When you say fitness bands and smartwatches, most people would think about Fitbit. But a Fitbit might not be the perfect choice for those who want a smartwatch they could take with them on their adventures. There’s the Suunto Traverse.
Suunto Traverse is an altimeter watch that you can take on short adventures. It makes use of GPS and GLONASS satellites, a range of sensors, and an awesome mobile app, all of which would help you have a safe and fun outdoor excursion. It also functions as a smartwatch. Suunto has listed its price at $469.00, but you can get it for only $295.95 from Amazon.
Design and dimensions
The Suunto Traverse uses stainless steel for its bezel, sapphire crystal or mineral crystal for its glass material, and silicone straps. It has a round face measuring around 2 inches in diameter and 0.65 inches in thickness. There are currently five different colors for Suunto Traverse: amber, black, white, graphite, and sapphire black.
The Suunto Traverse has an inverted display that makes it easy to see. The matrix display has a screen resolution of 128 pixels by 128 pixels.
It makes use of a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and there is a battery charge indicator that tells you when you need to recharge it. One charge is good for 14 days if you are going to use the device as a watch. Turning on the GPS, however, can severely shorten the battery life.
It also has a customizable LED backlight, allowing you to see things even under the intense heat of the sun or in the dark of night.
The many models of the Suunto Traverse have generally the same features. But there are some minor differences, as well. For instance, some models use sapphire crystal for their glass material, while others have a mineral crystal. The sapphire crystal makes the watch a wee bit heavier at 82 grams, compared to the normal 80 grams. Otherwise, these watches share the same features.
Features
Clock features
As a smartwatch, the Suunto Traverse gives you all the basics of a smartwatch. It displays the date and time, acts like a countdown timer and a stopwatch, shows dual time, and serves as an alarm clock.
Made for the outdoors
The Suunto Traverse has a water resistance rating of 100 m. It also has an operating temperature range of -20 °C to +60 °C. This means that you can use it even at below-freezing temperatures and under the intense heat of summer.
Mobile app
When it comes to connectivity, the Suunto Traverse can connect to your smartphone, allowing you to control its setting using the companion app.
You can also connect with other devices using Bluetooth Smart, or use a USB cable to transfer files. The mobile app allows you to get phone notifications on the watch itself, and vice versa. You can view your stats on the mobile app, making everything easier to see.
Furthermore, you can share your photos with data overlays, watch Suunto movies, and view your metrics on the mobile app. Lastly, with the app, you can connect with various fitness and sports communities such as TrainingPeaks, Strava, and MapMyFitness, among many others.
Fitness metrics tracked
The Suunto Traverse can keep track of your location, heart rate, and time. But it can also track different fitness metrics. Here is what you could measure, according to the exercise performed:
Running
- Running pace
- Average pace
- Lap comparisons
- Suunto FusedSpeed
Biking
- Cycling speed
- Average speed in real-time
Walking
- Step counter
What is Suunto FusedSpeed? This feature would take into account the GPS readings and your own acceleration to come up with a more accurate running speed measurement. This is automatically enabled when you go for a run.
Aside from these, you also have training and log summaries that you can view on the watch, as well as training analysis and logbook that you can access the app. The Suunto Traverse also has several sports modes. You can have five different modes with four displays for each mode.
Sensors
The Suunto Traverse comes with several sensors to help it do its job. These include:
- A digital compass with full tilt compensation, declination correction, north-indicating needle, and bearing lock. The compass has a 5-degree accuracy.
- Sensors that work with both GPS and GLONASS systems. You can add up to 250 points of interest and enjoy the find back, route planning, and track logging features, as well as the other GPS related functionalities it offers.
- An altimeter that uses both barometric and GPS altitude. It also measures total ascent or descent and vertical speed.
- Speed and distance. The Suunto Traverse uses GPS to measure your speed and distance. It can also measure distance-based auto laps.
- Heart rate. If you have a wrist or belt heart rate monitor, you can use the Suunto Traverse to keep track of your heart rate. It measures your heart’s beats per minute, the percentage of your heart rate compared to the maximum, heart rate zones, and calories burned. It can also log heart rates while you are swimming.
Weather tracking
Perhaps what makes the Suunto Traverse unique when compared to other fitness trackers and smartwatches is that it keeps track of several weather indicators.
It keeps track of sea level pressure and presents it in a graph. It also has a weather trend indicator, a temperature display, and barometric readings. Furthermore, it can tell you when the sun is going to rise or set, or when there is a storm coming. You can even rely on it for tide information, too.
What you would like about the Suunto Traverse
You would love how the Suunto Traverse gives you a lot of data to work with. It tracks speed, altitude, and distance. It can help you with planning your routes using topographic maps. You can also easily discover new routes using heat maps.
It goes wherever you go with a wide operating temperature range and even water-resistance of up to 100 meters. Then there is the use of both GPS and GLONASS satellites, which gives you more accurate location data than a pure GPS unit.
It gives you weather information, thus helping you plan your adventures better. Going surfing? Check out the tide times. Going trekking? Check if it is going to rain.
However, if you are not on an adventure, and are instead just doing whatever it is you do every single day, the Suunto Traverse can also function as a regular smartwatch, allowing you to keep track of the time and serving as a second screen for your mobile phone.
And it looks good too!
Alternatives to the Suunto Traverse
While it remains a good GPS-enabled altimeter smartwatch, one of the biggest downsides to the Suunto Traverse is the fact that it only lasts eight hours when the GPS is turned on. That is not much time if you are looking to have an adventure outdoors. This means that this is a good watch if you are planning just a short excursion.
If you are looking for a better watch, however, you do not have to go far. The Suunto Ambit3 Peak has the same features as the Traverse plus a more accurate GPS, and a longer-lasting battery (22 hours).
But if battery life is really what you are looking for, you cannot go wrong with the Casio PRW-6000Y. The durable smartwatch looks rugged with its mineral glass, carbon fiber strap, and an atomic clock.
What sets it apart, though, is the fact that it is solar-powered, giving you unlimited battery life. However, with a list price of $600, it is much more expensive than Suunto’s smartwatches. It is also quite difficult to figure out, so you would need to spend some time learning how to work it.
If this is not for you, you can settle for a Garmin Fenix 5, which has a battery that can last 36 hours with the GPS turned on and six weeks when used as an ordinary smartwatch.
Final say
The Suunto Traverse looks great as a day-to-day watch. It would look great with casual-chic clothing or even when you wear it to a formal event.
It has outstanding clock functions, using GPS to keep time and adjust to DST automatically. It can keep you notified of incoming calls, push notifications, and SMS messages. More than that, it is also a basic fitness tracker that allows you to keep track of your steps and calories burned.
It also comes with a superior companion app. On top of letting you review all the metrics, logs and history, it also comes up with insightful analysis of your activities. Furthermore, the Suunto Movescount App allows you to create movies of your adventures, complete with data and information to make them more interesting. You can edit and share your Suunto Movies as well.
The Suunto Traverse is made for adventure. It is perfect for short adventures such as hiking, fishing, or hunting. It is very durable, water-resistant, and can withstand extreme temperatures. It can help you find your way or plan your route. It also has all the information you might need or want, including sunrise, sunset, and weather trends.
- Best Smartwatch Deals and Activity Tracker Deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday – October 7, 2020
- Best Prime Day Fitness Tracker Deals – Fitbit Deals, Garmin Deals, Moov Deals, and More! – October 6, 2020
- The Full Bellabeat Leaf Review – December 30, 2019