The Suunto Vertical 2 feels like the watch Suunto has been building toward for years.
It's bright, durable, and accurate, with the kind of battery life you can actually trust during a 100-miler, multi-day fastpack, or back-to-back long runs without having to recharge.
It’s still a Suunto through and through, built for athletes who train with purpose and care about performance data, not smartwatch gimmicks, BUT this time, the finish and display quality finally match the company’s reputation for rugged dependability.
It feels different this time...
I’ve been testing the stainless-steel model, weighing in at 87 g, across road runs, trail sessions, and mountain days. It’s the first Suunto that feels equally at home tracking tempo splits, as it will guiding you across remote ridgelines.
Key specifications
- Price: $599 at suunto.com (stainless steel) / $699 (titanium)
- Weight: 87g (steel) / 74g (titanium)
- Display: 1.5″ LTPO AMOLED, 466×466 px, up to 2000 nits
- Battery life: 65 hrs (GPS Performance) / 20 days (smartwatch) / 250 hrs (Tour mode)
- Materials: Sapphire crystal glass, stainless-steel or titanium case
- Navigation: Full offline maps, dual-band GPS (L1 + L5), Climb Guidance, FusedAlti™
- Sensors: Optical HR, barometer, compass, SpO₂, HRV, temperature
- Features: 115+ sport modes, LED flashlight (white + red), TrainingPeaks, Strava, Komoot
- Water resistance: 100 m
- Storage: 32 GB
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Performance review
Build and feel
Everything about the Vertical 2 feels intentional, the solid metal casing, protective sapphire glass face, and no plastic shortcuts.
At 87 grams it’s substantial but feels well balanced; once you start running, the weight disappears, and the watch stays stable even on rough trails.
The silicon strap is softer than older Suuntos, and more comfortable than many Garmin equivalents I’ve used.
I also appreciate the clean button layout, and the fact that there's no rotating crown to get jammed with sweat or dust.
Display and usability
The 1.5″ AMOLED display is stunningly clear, with excellent visibility in sun or low light.
Suunto’s button-plus-touch combo finally feels dialed in. I use the buttons for switching screens when running, and the touch for navigating maps (zoom, scroll etc).
I did notice a brief delay when flicking my wrist mid-run at first, which is fine for daily wear but slightly annoying when checking pace.
The solution happened to be quite simple: enable Always-On Display (AOD). It keeps your pace, HR, and route visible at all times, even mid-stride.
AOD trims battery life by about 10–20 percent, but you’ll still get around 50–60 hours with dual-band GPS. That’s class-leading for an AMOLED watch.
Alastair Dixon
Navigation and mapping
Full offline maps make a huge difference when running or hiking new routes.
The detail is impressive, with climb data, terrain shading, and reliable off-route alerts.
Downloading map regions takes a few extra steps, and route storage feels oddly limited given the 32 GB capacity, but once loaded, navigation is stable and accurate.
There’s no auto re-routing if you go off course which is something Garmin still leads in but for pre-planned routes, the Vertical 2 is among the most dependable tools out there.
Battery performance
Battery life has always been a Suunto strength, and the Vertical 2 doesn’t compromise it for display quality.
I averaged around 2 percent drain per hour in dual-frequency GPS mode with maps active which should equate to roughly 50 hours of real-world endurance.
Switch to Tour mode, and you can stretch that to 250 hours for multi-day events or expeditions.
For long-distance runners, that means you can track an entire ultra without worrying about carrying a charger.
Alastair Dixon
Sensors and accuracy
The updated optical HR sensor performs reliably for steady-state runs and endurance sessions.
Like every HR wrist sensor, it struggles a bit during short, sharp intervals unless you have it on really snug, eliminating any movement on your wrist.
But for base training, tempo runs, and long climbs, accuracy holds steady.
Dual-band GPS tracking is rock-solid, even under tree cover.
The Vertical 2 also syncs cleanly with Strava, TrainingPeaks, and the Suunto app now includes AI-driven training insights and heatmap-based route suggestions, which I’ve found handy for discovering local trail networks.
Speaking of Strava; if you're not a member of my Strava Running Club yet, be sure to join here, it's free! 😄
Flashlight and safety features
It sounds minor, but the integrated LED flashlight is genuinely useful.
It's bright enough to light up a dark trailhead, tent, or aid-station stop.
Both white and red modes are included, plus an SOS signal. My only gripe: it’s not easily toggled mid-run yet.
Comfort and daily use
For a large adventure watch, the Vertical 2 wears comfortably.
The silicone band stays soft and doesn’t trap sweat, even during Florida-level humidity.
The main watch face shows everything I actually care about: recovery time, sunrise/sunset, weather, and HR (you can customise it like crazy).
Notifications are read-only and to my knowledge, there’s no offline music yet but that’s not why most runners choose Suunto.
It stays focused on performance data, durability, and route reliability.
What’s in the box
- Suunto Vertical 2 watch
- Magnetic USB charging cable (secure, upgraded design)
- Quick-start guide and documentation
- Warranty and safety info
My verdict
The Suunto Vertical 2 nails what runners and endurance athletes have been asking for: AMOLED clarity without battery anxiety, reliable navigation, and hardware that feels built to last.
It’s not the cheapest, but if you care more about running performance, training accuracy, and long-haul dependability than phone notifications, this is one of the best outdoor-grade running watches you can buy right now.
If you have any questions about these running shoes, just ask me in the comments below and I'll be happy to help you out! Oh and if you haven't already, go subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more reviews like this one. -Alastair
