Suunto Vertical Steel Solar Watch

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Suunto Vertical Steel Solar: an ultra-rugged GPS watch with solar charging and a long battery life. It has offline topographic maps, barometric altimeters, storm alarms, and weather forecasting. With over 90 built-in sports modes and advanced metrics, it’s perfect for hardcore hikers, climbers, and explorers.

Suunto says:

With Suunto Vertical you need to make no compromise with battery-life and accuracy as it brings best on both. The extremely long battery-life of up to 500 hours of continuous exercise tracking in tour mode and up to 60 hours in the most accurate dualband GNSS tracking mode, is boosted by solar charging in titanium solar variants bringing at least 30% more power on sunny days. In daily mode Suunto Vertical accompanies you for months without charging!

Our Verdict

The Suunto Vertical Steel Solar is an ultra-rugged GPS adventure watch designed for the most demanding outdoor pursuits. The steel solar model packs solar charging capabilities and delivers outrageously long battery life—up to 500 hours of continuous exercise tracking in Tour mode or 85 hours at maximum GPS accuracy. For daily use, you can go for months without charging.

But the Vertical is more than just a battery beast. It’s loaded with crucial outdoor features like offline topographic maps with navigation, barometric altimeter, storm alarms, and weather forecasting to keep you safe in the backcountry. The durable steel and sapphire crystal construction can handle any abuse. No matter if you’re tackling big mountain adventures or just training at home, this watch has your back.

The high-resolution display and intuitive interface make the Vertical a pleasure to use. Over 90 built-in sports modes cover all your outdoor activities, and you can add more from Suunto’s app store. The Suunto app allows you to analyse your efforts post-workout with advanced metrics, AI coaching, and powerful route planning tools.

I used this watch on a coast-to-coast trek of Scotland; it quickly became my primary navigation tool. Loading the offline maps and transferring my GPX files for my planned route was straightforward, and the interface is very intuitive once you get used to it. 

The solar-powered, ultra-long-lasting Suunto Vertical is an outstanding choice for hardcore hikers, climbers, and explorers who need a GPS watch as rugged and capable as they are. With supreme battery endurance and full-featured mapping/navigation, it’s built to thrive in the wildest outdoor playgrounds.

– Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear

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