Tricky Purchase - Suunto Race S Review

This is the Suunto Race S. And in this case “S” stands for smaller or just Slightly smaller size, slightly smaller battery life and a slightly smaller price. But if you’re thinking this watch isn’t for you, you might be super surprised to find out that the Suunto Race S also has a new more accurate HR sensor, More storage Space and even a faster and more responsive user interface.
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[@mlegrand]

It's been a bit tricky to find this watch lately. Here's one place to buy the Suunto Race S: amzn.to/4etzFob

[@KwyjiboVanDeKamp]

Oh man! All the little details in the editing of this video are amazing! The transition into the battery for showing the battery drain of each GPS setting. Or the increase in volume while showing how you can turn up the volume on the watch! An absolute piece of art! As always!

[@mlegrand]

Wow, thank you so much for the kind words. I’m pumped that you noticed all of those tiny little details 😂

[@philnichols4680]

I have both the Race and the Race S. For my mainly steady state cardio, the heart rate performs the same. Since the original Race has now been updated to include the customized watch faces, I actually prefer the larger size and display of the Race. To me, they’re both great. And I appreciate Suunto pushing their updates to previous devices. Now we can choose based on size, fit, and finish, and know we’re getting the same features.

[@mlegrand]

In your opinion, does the Suunto Race feel like a nicer, higher end watch? To me the Race S feels significantly cheaper. Not that it’s bad, it’s just not as nicely designed as the Race series in my opinion.

[@dadandvideogames]

You always know Matt's going to break out that smooth jazz.

[@mlegrand]

🎷 😂

[@seansutton4836]

I own the Race S and am using it as my daily driver at the moment. I also have used the Vertical and the Race. Historically I have used the Fenix 47 and 51mm watches and I find the Race S all black edition very refreshing. The screen size as you said is 1.32 vs 1.4mm on both the new Fenix 8 47 and 51mm versions as well as the 1.43 for the Race and the Vertical. While the watch seems smaller, the screens are very similar in daily wear. My Race was a titanium edition and it was beautiful. but this all black Race S really is a looker. I do not get the feeling it is "cheaper" when I am wearing it. The Vertical is really nice, but it is older and has some key differences. MIP, no crown, solar and a massive battery, and a slightly older sleep tracking system. (For me the Vertical had more accurate sleep tracking, but I think that is different from person to person) Overall as I said above I have found the Race S a very refreshing change. Especially with Zonesense. As a trail runner that does a ton of endurance, zone 2/MAF runs this has been very interesting to use. It is a potential game changer. To sum it up I find the Race S to be a refreshing change. It is a little hot rod of a watch. It is getting me away from having a rock on my wrist like I have had with a lot of other adventure watches. The reality is few of us are doing Ultras every day or multi-day backpacking trips where you need a massive battery. Long battery life and "the best of the best" was definitely my mindset for a long time. I thought in terms of battery life A LOT and I always wanted the newest and best. The Race S is an amazing compromise of form and function. Lastly it is totally personal, but I have not been super excited about using Garmin Connect for some time. Garmin's are amazing, but that app has not been a great experience in some time. I also find the Suunto App refreshing and gets me all the info I need to improve my running and fitness. I love love love. the TrainingPeaks metrics like TSB, ATL and CTL that they use on the Suunto app.

[@mlegrand]

Great mini review comment here!!! I'm glad you don't get the vibe that the build quality is less than a Race or Vertical. That's been my impression and I've been getting a lot of flack for it in the comments. I think the extra weight and etched bezel really gave the Race a feeling of high quality. Even if the lighter weight and slimmer size of the Race S might be more functional. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment Sean! I really appreciate it. 👍

[@ActiveIdeas]

Smashed it Matt, as always, I'm super inspired! Loved the Heart Rate Graphics 🔥

[@mlegrand]

Yeah, but I'm not sure they're worth the time put into it. 🤦‍♂️ Thank you for the kind words!

[@Chris_hong_sung]

Great review and beautifully made! Would be interesting, how you find Suunto’s new Zonesense technology. Seems pretty impressive!

[@mlegrand]

Yeah, that looks super interesting. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment Chris! I really appreciate it. 👍

[@YoeriNijs]

Cool video, Matt! Really enjoyed it!

[@mlegrand]

Awesome! Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment Yoeri! I really appreciate it. 👍

[@parkerkerth8446]

Incredible details! love the video Matt

[@mlegrand]

Thank you Parker!!! Hope training is going well.

[@BoysTrack]

This review is too late, but still must watch this review

[@mlegrand]

Too late? Yeah, it takes me a really long time to make and edit reviews like this. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@bonn1771]

Solid video Matt. This be a good middle range watch for someone starting in my mind Amazing editing as well. Happy training

[@mlegrand]

Thank you! Hopefully you're getting a break after a successful triathlon season. Catch up with you soon!

[@noisetin]

Beautifully done video 👌

[@mlegrand]

Wow, thank you!!!

[@RealChemist88]

Much prefer the Suunto UI to Garmin. I got the Race S the same time my wife got the 265s and we had to google how to skip the daily suggested workout and how to manually set heart rate zones on hers.

[@mlegrand]

Yeah, Garmin's menu system is . . . thick. 😬 I had one of the runners that I coach ask me how to do something on her watch yesterday and it took me a few minutes even though I knew where and what to do. 🤦‍♂️ Simple is good. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@RobynAlexander]

Tried a race S. Had wildly off step counts compared to my oura and a garmin. Wore both a Garmin Epix and a 965 while testing the Suunto for comparison and the Suunto was thousands of steps off over a course of a day. So I swapped wrists to see if my movements might be biasing it. It didn’t change results no matter what device it was compared against. So I had to return it. It just wasn’t consistent with other devices. Loved the design and I genuinely liked the interface. It just wasn’t trustworthy for the data.

[@mlegrand]

Dang, I should have tested step count. Thanks for posting this Robyn! I'm typically wearing two watches so I'll have a look to see if my numbers are similar to what you're seeing. 👌

[@tiago6197]

Counting steps is a deal breaker? Man ,its enough internet for me today 😂

[@RobynAlexander]

@@tiago6197 It is. If the data it captures isn't correct, how do you trust any of the other analytics that a training watch attempts to quantify for you? If it can't tell how many steps my legs moved, it will be great on treadmill runs, calorie calculations, etc. So yeah, a deal-breaker. But to each their own.

[@tiago6197]

@@RobynAlexander one thing is the steps and calories burned. All brands overestimate that. Suunto, Garmin, Coros,Polar etc. They have their algorithms and they rarely agree on their predictions. If I would trust in that data probably at this moment I would have more than 100 kgs. In my active days, running,gym, work my Garmin in the end of the day give about 3800 calories burned. If i believe in that and my goal was maintaining my weight I would be in troubles 😂 I know everyone have their purpose on having a fitness tracker,but personally I think steps, calories burned and sleep stages are that kind of things we don't need to give to much value

[@RobynAlexander]

@@tiago6197 no argument. But if you are thousands of steps different from 2 different Garmin devices and my Oura which are mostly close (maybe 100-200) off versus the 3000-5000 difference with the Suunto (across a busy day and the Suunto was drastically low) then it isn’t a device for me. If you like it and don’t care about those metrics, great! But for me, I care. I posted this not to denigrate anyone who likes it (I liked it) but did want to share my observation over a few consistent days.

[@lhzsdgsfbvv]

Quite an complete watch for the price.

[@mlegrand]

It really is an impressive offer from Suunto. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@iggalan]

It’s an amazing watch for running or cycling, not so much for swimming in the pool and much less in the open water unfortunately. If Suunto gives some love to these profiles I may get another Race S but as it is now I had to return it. In open water the track it’s all over the place, unusable. GPS signals are blocked in the water so software has to be designed for this; Garmin and Coros have this figured out, Suunto not. Even in the pool it miss calculates the length, detects random turns…

[@mlegrand]

Yeah, fixing gps tracking for open water swimming is not a small task. Hopefully Suunto has it on their development radar. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@ChristianSlagter]

Wow, such a gem for my ears and eyes. Thank you for reviewing the Race S, I've been looking forward to it. I thought the case would be steel. What do you think about the build quality and durability of the watch?

[@mlegrand]

The build quality seems fine but the materials definitely feel cheaper than the bigger Suunto Race. I still think this is a great option for people to consider. 🤷‍♂️

[@thomasmann6416]

Only the bezel is stainless steel...

[@ChristianSlagter]

@@thomasmann6416 thank you 👍🏻. Or titanium in the upcoming variant.

[@venkatshashank]

Great review…I am using Race and yes HRM is bad.. but my question if you had to buy one watch with own money and use it daily - what watch will you buy ? …

[@mlegrand]

I’m cheap. I’d probably go with the Race S. I also don’t ever have to look nice. To me, the Race series looked significantly nicer and better designed. What do you think?

[@lobboleibheimer]

i switched from garmin epix gen 2 to suunto race. The menu is quiet more comfortable like garmin. Even the design is better.....my opinion ;) greetings from germany

[@mlegrand]

Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment Lobbo! I really appreciate it. 👍

[@lobboleibheimer]

@@mlegrand no worries!

[@CraigEggleton]

Suunto seems to be following the pattern of camera manufacturers. Give better features to newly released cheaper models while leaving the more expensive model owners left behind. With the watch sensor of the S of course they can’t magically put that in an older Race or Vertical but it seems they would be better served to release multiple options with new hardware at the same time to maximize sales. Unless they plan on better hardware for next vertical and race. If Race had better OHR it would be on my wrist. If vertical came with Amoled and better OHR that would definitely be on my wrist. Seems like they are missing obvious ways to capture market share. Especially given the Garmin price points.

[@mlegrand]

Well, I could be wrong but I think the Vertical with an AMOLED screen is available. It's just called the Suunto Race. But the newer OHR is missing on those devices. That'd be nice to get over to that line ASAP.

[@CraigEggleton]

@@mlegrand watch crown and lugs on the race are differences to the vertical. Strangely the vertical lugs are sharper and dig into the wrist for some. I’d personally like a Amoled vertical without the crown.

[@mlegrand]

@@CraigEggleton - Oh that's good to know. Thanks! I actually haven't ever reviewed the Vertical on this channel. Maybe I'll get to review the Vertical 2 some day 🤷‍♂

[@henrikpalin6845]

@@CraigEggleton That would be the Suunto Ocean.

[@cm99cox]

Tried the Suunto Race. Liked the device well enough but no music storage and notifications weren’t the best. The biggest thing that led to me sending it back was the app. I know some people like it but to me it was horrible

[@mlegrand]

Yeah, I’ve liked the app for the most part. Anything in particular that turned you off? Or were you just used to much much more with something like a Garmin Connect?

[@cm99cox]

@@mlegrand I was more used to apple and garmin connect. To me the TSS and other stuff were more confusing to figure out. Also I usually take advantage of Garmin training plans as I’m a novice and Suunto does not offer anything like that

[@lbenegas]

I am a 45 yo guy with some overweight. I am planning to start GYM and Running for the first time after 30 years of doing zero exercise. I was thinking to get a watch that could guide me in my exercises, but also keep track of my health (I have weak heart). Some people tell me to go "Garmin", but my wallet finds those crazy expensive. Would you recommend this watch for a starter like me? (Or maybe any other watch). THANKS!

[@mlegrand]

Yes, I have a few suggestions. 1. Start back into running slowly. Way slower than you think. Walk some run some. 2. This Suunto would be a great option. 3. I'd also look at the Garmin Forerunner 165, 255 (sale) and 265. 4. There are typically a lot of good Black Friday deals if you're willing to wait. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@leebhagat868]

I have both the race and race s and wear the race s more as it’s just easier to wear due to its size for every day and sleep in. The heart rate is way better on the race s so I trust the metrics more for health tracking

[@mlegrand]

Nice! I think that's really what people will want to hear. How does this compare to the more expensive Suunto options. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment. I really appreciate it. 👍

[@ferhancevik9972]

Hey Matt, I'm torn between the Coros Pace 3 and the Suunto Race S. I'm on a tight budget, so I'd love your advice. Which one would you recommend?

[@mlegrand]

I think Suunto Race S is an overall nicer device. But the Coros Pace 3 is a rock solid option at a better price. What are you leaning towards?

[@ferhancevik9972]

Thanks for the advice Matt. I think I'll go for the Suunto Race S. It seems to have everything I need.

[@Gohealt]

Coros App is quite good as well. I don’t know how good Suunto app is?

[@seanporter166]

Thanl you for the amaing video.

[@mlegrand]

Wow, thank you Sean!

[@reineroberhaus]

what about the latest update for the suunto race. I read that theys fixed the HR Issues.

[@user-wb5kk4ek1n]

9:32 Made of plastic? And on 10:02 , you see on back written stainless steel. Its not made of plastic and does not feel cheap...

[@mlegrand]

Feels cheaper than the Suunto Race to me.

[@farulkalra]

Heyy matt, amazing video. Just a small correction, it does have stainless stell bezel around.

[@mlegrand]

Oh no! I hate it when I make mistakes like that. Thanks for the help and correction!

[@farulkalra]

@@mlegrand hey matt, its absolutely alright. It happens, i still love your videos anyhow. You are the best.

[@maxihristov4488]

Coros Pace 3 is better value for money

[@mlegrand]

That Pace 3 is an amazing value. Thank you for watching and taking the extra time to comment Max! I really appreciate it. 👍

[@tadejdanev5030]

T-REX 3

[@mlegrand]

@@tadejdanev5030 - I do have a TRex3 video coming up. 🙌

[@tadejdanev5030]

@@mlegrand cant wait :)