News : Suunto 5, analysis and opinion of the Suunto intermediate clock

Almost in unison Suunto and Garmin have announced their new models, and with this release of Suunto 5 there is already battle with the Forerunner 245, which would come to be one of its main competitors. Polar was a bit more in advance when presenting his Vantage with more advance, being the Vantage M that would enter to fight in this league.

Suunto 5 comes to continue with the new series of numbers in the nomenclature of the brand; we had the Suunto 3 Fitness, the Suunto 9 and 9 Baro, and now the jump between the aforementioned is reduced with this new piece that replaces the Spartan Tainer. There would still be a small hole to cover between 5 and 9, which seems to call a high-end intermediate model ... we'll see what surprises the Finnish brand holds.

Suunto 5, what stands out

A list of what you want to highlight in your launch:

• Smart battery modes. This is one of the strengths of the Suunto 9, which extended its battery to 120 hours, and that also includes the 5 with up to 40 hours of duration with GPS
• More than 80 sport modes. It aims to cover practically any activity you can think of, and also allows customizations.
• Level of physical form and monitoring of stress. Here it combines the fitness level monitoring of Suunto 9 (VO2max) and stress monitoring of the Suunto 3 Fitness.
• Activity monitoring 24/7. This is already a fixed.
• Training plans adaptive In the line of the competition, they offer a kind of virtual trainer that generates weekly schedules based on the information obtained by the clock.
• GPS navigation. Important difference with Fitness 3, which does not even mount GPS antenna.
• They emphasize its resistance and durability, or its behavior in the face of adverse conditions. Submersible 50 meters.
• Finally they have an agreement with Training Peaks, Strava and Endomondo that they have named as "Value Pack".

Suunto 5, technical specifications

General

• Dimensions: 46 mm (diameter) x 14.6 mm (thickness)
• Weight: 66 grams
• Bezel: Stainless steel
• Lens: Mineral glass
• Housing: Glass fiber reinforced polycarbonate
• Strap: Silicone
• Display: 218 x 218 color resolution, with customizable spheres, LED backlight
  Submersible: 50 m (according to ISO 6425)
• Battery life: Clock mode 14 days; 24/7 tracking and 7-day mobile notifications; with GPS from 20 to 40 hours.
• Heart rate sensor on the wrist
• Connectivity: Bluetooth Smart, compatible with Suunto App.

Free Air Functions

• Satellite signals: GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS.
• Smart battery mode
• Navigation for reference points and visual routes (no maps go)
• Navigation of points of interest
• ETA (Estimated time of arrival)
• DO NOT have a barometric altimeter

Training functions

• Programming of intervals (simple, not complex with different recoveries and / or duration) in the clock itself.
• Compatible with FC sensors (Suunto Smart Sensor), necessary to register the FC during swimming.
• Peak Training Effect
• Recovery time
• Autolaps and manual turns
• Specific measurements of swimming (SWOLF, automatic intervals, etc.), cycling (power synchronizing sensor, average speed in real time, etc.), race, multisport, etc.

Suunto 5, price and offers

The Spartan Trainer comes out more expensive than its predecessor, and that is € 329 not turkey moque. However stay tuned as we will be updating this post with the best and latest offers that come out. It is in the price line of its competitors, although the functionalities vary between them as we will see in the next point. These are your starting prices with the offers below:

• Suunto 5 - 329 €
• Garmin Forerunner 245 - € 299.99; Forerunner 245 Music - € 349.99
• Polar Vantage M - € 279.90

Suunto 5, Suunto 3 and Suunto Spartan Trainer, evolution

We found some fusion of characteristics between this 5 with the 9 and the 3. Suunto 3 Fitness has copied the stress meter, the body resources (Garmin body battery), the sleep quality metrics, the adapted training plans or the VO2 Max. Suunto 9 has inherited one of its forts as is the intelligent battery management and some outdoor features.

And, what is the evolution with respect to the Suunto Spartan Trainer? First the battery, 10 hours against 20, or 40 with energy savings; Suunto 5 is thinner, has steel bezel and mineral crystal on the dial (Trainer was pure plastic), includes VO2 Max, more GPS signals (GLONASS, Galileo and QZSS), S5 does not connect to Movescount. And finally the FC sensor looks the same as the Spartan Trainer.

Suunto 5 vs Forerunner 245 vs Vantage M, some differences

There are substantial differences that may make it easy for us to make our shopping choice based on our needs. Forerunner 245 Music is the most expensive but it is the only one that offers music, so we discard it in the comparison to focus on the 245 to dry.

• Suunto 5 and FR 245 have route tracking, Vantage M only back to the start.
• We can program complex intervals (different durations and recoveries) with FR 245 and Vantage M from their respective platforms Garmin Connect and Polar Flow, while with Suunto 5 we can program only simple intervals but yes, from the clock itself.
• None of them has a barometer, to clarify it.
• Vantage M and Suunto 5 are specific watches for multisport, while 245 is understood as a running watch, although in this latest version it has greatly expanded its capabilities for other activities.
• Suunto 5 looks more focused on outdoor activities with up to 40 hours of autonomy with GPS. For its part, the Vantage M arrives until 30 and the FR 245 until 24 hours.
• FR 245 is the only one with follow-up of the menstrual cycle and follow-up - accident warning.
• The price is higher for the Suunto 5 starting, and even more with the already available offers of the Vantage M.

For reasons of price, we could compare it with the Vantage V, which does have a barometer and lasts up to 40 hours. We could also put it in the bag of the FR 645 for price (here our analysis), but this has many brushstrokes of smartwatch, with contactless payments or the possibility of a version with music.

Suunto 5, opinion and conclusions

We already know how the issue of brands, which lately has become partisan, like the one that identifies with a certain football team and supports it in health and illness. I think that if you are from Suunto, this watch paints well for features and benefits. You have to wait for it to go down a little bit to make it more competent, but it's a free air watch and multisport quality. The 40 hours of autonomy are many, many hours.

Things I like: different satellites, improvement of materials, increased autonomy, reduction in size, non-increase in weight.

Things that I do not like: We still do not have the possibility of programming complex intervals; Definitely the Movescount platform is condemned, although it was not to shoot rockets some of us were already used to. And finally, I see it a bit expensive.

The fight is fierce and its opponents are not lame, but we will leave doubts with the detailed analysis that you can check shortly right here.