The Suunto Race 3S is a premium trail running watch, updated with a few new features so it’s even more ready to power your next adventure.
Built for runners who want accurate training data, GPS tracking, and a bright, easily visible display for viewing in all light conditions, all in a very lightweight package.
When stacked up against the competition, the Suunto Race 3S is somewhat competitively priced, despite the price hike.
While the change to some of the controls and user interface might be daunting in the beginning, the Race 3S can be a GPS watch worth taking some time to learn a new system.
Let’s take a look at what Suunto has in store for us with the release of the new Race 3S.
Who Is It Good For?
- Novice Runners: There are a few features and operational quirks that might go over the head of a novice.
- Current Garmin Users: Yes, while some functions differ wildly, many basics are similar.
- Trail Runners: Absolutely. It is built for trail adventures, with accurate GPS, offline maps, and turn-by-turn navigation, and it even alerts you to climbs and descents.
- Daily Usage: It gives you a good snapshot of your daily health but without the excess of metrics that form something of a double-edged sword.
- Value for Price: The $150 price increase is a lot, but you get a lot for what amounts to a little more than half the price of a high-end Garmin.
Coming from something like a Garmin the functionality might take some getting used to. With only two buttons and a digital crown for on-screen navigation, it can take some time to make a habit of using the touchscreen feature for faster navigation in the watch screens.
Suunto Race 3S Specifications
- Size: 46 mm
- Weight: 56g, 37g watch head only
- Satellite: Next-gen dual-frequency GNSS GPS technology
- Navigation: Breadcrumb, Offline Maps
- Screen: Sapphire crystal glass (improved durability/ scratch resistance)
- Waterproof: up to 5ATM
- Screen: 1.32” 2000-nit AMOLED touchscreen display, 466×466 resolution
- Battery life: 38 hours with Dual Band GPS/30 hours with always-on display/12 days in smartwatch mode
- Sport Modes: 119
- Available in 3 colors
- Available on us.suunto.com for $599
Suunto Race 3S Overview
This next version of the Race comes with some significant upgrades while keeping the sleek and stylish look from previous versions.
Built with important features for trail runners, the road running enthusiast is not left out in the cold with this update. Suunto added dual-band GPS tracking for improved GPS tracking while offering up to 38 hours of usage in GPS mode.
The Suunto Race 3S comes in with a slightly smaller face this year, trimming down to 1.32 inches in diameter. The bright and colorful 2000-nit AMOLED display is easily visible in any condition.
And the smaller profile looks great on wrists both small and large. The bezel was also updated from stainless steel to titanium.
The Suunto Race 3S is really a watch that can do almost anything asked of it.
You can draw up a random trail route and know you won’t get lost, all the while you’re getting advance warning when you have a sharp left turn followed by a 340-foot climb up a steep hill in your future.
With its less bulky build, it appears more like a stylish daily-use watch and not like something a Green Beret would wear while on deployment.
It can also double as a serviceable daily-use watch with its ability to field your basic notifications, and with many watch faces to choose from, you can check the weather and sunset times from your wrist.
Over the last couple of weeks, I put this watch through several workouts in varied environments. I put in workouts on trails, on the roads, and in the gym.
I never really tested its performance in water, as I’m not a strong swimmer and our Southern California coastal environment has been…chaotic, to say the least.
Quick Take
Pros
- GPS accuracy showed improvement over the Suunto Run 2
- Increased storage to 64 GB for music and offline maps
- Turn-by-turn breadcrumb navigation with clearer advanced turn alerts
- Climb and descent notifications
- Lightweight and durable build with sapphire crystal glass
- New AI Coach feature can offer helpful suggestions to guide your training and recovery
- Long battery life
Cons:
- Touchscreen will sometimes swipe to a new screen when sweat or rain slides from the screen during a run
- Third-party app integration is still “buggy”
- Offline maps take a long time to download
- The $150 price increase
Suunto Race 3S Features
Let’s dive into the details of the different features and what I found in testing.
Battery Life
With up to 38 hours in dual-band GPS mode, the Race 3S is a smart choice for the ultra runner.
With somewhat minimal trail usage, combined with daily road running usage, I found the battery life to be excellent. Over the course of two weeks, I charged the watch once after initial setup.
With basic activity tracking, the battery drain is significantly less than when using turn-by-turn breadcrumb navigation.
GPS Performance and Maps
GPS accuracy looked to be extremely accurate. The GPS maps after my runs showed smoother lines, and I was hitting completed miles at around the spots I know distances to be, based on the routes I tend to run repeatedly.
The breadcrumb navigation struggled a bit in a city setting. I chalked it up to interference from being near buildings, which was where I noticed a few instances where I would have missed a turn had I not programmed the route into the app myself and not known where I was going.
Navigation on the trails was much better. The turn notifications arrived considerably earlier, and the climb and descent advance notifications were nice, given I plotted out a random route across a few trails in the Crystal Cove trail system.
It should be noted I was in terrain that did not have much tree cover, and trees are known to affect GPS performance.
Navigating with downloaded maps was also quite easy. During a shorter trail run on less technical terrain and with fewer trail junctions, the ability to use the digital crown to zoom in and out and scroll the map using the touchscreen is a very useful feature.
The one big negative was the time it took to download the maps.
Activity Tracking
Whether it was an outdoor road run, a trail run, a treadmill run, a weight lifting session, or an evening walk, activity tracking was easy and clean.
With 119 sport modes, just about any activity can be tracked.
Treadmill calibration is still not available, but the distance tracked on the watch was very close to what the treadmill read during my test.
As someone who uses my watch to log my strength training sessions, logging individual sets can be done, but the Race 3S lacks the rest timer that is found in a Garmin. But if you choose to log your workouts in an app like HEVY, that can serve that function for you.
During activities, you can set alerts so you know when a lap (mile) is completed. You can also set alerts to show when you’ve crossed into a new heart rate zone.
I also noticed a countdown when using the guided workout feature, which was missing in last year’s Race 2. This is particularly helpful because if you miss the end of an interval, you’re cutting into your recovery time.
Heart Rate Tracking
Heart rate tracking was close enough to what would be considered accurate when compared to the Frontier X2 heart rate monitor.
It should be noted that I don’t have any tattoos and I’m not very hairy, which are two variables that often skew heart rate readings on watches.
I also generally wear my watch tight enough that I don’t get movement very much, but I do get a nice indentation in my wrist.
App Features and Integration
Connectivity with the Suunto Plus app is greatly improved over the Race 2. With the exception of a few times where I was running with a group of people and wound up milling about after the run, connecting and syncing took seconds.
The ability to push guided workouts from third-party training apps like Final Surge does work, but on some runs, the final interval recovery period would be skipped.
One one run I went from a 2 mile threshold interval directly into a 200 meter repetition interval, rather than doing that interval after a 3 minute jog.
Creating workouts in the Suunto app worked much better.
Miscellaneous Features
Rounding out the features, you’ll find a new AI Coach feature. The app will have suggestions and insights on your training level, recovery status, and training suggestions.
While it is always important to listen to your body, you do get some suggestions that can be helpful.
During my testing I did a 6.6 mile trail run with 1300 feet of elevation the day after a long road run. The Suunto Coach feature suggested a rest day, which I GLADLY took to rest my extremely sore legs.
It also showed that my regular load of easy aerobic training was lower than usual after a week that saw a mid-week workout and long run both featuring speed elements.
Suunto also added recovery heart rate, which is a metric used in your recovery status. Suunto “grades” your heart rate recovery and uses that to factor into your future training readiness and recovery.
I don’t find this to be a big loss because I never used it with Garmin, but the contactless payment option is still not available. If that is something important to you, know that coming in.
Our Verdict
The Suunto Race 3S comes with some improved features and an improved look, and while $599 is significantly more than a drop in the bucket for most people, the value in comparison to some of its counterparts is considerable.
What to read next?
- Best Garmin Watch for Running | Key Feature Comparison
- COROS PACE 4 Pro Review | A Lightweight Watch With a Massive Display
- 10 Tips You Need to Know Before Buying a Running Watch
The post Suunto Race 3S Review | Trail-Ready With An Impressive Battery Life appeared first on RunToTheFinish.
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