Review on SUUNTO 5: A Sleek and Portable GPS Sports Watch Offering 24/7 Activity Tracking and Wrist-Based Heart Rate by Willie Midkiff

Just received this a few days ago. As long as I like it Story: I've switched from another fitness tracker, probably the most popular in the industry, but I've worn out two of these just from wearing them and I won't be buying another one. This product so far: 1. Excellent build quality. Firmly. Feels good on my wrist. Looks good.2. The strap is flexible and comfortable. Doesn't fall off (yet).3. Two year guarantee. Better than many others. I expect this to take over two years, so my questions include: How much would it cost to replace the battery or strap? Currently unknown. The following represents my experience of what I found. I'm not sure if this information is "officially correct" or not, so feel free to comment on Suunto: 1. The initial setup of the watch is pretty easy.2. To connect to your phone via Bluetooth, the watch must be in no power saving mode. Settings -> General -> Energy Saving Mode (Off – switch to the left). My watch came with this setting Off.3. Download Suunto app to your phone from Play Store (if it's Android like me).4. Download SuuntoLink App from Suunto website and install it on your computer (Mac or Win10). In my case Win10.5. Connect the charging cable to the watch and to the USB port of the computer. Your watch will start charging and Windows will recognize the new device.6. Open SuuntoLink app on your computer. It displays the watch, the battery level and the software version of the watch. If your watch needs an update, you will be prompted to update your watch.7. The current software version of the watch at the time of writing this article is v 2.13.18 and had to be updated after receiving the watch to keep it up to date.8. Create an account in Suunto app on your phone. Under Partner Settings, select Strava. You may first need to create an account on the Strava website (it's free).9. Choose your watch face. Settings -> watch face. There are several to choose from. Digital is best for me and shows date, time and steps. Toggling the top left button will alternate steps with the remaining battery percentage. 10.) When the watch is charged, select Exercise->Walk (this was my choice for today). Wait for the watch to acquire the GPS correction and your heart rate (the watch will pause while this happens), then tell the watch to start exercising. The watch tracks your stats including distance, minutes per mile, elevation and route.11. Finish your workout (tell your watch) and sync it to your phone. Your route data and statistics are shared for viewing with Suunto app on your phone and Strava on the web. Your route map is displayed in both Suunto app and Strava website.12. No need to carry your phone with you or turn on Bluetooth while exercising. The data transfer takes place after the end of the exercise, after the Bluetooth connection is restored. This should get you started. Some quirkiness of the watch: I bought this watch with the intention that it would get me out a little more and work out, and so on. removed, it worked (hooray!). I see footsteps on the watch face I selected. When I select walk, the watch face shows mileage, exercise time, and some other data, but no steps! I also want to add a field for steps. The watch tracks your steps, just doesn't display them in walk mode. When you exit the exercise and return to the watch face I chose, the cumulative daily steps are tracked and updated, so the data is displayed, not displayed, as you walk. I will continue this review as I learn more about this product. I started on a full charge and did a 3 hour hike and was still over 90% when I came back with battery save (GPS tracking) disabled. A note on the display: There are many reviews complaining about the display. My experience was different. The display is easy to read outdoors in bright sunlight. The room needs lighting that requires a push of a button. Build quality that communicates with an app on your phone for data transfer and that app can communicate with Strava to archive and view data and routes. If you buy it to see the indoor time without pressing a button, it's too dark for you and a waste of money. So far I love this product and have given it five stars and am happy with the purchase so far. Update 12/30/20: The watch's heart rate monitor moves a little, although it seems to fit snugly on the wrist. The watch gave an error message about the heart rate. So I bought a chest monitor from Suunto which arrived today for around $80. It arrived and I'm not very happy because: 1. It's made in China, it seems light and cheap. No on/off switch, so always on.2. It won't pair with my watch or phone.3. Suunto support was polite and helpful and offered to return it, which I did today.4. Revain will replace it with another.5. At the moment I am not getting an accurate and consistent heart rate from a watch or chest monitor and if the replacement monitor is also bad then both will likely be returned for a refund and I will consider another supplier. 1 star deduction for above. I intend to update this review when the replacement sensor arrives. Update 1/3/21: I received the replacement chest strap and successfully paired it with my Suunto 5. * increased to 5. The quality of the watch and the quality of the chest strap appear to be good. However, Suunto lacks instructions and like many modern electronics manufacturers, you can expect to learn about their product by playing with it. However, I'm sticking with the old school and love clear and complete documentation. So here is some "extra" information that may help you with both the Suunto 5 and the chest strap: 1. The chest strap has no on/off button. It seems to turn on when the chest contacts are wetted and attached to the chest. 2. The chest strap consists of two components: the strap and the sensor. The sensor is attached to two buckles integrated in the belt. It is designed to sit on the center of the chest. Attach the sensor to the strap.3. Adjust the strap so that the sensor is snug but not too tight.4. Wet the contacts on the back of the chest strap. They are not metal but black rubberized plastic and are located about 2 inches either side of the sensor on the back of the chest strap. They are 2-3 inches long and have more sheen than the elastic part of the belt. 5. Turn on the device. Disable saving the clock. Settings/General/Energy Saver 6. Connect the watch to the chest strap. Settings / General / Connection / Pair with a sensor. notifies you of a successful pairing. Exercise tracking notes: The watch displays steps, time, remaining battery, and heart rate based on the watch face you select. To store and transfer this data to Suunto app and then to Strava (if you have a Strava account), you need to sync your watch with Suunto app on your phone. Suunto support informed me that the watch will automatically sync to your phone at night when the watch is not in sleep mode and paired with your phone via bluetooth. My experience is slightly different. I prefer manual syncing right after a workout. Here's how to do it. This assumes that you have already connected your phone to your watch via Bluetooth, have a Strava account and are set up to communicate with the Suunto.1 app. Bluetooth must be activated on your phone.2. Try resetting the clock (the left and right buttons on top are pressed simultaneously for 15 seconds and then released). Also consider restarting your phone. This may not be necessary, but it can solve sync problems.3. Open Suunto app on your phone. Go to the main page. In the upper right corner you will see a small clock icon. click it The application will take you to a page with a clock and the words "Connecting".4. The app then says Connected and Syncing. When the process is complete, the message "Last sync: just now"5 will appear. At the moment Suunto app has your data and Strava can have your data, Strava can get your data immediately or it can take longer, I've experienced both. Update 4/1/21: Suunto support says they will replace the watch strap if it breaks after the warranty period for about $60. They couldn't tell me the price for changing the battery in the watch as the watch is new and they didn't have to change the batteries. They stated that the battery is covered by a two-year watch warranty. Otherwise, the GPS will track you even when the power saving mode is on. You can disable power saving mode after you finish your workout before syncing with your phone. After the sync is complete, you can turn power saving mode back on. Update 11-Jan-21: My preferred method of charging this watch is to connect it to a Win 10 computer that has the Suunto app installed. My process: Start your computer. Start Suunto app. Connect your watch via USB. Suunto app shows that the watch is charging, shows the battery status and the watch is up to date. When the watch gets to 99 or 100%, I turn it off and close the Suunto app. I hope this is a helpful review. Update 7/26/2021: I've been using this watch for a while now and still love it. It's durable and got me running a little more, which is a good thing. I no longer use Stravia as everything I need is in the Suunto app. I update my data after a walk, turn on Bluetooth and sync it with Suunto app on my phone. usually it takes about minute. Then I turn off Bluetooth. I share my hike, stats and map tracking with friends via email on my phone. I usually charge the watch to 99 or 100% a few minutes before every walk. I've never run out of battery on the go, and I always use power saving mode except when syncing. So far, so good.