Outdoor adventurer Amy Marwick gives us her thoughts on the Suunto Race S GPS watch after some thorough trail running and ski touring tests.
Released in June 2024, the Suunto Race S watch is the compact companion to the original Suunto Race, which launched just six months earlier. It’s a full 4mm smaller than its older sibling, measuring 45mm across and weighing just 60g. That alone clinched the deal for me, it’s one of the few GPS watches I’ve tried that didn’t feel like strapping on a small satellite dish.
Suunto has clearly designed this for serious outdoor users and athletes who want reliable performance and clean, functional design. Compared to rivals from Garmin and Coros, the Suunto Race S stands out for its lower profile and sleeker build. It’s a watch you can wear day-to-day as well as out on the trail, and at £299, it undercuts much of the competition in the mid-range category.
For context, this was my first-ever smartwatch. I’ve always used phone apps to track runs and hikes, but anticipating my impending shift from casual trail runner to someone eyeing their first trail marathon, it was time to level up.
The Suunto Race S GPS Watch.
How I Tested It
I’m not trying to break any records, my goals are simple: track average pace, distance, and how much elevation I’ve climbed. That said, I also wanted a watch that could handle interval training and offer real mapping (not just breadcrumbs). And bonus points for ski touring capabilities, since that’s a big part of my winter routine.
I tested the Suunto Race S ski touring in the Cairngorms, running the trails of the Highlands and Pentlands, and hill training in the Peak District. Sessions ranged from a couple of hours to full-day missions, always using GPS and navigation features and charging it overnight. I also used it for the start of a 16-week trail marathon training program which gave the ideal opportunity to test its features.
Key Features
The Suunto Race S features a stainless steel bezel (with a titanium version available at a premium), a durable Gorilla Glass lens, and a vivid AMOLED screen. While it doesn’t come with sapphire crystal, I thought the screen quality was excellent and didn’t have any problem viewing it sunny conditions. It includes a comfortable silicone strap, with fabric and leather options available as extras.
The watch is water resistant up to 50 metres which is more than enough for everyday adventures and a post-run dip in a cold loch. It tracks everything from steps, calories and sleep quality to heart rate and recovery status. Battery life, while not as long-lasting as the full-size Race, still holds up well, delivering up to 30 hours in its best GPS mode.
It also includes an altimeter, barometer, compass, and an optical HR sensor which is an update on the original Race model and has been generally getting better reviews for accuracy.
Activity Tracking
The Suunto Race S is preloaded with dozens of preset sport modes, with everything from trail running and backcountry skiing to snorkelling and roller skating, each with its own display settings. Suunto’s default layouts didn’t quite suit me however; all I really wanted on a trail run was time, distance, elevation gain, and pace. Fortunately, you can build custom sport modes through the Suunto app, which I did (after some tinkering) and now I get exactly the info I want, all on one screen.
Here Amy is pictured testing the Suunto Race S watch on some trail runs.
There’s also plenty of advanced data available if you’re into things like VO2 max, training stress and heart rate variability (although I think you’d really need a proper heart rate monitor). That’s not where I’m at just yet, but it’s good to know I can grow into this piece of kit.
Setting up interval training took a little trial and error (mainly because, for me, reading the manual ranks somewhere below emptying the compost bin) but I got there in the end. The app makes it easy to build your own intervals, but the one drawback is that the watch doesn’t buzz or beep at the end of each segment. While there is colour coded info on the screen to tell you where you’re at within the target you’ve set up (like HR or pace), there isn’t an alert to say your lagging behind or you’re ahead. This means that you do have to keep an eye on the watch face, which for some people is completely unusable (although it didn’t bother me).
Topo maps were something that I wasn’t going to compromise on and the Race S absolutely delivers. You can download topo maps of anywhere in the world onto the watch for free, and you have up to 32GB of storage to use. For context, the whole of Great Britain takes up 3.3GB.
You can also plot your own routes using the Suunto app, which is quick and intuitive, or import GPX files. It’s worth noting that turn-by-turn navigation only works on routes you’ve created within the app, or synced from a partner service like Komoot. Regular GPX files you’ve downloaded also won’t have turn prompts.
Testing the Suunto Race S during some ski touring. Photo: Amy Marwick
Suunto’s 3D heatmaps were handy to see popular routes in an area, helping me dodge the crowds and find quieter paths, or see where I’d been before.
Tester’s Verdict
Whether you’re just getting into serious trail running, you want to start tracking mountain adventures from your wrist , or you simply need a watch that looks stylish while tracking all your fitness data – the Race S is a brilliant entry point. It’s intuitive enough for beginners but has a deep feature set for when you’re ready to get more technical.
For data lovers, this watch tracks just about everything: VO2 max, recovery status, heart rate, stress scores, and training load (which you can keep track of in the app). And for those who want to take a deep dive into training, there are training programs and workouts that you can download from SuuntoPlus, or you can connect the watch with a partner service like Intervals.icu or RunMotion Coach, and increase its functionality twofold.
If you need more battery life or memory for multi-day epics, the standard Suunto Race might be a better fit, but for most day and weekend missions, the Race S delivers all the essentials at a lighter weight and lower cost. Compared to some other Suunto watches, it’s built with slightly less rugged materials but all the core features are still there. Last but not least, did I mention, it looks great!
What We Liked: Compact, comfortable and clean, easy to use topo mapping tools, customisable sport modes, great value for money.
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