Our review: Not the best screen and a little bit of lag in the interface, but otherwise this is a fantastic watch with great features, impressive battery life and sleek aesthetics
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The multisport watch market is a congested one, with many different brands competing for a slice of the very lucrative pie.
That means there’s plenty of options for those looking to invest in a new watch, which itself is a big fiscal commitment.
Suunto’s 9 Peak Pro comes in with an RRP of £419 which, as mad as it sounds, sits around the mid-range for multisport watches these days.
It puts it in direct comparison with the likes of Garmin’s Forerunner 955 and the Polar Grit X Pro.
That’s stiff competition, and while the 9 Peak Pro doesn’t do everything right, it’s a watch I’ve warmed to throughout testing. Here’s why…
What’s the design like?
On test here is the Ocean Blue version of the Suunto 9 Peak Pro, though there are many other colours to choose from.
Suunto says this watch is the “pro version of the small and sleek multisport watch for smaller wrists”, which explains the design on offer here.
The watch face is 43mm by 43mm, which is smaller than many of the other watches I’ve been testing recently for BBC Countryfile Magazine's best GPS watches test.
Meanwhile, the actual display comes in at 30.5mm and uses sapphire crystal for durability. There’s then a stainless steel bezel, while the rest of the case is made from glass fibre reinforced polyamide.
It’s a very smart package and the 9 Peak Pro is a very sleek-looking watch.
How easy is it to use?
The watch relies on the combination of a touchscreen and three buttons. The latter gives you an up, down and select/scroll right button, which you can use to do most things on the watch.
Generally speaking, the 9 Peak Pro was easy to live with. My only real complaint is that the interface isn’t the smoothest and there’s a minor lag when switching between screens.
It’s only a lag of around a second, but it is noticeable and is not something I’ve experienced with Garmin watches.
How does the display perform?
As I’ve already noted, at 30.5mm the display isn’t the largest, but I am a fan of how information is displayed on it.
It doesn’t feel overly cramped or hard to distinguish and there’s good use of visual elements to display information well.
The display does use colour, but I wouldn’t say it’s particularly vibrant, while I also found the brightness of the display a little dull in light conditions, even when I opted for its highest setting.
Again, it doesn’t impact your ability to consume the information on the display, it’s just not as high-quality as some competitors, or even Suunto’s own Vertical Titanium.
How good is the navigation?
Pretty decent, as it happens. There’s no real-world mapping so you instead get a breadcrumb trail showing you either where you’ve gone or laying your pre-set route out in front of you.
Routing is one of the high points here. Suunto makes it very easy to create routes, as you can plan them in the accompanying app on your phone, which proved very intuitive.
Alternatively, you can also choose to import a GPX route, and again, this is super easy to do.
Following a route on the watch is easy enough and, while there’s limited screen space, there is clarity. You also get turn-by-turn directions, which seemed to work well for the most part.
GPS is largely accurate, though it did have me running through a couple of living rooms in particularly built-up urban areas.
What training and performance features does it have?
For a start, there’s over 90 different activity profiles for you to choose from, including everything from walking, running, climbing and various types of cycling.
In each activity mode you can view multiple data fields, including pace, time elapsed, elevation profiles and so on.
Of course, you also get heart rate data from the optical sensor on the back of the watch, which generally proved accurate and often tracked closely to our chest-based sensor.
There’s a full gamut of training features, too. These include training load, recovery time and VO2 max.
After you’ve completed your workout, you can dive into it in more detail using the Suunto app, which gives you an overview of your training in a smart calendar view.
You can then explore Suunto’s recommendations for training and recovery, and see what impact your training is having.
I’ve found the app useful, informative and easy to use throughout testing, and prefer it to Polar’s equivalent. It also gives Garmin a run for its money in this regard.
What other features are there?
Well, like most modern GPS watches the 9 Peak Pro comes with phone notifications, step count, sleep tracking, sunrise/sunset times, an altimeter, a compass, music controls (but no music storage), storm alerts and plenty more.
How good is the battery life?
You know what, it’s actually pretty good. In smartwatch mode Suunto quotes 21 days and in training mode with the most accurate GPS it’s 40 hours.
That’s plenty for a few days of back-to-back hiking or a couple of weeks of usual use with various exercise sessions thrown in.
Buy if…
If you want a fully-featured, smart-looking sports watch and aren’t bothered about topo maps or a larger display, this is a really great-value option.
The size also means this’ll suit people with thinner wrists.
Facts at a glance: Suunto 9 Peak Pro
Price: £419
Size: 43mm x 43mm
Thickness: 10.8mm
Weight: 64g
Display type: Matrix
Display size: 1.2in (30.5mm)
Battery life: 21 days in smartwatch mode and 40 hours in full GPS mode
Barometer: Yes
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