I'm very grateful for the amount of time and effort you put into your videos. Am currently hunting for a watch, the Suunto Race, Race S and Ocean are contenders and this has been really helpful. Thank you.
Great video, thanks for the time you put into these. I bought the Race S two months ago and was a little disappointed with battery life at first. For the first few weeks I was getting MAYBE 3 days (with AOD, regular runs, etc.). No idea how or why, but after a few weeks the battery started to last longer and feels like it's settled into a very predictable 5 days with AOD, daily runs, etc - still not amazing but much closer to what Suunto reports on their website. Anyway, not sure how long you've had your Race S but thought I'd mention this in case your battery hasn't "acclimated" yet like mine has. I have a lot of experience with Coros, Apple Watch Ultra and Suunto and the Race S feels like it gives me a solid balance of all the metrics, mapping and AMOLED with decent battery life.
@@AndrewAllgaier awesome summary! I just used it for the two weeks, and yes it did seem like it was shorter than my first time testing the race S. Thank you so much for sharing! It's bonkers the quality of the product relative to the price, to me.
Love the video! Unfortunately I still can’t decide which watch I want, i like the idea of the race s but I want a watch with a strong battery life. As someone who’s not a professional athlete I feel as though I might be able to get away with slightly less accurate data Cheers!
Super useful info on the rest and recovery metrics. Separately, I desperately want Suunto to close the HR accuracy gap with Garmin in workouts -- Garmin needs some serious competition to reign in their bonkers pricing lately.
@@ZachGottlieb completely! Thank you for the compliment as well. I really don't understand how manufacturers these days on the sports and training watch side don't just put out next level HR accuracy at the outset of their goals for a device!
I got the Race S in September and love it. But as an above average size man (fingers not the least) I have now ordered an Race. Assuming use of crown and buttons to be even better. Let see. Any remark on that aspect from you?
Great real life review, thank you for that! One thing to mention in the differences is that the original Race has sapphire glass and the Race s has gorilla glass. Don't know if this will be an issue for the Race S in durability, because I've already seen pictures of a Race with a big scratch on it.
The original race comes with a sapphire glass which is real nice ! I have owned my race for about a year and have been real happy with its long battery life and quality build.
I have had the Race S for about a month now. I periodically check heart rate throughout the day, and I have noticed that the Race S will report an elevated heart rate when I am sitting and essentially doing nothing. The first time this happened I thought that I was having some type of cardiac event. I took a carotid pulse and counted out 60 BPM. The Race S was reporting 120 plus. I took the watch off, let the HR value zero out, then put the watch back on. The Race S then reported a value in line with the physical measurement. This has happened at least once a day. The watch will not correct itself without being physically removed. There must be some polling interval where a correction takes place otherwise the averages would be absurd, and it seems that they are at least in the ballpark. This is makes me question the reliability of the HR related metrics, however. I am considering returning, or at least exchanging the unit. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem?
I got the fr955 brand new last week for 299€. It has every feature I need and more. But I still ordered Race S today cause I want to compare them side by side as I dont think I necessarily need all the garmins features
@@fitgearhunter For 299€ (my discount price), the 955 offers more in my opinion. If we're talking about 450€ which is closer to its real price, the Race S is the more interesting option. If we throw away the value question and compare side by side (which I've done for the past 2 days). It's a difficult comparison for numerous reasons. First of all some some major Garmin features I would lose with the Race S: - Garmin pay (no longer phone needed during my runs to stop at cafes, quick snack. immense value and peace of mind) - Spotify, again I could leave my phone home and listen to music or podcasts - Battery life. Altho I don't need that much battery as I would just charge it whenever I'm taking a shower and that would be enough for my weekly usage. - Garmins Firstbeat Analytics is a very reputable source for data, especially with calculating vo2max, which necessarily isn't as accurate on the Suunto. However, after 3 runs my Suunto vo2max is 54 and my Garmin at 57. So it's still surprisingly close despite Suunto not seeing any of my threshold effort yet. - Training readiness and status. Training readiness is such an easy and fun feature to have. Not something I need but its a bonus for sure. I also find the training load very easy to understand on Garmin. Garmin sure collects alot of data (a bit too much for my taste), but it can also present the data better for the user in my opinion. - Resume later. Something about stopping the workout and continueing it 20mins after without using watch's resources is something Ive grown to like. I dont use it often but I appreciate the feature - Some customization and small things. For example I can only edit the workout watchfaces on phone.. - The heart rate sensor is accurate enough, during 1 hour run I got avg HR 154 on Suunto and 155 on Garmin. But sometimes when the screen isn't on, the HR is way off, but it levels to correct value in 10 - 20 seconds. I don't think this affects workouts/daily life at all, but the Garmins just seems to be a tad bit better - I basically only run, the Garmin somehow feels more like a specific running watch compared to Race S, which feels more like an adventure/mountaineering watch. Features that make me want to keep the Race S: - Designed and made in Finland - Change and trying out something new - Display. Amoled is gorgeous and works really well in Finland where its quite dark most of the year. The really sunny part lasts for 3 months max. Most of my runs during the year are done in darkness where my MIP backlight has to be on. - Much prettier and especially thinner build, smaller bezels but slightly bigger display - The Suunto app. If the Suunto app wasn't as great as it is I would've already returned the watch. It properly feels like a training diary compared to Garming. The calendar and the Progress page where you get fitness/fatigue/form graphs over time is a feature that I would love to have. Admittedly the CTL, ATL, TSB takes some time to get used to, but at the moment I think I prefer it over the much simpler training load of Garmin. At the same time I'm so customed to Garmins way of presenting data so it's a difficult choice. Too bad I have to make decision before I can properly see this feature work in my daily life. I see the fr955 as a better watch for my needs, but I just like the UI, the look and the feel and the app of the Suunto better... Very difficult choice.
I'm very grateful for the amount of time and effort you put into your videos. Am currently hunting for a watch, the Suunto Race, Race S and Ocean are contenders and this has been really helpful. Thank you.
Great video, thanks for the time you put into these. I bought the Race S two months ago and was a little disappointed with battery life at first. For the first few weeks I was getting MAYBE 3 days (with AOD, regular runs, etc.). No idea how or why, but after a few weeks the battery started to last longer and feels like it's settled into a very predictable 5 days with AOD, daily runs, etc - still not amazing but much closer to what Suunto reports on their website. Anyway, not sure how long you've had your Race S but thought I'd mention this in case your battery hasn't "acclimated" yet like mine has. I have a lot of experience with Coros, Apple Watch Ultra and Suunto and the Race S feels like it gives me a solid balance of all the metrics, mapping and AMOLED with decent battery life.
@@AndrewAllgaier awesome summary! I just used it for the two weeks, and yes it did seem like it was shorter than my first time testing the race S. Thank you so much for sharing! It's bonkers the quality of the product relative to the price, to me.
That's very interesting, I appreciate your videos and the point of view you chose for evaluate these devices.
Love the video! Unfortunately I still can’t decide which watch I want, i like the idea of the race s but I want a watch with a strong battery life. As someone who’s not a professional athlete I feel as though I might be able to get away with slightly less accurate data
Cheers!
Very nice summary! Would be awesome to have a race s titanium solar version to compensate shorter battery life!
@@orbantomi11 thank you! And I have no idea what products are coming I just saw something about a titanium variant on a rumor board.
@@47odnalor saw that! Like they secretly released it really. Thank you!
Super useful info on the rest and recovery metrics. Separately, I desperately want Suunto to close the HR accuracy gap with Garmin in workouts -- Garmin needs some serious competition to reign in their bonkers pricing lately.
@@ZachGottlieb completely! Thank you for the compliment as well. I really don't understand how manufacturers these days on the sports and training watch side don't just put out next level HR accuracy at the outset of their goals for a device!
I got the Race S in September and love it. But as an above average size man (fingers not the least) I have now ordered an Race. Assuming use of crown and buttons to be even better. Let see. Any remark on that aspect from you?
Great real life review, thank you for that! One thing to mention in the differences is that the original Race has sapphire glass and the Race s has gorilla glass. Don't know if this will be an issue for the Race S in durability, because I've already seen pictures of a Race with a big scratch on it.
@@ChristianSlagter that is a great point! I totally should have mentioned that. Thank you so much!
The original race comes with a sapphire glass which is real nice ! I have owned my race for about a year and have been real happy with its long battery life and quality build.
Fantastic video. Very helpful 🎉
@@fabii85 thank you so much!
Thank you very much for this great review
@@MarcelHeijboer happy to help and glad you liked it!
my RaceTi HR at sleep has kept inline with my epix2
I have had the Race S for about a month now. I periodically check heart rate throughout the day, and I have noticed that the Race S will report an elevated heart rate when I am sitting and essentially doing nothing. The first time this happened I thought that I was having some type of cardiac event. I took a carotid pulse and counted out 60 BPM. The Race S was reporting 120 plus. I took the watch off, let the HR value zero out, then put the watch back on. The Race S then reported a value in line with the physical measurement. This has happened at least once a day. The watch will not correct itself without being physically removed. There must be some polling interval where a correction takes place otherwise the averages would be absurd, and it seems that they are at least in the ballpark. This is makes me question the reliability of the HR related metrics, however. I am considering returning, or at least exchanging the unit. Has anyone else experienced a similar problem?
Yes. Same problem for me.
Do you think the Race S is better than the Vantage M3?
What would you consider to have the best HR accuracy? Garmin? Apple? HUAWEI? Thank you for this Video and greetings from Germany
I love the Race but i worry about the weight and size, i have pretty thin wrists at 15.5cm :( i wonder if the original race would be too big
@@sebastiento9695 great question! Why not immediately look at the race S? It's cheaper and more perfectly sized for your wrist!
Any update on Suunto Race S titanium? :)
@@fridadeivizsla2729 well I heard that initial rumor but I haven't heard anything since!
@@fitgearhunter tnx!!!
I got the fr955 brand new last week for 299€. It has every feature I need and more. But I still ordered Race S today cause I want to compare them side by side as I dont think I necessarily need all the garmins features
@@videoforum4047 the 955 is feature packed! No doubt about it. Would love to hear your follow up on feelings after you have used both
@@fitgearhunter For 299€ (my discount price), the 955 offers more in my opinion. If we're talking about 450€ which is closer to its real price, the Race S is the more interesting option.
If we throw away the value question and compare side by side (which I've done for the past 2 days). It's a difficult comparison for numerous reasons.
First of all some some major Garmin features I would lose with the Race S:
- Garmin pay (no longer phone needed during my runs to stop at cafes, quick snack. immense value and peace of mind)
- Spotify, again I could leave my phone home and listen to music or podcasts
- Battery life. Altho I don't need that much battery as I would just charge it whenever I'm taking a shower and that would be enough for my weekly usage.
- Garmins Firstbeat Analytics is a very reputable source for data, especially with calculating vo2max, which necessarily isn't as accurate on the Suunto. However, after 3 runs my Suunto vo2max is 54 and my Garmin at 57. So it's still surprisingly close despite Suunto not seeing any of my threshold effort yet.
- Training readiness and status. Training readiness is such an easy and fun feature to have. Not something I need but its a bonus for sure. I also find the training load very easy to understand on Garmin. Garmin sure collects alot of data (a bit too much for my taste), but it can also present the data better for the user in my opinion.
- Resume later. Something about stopping the workout and continueing it 20mins after without using watch's resources is something Ive grown to like. I dont use it often but I appreciate the feature
- Some customization and small things. For example I can only edit the workout watchfaces on phone..
- The heart rate sensor is accurate enough, during 1 hour run I got avg HR 154 on Suunto and 155 on Garmin. But sometimes when the screen isn't on, the HR is way off, but it levels to correct value in 10 - 20 seconds. I don't think this affects workouts/daily life at all, but the Garmins just seems to be a tad bit better
- I basically only run, the Garmin somehow feels more like a specific running watch compared to Race S, which feels more like an adventure/mountaineering watch.
Features that make me want to keep the Race S:
- Designed and made in Finland
- Change and trying out something new
- Display. Amoled is gorgeous and works really well in Finland where its quite dark most of the year. The really sunny part lasts for 3 months max. Most of my runs during the year are done in darkness where my MIP backlight has to be on.
- Much prettier and especially thinner build, smaller bezels but slightly bigger display
- The Suunto app. If the Suunto app wasn't as great as it is I would've already returned the watch. It properly feels like a training diary compared to Garming. The calendar and the Progress page where you get fitness/fatigue/form graphs over time is a feature that I would love to have. Admittedly the CTL, ATL, TSB takes some time to get used to, but at the moment I think I prefer it over the much simpler training load of Garmin. At the same time I'm so customed to Garmins way of presenting data so it's a difficult choice. Too bad I have to make decision before I can properly see this feature work in my daily life.
I see the fr955 as a better watch for my needs, but I just like the UI, the look and the feel and the app of the Suunto better... Very difficult choice.
@@videoforum4047 ...and? :) Which one did you keep?
Man, sapphire glass. It’s a big difference vs gorilla glass.