Suunto 9 Baro

Gear Review: Suunto 9 Baro Sports Watch

The Suunto 9 Baro is one of this year’s highlights in the sports watch sector. But what can the sports watch do and how does it differ from other watches? Our colleague Mirko Schohn from the Running department took a closer look at the Suunto 9 Baro and tested it for you. 

 

But first a few hard facts about the Suunto watch:

 

  • Intelligent battery modes
  • GPS navigation
  • FusedtrackTM(On long ultra runs, battery life is often the limiting factor for recording distance and track accurately, as GPS is a heavy drain on the battery. Suunto’s unique FusedTrack™ algorithm combines GPS and motion sensor data to improve track and distance accuracy.)
  • Over 80 sport modes
  • Wrist HR
  • 100m water resistant
  • Barometer
  • Weather functions
  • 120 hours of continuous exercise tracking

 

Suunto 9 Baro

 

That’s what Mirko and the test say:

Even when unpacked, the Suunto 9 Baro stands out with its high-quality and robust workmanship. Even the packaging is of a very high quality. The strap of this watch is a solid textile strap, which at first glance indicates a long durability. First of all, the Suunto 9 Baro is NOT a smartwatch. It does have smart functions, such as message reading and music control, but banking and phone functions are in vain. This watch is for outdoor enthusiasts and athletes who spend their free time outdoors.

 

For optimal use of the watch, you need the Suunto app, which can be easily downloaded from the smartphone app store. You will find the download links further down in this article. The app gives you the opportunity to use the many sport modes of this watch. The function and menu navigation is logical, self-explanatory and does not overwhelm the user. You really enjoy using the many functions of the Suunto 9 Baro. The GPS function guides you safely to your desired destination. However, you have to do without a classic map display, which was not a problem for me. If a map display is absolutely necessary, I prefer to use my smartphone anyway. The tracking function works perfectly and is accurate to within a few metres.

 

The heart and unique selling point of the Suunto 9 Baro is its incredible battery performance. The battery lasts an incredible 120 hours in sports recording mode. That is a truly outstanding comparative value. It also features an intelligent battery mode. This means that three set battery modes – Performance, Endurance and Ultra – offer between 25-120 hours of recording time with GPS tracking on. You can also create personalised battery modes to suit your own needs. As soon as you start recording, an estimate of the remaining battery life in the current mode is generated. If this is not sufficient, you can switch to another mode at any time with a click. The heart rate measurement, integrated into the watch, is now standard for sports watches and works flawlessly and almost as precisely as a chest strap. Only it reacts a little slower than the chest strap measurement.

 

The glass and the frame are very high quality and almost indestructible in normal outdoor use. During rock climbing and similar activities, nature left no traces on the Suunto9 Baro. And that despite the touch function. -> Clear “thumbs up.” The outdoor function/weather warning works solidly and above all reliably. This is due to the integrated barometer, which provides precise and reliable measurement data.

 

Overall, I can recommend the Sunnto 9 Baro sports watch to anyone who likes to be active and outdoors a lot and wants to rely on their watch 100%. The robust Suunto 9 is designed for long, strenuous training, competitions and extreme adventures and it delivers on that promise!


Get the Suunto App here for IOS.

Get the Suunto App here for Android.