Suunto 9 Baro Charcoal Black Titanium

This is my third and most expensive SUUNTO watch. I started out with an AMBIT 1 which worked fine until the buttons no longer functioned properly after two years. I replaced that watch with an AMBIT 2 which served me faithfully for about 8 years. I upgraded the software, cleaned it up and passed it on to my daughter who is training for a Triathlon. The AMBIT 2 was replaced this Christmas with the 9 Baro Titanium. The dimensions of the watch are similar to the AMBIT 2 but the 9 Baro T is lighter and the dial is not as striking. The watch is very configurable in that the user has the ability to choose from a number of watch faces as well as control of the accuracy of GPS and brightness of the watch. These decisions will radically affect the battery life so choose ... MoreThis is my third and most expensive SUUNTO watch. I started out with an AMBIT 1 which worked fine until the buttons no longer functioned properly after two years. I replaced that watch with an AMBIT 2 which served me faithfully for about 8 years. I upgraded the software, cleaned it up and passed it on to my daughter who is training for a Triathlon. The AMBIT 2 was replaced this Christmas with the 9 Baro Titanium. The dimensions of the watch are similar to the AMBIT 2 but the 9 Baro T is lighter and the dial is not as striking. The watch is very configurable in that the user has the ability to choose from a number of watch faces as well as control of the accuracy of GPS and brightness of the watch. These decisions will radically affect the battery life so choose wisely. I was very surprised to find that the watch rapidly discharged during the first two days that I wore it because I had the watch set for maximum brightness and most accurate GPS setting during my workouts. After getting about 1.5 days of use, I changed a number of settings to try to extend the battery life. The main drawback was that the display became almost unreadable. Something needs to be done about that. The wrist HR monitor is an excellent concept that doesn't quite work well in execution. When starting out, the sensor registers little change in heart rate and then often, during the middle of a workout, the heart rate jumps to an abnormally high rate. If I weren't aware of my physical conditioning I might become worried. The GPS appears to be fairly accurate and responsive, however the pace rate is off. A modification to the SW may be able to correct that.While I like the design of the 9 Peak, I choose to get the 9 Baro because I felt that the larger face would be easier to read. That may be true but the lack of screen brightness is a significant hindrance. I am not sure that the 9 Peak would be any brighter. The watch sits comfortably on my wrist and doesn't look out of place even though I am not a large person. The strap is also comfortable although the 9 Peak strap looks even more comfortable as well as more easily adjusted.Overall, I find myself still a bit unconvinced by the watch after almost two weeks wearing it. The battery life is a disappointment as well as the lack of screen brightness. The design, performance and features are good as is the build quality. I also like very much how the watch is integrated with the new SUNTO App to provide an athlete with a number of metrics.

Owned the watch for 20 months. 11 months it worked well, then faults arise and accumulated quickly, regardless in following all the support advice.Wrist heart rate become erratic or not functioning at all during runs. Touch screen delayed or non reposnsive. GPS making up its own routes or disconnecting often, no matter the location.Very poor battery life that didnt come close to the marketing hype.These faults, numerous support correspondence and 2 repairs have now spanned 9 months. That is, 9 months with an expensive useless product. Responses took weeks, or was given a standard statement to reset or read the support page. This only added to the frustration as, resets were already being performed weekly and advice on the support pages were already followed and ... MoreOwned the watch for 20 months. 11 months it worked well, then faults arise and accumulated quickly, regardless in following all the support advice.Wrist heart rate become erratic or not functioning at all during runs. Touch screen delayed or non reposnsive. GPS making up its own routes or disconnecting often, no matter the location.Very poor battery life that didnt come close to the marketing hype.These faults, numerous support correspondence and 2 repairs have now spanned 9 months. That is, 9 months with an expensive useless product. Responses took weeks, or was given a standard statement to reset or read the support page. This only added to the frustration as, resets were already being performed weekly and advice on the support pages were already followed and were already highlighted in the correpondence. Am still waiting for a replacement after giving up on moee repairs, but given my experience so far doubt it will last beyond the ridiculous new 3 month warranty offered.When it works its good, once a fault appears it begins a quick transformation into to an expensive brick . Ultra performance and long battery life statements are a joke, it could not even manage a year of light use from a suburban runner.Will not buy from this brand again. Am obviously not a happy customer.

Let me first say that I have used a Suunto Ambit2 for many years, since 2014, doing literally more than 2500 moves with it, and I was really delighted by its performance. I had never had a single problem with it. In fact, many friends of mine bought a Suunto watch because of my advice. When I accidentally scratched the screen of my Ambit2 (it still works perfectly), I told myself that it was time for an upgrade, so in 2021 I bought the supposedly best Suunto watch: the Suunto 9 Titanium Baro. After having it for several months, I am extremely disappointed with it. Let me try to explain why (I could write pages and pages, I will try to be concise).First of all, the accuracy of the GPS is much *much* worse than the one of the Ambit2: when you look at your track, you ... MoreLet me first say that I have used a Suunto Ambit2 for many years, since 2014, doing literally more than 2500 moves with it, and I was really delighted by its performance. I had never had a single problem with it. In fact, many friends of mine bought a Suunto watch because of my advice. When I accidentally scratched the screen of my Ambit2 (it still works perfectly), I told myself that it was time for an upgrade, so in 2021 I bought the supposedly best Suunto watch: the Suunto 9 Titanium Baro. After having it for several months, I am extremely disappointed with it. Let me try to explain why (I could write pages and pages, I will try to be concise).First of all, the accuracy of the GPS is much *much* worse than the one of the Ambit2: when you look at your track, you see very strange things even if you run in a straight line, especially in urban environments. This implies, in particular, that you cannot trust your instant pace (in my case, it can vary randomly, say, from 4'30''/min up to 5'45''/min), which is fundamental. This never happened to me with the Ambit2. How is it possible that, so many years later, and at such an abusive price, that it works that bad??On the other hand, the wrist HR sensor is absolutely horrible, you just cannot trust it at all, even if your watch is really tight on your wrist. For instance, when I swim, I usually get a HR of more than 220 bpm for intervals of more than 20 minutes, which is of course impossible, as I would be currently dead. If you like to take a look at your HR when training, just buy the chest belt.And the most important thing: this watch is not reliable. This, for me, is the most important feature of a watch like that, which I usually use for a long time in the mountains, the sea, etc... Namely, my watch has just "died" like 4 or 5 times: it stops working for no reason. Sometimes, when I plug it into my computer, I am able to reset it and make it work again (losing all the configuration, such as the personalized sport modes, which take me a lot of time to set up). But already twice, my watch has just died completely, and it is impossible to switch it on, even pressing the reset button (12 seconds upper-right), or whatever you could try. I have sent it to the technical service, they have sent it back to me (after almost one month, which is a really long time, even with the covid excuse), and then, again, a couple of months later, it just dies again, and you find yourself with such a stupid (and angry) face, and without a watch to train. Absolutely inacceptable, and with no apologies at all from the Suunto support.By the way, from my personal experience, the support from Suunto is awful. They take, in average, more then two days to provide and answer, and they are not able to respond to technical questions, such as which GPS system (Galileo, Glonass, Beidou...) is better on a city, or how to use some of the Suunto Plus features.Of course, not everything about this watch is bad: the battery life is indeed amazing, and it is light and visually nice. But, from a purely technical point of view, in my opinion the Ambit2 was much better (even forgetting the fact that my watch dies frequently for no reason), infinitely more reliable, and at a much cheaper price.Summarizing, I was such a proud Suunto customer, and I have really tried hard to minimize all the above issues of my Suunto 9, so that I could enjoy it. But I am fed up, this is way too much. This watch is not worth, by far, its price. Bye bye Suunto.