Fans of minimalist design will appreciate the Suunto 9 Peak Pro’s sleek aesthetics. See Ocean Blue above. <\/figcaption><\/figure>Suunto\u2019s 9 Peak Pro comes in with an RRP of \u00a3419 which, as mad as it sounds, sits around the mid-range for multisport watches these days.<\/p>
It puts it in direct comparison with the likes of Garmin\u2019s Forerunner 955 and the Polar Grit X Pro.<\/p>
That\u2019s stiff competition, and while the 9 Peak Pro doesn\u2019t do everything right, it\u2019s a watch I\u2019ve warmed to throughout testing. Here\u2019s why\u2026<\/p>
What\u2019s the design like?<\/h3> On test here is the Ocean Blue version of the Suunto 9 Peak Pro, though there are many other colours to choose from.<\/p>
Suunto says this watch is the \u201cpro version of the small and sleek multisport watch for smaller wrists\u201d, which explains the design on offer here.<\/p>
The watch face is 43mm by 43mm, which is smaller than many of the other watches I\u2019ve been testing recently for BBC Countryfile Magazine’s best GPS watches test.<\/p>
Meanwhile, the actual display comes in at 30.5mm and uses sapphire crystal for durability. There\u2019s then a stainless steel bezel, while the rest of the case is made from glass fibre reinforced polyamide.<\/p>
It\u2019s a very smart package and the 9 Peak Pro is a very sleek-looking watch.<\/p>
How easy is it to use?<\/h3> The watch relies on the combination of a touchscreen and three buttons. The latter gives you an up, down and select\/scroll right button, which you can use to do most things on the watch.<\/p>
Generally speaking, the 9 Peak Pro was easy to live with. My only real complaint is that the interface isn\u2019t the smoothest and there\u2019s a minor lag when switching between screens.<\/p>
It\u2019s only a lag of around a second, but it is noticeable and is not something I\u2019ve experienced with Garmin watches.<\/p>
How does the display perform?<\/h3> As I\u2019ve already noted, at 30.5mm the display isn\u2019t the largest, but I am a fan of how information is displayed on it.<\/p>
It doesn\u2019t feel overly cramped or hard to distinguish and there\u2019s good use of visual elements to display information well.<\/p>
The display does use colour, but I wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s particularly vibrant, while I also found the brightness of the display a little dull in light conditions, even when I opted for its highest setting.<\/p>
Again, it doesn\u2019t impact your ability to consume the information on the display, it\u2019s just not as high-quality as some competitors, or even Suunto\u2019s own Vertical Titanium.<\/p>
How good is the navigation?<\/h3> Pretty decent, as it happens. There\u2019s no real-world mapping so you instead get a breadcrumb trail showing you either where you\u2019ve gone or laying your pre-set route out in front of you.<\/p>
Routing is one of the high points here. Suunto makes it very easy to create routes, as you can plan them in the accompanying app on your phone, which proved very intuitive.<\/p>Make use of the brand’s user-friendly app and plan routes on your phone and tablet <\/figcaption><\/figure>Alternatively, you can also choose to import a GPX route, and again, this is super easy to do.<\/p>
Following a route on the watch is easy enough and, while there\u2019s limited screen space, there is clarity. You also get turn-by-turn directions, which seemed to work well for the most part.<\/p>
GPS is largely accurate, though it did have me running through a couple of living rooms in particularly built-up urban areas.<\/p>
What training and performance features does it have?<\/h3> For a start, there\u2019s over 90 different activity profiles for you to choose from, including everything from walking, running, climbing and various types of cycling.<\/p>
In each activity mode you can view multiple data fields, including pace, time elapsed, elevation profiles and so on.<\/p>
Of course, you also get heart rate data from the optical sensor on the back of the watch, which generally proved accurate and often tracked closely to our chest-based sensor.<\/p>
There\u2019s a full gamut of training features, too. These include training load, recovery time and VO2 max.<\/p>
After you\u2019ve completed your workout, you can dive into it in more detail using the Suunto app, which gives you an overview of your training in a smart calendar view.<\/p>
You can then explore Suunto\u2019s recommendations for training and recovery, and see what impact your training is having.<\/p>
I\u2019ve found the app useful, informative and easy to use throughout testing, and prefer it to Polar\u2019s equivalent. It also gives Garmin a run for its money in this regard.<\/p>
What other features are there?<\/h3> Well, like most modern GPS watches the 9 Peak Pro comes with phone notifications, step count, sleep tracking, sunrise\/sunset times, an altimeter, a compass, music controls (but no music storage), storm alerts and plenty more.<\/p>
How good is the battery life?<\/h3> You know what, it\u2019s actually pretty good. In smartwatch mode Suunto quotes 21 days and in training mode with the most accurate GPS it\u2019s 40 hours.<\/p>
That\u2019s plenty for a few days of back-to-back hiking or a couple of weeks of usual use with various exercise sessions thrown in.<\/p>
Buy if\u2026<\/h3> If you want a fully-featured, smart-looking sports watch and aren\u2019t bothered about topo maps or a larger display, this is a really great-value option.<\/p>
The size also means this\u2019ll suit people with thinner wrists.<\/p>
Facts at a glance: Suunto 9 Peak Pro<\/h4> Price:<\/strong> \u00a3419Size:<\/strong> 43mm x 43mmThickness: <\/strong>10.8mmWeight:<\/strong> 64gDisplay type: <\/strong>MatrixDisplay size: <\/strong>1.2in (30.5mm)Battery life: <\/strong>21 days in smartwatch mode and 40 hours in full GPS modeBarometer:<\/strong> Yes<\/p>Ready to buy? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Not quite what you’re after? Find more models and expert reviews in our roundup of the best GPS watches<\/a>. <\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\nRob Slade hits the hills with the Suunto 9 Peak Pro. Find out how the smart-looking GPS watch fared on test. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":33683,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/01\/suunto-9-peak-pro-gps-watch-review.jpg",2000,1500,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/01\/suunto-9-peak-pro-gps-watch-review-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/01\/suunto-9-peak-pro-gps-watch-review-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/01\/suunto-9-peak-pro-gps-watch-review-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/01\/suunto-9-peak-pro-gps-watch-review-1024x768.jpg",800,600,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/01\/suunto-9-peak-pro-gps-watch-review-1536x1152.jpg",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2024\/01\/suunto-9-peak-pro-gps-watch-review.jpg",2000,1500,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Rob Slade hits the hills with the Suunto 9 Peak Pro. Find out how the smart-looking GPS watch fared on test.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/33682"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Suunto](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2024\/01\/Suunto-9-Peak-Pro.jpg\")