Lisa Wells is an OS Champion and Qualified Mountain Leader based in Eryri. The team at Suunto recently sent Lisa a Race S performance watch for review. Lisa gave this exciting new GPS watch a thorough testing on a beautiful waterfall route in North Wales this summer.
Lisa has since been getting to grips with all the great features and has created this useful review for any of you thinking of adding a Suunto Race S onto your wishlist.
Aber Falls Circular Route
Rhaeadr-fawr/Aber Falls is one of Eryri’s most dramatic waterfalls. Situated at the northern foothills of the Carneddau, the waterfall is part of Afon Goch’s (Red River) final descent to the Menai Straits. The river plummets dramatically from a height of 120 feet, crashing into a shallow rocky pool before continuing towards the village of Abergwyngregyn.
You can find all the step by step details for this walk in the link below which will take you to OS Maps, the online version of our famous paper maps including 1000’s of ready made routes for you to discover and conquer on your next hiking, running or paddling adventure.
A Detailed Look at the Suunto Race S with Mountain Leader Lisa Wells
The watch arrived boxed with a small amount of charge to get me started. I needed to fit the strap myself which was very easy to do and although I love the orange/purple strap that the watch came with, it highlighted how easy it would be to swap or replace the strap if needed.
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Setting up the Suunto Race S
The watch arrived boxed with a small amount of charge to get me started. I needed to fit the strap myself which was very easy to do and although I love the orange/purple strap that the watch came with, it highlighted how easy it would be to swap or replace the strap if needed.
The size of the watch face was perfect for smaller wrists or even if you just wanted a smaller look. The strap is made of silicone with a really secure buckle and pin, the pin helped tidy up the loose end as well as making sure the watch stayed where it should. The black face and stainless steel bezel looked super sleek.
The Race S comes with its own charging cable which has a standard USB power source plug. I already had the Sunnto app on my phone and set up was incredibly easy and quick.
Although you can change the look of your display with a few taps, I liked the pre loaded display that the watch came with and happy to leave it as it was.
Suunto Race S Buttons & First thoughts
In sleep mode I can quickly see the time, a quick tap to wake the Race S up and you have a more detailed display with the date and how many steps you’ve done that day. From the control panel you can customise the watch even further, download maps which are free, pin widgets, use the flashlight and it even has a find my phone option. I would definitely recommended sitting down with the Race S and playing around with the options to personalise the watch to your needs.
Out and about with the Suunto Race S
I have been using my Suunto Race S watch now for a couple of weeks. Initially for my hikes but I have also used it to log a lake swim.
I need to wear glasses for reading/close up work. However because of the clear watch face display, I found that after I had personalised the Race S to my needs, made myself familiar with the functions/buttons, that I could use it without needing my glasses – this is a huge bonus for me.
There are over 90 sports to scroll though which are all colour coded to make finding the one you need very easy and your most recent activities are saved to the top of the list.
Syncing the Race S to the app is automatic and very fast so that I can quickly see the stats from my session and compare it with previous routes if I wanted. There’s a fly over of my route in 3D mode and the option to add some photos to the route in the app.
Navigation with the Suunto Race S
As you can imagine as a Mountain Leader, navigation is high on my list of priorities when I’m on a walk. I’ll usually plan my route at home using a paper map, transfer the route over to my OS app and download the route to my phone. However the Race S gives you the option to either transfer this route to your Race S, or alternatively you can create a route using the maps in the Suunto app which can then be paired to your watch.
From the Navigation option on the Race S there are breadcrumb, POIs, routes, bearing, snap to route and compass options. Although nothing replaces a paper map and compass, having so many options as a backup and quick reference when you’re out can only be a good thing.
I would recommend getting to know your Suunto Race S, spend time scrolling through the different options to familiarise yourself with all the functions so that you get the most from your watch. Although I was gifted the Suunto Race S, I would definitely buy one for myself and highly recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade or purchase a new watch.
If you have found Lisa’s Suunto Race S Review useful and you want to find out more read all of the OS Test The Best Suunto Race S Adventure Reviews from our OS Champions.
By Hilary Pullen
Meet Hilary, Editor of Get Outside – the Ordnance Survey Blog. Hilary is based in North Wales and loves hiking with her dogs in the mountains of Eryri and Bryniau Clwyd, you can find her on Instagram @nearlyuphill and read her guides to walking in North Wales on her blog. Drop her an email hilary.pullen@os.uk if you are interested in posting an article on Get Outside.
