The Suunto Vertical is an entirely new watch range from Suunto, sitting above its Peak, Baro and Core watches.
An outdoor multi-sports watch at heart, the Vertical introduces free TOPO maps, dual-band GPS and the kind of battery life that firmly puts it up against battery-powerhouse watches from Garmin and Coros.
Testers Mike and Nick have been putting the Vertical to the test to find out if Suunto has finally cracked it and built a really great running watch.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:25 – Price and Key Features
05:08 – What We Liked
10:43 – What We Disliked
17:39 – Verdict
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Foreign Testers and in this video we're going to Be giving you a multi-tester review of The Sun so vertical now myself and Nick Have both been testing this watch which Is now suunto's most expensive sports Watch in their collection we'll give you A rundown of the key features here and Then give you our likes and dislikes and Our verdict on whether you should buy The sinto vertical So some quick notes on pricing the cinto Vertical and in terms of what you're Getting with pricing it starts at 545 Pounds and goes all the way up to 745 Pounds and that is for the titanium Version which myself and Nick have been Testing now if we look at where that Pricing puts these into vertical in Terms of other watches in this category Are that kind of Cheaper ends you're Looking at things like the chorus vertex 2 also the polo cortex Pro which is Actually a lot cheaper than the cheapest And so vertical then you go up to that Titanium version which you're looking at Competing against things like the app Watch Ultra which is actually more Expensive and then you've got all of Those garmins so the Garmin Fenix 77 Pro The epics and the epics Pro as well So in terms of that pricing that you can Expect to pay for the center vertical it Kind of sits with all the other watches
In this category so those key design Highlights on the senso vertical the First thing to mention is that this is a Watch available with either a stainless Steel or a titanium bezel the titanium Bezel version will cost you more money Now in terms of case size you're getting Something that's 49 millimeters in size Thickness Wise It's Slimmer than an Apple Watch Ultra probably about the Same size as the Phoenix 7 maybe a touch Slimmer on that front as well so in Terms of the screen you're getting a 1.4 Inch 280 by 280 Matrix touchscreen Display now that is a bigger screen and A higher resolution screen than we got On the sinte 9 and the sinte9 peak Pro Now in terms of other features of Getting here you are now getting solar Charging capabilities on the senso Vertical a bit like you get on the Garmin solar charging watches you have To be exposed to enough amount of light In a regular basis to really benefit From that extra battery boost those Other features it is waterproof up to 100 meters so you can swim with it and You are also getting a strap that's Easily removable as well here too it's Worth mentioning as well this is the Watch that sits above all the other Sinto watches so everything you'd expect To get from those watches are pretty Much here plus the extra things that we
Talked about here as well too okay so Into those key features on the sinto Vertical now everything we've got on the Sensei 9 and since a 9 Peak Pro is on This watch whether that's the level of Tracking modes or Sports profiles the Level of data that you're going to get Here as well the kind of training Analysis features the level of training Analysis that cinto offers at the moment That is going to be all here on the Vertical there's key areas where you're Going to get features on the vertical That you won't get on the peak Pro and The nine Peak as well the first one Being is the ability to view topo maps On the watch now previously the Experience of using mapping on Suunto Watches is really relied on having it on That kind of companion phone app now on The senso vertical you can sync Maps or Topo maps by downloading from the center Up first and you sync them over to the Watch using Wi-Fi and you have to drop The watch onto its charger to be able to Sync them over From that point of view you can view the Maps in a few different kind of display Modes but ultimately you're getting Offline maps the ability to see stuff to Better navigate you still have Turn-by-turn navigation which has to be Kind of set up in a route built on the Cento app but you do now have the
Ability to view offline topo maps on the Sinto vertical the other big thing is Something that we've seen on a lot of Sports watches at the moment and that is A kind of dual band kind of GPS mode or Gns mode Now ultimately that Mode's there to Improve that positioning accuracy that Outdoor tracking accuracy where it can Be problematic so when you are near tall Buildings and kind of deep forested Areas as well which can affect or impact On the level of signal accuracy that you Get from that positioning data that is Now here on the senso vertical as I said Everything else that we got on the watch In terms of the what we expect of seen On the most you know latest until Watches is here on the center vertical Whether it's Fitness tracking features Whether it's smart watch features and Again all the sports tracking features That we've seen so far that is all here On the senso vertical as well too then We have to talk about battery life and In terms of the numbers sinto is talking Here it's definitely putting it up Against those big battery Powerhouse Watches from the likes of Garmin and Carts now in terms of the vertical Sumter says you can get up to 60 days And it's kind of more restrictive basic Watch mode that drops down to 30 days When you're factor in things like
Activity tracking and viewing things Like notification so kind of using the Smartwatch features now in terms the GPS Tracking mode it can go from anywhere From 85 hours up to 30 days and again You know 30 days would be when you Reduce the the level of accuracy you are Tracking that GPS so pretty impressive Numbers does it add up does it deliver a Really good point in terms of all the Other features as well let's get into That My likes for the Suunto vertical start With the design as a whole I think it's Necessarily the most good looking watch But I think it's got quite a nice Sleek Design little grooves cut around the Outside of the watch and the screen in Particular is really quite impressive For a Marion pixel screen it's really Bright it's a massive Step Up on what We've seen from Suunto in the past which Just had quite dull screens weren't that Easy to read this is a really bright Display easy to read in all conditions And like I said just a big upgrade of What we've seen from Suunto before and a Little bit better actually than most of The memory in pixel displays on the Market it also feels quite small tonight But is quite a big watch on the wrist It's not really something I noticed a Lot when wearing it at night which is Sometimes the case when wearing very big
Bulky sports watches maps are probably The biggest Plus on the watch that I'd Say uh the way they do it is a little Bit different to Garmin which comes with The maps pre-loaded but you can download The exact areas you need in the Suunto App it's quite a simple process it's not That fast you've got to be set up with Wi-Fi to do it but it worked really well And the map on the wrist a very bright Colorful clear easy to use very easy to See a root laid over them even if They're not completely rootable Maps Like on Garmin watches which can create Roots for you on the Fly because they Know what trail you're on with the suit So you don't get that you're basically Getting a map of trails overlaying it But the map is certainly a good feature On the watch and they're the best Mapping features you'll get outside of Garmin they're better than the chorus Vertex twos maps for example and then The multi-bound GPS on the watch Delivers which isn't always the case Like we're seeing multi-band UPS is very Good with Garmin and apple but the polar Ignite 3 had multi-band GPS that was Really poor on GPS accuracy and chorus's Watches of multiband GPS haven't Impressed me but luckily you'll see the Verticals uh multiband GPS is very good It's right up there with apple I think Maybe just short of garmin's gold
Standard multifun GPS I've been using it Against the epics Pro for my testing Period of the vertical and all the Tracks are very close but you get the Odd extra error on the center you don't Get on the Garmin but it's pretty Marginal stuff so yeah multiple GPS is Very good in this watch it's obviously Got really good battery life to back up Their multivan GPS lasting with 60 hours In that multi-band tracking mode which Is excellent and better than almost Everything else on the market so first Off the things I liked about the Simsaversical and things that kind of he Stood out for me in a good way and I Think the first thing for me first and Foremost is the battery life now I would Say battery life during tracking I think Battery life in general mode once I'd Kind of realized there was some settings To kind of Tinker out with and play Around with to get a better kind of Day-to-day battery life that's been very Good on the whole as well but it's Really about the level of Um battery life you're getting when You're in that tracking moment even when You are in that top kind of dual band Tracking mode as well when you compare It to what the kind of battery life drop Off you get from garmin's multiband mode I think Leaving courses job and a lot of the
Other brands that are offering that dual Band mode the drop off in battery life Is much smaller on the Sensei vertigan That's something I massively noticed so In terms of being a leader in that space In terms of conserving that battery life In that top GPS accuracy mode And I think the sensor vertical is Pretty much up there in terms of what It's delivering on the Senseo vertical Now the other thing I would say and that Kind of lends itself to the the battery Life stuff is the GPS performance and I Think you know initially I didn't have Some great experience with it and I Think the more I've run with the sensor Vertical the better the GPS performance Has been I still think it's a little bit Slow in place in terms of picking up That GPS signal in the first place Compared to some other watches I've Tested recently but drilling down into The data and looking at the runs I've Done and I've been using it mainly Against garmins kind of multi-bands Modes um it was against the Apple watch Ultras kind of dual band mode as well And this is up there with those kind of Best kind of Performing dual band Multi-band modes that you're getting on Sports watches at the moment that is a Real Plus for the Sensei vertical Because there's a lot of watches that Have these dual band modes that are not
Fantastic and I think this is a vertical After this kind of initial kind of runs I've done with it it's got much much Better and it I feel like it's up there In terms of what I've been getting on The Garmin epics Pro the 9400 965 the Phoenix 7 Pro all the watches that we've Been testing recently from Garmin I would say also the Apple watch Ultra Too so that is definitely a big plus for Me and then the other one is the mapping Now we haven't had this kind of level of Mapping on a senso watch I think first And foremost getting the maps on to the Watch itself Although it takes a few steps it's Relatively straightforward to do an Experience of doing that has been Nice and straightforward in terms of my Experience of using this into vertical And then the maps themselves now they're Not as detailed as they are and Garmin But you know Garmin is kind of sitting There at the top particularly when You've got those mapping on those Garmin AMOLED watches but in terms of on this Screen on the center vertical screen Which is very very clear and being able To kind of follow the maps Um it's been absolutely fine Um I do think in terms of you know Setting up some of the mapping support You know you need to do you still need To kind of play around it in the app a
Little bit but in terms of once you've Got the those topo maps on and you care About just having those maps on there And being able to see your surroundings And have a better sense also works Really well with the touchscreen as well So that's kind of nice that you have That support there as well too And I think that's a massive Plus for Senso and the kind of vertical because The mapping support on other watches is Not quite there right now there maybe Will be a little bit further down the Line but right now out of the box in Terms of getting this into vertical in Terms of that topo map support it's very Very good on the vertical and it's Definitely something that's really stood Out in my time testing So my first dislike on the watch is the Suunto user interface which is just not Very good it's not very intuitive it's Quite laggy on the watch not swiping Through screens and using the buttons is A little bit of a weight for it to Respond especially when you first wake Up the watch after not using it for a While and the way everything's set up Isn't that intuitive I really don't like The way they do Sports modes or they Have these fixed Sports modes on the Watch and then to customize when you Have to create an entirely new sports Mode which takes some time with the app
It's not very fast and responding to it And for example when you're syncing to The app you have to have the watch on The watch screen face you start moving Around on the watch it stops syncing it Sounds little things like that that Aren't very Um well done in my opinion same goes for The way they use like structured Workouts in um running and things like That they have to be loaded on as a Suunto app plus guide rather than being A native part of your data screen so There's a limit on how many of those you Can add it it's all just over Complicated and slightly annoying Compared to how every other watch Company does it and I just wish they'd Clean it up a little bit just to make it Slightly more enjoyable experience to Interact with the watch day to day the Heart rate is also really bad but I've Never had a experience of heart rate Tracking we've seen her watches so at This point I'm almost prepared to say That maybe there's not compatible with Me maybe other people having really good Experiences with them but I just get it To find that it reads way too high Nearly all my runs and it's just Completely unusable so I very quickly Link up a um heart rate sensor to the Watch to get better data in although Coming with my third dislike is not that
Much point to that because one thing That seems to just hasn't really gone Big on yet is training analysis like We'll estimate your VLC Max on the watch And there is some basic training load Stuff in the app but there's not a lot Going on there there's no make no Attempts to do anything like what you Get from Chorus Garmin and polar or even And certainly don't go as far as Suggesting workouts and that kind of Thing so it's yeah it's an area that's It's not a huge essential I'd say Especially people are quite experienced Athletes but it is something that other Companies are doing and it's quite a big Point of difference when looking at the Offering from different brands and Sometimes you can really elevate a watch Like garmin's training readiness feature I think is really good really useful for Athletes of all levels actually and soon They just doesn't have anything like That and the same goes for smart Features actually this is not a very Smart watch at all right even though it Does notifications I can't find a way to Put notifications on this watch so they Come only when I'm not working out so a Notification will arrive when I am Working out and twice I've had like try To hit a lap button during my track Workouts and one of those expand the Notification which is obviously not what
I want to do so you either have to turn Notifications completely off or put it In Do Not Disturb mode for workouts but It's got something it's not something it Seems to do by itself whereas again lots Of watches you just I want notifications When I'm not working out and not when I Am and is that yeah lots of little Refinements like that these are Interface it's not much smart it's not Much training our sisters as soon as Always gone quite big on some areas to Try and catch up with their Rivals but Then after lagging way behind on things Like starts and training analysis which Is okay but an expensive watch and it's An obvious difference to what you get From other companies okay so into those Dislikes and the first thing I'm going To talk about is the software and when I'm talking about software I'm talking About the experience that you're getting On the watch off the watch but I'm also Talking a little bit about the Performance in terms of how that Software kind of runs as well on the Vertical now I think the first thing that really Stood out for me is that and I've seen This on a few of kind of's most recent Watches is that it just feels a little Bit laggy in terms of interacting with The menus Navigating around the watch in general
It feels almost in some places it's Absolutely fine but in other places it's Just a bit lagging you compare to what You get on a Garmin I think even uh Chorus assembly priced chorus watch also Polars as well I think polars still has That kind of laggy element to it as well But I think in terms of my experience of Using the watch and when I've had to Interact with it it does you know it is Laggy and I just think it needs Something to power it a bit better to Make it feel a little bit more slick the Other side of it is that I think the Interface itself Doesn't feel massively intuitive I think In terms of where things live and kind Of where you have to find things and how It's kind of packaged together on the Watch I just think it needs a little bit Of work on that front it's you know it Doesn't mean it's not totally a disaster But I think you know in terms of when You compare it to how You interact with a polar a car Swatch a Garmin watch this just feels like it's Lagging a little bit behind on that Front as well too and I think in general You know the app I think again and you Could probably level this at all of the Kind of big major sport apps and polar I Think chorus is kind of pretty Simplified as well then you've got Garmin and sintos one as well which
They're all a little bit busy but I Think you know sometimes one just needs To kind of clean things up a little bit You know it's almost there but I think You know again it's quite busy and where You know where things kind of live and How it's kind of presented But Ultimately I think the main thing for me Is the software on the watch and the Improvements that need to be made in Terms of Layout but also in terms of the level of Performance and getting that lagginess Away and out of sinto's watches the Other thing I would say Is heart rate tracking now not a massive Surprise you know earlier symptoms I had A really good strong kind of uh Performance from the heart rate Monitoring and particularly kind of high Intensity exercise in terms of what You're getting the sinto vertical I Think you know it falls as that category Of optical sensors where it's good on Steady runs pretty slow pace runs if you Pick up the intensity you still have That odd moment you get the spikes the Weird spikes the kind of weird drop-offs You know In the comparison tests that I've done now Thankfully you can pair it to heart rate Monitor chest strap I managed to Successfully pair it to garmin's HRM Pro Plus chest track with no problems it was
Very straightforward so from that point Of view you can alleviate those issues If you do rely on the heart rate Monitoring ultimately you are I think Gonna have to get a more accurate External heart rate monitor to get the Best data or heart rate data out of it Other thing I think I don't absolutely Love and it's not gonna be a big deal For everyone but I do like using my uh sports watch as a Smart watch as well I do like having you Know the ability to kind of view my Notifications in a really easy way I Look kind of like having the ability to See weather and my calendar appointments Um sometimes being able to control my Music as well and I can't you know reach For my phone Um and in terms of what you're getting On the Sun so it's just not really there In terms of you know Garmin is the Leader in this space so if you've got The Apple watch Ultra as well you know Those are the two that really kind of Offer really strong smart watch and Sports watch experience I think polar is Catching up of course again is trying to Kind of build that into his ecosystem as Well I think Sensei kind of falls into The same category I think in terms of Polar and I think cars as well if anything it's a Bit more simplistic notification support
Is a bit I don't know it's not great I Don't think you know it kind of pops up But it's it doesn't feel like it's part Of the proceedings again it's the same Thing with the music features you've got The music player and you can activate That from well during when you're Tracking for one of the screens Um but it just doesn't feel like a smart Watch and if that's something you want And that's something that I do like Having that I don't think you really get That on the Sensei vertical So I really like the suto vertical I Think it's a big leap forward from what We've seen from student in the past I Think it's the best watch I've ever used From Suunto I think they've nailed some Very important areas that need to be Improved like the brightness and Clarity Of the screen the accuracy of the GPS The battery life all that stuff brings It up to a level with the watches from Other brands out there uh still lack in Some areas but you know on some key Areas now Suunto is at a level and I Think I wasn't using one of garmin's top Watches and you're looking in that area Of the market like Suunto the center Vertical is probably the best Alternative really impressive all-round Watch especially if you're in need of Maps in particular fortunately for the Same time vertical Garmin does exist and
It has so many watches now in this top Bracket you know ranging from the four On a 955 and 965 up through the Phoenix Range the Epic range the Enduro two There's loads of very expensive very Very good watches in garmin's range and You know a few of them around the price Point of the Santo vertical and they Just offer more both in terms of Features and just better performance as Well so even the areas that the tsunto Does really well like Maps garments Mapping features are simply better you Get little tools like climb Pro they're Rootable Maps so Garmin knows the trail You're on and can help you find a new Route if you need to change halfway Through a route that kind of thing it's Just a better feature with Garmin Watches similarly the sports tracking is More intuitive and easy to use and then You're getting a whole load of training Analysis and smart features including Music storage things like that you don't Get with the vertical so if you're Looking at the Phoenix 7 range or the 40955 or 965 quite similar in price to The vertical especially if you're Looking around in sales and that kind of Thing and you're just going to get a Better watch with those watches Something like 965 even as an AMOLED Display so Unless you have a really big key reason
You do not want to go with the Garmin Watch which would be fair enough if you Have that reason I think it's a clear Take to go for one of those watches like Phoenix or the 965 or 955 they're just Better all around watches than the Vertical if you really want to go for The vertical though it is a really good Watch it does lots of stuff really well Now it's a big improvement from Suunto I Think it's brought it up to a level with Other brands where it can be very Competitive but Garmin is still quite Dominant in this area of the market and There are some areas that sometimes Gonna need to improve on to match up to It I think but I would say the vertical Shows that they're on the right path and I'm a lot more optimistic and positive About sinto having used this watch than I have been over the past couple years So my rate's on the Sensei vertical and This is definitely the best Intel watch I've used in a very long time this is The watch that I thought the Sensei 9p Can Peak Pro were going to be we've got It in the versical instead now it's not Perfect there's still work to be done I Think I you know particularly on the Software side of things and how it's Packaged and presented on and off the Watch but in terms of that core kind of Tracking experience whether it's that Kind of dual band GPS whether it's the
Battery life when you are tracking as Well whether it's the kind of addition Of maps as well which obviously is free Here As well too and it's very well presented In terms of you're getting there on the Watch itself these are the kind of Things that we've wanted from sinto now If we look at how it compares to other Watches from other brands around this Price range so I guess you're looking at Things like the Phoenix 7 Pro which is a Little bit more expensive than the um The kind of top end sinto vertical and Then also I guess the epics Pro as well Now Biggest thing you're getting on those Two watches I would say is the mapping Experience is a lot better Um but similarly you're getting very Good battery life I think on the Garmin You're maybe getting a stronger UI and Software kind of experience on the watch I think it's just a little bit nicer Kind of presented it's easy to kind of Get around and kind of work with and it Just works a little bit Slicker as well Now if we look at other things like the Polar grotex Pro which I think you know Polo does a really good job in terms of Its kind of training analysis and it's Got some really nice again I think the Software works and it's presented pretty Nicely on its watch as well but in terms
Of the mapping support and how it works And what you have to do to get those Maps on there the battery life that You're getting doesn't really match what You're going to get on the center Vertical and again it's a little bit Cheaper the polar grid X pro compared to This and so vertical but I think it's Worth paying more money for the even the Cheaper sinto vertical model Um and then you look at the cause vertex 2 as well which again is Um near the kind of cheapest end of the The price range with the sensor vertical You're getting you know big battery life And the vertex 2 as well I think the Execution of mapping on the vertex 2 is Not as good as it is on the center Vertical whether it's kind of getting Those maps on and the presentation of The maps as well you're maybe getting a Little bit more in terms of the analysis On the Cosmetics too and I think the UI Is kind of getting there and but Ultimately I think you know if you are Looking for a watch outside of what Garmin offers that offers something That's got strong battery life strong GPS performance good Um presentation and delivery of maps as Well then those would be reasons to go Listen so vertical you know I think Personally I would still be looking to Go for a Garmin Phoenix or an epics but
I think if I saw listen to Vertical at a Good price knowing what I know now I Think it's a much stronger option Alternative to what Garmin has to offer And I think that is massive kind of you Know Employee assistant finally I think Getting to where it needs to be and it's It feels like this isn't so vertical is Showing that it's going in the right Direction it's not quite there yet it's Not the perfect watch but it is on the Right kind of Path in terms of getting a really strong Alternative to what Garmin has to offer Definitely bettering what polar has in This kind of space and I think caused The you know the Cosmetic Syrian cars in General will be looking at what cinto Has done here the vertical and thinking Maybe we need to up our game as well too Okay so there you have it that is our Multi-tester review of the sinto Vertical now if you've got any questions About this watch or any other features That you want to know a little bit more About let us know in the comments as Always like And subscribe hit that Little bell to find out about latest Videos and yeah we'll see the next run Tested video foreign
