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Suunto Vertical Titanium Solar Canyon Watch

Out kayaking I have the Suunto Vertical Titanium Solar Canyon Watch compass and stopwatch running ~ the solar harvesting is showing as maximal [© Mike Gormley]

Suunto have really pushed the boundaries of their watches on the Solar Vertical Canyon with the solar assist and a raft of features, writes Mike Gormley.

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Watches are a bit like cars. Most cars will get you from A to B. Most if not all watches will tell you the time. But, like cars, some watches will do this in different ways and with a raft of other features to make life easier. The Suunto Vertical Titanium Solar Canyon Watch is one of the more upmarket smartwatches.

The map, which ties in with a display on your phone, is small but very accurate and can be zoomed for greater detail ~ a useful North indicator can also be set [©MG]

I have been a Suunto watch user for very many years, as have my sons. These Finnish watches have served us well and have put up with the knocks of our less than careful outdoor-biased lives. So, when I saw the Suunto Vertical range had come out it was in my sights straight away as I fancied an upgrade; not that I really need one as I have two other fully functional Suunto watches, albeit a bit knocked about now. My old ones do a lot more than just tell the time but are not full ‘smart’ watches. [Sadly, over the period of writing this my old, bold and battered Traverse Alpha disappeared during a visit it to the garden recycling centre. I was gutted and just hope someone found it and is now making good use of it.] However, the Suunto Vertical takes a watch to a whole new level.

Some useful information when out on Dartmoor ~ altimeter and barometer, steps and calories, and time of sunset ~ quick side swipe and it is back to time [©MG]

There are two versions; Steel and Titanium. Really the difference is in weight and, of course, cost The one I have been trying is titanium, therefore lighter and worth it if you can run to the extra. I will state from the start, this watch has more features than I could cover in a week of writing, and it could fill the J-F web pages on this alone. To be honest I would also need to take a degree in ‘Suuntology’ to fully understand it all. I think, in defence of this comment and not to put you off, the Vertical is designed to work for many and varied activities so most users will home in on the most appropriate for those they take part in and will set it up and use it accordingly. I am keen on ‘tech’ because it offers us a lot, so why not make the most of it, but for sure I’m no expert yet I soon found I had the general gist of this device.

Display set to show time in a clear way along with day and date as well as barometer and steps count [©MG]

The watch name seems a bit mundane for something with the capabilities that this has. For a start it can communicate with your other mobile device, i.e. your phone, so expands the capabilities of both. This was not too hard to set up as the clever people in Suunto HQ Finland ~ yes Finland, perhaps not the country you necessarily first think of as a centre of high-end tech items ~ set about making this watch suitable to those of us who are not so well versed in technology but who appreciate the benefits it can offer us in our daily, sporting and active lives.

One of the features that I immediately took to was that this watch takes solar power to extend its battery life. Some while ago I did get to look at a couple of new watches from Suunto and the battery life was not great. The Vertical has turned this around in a very significant way and is now a leader in this technology. When I first got the test sample I gave it a full mains charge then in my third week I gave it a boost as it was down below 30%. Also, bear in mind that it was early in the year, and a pretty dull one at that, so sunlight was rare plus I was mostly wearing clothes that covered the watch. Checking the solar indicator showed that even with this it was still gaining some power from the sun.

There is a ring of solar panels around the circumference of the watch face ~ this display mode shows charge level and weather [©MG]

As the weather improved I was out more and, importantly, the watch was exposed to more sunlight and this solar charging feature improved. I have now been using this watch for several months and really don’t find I have to put it on charge very often; though sometimes I do more for peace of mind than necessity. After a full charge it seems to reduce, according to the charge indicator, but then seems to hang in there for ages. I try to put it in the sun if not in use but again this does not seem to take it back up to100% though it clearly gains power reserves.

The charge device is shaped to accommodate the back of the watch and has a low powered magnet to locate it but still needs to be rotated to gain a contact [©MG]

So, all in all the solar element to this watch is good. It works. If away on an extended trip, especially off-grid, this is a really good feature to have on a watch. Depending on the way you have the Suunto Vertical set up, power use will of course vary but you can easily monitor how things are going. I have found there is a slight danger of tending to forget the power level, especially as now the sunlight is reducing, but it is quick and easy to give it a boost. It’s a tricky one to quote numbers on this but Suunto say it can last up to 30 days on battery only for basic use and up to 60 days with solar assist. Really not bad at all and from my use it would seem about right. But if you are headed to Lapland in winter months I suggest taking a power bank.

It is not too hard to find your way around the very many functions. There are three obvious and well-marked buttons. These work in conjunction with a sapphire crystal touchscreen to easily enable you to navigate the functions. The screen has remained unmarked (other than greasy fingerprints, Ed.) since I have had this watch so promises a long life; much better than my old Ambit 3 which gained a scratch early on. At first I thought I was bound to do inadvertent scrolling, but this is controlled by the main button; one can easily get back to the base time screen with a side swipe and not have to scroll back through endless possible combinations. This can be achieved by use of buttons a well if necessary.

The back of the watch has a number of features including the two charging contacts which in my opinion are a bit of a fiddle to use unlike the more positive ones of older Suunto watches [©MG]

The main screen display has a lot of possible options to suit your preferences and also gives you the opportunity to change the look as you wish and perhaps to better suit the tasks of the day. I do rather like this as you can suit your mood and needs, and it is almost like having a different watch if you fancy a change. I have to say I do like the Finnish terminology – I would call it ‘Finglish’, a term from other areas of my contacts with Finland and the Finns. We have ‘widgets’ which we all know, but then we have ‘compilations’, which are the user-chosen settings where you can define the various and many display features on any of the screen displays. These are very handy and perhaps the tricky bit is to choose what you want and will need most; this said, it is not too hard to change these and update as your needs change. Simply this a press of the centre button which activates the watch. You can then scroll down the menus with a finger swipe on the screen. Once in a setting you can also sideswipe and move across to other options, of which there are LOTS! I would also say that the ones that measure local conditions and likes of heart rate seem to be very accurate. I feel perhaps the steps counter is maybe a bit ‘generous’ compared to others but on the whole, a very good guide. You get feedback and notifications for your connected phone which I find very handy and can allow you to leave the phone in a safe place if it is the better thing to do.

If a top-up charge up is required I generally use a GP Power Pack for convenience and charging speed [©MG]

Some of the obvious and most useful and helpful features available are compass, maps, sun and moon times, alerts and timers. I will say that obviously the map on the watch face is pretty tiny but does seem to be accurate and has your position bang on from my experience. The watch has significant capacity, quoted as 32GB of maps, and these come free as part of the deal and you can choose the area you want and download it. This can mean a number of entire countries.

The Suunto Vertical gains its accuracy by communication with no less than five of the principal satellite systems. Some of these features can add up to being lifesaving in some circumstances. The compass is, of course, a really useful feature. I do find it often calls for recalibrating but this takes little time and trouble and clearly aids the accuracy, which seems to be very good.

You can easily check on the solar harvesting history by scrolling back [©MG]

The bezel is where the Titanium element is. The case is glass fibre reinforced polyamide and most certainly seems to be very robust. The watch seems to have no real effect on an adjacent compass; only when placed directly on mine did it move the arrow a small bit. The bezel looks like it is a rotating one but isn’t. I feel this is a feature missed as I find a rotating bezel is a handy way to note a time, be it a car park, a tide time or whatever. One can of course use the electronic count down and alarm, but a bezel is quick and easy and more visual in my view. The case is quoted as waterproof to 100 metres, which would seem adequate for most of us.

The soft silicone strap is a good one and comfortable giving no problems when wet and having an excellent easy to operate buckle and keeper [©MG]

I like the strap. Made from soft feel and grippy silicone it is easy to use and fit on and, importantly, adjust so can be fitted on the wrist, tight or loose or over a garment or on a belt or rucksack strap. It is unusual as it is secured by a conventional metal pin type buckle as well as press through stud which forms a double security and keeps the loose end secure. I also like the fact it will fold flat when not in use and on a table. The straps come in various colours.

I have had the Suunto Vertical for a while now which is helpful as it is a complex device. Some of you might have noticed it on my wrist in other reviews I have published over past weeks. I have gradually found my way around it and now make use of more of the many characteristics it possesses. I really like the solar charging feature and find I add to the features I use as I go along.

Sadly I did not have the Suunto Vertical when I was trekking past Ama Dablam but it would have been ideal in many ways [©MG]

[images © Mike Gormley]

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