The Suunto Race is Suunto’s first multisports watch to pack an AMOLED display, as it aims to go toe-to-toe with watches like our 2023 Running Watch of the Year the Garmin Forerunner 965 and the newly announced, AMOLED-packing Polar Vantage V3.
Coming in cheaper than its big AMOLED rivals, the Race packs in dual-band GPS, free offline mapping, plenty of training and analysis features and promises to last for weeks as opposed to days.
Testers Mike, Nick and Kieran have all enjoyed some early running time with the new Race to find out if it makes a good first impression.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
00:11 – Price and Differences
05:05 – The Run Test
18:11 – Initial Verdict
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Hey this is mik from the Run testers and This is our first run multitester review Of The sunto Race So before getting some multitester Thoughts on the sunto race what exactly Is the sun race well this is Soto's First multiports watch with an AMOLED Display and features and functionality Wise it's definitely building on what we Saw on the sunto vertical which we've Already reviewed on the channel and Really liked as well too now while the Vertical is very much an outdoor Centric Watch the sunto race is considered more Performance-based watch so this is aimed At people are probably looking at things Like the Gan 4Runner range and also the Vantage V series as well too from po so In terms of price things are pretty Interesting on the sunto race now it Comes in two versions a bit like the Sunto vertical so you have a cheaper Stainless steel version and then the Pricier titanium model of the race now The starting price of the sun race puts It much less than watches that it's Competing against which are a lot more Expensive so things like the Gin 4 965 The Gin epics epic Pro the polar Vantage Fe 3 and also things like the Apple Watch Ultra so in terms of a feature Packed top end multi sports watch the C Race definitely comes in less than the Competition so a few other things to
Highlight on the design aside from that Kind of titanium or stainless steel Bezel option you are getting a removable Silicon strap and sunto is offering some New kind of brighter more color full Straps to attach to this watch you are Getting a polymer case you're getting Three physical buttons including this Kind of twisting watch Crown style one You are getting a design overall that is A waterproof up to 100 m and you are of Course getting an amlo display and it is A 1.43 in 466 X 466 resolution amalo Display it is one that is a touchscreen Display and it is you have the option to Have it as always on which will Obviously impact on the battery life and You also have a rais to weight gesture Support there so those are the key Things to kind to re highlight on the Design things on the sun race okay so Into those key features and unsurprising There is a lot here available in the sun Race we really kind of pick out the Headline ones and we'll kind of list What else to look out for on this watch The first one or the bit first big one Being is it's got the kind of dual band GPS mode that we saw on the CTO vertical We're now getting that here on the race Which is you know designed to kind of Improve that outdoor tracking accuracy When you are running near tall buildings Where you are kind of deeply forested
Areas which kind of impact on the signal You are also getting free offline Mapping as well here too something again We saw on the S vertical and obviously Have the benefits of Hamming an ambled Display and really Elevate the amount of Detail that you can see here on the Sunto race now in terms of other Features there's plenty in terms of the Training analysis side of things one That sun is really kind of talking about Here is a kind of HRV based recovery Insights now this is something we're Seeing from Garmin and po as well too And Sun's approach is very similar in Terms of kind of taking heart rate Variability measurements particularly During sleep to kind of offer those kind Of insights in terms of your recovery Time so in terms of that kind of third Party app support you've got that here Too just like you had on the sun Vertical and most sunto watches as well Too you're getting some kind of race Focused um features here as well too get Access to the CTO Plus store as well to Kind of add extra functionality to this Watch here the Smartwatch features here They're not as kind of feature Rich as What you see on something like a Garmin But you are getting ability to view Notifications you're getting the ability To control your music playback from your Phone as well too and it works with
Android and iOS as well too so so those Are some of the key kind of headline Features on the sunto race everything Again as I said we've got the sun Vertical it's really been brought here On the race but kind of elevated it or Improved it or enhanced it having that AMOLED display with the race as well too And we do have to talk about battery Life because that's a pretty big deal Here the fact that you've got an AML Display and that will typically drain The battery live a little bit quicker Than kind of older display technology so In terms of what sunto is tting on the Race it saying you can get up to 12 days If you are just using kind of daily kind Of usage Smartwatch mode no training and You can get up to 26 days if you turn Off the continuous heart rate monitoring And again you're not training or logging Any training so really kind of that Daily looking at notifications looking At the time that's a kind of level of Battery life that you can expect to get In terms of GPS battery life that kind Of top end GPS actually mode you're Getting 40 hours of battery life and That can go as high as 120 hours but Obviously you are restricting the Accuracy of the GPS tracking and also Turning off things like heart rate Monitoring so it's kind of in line with Similar watches But ultimately what it's
Saying is that with a sun race this Isn't a watch with an Amal display that Is going to get you a few days this is Going to get you well over a week and Maybe potentially weeks but ultimately That's not really those numbers are not Really factoring when you're kind of Training on a regular basis so how does It per form let's find out so far and Our initial thoughts on the sun Race so I've been testing the sunto race Since Thursday and I've done three runs With it in that time I've really enjoyed Using it so far the design is very nice It is a big watch but it doesn't feel Very bulky or heavy on the wrist I found It pretty comfortable to wear the whole Time I like the three button layout with A digital dial that's worked quite well For me and the screen is obviously Really nice and bright it's a it's an Upgrading what we've seen from sunto in The past and it's just a nice AMOLED Screen think sunto does a huge amount With its user interface to really take Advantage of that screen yet I certainly Think there could be some nicer watch Faces available but overall it's a Lovely screen to look at during workouts And outside workouts and I've had no Real problems of lag either I'd say Especially when using the digital dial It scans through the widgets very Quickly kind of see that there uh and
Even when using the touch screen it Hasn't been very laggy for me it's not Instant response every single time but It's not been any kind of annoyance for Me the lag on the watch there's not Really been any lag basically is what I'm saying so I've done three runs like I said in that time I've also been using The polar Vantage V3 and the Gin epics Pro so the G epics Pro is basically the Control watch with very good multi bound GPS and that's linked to a polar h10 Chest stra to check the ACC of the Heart Ray tracking on the new watches I am Testing here so I did like an easy to Steady General training run around me And me to look at GPS and heart rate a Hard progression 10K based on heart rate And then I did a longer run in the woods Yesterday to look at GPS under tree Cover and check out the maps on the sun Race so start GPS which has been Absolutely excellent we saw sunto multi Pound GPS on the vertical earlier this Year and it was really really good right Up there with gin which I think is the Best on the market so I'd say the sunto And gin are the best multi GPS watches Available that is the same with the Sunto race no problems GPS very similar To the Garmin in terms of the tracks it Produces it doesn't really run wide at Corners it's a very consistent track not Really throwing up any errors under tree
Cover splits have been coming in at the Same time as the other multiband watches I've been wearing and overall yeah GPS Top Notch so far don't expect every any Problems with it in the future so that's Great I love having a really accurate GPS on my wrist and I'd say that the Race is yeah is right up there heart Rate accuracy has been more of a mixed Bag so it was very good on the hardest Run I've done in it that progression 10K I did two heart rate and I was really Pushing up towards my maximum heart rate And I was obviously using the Epic Pro To judge the session because I had it Linked to a chest STP but I could have Used the sunto for it because the heart Rate was that accurate it was Rising Steadily in line with the chest strap For the most part and it was really Impressive actually on the easier runs I've done in it it's been much worse so Easy Dr around the forest yesterday the Heart rate reading was just too high the Whole time and on my easy to steady run Had a massive section where my heart Rate was way too high and the Run got Class as like a V2 Max effort so I still Would be linking a chest trap to this Watch but it did work very well for the One run I really needed it to be good But overall yeah I think the accuracy Not quite there I probably will link a Chest rat for a lot of my testing just
So I can test the training analysis Features on the watch a little bit Better so and then on the run in the Woods yesterday I had the a route loaded And used the maps on the watch and They're really good like it's easy to Create a route in the sunto app and then Send it to the watch very quickly get a Nice clear line showing the way you're Going to go one thing I really like that Sunto does is it shows the next turn You're making with a different color Arrow on the map so it's very obvious on Your route so for example the start of My route yesterday there was a bit which Was I was going to do in both directions Cuz it was near my house and you could See which way I was meant to go the First time because the blue arrow is Pointing to turn to the left just makes It really easy to follow the roots Screen is nice and bright with the AMOLED obviously and had no problems Reading under sunlight or tree cover so Yeah maps are nice big addition to this Watch takes a bit of time to get the Maps onto the watch you have to do Download it wirelessly through the app And that takes a long time so if you're A new place you you have to plan ahead And make sure you had the maps you Wanted on there but overall a lovely Edition same as we saw with the vertical But it's even better on the AMOLED
Screen I'd say and the battery life has Been really impressive on the sun race This is one area it's going to really Stand out actually on the market as an AMOLED watch uh I've had the ODS on Screen enabled the whole time I've had It a Max brightness for the last couple Of days it was still pretty bright the Previous days before that and after two Runs it dropped down to about 75% that Was after 3 days then after my long run On Sunday that's four days of use I was At 65% so I do think you are look at a Weak kind of minimum and that's really Fantastic for an A on screen with an AMOLED display I think some of the stuff It does is less power intensive than Other watches I think in particular the Heart rate sensor on the watch looks a Little bit less power intensive less LEDs than you get with Garmin and polar And that does impact accuracy I find a Little bit outside of runs as well where I do think it reads my heart rate high Throughout the day and stuff like that The sleep tracking has been quite iffy As well but overall battery life Certainly a strong point for the sunto I Think on the actual Sports tracking Front it's as really very very good as Good as anything out there so far in my Test thing and then outside of it maybe Doesn't do quite as much as things like Garmin's watches in terms of smart
Features and general training analysis And then polar's body analysis it does But terms of the tracking GPS has been Fantastic heart rate probably still use A strap maps are great General yeah Really enjoyed using it so far looking Forward to carrying on my testing okay So into that run test and I've done a Couple of runs with the sunto race now And I'll start by talking a little bit About the design what it's like to wear And I'd say ultimately has been pretty Good you do notice that this watch is on This is the titanium version that I've Had to use it definitely is a design That's in keeping with the sunto Vertical so definitely feels that kind Of more outdoor style kind of design in Terms of that kind of big bezel the kind Of big buttons as well too it's almost Venturing to kind of I think Garmin Phoenix epics kind of Realms in terms of That design and the size of the watch so You definitely feel that it is on but Overall the screen has been very good It's a very good quality Amad display It's I'm glad to see I've been using it Against the with the G for 965 and the Polar van 233 and to me it feels like a Good AMOLED that's bright colorful you Know it gives you that kind of vibrancy The viewing visibility has been good in Low light and it has been fine outdoor In bright light as well too so from that
Point of view it's felt pretty good to Wear overall it just isn't as light Maybe it's something like the G FR 965 Or the polar Vantage 33 which as I said I've been wearing alongside this watch As well too um now into that kind of General run tracking performance now we Sort a really impressive example of the Dual ban GPS modes that we're seeing on All watches on the CTO vertical so I was Hoping for more of the same on the sunto Race and I'm happy to say it does feel Very good so far in the two runs that I've done I've run with the polar Vantage 33 the gar for a 965 both in Their kind of top dual bound modes this Has been closest to the Gin for a 965 Which I've kind of regard as you know Offering the best or Garmin kind of Jeb Being the best in terms of that dub Performance and it's held up well Against that and that's kind of what I'm Seeing in the data and also in those GPS Track routes as well too in terms of That kind of heart rate data not so good Definitely more in line with what I saw In the polar Advantage V3 um I don't Think the sensor is the best in class And even kind of the steady Pace runs Against a chest strap the numbers didn't Really add up the graph didn't quite Match up either so from a heart rate Momentum performance I'm not seeing a Great performance so far in my two runs
But ultimately in terms of that core Kind of GPS performance picking up a Signal the data that kind of relates to It as well the experience of looking it On the watch and absorbing that Information on the watch it has been Very good so far I've been very Impressed with the cinto race so far From that point of view so yeah Definitely positives outweighing the Negatives so far and kind of my run Tracking experience with the sunto race So a few thoughts on some of the other Features I think worth talking about on The sunto race first being mapping now We got that kind of full mapping support On the sunto vertical that is now Brought over to the sun race as well and Obviously you got the bonus of having The AMOLED display which kind of Elevates the kind of amount of detail You can see on those Maps now getting Those maps on to the watch does take a Little bit of time start the processor Off in the app you got to kind of pick a Section of a map and then it will kind Of proceed to download that I think it Took an hour for it to kind of download A section for me so that does take a Little bit of time but in terms of that Experience of using the maps it looks Pretty good looks in line and feels Consistent with the kind of experience You will get on a kind of garment and
Also what you're going to get on a on a Conly priced polar as well too so feels Pretty good having that mapping support There and having that AMOLED display as Well does kind of improve the experience Overall compared to CTO Vertical talk a little bit about the Kind of Smartwatch experience now you're Not getting the kind of level of Smartwatch features that you're going to Get on a Garmin but you are getting Things like kind of the music playback Control notification support and I do Feel like the Amal display does make Those features feel a little bit nicer To use overall but I would say that and I think maybe I'm on my own in terms of This so far is that I am experiencing Some lag in terms of the you know Interacting with the screen it's Something I saw when I first kind of saw The Sino kind of a couple of months ago And I'm seeing it with the race in my Sample as well hopefully it's just a Oneoff but I am seeing some lag which Does kind of affect the kind of Experience I've had dayto dat of using And kind of interacting with the watch So a few thoughts on Bach life which is Pretty important here when you factor in That this has a l display and compared To older display technology it is going To demand more of the battery now in Terms what I've seen so far in my few
Days with the race it's been pretty good Overall I look at the kind of experience Of doing that longer run with the watch In it kind of top end kind of GPS dual Band GPS mode the battery life drop off Was for you know an hour and a half Worth of running it was less than 5% Which was similar to what I saw from the Advantage V3 the PO Advantage V3 the 4965 that I had as well too I compare That to the cinto vertical though which Doesn't have a lam display and the Battery life is definitely drop off in That top GPS mode is definitely smaller In comparison but I think in Grand in The grand scheme of things against other AMOLED watches it seems pretty Consistent overall day today that hasn't Been a massive or severe kind of drop Off in terms of battery life I've seen Overnight it's been a couple of percent Um I think maybe you're not getting as You know power intensive features Running throughout the day on the cin Compared to things like the Garmin and The polar ultimately so I think you know In terms of getting you you know a Week's worth of training it feels like It's going to hold up and using kind of Smartwatch features and stuff as well Too so yeah no worrying signs in terms Of battery drop off in GPS battery life Kind of you know side of things and also Dayto dat so yeah pretty satisfied so
Far looking pretty good no major issues With the cinto race so it's been a while Since I had a cinto running watch on my Wrist and I've had the cinto race Titanium Edition on for less than a week Now first up I'm a fan of this titanium Chassis I think it looks really smart And people have actually commented on That overall I think this is quite a Slick well-designed watch and like the Polar Vantage V3 and the Garmin 4 and a 965 which sit close to this one on price And SPC I think the big hero here is That AMOLED screen it's somewhat spoiled In this one by the bezel but there's Still ample screen real estate and when It's whacked up to full brightness it's Notably brighter actually than the polar Vantage V3 which I've been testing side By side however so far I've found the Rays to wake a little bit sluggish and Also the touch screen is not as Snappy As the polar and the 4un 965 now as with The polar that display here is a big Step forward for sunto when it comes to Display quality and this is easily the Most exciting sunto I've seen for ages And I've been enjoying my test so far Now there have been a couple of Downsides I had a real struggle to get The strap connectors to watch in the First place it's got standard swappable Straps but I had to take a knife to mine To budge the spring pins those quick
Release pins there are much wet Bays to Kind of put the straps together I think I'm not a fan of the thick silicon strap Either or this kind of hook fastening Mechanism that you've got here even the Cheaper coros p three has clocked the Benefits of nylon straps of fit and Comfort and I would much prefer to have That on my wrist now on GPS in my Initial tests I've had the sunto race in Full accuracy mode to check out the Dual Frequency accuracy up against the polar Vantage V3 and the Garmin 4 and the 965 And so far it's been solid not just on The total distances but also when you Dig into the track details it's been a Good match for both of those other Watches not too many stray traces going Through buildings or into the rivers Pretty much bang on in terms of the Overall distance calculations as well my Early heart rate tests have included a Slow and steady 10 km and a set of short And fast intervals I've put it up Against the polar h10 chest strap the Vantage V3 Optical sensor and the 400 lb Frontier X2 chest strap what I found so Far on the slow and steady run the sunto Race had a tendency to lag a bit and Then Lurch much higher than the chest Strap so it was a bit of delay and it Often shot Beyond however on the Intervals it still felt like there was a Real-time delay beyond the polar V3
Optical but it registered much Lower Spikes for the intervals and definitely More testing needed here on the heart Rate I think now when it comes to Battery the sunto race burned just 2% on Average overnight that's with all the Tracking switched on including blood Oxygen which usually torches battery Much faster so that seems pretty strong So far in my tests a 1 hour run test in The highest accuracy GPS mode burn just 3% that was almost bang on Match for the Garmin 4 965 and the polar Vantage V3 in Their highest tracking modes as well Though it's potentially little off the 40 hours that sunto claims it can last Now despite that big AMOLED screen the Daily usage burm was around 4 to 5% Without training that's where the always Screen switched off as Well now my initial verdict it's really Early days in my testing so I'm not Really going to give you a verdict as Such what I will say is the sunto has Made some really big leaps forward here I think but much more testing is needed There's a lot to like here in this watch That big AMOLED screen gets a big thumbs Up for me that it' be better if it Didn't have the bezel garmin's a bit Nicer for that but having that big AMOLED is a point of difference now over Lots of the coros watches which sunto I Think really needed the GPS accuracy so
Far has been on point the heart rate Hasn't convinced me 100% but I need more Testing before I give my verdict on that The battery life is at least a match for The Gin 4965 and the polar Vantage 3 in Training mode as well now I've not had a Chance to test them yet but the Navigation skills on paper here look Really comprehensive and likely has the Edge over the polar Vantage V3 but maybe Not the Garmin 4 and a 965 now as I've Said I wish I had a nylon strap like the Corus pace 3 to boost the comfort and I'm not sure I'll ever be a true fan of The sunto navigation I always find it a Bit of a struggle but overall I've been Impressed so far and I'm looking forward To getting into the Fitness training and Performance insights a bit deeper Testing things like the sleep tracking Uh fitness test all of those things and Getting into the maps and navigation if All of that Stacks up nicely then I do Think that sunto might have a strong Well priced Contender here because it is Pretty keenly priced when you consider It up against those other watches so Initial verdict is that this is a very Very good sports watch and the price is Fantastic sunto really means business With this pricing that's maybe one of The most exciting features about this is That sunto has come in and really gone You know people have been buying G
Watches for a while G watches are still A little bit more feature Rich than Sunos watches in terms of the smart Features you get the more developed Mapping you get in general a lot of the Features that have been added to sunto Lately have been on Garmin for a couple Of years so they are a bit more Well-rounded they're a bit more you know Foolproof and work very well and there's A little bit more stuff on those watches As well but so sunto has come in and Offered the key features and come in With a lower price point you know it's Really fantastically priced especially For the titanium watch with the Materials you're getting on that there's Nothing around that price point unless You're looking at substantial sales on Other brands devices so yeah after a few Slightly iffy years from sunto the Vertical was good and then something Like this comes out and they totally Redeemed themselves it's a it's a really Good watch really enjoying testing it I Think it's going to be one to really Look out for because of that price and The combination of the accuracy the Battery life the nice new screen there's An awful lot going for it I haven't Really seen any lag either which was one Potential Pitfall for it it's been Running pretty smoothly for me so yeah Really enjoy testing it love loads more
To say about it and all those features I've mentioned in our full review but For now sunto race looks like a bit of a Winner to me so some initial thoughts on The sun race and I have to say my few Days with this watch I definitely feel Like sun has got a good watch on its Hands here I think we saw with the sun Vertical that cinto seems to be back on Track in terms of making really good Quality kind of top Top End sports Watches running watches and I think the Race feels like more of the same you Know adding that amolo display hasn't Hampered things like the performance I Think the battery life feels like it's Going to be pretty good still overall For a AMOLED running watch and sports Watch only minor thing is the little bit Of lag that I'm experiencing with maybe Whenever some software updates maybe That all kind of finesse um but Ultimately in terms of that core running Experience you're getting the race it Feels very good kind of feels in line With the other watches I think sit Around this price price is a really big Thing here this comes in cheaper than 965 4 965 and the polar Vantage V3 so Those are really the watches they are up Against and also you could probably look At how it compares to things like the Epics and Phoenix as well and I think When you look at it from that point of
View this is very good value for money And it's looking like very good value For money so far so yeah all very Positive on the c r minus that kind of Laggy feeling it's given me on the Software front but overall feels pretty Good pretty solid and again as I said The price the starting price of the cin Race make is a very attractive option to Pick for runners okay so there you have It some initial thoughts on the sunto Race from three of the Run testers now Obviously plenty more testing to do Before we get to our multi-tester review As always like And subscribe hit that Little bell to find out about our latest Videos and yeah we'll see you for next Run testers Video
