I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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You can use the above link for any Amazon country and it (should) automatically redirect to your local Amazon site.Want to compare the features of each product, down to the nitty-gritty? No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products!
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Think my written reviews are deep? You should check out my videos. I take things to a whole new level of interactive depth!
Smart Trainers Buyers Guide: Looking at a smart trainer this winter? I cover all the units to buy (and avoid) for indoor training. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
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Check out my weekly podcast - with DesFit, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness!
Get all your awesome DC Rainmaker gear here!
FAQ’s
I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Below are the most popular.
- Do you have a privacy policy posted?
- Why haven’t you yet released a review for XYZ product you mentioned months ago?
- Will you test our product before release?
- Are you willing to review or test beta products?
- Which trainer should I buy?
- Which GPS watch should I buy?
- I’m headed to Paris – what do you recommend for training or sightseeing?
- I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training?
- I’m from out of the country and will be visiting the US, what’s the best triathlon shop in city XYZ?
- What kind of camera do you use?
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5 Easy Steps To The Site
In Depth Product Reviews
You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
Read My Sports Gadget Recommendations.
Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
Have some fun in the travel section.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
My Photography Gear: The Cameras and Equipment I Use Daily
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds! It’s a nice break from the day to day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
The Swim/Bike/Run Gear I Use List
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2023 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
Tag Archives: Suunto
Suunto 7 with Wear OS–Maps, Music, Payments: Everything you ever wanted to know
(**UPDATE: There has since been a Suunto 7 In-Depth Review. Follow the link for the most up to date information**) There’s only two words to describe the just announced Suunto 7 GPS watch: Hail Mary. How this story ends will … Read More Here
Mid-Week Tidbits: Canyon supports trainer riding and Suunto clarifies platform future
Here’s a couple of updates that have trickled across my desk over the last two days that I figure are worth chatting a moment about. Some of them also have some catches as well, so while you might have seen … Read More Here
Suunto 5: Everything You Need to Know & First Runs
The Suunto 5 takes the best endurance features of the Suunto 9, but adds in new functionality not seen on the higher end watch. Here’s all the details you need to know. Read More Here
Sunday Tidbits: Polar’s new Vantage V Titan + Roadmap Updates, Suunto Updates, and Xert iOS App
While this was a busy week when it came to new product reviews, there was a small undercurrent of notable sports tech news this past week that my brain couldn’t quite squirt onto the page. But…now that time has come. … Read More Here
Suunto announces decommission plans for Movescount platform, impacting some watches
Two days ago Suunto announced plans to retire their online training platform, Movescount, sometime around Summer 2020 (~18 months from now). Instead, users will use the newer Suunto online platform (previously called Sports Tracker – no relation to SportTracks). That’s … Read More Here
Suunto expands TrainingPeaks support, as well as opens integration doors
The easy title for this post would simply be “Suunto adds TrainingPeaks support”, but that’d be both confusing and only half-correct. First, Suunto as a company has actually long sync’d to TrainingPeaks from their Movescount platform. That’s the platform that … Read More Here
Suunto 9 Baro Multisport GPS In-Depth Review
How does the Suunto 9 handle months of testing? I dig in and find out, including all the details on new features and how well the new GPS chipset handles. Read More Here
Hands-on: The New Suunto 9 Multisport GPS Watch
Everything you need to know about Suunto’s latest and highly anticipated GPS device, and the successor to the Spartan series. Read More Here
Suunto 3 Fitness In-Depth Review
By and large, Suunto has been a company that’s been focused on endurance users. Be it people climbing to the top of a mountain, racing a triathlon, or doing something else that justifies eating large quantities of donuts without feeling … Read More Here
Suunto announces new Spartan variant, also firmware update for all Spartan owners
Over the last few days Suunto has announced another new device this year (beyond the Suunto 3 Fitness from CES), this time adding a further model to the Spartan series. This new model is in many ways exactly like the … Read More Here
First Look: The Suunto 3 Fitness: Lightweight Non-GPS Sports Watch
Today, on the eve of CES opening its doors, Suunto cracked the lid on their latest watch, the Suunto 3 Fitness. These small and incredibly lightweight watches are somewhat aimed to compete with the likes of Polar’s M430 watches, as well … Read More Here
Suunto Spartan Trainer Wrist HR In-Depth Review (It’s a full triathlon watch for $279)
I think Suunto finally got their groove back. After what I’d argue as 1-2 years of being a bit lost, today they’ve nailed it with a product that hits the target audience perfectly and does so at an awesome price. … Read More Here
Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR In-Depth Review
Last summer (2016) amidst Suunto announcing the Spartan series, they made note of a planned optical heart rate enabled version that would be released down the road. Fast forward to this past January (2017) and at CES they did just … Read More Here
First Look: Suunto’s new Movesense advanced sensor platform
This past week at CES, Suunto introduced not one but two different products. Of course, it’s the Spartan Wrist HR watch that got most of the attention, complete with distracting green lights. But it was the almost not even mentioned … Read More Here
Hands-on: Suunto’s Spartan Sport Wrist HR watch
This week at CES, Suunto has officially unveiled their first optical heart rate capable watch – the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR. You may remember back this past summer, when news first came out about Suunto’s plans for an optical … Read More Here
Suunto announces planned optical HR Spartan GPS, sensor details
Yesterday Suunto announced further details of their Spartan series, including the addition of the Spartan Sport, which is basically the cheaper sibling of the Spartan Ultra. The Sport is at 499EUR, vs the Ultra at 649EUR. Neither include the kitchen … Read More Here
Suunto announces new Spartan Ultra GPS watch, rolls out refreshed Movescount site
Today Suunto’s refreshing both its website as well as its flagship multisport GPS watch series. With the website, they’re making it a bit easier to find and plan new routes, while with the watch they’re giving it a color touchscreen. … Read More Here
Suunto Ambit3 Multisport GPS Watch In-Depth Review
It’s been nearly three months since Suunto announced the Ambit3, though considerably less time since the unit started making its way into the wild with final hardware and firmware. Since well before either of those dates I’ve been testing the … Read More Here
First look at the Suunto Ambit3 multisport GPS watch
(My Ambit3 Full In-Depth Review is now published! Swing on over to that post for all the full details and analysis!) This morning Suunto has announced their latest endurance and multisport watch, the Suunto Ambit3. The watch incrementally builds on … Read More Here
Suunto rolls out direct integration with Strava, a brief overview
This week Suunto became arguably the first major GPS watch maker to integrate directly with Strava. Not the first ever, but the first of the biggies (Polar, Suunto, Garmin, and to a degree, Timex). The implementation of automatic transfers to … Read More Here
Suunto Ambit2 R In-Depth Review
Back in late January Suunto announced their Ambit2 R running-focused watch, which comes as a derivative of the Ambit2 line that was introduced last spring. The 2R aimed to offer a lower price point than the higher end Ambit2 and … Read More Here
A short behind the scenes visit to Suunto and Omegawave
Last Friday as I finished up my frozen adventures in Finland, I had a couple of hours after my work meetings wrapped up before my flight back home. So rather than spend that time hanging out in the Helsinki airport … Read More Here
Suunto Ambit 2 and 2S In-Depth Review
It’s been just over a year since the first Suunto Ambit came out (which for clarity I’ll use the term Ambit1 during this review), and during that time Suunto has made impressive progress on the original unit through a series of pre-announced and predictable (and even on time!) firmware updates. Today, Suunto has officially announced their latest addition to the lineup, the Ambit2 and Ambit2 S. With the new Ambit, Suunto is squarely taking aim at not only the ultra-running and hiking market that the Ambit1 targeted, but now – the triathlete. It introduces both indoor and openwater swimming functionality, as well as multisport mode. With a slew of other features, make no mistake that this is aimed directly at the Garmin FR910XT.
But, how well does it work? And can it knock the FR910XT off the top spot? Well, I’ve spent a lot of miles with the watch recently, and am here to give you all the details: Good, bad, and ugly.
Because I want to be transparent about my reviews – Suunto sent me two final retail units to try out (Ambit2 and Ambit2 S). Once I’m complete here, I’ll send this back to Finland and then go out and buy my own (to be able to support y’all in the comments section down the road). Simple as that. Sorta like hiking in wilderness trails – leave only footprints. If you find my review useful, you can use any of the Amazon or Clever Training links from this page to help support future reviews.
Lastly, at the end of the day keep in mind I’m just like any other regular triathlete out there. I write these reviews because I’m inherently a curious person with a technology background (my day job), and thus I try and be as complete as I can. But, if I’ve missed something or if you spot something that doesn’t quite jive – just let me know and I’ll be happy to get it all sorted out. Also, because the technology world constantly changes, I try and go back and update these reviews as new features and functionality are added – or if bugs are fixed.
So – with that intro, let’s get into things.
Unboxing:
Because I’m covering two slightly different variations of the Ambit in this post, I’ll be doing two unboxing’s below, somewhat in concert.
Here are the two models. The Ambit2 is on the left, and the 2S is on the right. Apparently there was a mix-up and they sent me the original Ambit1 box for the Ambit2 S. Nonetheless, here they are:
On the back however, you’ll see in the SKU that it does list the 2S on the right side for the lime one. Perhaps they were trying to recycle old boxes. Shrug.
Taking a detour for just the full Ambit2 model, here’s its inner box removed from the outer shell:
Inside, you’ll find the watch looking up at you:
Below the watch is a compartment with all of the accessories included. This will vary slightly depending on whether or not you picked up the variant with the heart rate strap. Otherwise, you’ll still find the USB charging cable, and the manual.
Here’s a closer look at the Ambit2 (Sapphire):
And the back:
Switching back to the Ambit2 S, here’s its inner/outer box:
Inside you’ll find the 2S just like Ambit2:
Inside the box of the 2S you’ll find the USB charging cable, the manual, and depending on which variant you’ve bought – the heart rate strap.
And the backside of the 2S. You’ll see it’s essentially identical on the back to that of the Ambit1, and the Ambit2.
Looking at the common accessories, you’ve first got the USB charging clip. This four-pin charging clip simply bites onto the unit itself, and can be powered via any old USB wall outlet you have lying around – or a computer.
Then depending on which bundle you bought you’ll also have the HR strap. This includes the strap piece, and the little pod that snaps in between it:
Here’s how it snaps into place on both sides (in this photo, it’s half-snapped on the left-side):
Note that the Suunto strap included is NOT ANT+. Meaning the strap included is not compatible with any ANT+ devices you may have, instead, only working with other Suunto devices over a proprietary variant of ANT. That said however, if you do have an ANT+ strap (say you’re converting from being a Garmin/Timex/etc…. user), then that will work with the Ambit lineup (all Ambits). Good deal, huh?
Finally, you’ve got the manual. Unlike most companies in the sports technology world however, Suunto’s manual is actually really detailed and very solid. And in nine languages.
Now that everything is unpacked, let’s go ahead and look at how it compares in size to other units.
Size Comparisons:
As you can see above, the watch face sizes are actually really similar across the most competitive units in this space: The Ambit’s and Fenix. Virtually indistinguishable. On the far sides we have other triathlon-focused watches with integrated GPS. At the far left is the Timex Global Trainer, then the Garmin FR310XT, then the Garmin FR910XT, then the Garmin Fenix. Continuing towards the right we have in silver the Suunto Ambit2 Sapphire, then the Ambit2 S Lime, then the original Ambit followed by the Magellan Switch Up. Both the Garmin FR910XT and the Magellan Switch up in these photos are utilizing the quick release kits.
A perfect example of a creative Suunto Ambit App: Bike Power Meter Display
This past weekend I spent a bit of time poking through all the new apps that have been released onto the Suunto Ambit App zone. There’s tons of really cool stuff that people are doing – despite the highly limited … Read More Here