Suunto Race 2 Review (Training and Racing Watch)
Summary: The Suunto Race 2 is an all-in-one performance watch that makes for a great training and racing partner. It has an incredibly gorgeous, bright 2000 nit AMOLED screen, that remains vivid during bright midday runs.
4.3
Vivid!
Adventure Starts Here!
In 2026 it can sometimes feel harder to get a race entry into a Major Marathon than it is to get tickets to a Metallica concert! In the past it seemed that mass participation endurance events were reserved for crazy exercise people (like me) but are now rapidly gaining in popularity, especially after the 2020 lockdown running boom.
If you are a serious multisport athlete or recreational fun runner keen to take your training to the next level, keep reading to find out if the Suunto Race 2 performance watch is right for you.
The Suunto Race 2 was tested extensively over a month with the below sports profiles and use cases:
• Running outdoors (HR strap)
• Running on athletics track (track and field mode)
• Pool swimming
• Cycling outdoors (connected to power meter)
• Weight Training
• Elliptical
• Hiking
• Overnight/sleep metrics
• Casual daily wear
Design, Build and Battery Life
The watch’s build quality is excellent and it is very comfortable to wear. Although the 76g watch felt a bit heavy at first, once I got used to it the watch feels great. The stretchy silicone straps allow comfort whilst running and it looks sleek enough to also wear to the office outside of your training time too! I was a big fan of the sleek All Black colour scheme and happily wore it to the office each day.
The touch screen works consistently well even with sweaty hands or in the middle of a faster run. Its intuitive and tactile use was never an issue with the two side buttons and rotating crown button on the right-hand side. Charging is easy with the included magnetic cable and is ultra-fast.
Battery life is excellent, aided by the gesture wrist-based backlight to save power when the watch is not in use. After a full week of daily training (including a few double sessions) with a 2-hour long run and a 3-hour long ride on the weekend, the battery was still well over 50% each time.
The stretchy silicone band is comfortable and, as pictured below to show where it inserts, has a clever push-in pin design that does away with the watch strap band keeper which commonly breaks or allows the band to fall out on longer runs with other watches. Most of my friends and family who saw this watch band design on the Suunto were immediately impressed!
Key Specs and Details
| Feature | Details |
| Display Type | AMOLED LTPO |
| Size | 38.1mm |
| Resolution | 466 x466 pixels |
| Brightness | Peak Brightness 2000 nits |
| Refresh rate | Adaptive 1-60hz |
| Weight | 76g (steel)/ 65g (titanium) |
| Case Size | 49 x 49 x 12.5mm |
| Case Material and Bezel | Glass fibre polyamide/ steel /titanium |
| Lens | Sapphire crystal glass |
| Strap | Silicone 22mm quick release |
| Water Resistance | 100m (10 ATM) |
| Battery (Smartwatch mode) | UP to 18 days |
| Battery (GPS mode) | Up to 65 hours (multi-band mode) |
| Maximum Battery Life | Up to 30 days (full power save mode) |
| Storage | 32 GB (note no music storage) |
| GPS | Dual-band GNSS |
| Satellites | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou |
| Heart Rate | Wrist optical sensor |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, pairs to external Bluetooth HR straps |
| Sensors | Barometer, compass, altimeter |
| Maps | Downloadable offline maps and navigation |
| Charging | Magnetic cable (USB-C – proprietary) |
| Supported App | Suunto App |
| Compatibility | iOS/ Android/ Strava/ Training Peaks integration |
| Sport Modes | 115+ modes (including chores! 😊) |
| Price | RRP $899.95 AUD/ Titanium $999.95 AUD |
Display and Visibility
Special mention to the screen’s peak brightness of 2000 nits and its fantastic blacks with vibrant colours. It is a dream to look at whilst out running even in direct sunlight, incredibly vibrant and clear. It is easy to get the information you need at a glance including time and HR at the watch screen’s circumference (see picture above). The watch can operate in an always-on mode during activities or be set to wrist gestures, the latter working well and being suitably sensitive to ensure the watch screen was well lit when I needed it to be. The 60hz screen handles motion very smoothly and pairs well with the touch screen and rotating crown button.
Most sports watches have a “torch” feature but the Suunto Race 2’s torch brightens up an entire room, very handy for sneaking out during dark early morning runs and not waking up the whole family with the room lights!
Performance Use, Customisability and Navigation
The GPS accuracy was spot on, never seeming to miss a beat in both rural and urban areas once a GPS lock was acquired. I tested the optical wrist heart rate against another external HR strap and they matched up very closely, a big improvement from previous optical-based HR watches I have used in the past.
Although I would have loved onboard storage for music, it was great to have the option of viewing song titles and having music controls when paired with my phone.
A gripe I do have is the inability to customise the watch data screens when in the middle of an activity. I would prefer the ability to access the settings menu and change data fields mid run, especially when the pre-built data screens include instantaneous run pace rather than average lap or activity pace. However, once you have used the watch for multiple activities of each sport you are able to modify the data screens to your preferences by pairing with the Suunto app outside of an activity.
Offline maps were slow to download but worked incredibly well. It was nice to ditch the phone and headphones when going out on trails but still have maps or intuitive breadcrumb navigation on the Suunto Race 2. They were extremely clear with the ultra-bright AMOLED screen.
Suunto App and Ecosystem
Setting up the watch and pairing worked smoothly on initial startup and every time. Fast syncing is great whether it is for customising watch screens, creating multi-step interval workouts or uploading activities.
The Suunto app itself works very well and provides quite detailed breakdowns of training logs, activity history, load, recovery and intensity zones. One drawback however is that it can’t import indoor rides from other platforms (eg. Zwift) which means those sessions don’t count towards your fitness or fatigue metrics. This affects the overall accuracy of training stress data and I couldn’t find a workaround for it. Hopefully Suunto integrates uploading of this external data into their ecosystem down the track.
Great as a workout partner and doesn’t scream “sports watch!” with its sleek design.
Final Thoughts
The Suunto Race 2 is an all-in-one performance watch that makes for a great training and racing partner. It has an incredibly gorgeous bright 2000 nit AMOLED screen that remains vivid during bright midday runs. The battery life seems like it could almost outlast your longest training blocks and a sleek build means it doubles just as comfortably as a casual watch. A serious race contender at its price point.
About the Author
Brent Thomas Brent loves the competitive aspect aspect of video games whether its first person shooters, esports games or improving runs in roguelikes and soulslikes. Outside of tech he can be found training for running events and watching Formula 1.
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