funeral march for travel plans.
Although I had been eyeing a GPS watch for some time, there was something in the works before the virus hit that made me finally pull the trigger. It's always been my dream to visit Tibet and do the Everest Base Camp trek. Since I was living in China and already had a visa, this summer was looking like the perfect time to fulfill that bucket list item. It would have been great to have something like the Suunto 9 around that would allow me to plan the route and get a real-time update on the current altitude, distance trekked, etc.
Obviously, that's not happening anymore. If it does happen, it's hard to say when. Part of the appeal was having already gotten through most of the red tape by having a residence permit, the relative inexpensiveness of already being in China, and the guaranteed income in the months leading up to the trip. That plan has gone up in smoke and is now in danger of life just moving on depending on what happens with the virus. I don't want to pollute your otherwise pleasant morning with my cynicism, but I think vacations are a luxury we won't be seeing for quite a while.
Yikes, that went to a dark place....back to the watch!
It's not a smartwatch and it doesn't try to be.
When you are restricted from going out and having social interactions and are likely spending more time in a sedentary state, regular exercise becomes essential for keeping your head screwed on straight. For me, that means running, walking, and hiking whenever possible. I've been taking along the Suunto 9 GPS watch as my new running companion since social distancing prevents having any real companions around.
This is my first GPS watch, so this is more of a ramble about what I like and dislike about it than an in-depth review or a comparison to other watches on the market. For the price point and features, it was right up my street to use as a fitness tracker and GPS tool for hiking and general navigation while traveling. I very nearly bought an Apple Watch instead, but ultimately went with the Suunto 9 because of its great battery life, which is probably the most important thing to have if you're navigating an unfamiliar area.
It's important to make the distinction between smartwatches and GPS watches. If you've only ever owned a smartwatch and turn the Suunto 9 on for the first time, you might be disappointed. The interface is very simple, almost to the point of looking dated. The flashiness of an Apple or Samsung smartwatch comes at the price of very poor battery life, and that's okay if you don't plan on using it for a weeklong trip with dicey access to power outlets. The Suunto's rudimentary interface preserves its battery life in situations where you need it most.
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You won't get lost if you read the manual.
The Suunto 9 has many features and the interface for finding them and making the most of them is very stripped down. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean you actually need to play around with it and — gasp — read the manual to figure a few things out before actually using it in GPS mode. If you've ever been lost before, and I mean really lost, then you'll know that it's the worst possible time to try to figure out how your GPS device works. So, I highly recommend cracking open the beefy manual and watching a YouTube tutorial or two before relying on it in a real use case.
“If you've ever been lost before, and I mean really lost, then you'll know that it's the worst possible time to try to figure out how your GPS device works.”
It's very important to note that you must make your routes with the Suunto 9 app and sync them to the watch before using it to navigate. Once these routes are loaded in, you simply go to Navigation in the main menu and select your route. You cannot just use it on the fly without a route, although you can find the coordinates of your location at any time. You can set different points of interest for your routes such as a water source, campsite, or road crossing. The watch will give you updates when you reach these POIs. If you wander more than 100m off your planned route, the watch will tell you. If your route crosses itself at some point, the Suunto 9 leaves breadcrumbs to show where you've already been, so it is crucial to pay attention to that.
Once you have a clear understanding of route planning within the app, it is easy to use and I don't see why one would need a more expensive watch unless they need terrain mapping and more battery life. The watch supports multiple battery modes depending on the situation. It can last from 14 days to 25 hours depending on the mode, but keep in mind you can maximize the efficiency of the battery life by playing with the intelligent battery modes or the frequency of GPS tracking.
Move your body to stay sane.
When you can't get endorphins from social interactions or enjoying a nice meal at a restaurant, your best bet is to make them yourself by staying active. The Suunto 9 has many tools for tracking your activities and setting goals. There are 80 different sport modes preloaded into the app, but you can also set custom modes as well as customize the watch display for the different modes. Together with the Suunto app, or a third-party integration like Strava, it's very easy to set goals and get instant feedback after a workout.
The heart rate monitor really shines in this watch compared to other fitness trackers I've used. I have tachycardia, so I don't like to push my heart too hard when I'm running. This is the first tracker I've been able to rely on for accuracy in that regard. You can also keep track of your pace, intensity, elevation gain/loss, and many other features as you run. If you sync the watch with the app, you can view detailed maps of your runs and see where you lost or gained steam relative to your location.
“I prefer the sleek design by Suunto, which is designed and made in Finland, and you guys know I have a fetish for Nordic design.”
Form factor and durability
An unavoidable feature of most GPS watches is that they are quite chunky. You gotta put all of those features somewhere. Although it does look quite big on the wrist, I don't really feel the weight of it (72 g / 2.5 oz) when I'm running. The case is made of glass fibre reinforced polyamide, making it quite light for its size as well as extremely durable. You will not need to worry about breaking this unless you accidentally drop it several hundred meters off a cliff, and even then you might get lucky if you somehow find it again.
Compared to other GPS watches from Garmin - seemingly the only real competitor - I prefer the sleek design by Suunto, which is designed and made in Finland, and you guys know I have a fetish for Nordic design. It's a big watch, but that doesn’t mean it can't be elegant. There are no unnecessary grooves, nooks, or crannies on the watch face and there are only three stainless steel buttons off to the side. The silicone band has holes down its entire length that make the watch appropriate for any wrist size while also increasing breathability.
I would buy this just for running.
While I lament my inability to use this on a multi-day expedition to the foot of Everest, I'm really happy to have it just for running. It's made me think about my workouts differently by analyzing the data to see where I need to keep a more consistent pace to achieve greater distances. If you train for a race in the future (I assume they're all canceled right now) then this would be an essential tool to prepare for that. Grab the Suunto 9 while you can - it is currently heavily discounted on the Suunto website. ◉
Written by Seth Barham
