5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: Wade Glasspoole, Balham, London   (12-3-2013)

Awesome - exactly what I was looking for out of a GPS watch. My primary considerations were battery life and accurate altitude readings for long mountain runs and adventure races.

Also I was looking for a watch with simple to use functions - I'm not the biggest technophile out there and certainly don't want to spend hours in the hills playing with a watch.

The Ambit meets all these requirements perfectly. Out the box the thing just works! After a quick play with the buttons it all becomes clear. It picked up the satellites in seconds and off I went! Distance tracked is very accurate, altitude readings great - and combined with the HR monitor makes this a very cool tool.

5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: Matt Bailey, Aston, Henley on Thames   (7-2-2013)

I bought this watch as the strap broke on my Suunto Core. This watch is a great blend of the Core and the T5 training watch. Its a very good training assistant with a HR belt.The watch is quite big so might look a bit out of place on smaller wrists. The buttons are superb and the user interface is very straight forward and makes sense.

5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: Paul Frost, Bodmin   (6-2-2013)

I purchased this to replace a Garmin 405. The Suunto Ambit has surpassed all expectation thus far. It is comfortable and I have neither found it heavy nor excessively large.

The wrist strap is long enough to mount over clothing when necessary and the controls are easy to operate.

Connection the a heart monitor and satellite lock take just a few seconds; it uploads a small amount of GPS data after each download to assist finding its initial position. Battery life is excellent.

Configuration is easy when connected to a computer; you are basically able to set whatever information you wish to be displayed, on a series of screens that you choose, for each type of activity you pursue.

I have found the indicated calories expended to be much less than that suggested by the Garmin; in reality I suspect that the Suunto uses a more accurate algorithm that appears to consider many more factors to produce a realistic result that clearly varies with effort and terrain.

I highly recommend the Suunto Ambit.

5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: David Gladwish, Santa Venera   (28-1-2013)

The Suunto Ambit HR is robust, tough and comfortable on the wrist. Some people have said it’s a little on the large side, but considering its features and the GPS, I find it remarkably compact. The perforated straps allow good ventilation and the buttons are nice and big, making it easy to use even with thick gloves on.

The levels of customization available have surpassed my expectations, and the data has proved invaluable during running, cycling and trekking sessions. Having bought this for high altitude climbs, I was a little concerned about the GPS capabilities under clothing but so far it has continued to give accurate data under a hardshell and an insulated sleeve.

For slower activities like mountaineering/trekking, switching to the once per 60 second GPS reading saves a lot of battery life, whereas the once per second reading are ideal for faster paced sports. The heart rate monitor is very comfortable and doesn’t slip or lose readings on the go.

For those planning prolonged trips in the outdoors, it recharges via a USB cable, allowing connection to almost any portable solar device.

Summary: outstanding.

5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: Calum Robinson, London   (6-1-2013)

Really reliable. I use it for my cycle commute nearly every day, I also use it for running, walking and mountaineering.

Battery life is at least as good as Suunto claims. The display is excellent compared to other watches. It's not too big to wear as a regular watch. Movescount (the Suunto website for tracking your training & changing Ambit settings) has never been a problem.

There aren't any problems with the watch, other than GPS taking a while to lock on in the city (although that's the same for any GPS device). The HR strap also takes a while to "warm up" on cold days if you don't wet it first.

I bought this watch because it has better battery life and a better screen than any of the other GPS watches, and I'd buy it again.

5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: Fin, Stamford   (16-12-2012)

This is my second Suunto watch having bought an Observer a number of years ago from Facewest. I love the Observer and have worn it as a day-to-day watch and for outdoor expeditions in the Scottish mountains. The Ambit though, is a very different beast.

For me the Ambit is a serious sports and training tool. It is everything I expected and more. The features and ease of use are fantastic. I use it to improve my trail running performance and find the access to data a real motivator. I just want to get out there and 'race the clock'. Getting back, connecting to a computer and down loading maps and stats is so easy.

It is outstanding - more a portable training computer than a watch. The Movescount site and community are also very good. The only very slight downside is that it is a bit chunky for day-to-day wear and it needs a USB cable to charge.

5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: Clark Gubbins, Durham   (5-12-2012)

This watch is amazing. I recently upgraded from the Suunto Quest, another great watch, but it didn't offer GPS tracking and altitude information, plus there was other HR monitor data that I wanted. I'd originally wanted the Ambit, but was put off by the price and got the Quest. I wish I had gone straight for the Ambit now as I've got to find a buyer for the Quest!

It's quite straightforward to set up and use, more so because it's pretty much the same software as the Quest and is very similar, but you can also configure lots of settings while it's connected to your computer, via the Movescount website. Neither the watch nor the website are difficult to use, but like all new interfaces, take a little getting used to. With the amount of features and data available to the user, I don't know how the interface could be simpler.

The battery lasts a month when not in use for GPS, and will last 8 hours on a 1 second update and 50 hours on a 10 second update, whilst you're running.

It tracked all of metrics accurately and gives you the ability to configure every screen of information available, with up to 3 areas per screen, so very customisable and lots of info to get whilst running. This includes being able to add a screen to show the 'Apps' that you can create online. This is a genius stroke and further enhances the appeal of the watch. I configured an app which measured calories burned (in real time), divided by 200 which told me the number of large glasses of red wine I had earned so far (measures in 'Vinos'). I had the heart rate monitor from my Quest so I was able to track that data and see it in real time, including average heart rate in real time which isn't available on the Quest, plus got a far more accurate measure of my energy consumption during the run. You can view the details of my first run here: http://www.movescount.com/moves/move9070564 to check out the data the watch tracks.

The screen can be set to white numbers on dark background or vice versa - the former looks cooler but the dark on light is easier to read. There are also lots of features that would allow you to get more use from it as a day-to-day watch and for trail-running/hiking, such as dual time, date, alarm, temperature, barometer and compass. It comes with a USB cable to connect to the PC for data transfer, and to charge the watch, but the USB means that you can also charge it from your mobile phone charger (e.g. iPhone socket), if necessary.

I'd say the only downside is the size - it's quite big and has a solid GPS receiver on the strap. My everyday watch is a similar size, and heavier, though, so it wasn't a problem for me. However, devices offering simliar features from other manufactures (Garmin 910xt) are even bigger and don't look as 'watch-like'.

5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: Edward Ralph, Chorleywood   (1-9-2012)

I purchased the Suunto Ambit with a plan to focus initially on my running and hill training to track improved fitness over time, additionally then to make use of this specifically for ski touring and ski mountaineering in the winter/spring. So far I have been very impressed with the watch, in particular its ability to keep GPS contact despite a variety of sheltered terrain tested (I had expected a patchy GPS capture but this seems very clean so far - although I have no comparative).

The watch is simple to use, has a handful of unexpected and very useful features (e.g. positive/negative display; route storing; customisable exercise modes/screens; Suunto Moveslink/Movescount software and website). The only downside I can anticipate is that the watch requires a USB battery link to charge - all fine in a domestic environment but if you are out ski-touring for a week this will be a problem unless I can find a more innovative power source.

Facewest Comment: regarding the charging cable - this is compatible with any USB plug adaptor such as those for mobile phones. If you don't have one already these are easily available from electronics suppliers.

5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: stuart coupe, leeds   (27-8-2012)

Excellent looking watch, but size might be an issue. I don't intend to wear this every day. Personally I think it is too big for that. It isn't that large that you couldn't but I have a core that I feel is a more suitable size. I got this primarily for the heart rate monitor which works perfectly for my needs, along with the movescount.com web site. The menus are complicated, but I guess this is to be expected from a watch so rich with features. There is a similar menu structure to the core which is quite easy to pick up.

5 Suunto Ambit Review

Reviewer: Kristian Metcalfe, Paignton, Devon   (21-8-2012)

I purchased this watch with the heart-rate monitor for training, and so far it has not let me down. Signing up to Movescount (developed by Suunto) allows you to develop custom exercise modes as well as using the existing pre-set modes that come as standard. This means that you can develop your own exercise modes and set them to view what's most important to you whilst exercising. Then once you are finished you can download the data to Movescount which displays all your training data, e.g. heart rate,VO2, speed, distance etc in a series of graphs!

There are lots of comments about what is not included on the watch compared to other Suunto watches, and for me this has not been a problem. However, for those who are worried Suunto has already released one update and there are further updates to come that will hopefully address some peoples concerns, so don't be put off (keep making suggestions and I am sure they will address them).

Finally, this watch is really easy to set-up/use, and its robust and comfortable to wear. I use it as a day to day watch and for training and so far have had no issues.