Suunto has launched the Vertical: a new GPS adventure watch with extra long battery life, a giant screen, and offline maps for navigating off the beaten track.
The Suunto Vertical is the company's first watch with built-in maps, including trails, contour lines, and water features for trail runners and hikers.
This is the first time a Suunto watch has had a map built into the watch itself. The Vertical has 32MB storage for extra maps, which are free to download over Wi-Fi for navigating offline, and can be managed within the redesigned Suunto app.
The app also allows you to plot routes by simply tapping waypoints on a map, then send the resulting GPX file directly to your watch. There's turn-by-turn navigation available, or you can choose to follow a breadcrumb trail.
If you find tapping on a small screen tricky, the Suunto app also runs on tablets and desktops on macOS, giving you more space to plan your route. It's also easy to import GPX courses from third-party apps like Komoot.
There are different map styles for different lighting conditions (outdoor, high contrast, and dark), and maps can be used with either the touchscreen or buttons for panning and zooming.
Going the distance
The Suunto Vertical's other standout feature is battery life. The watch lasts around 60 hours in performance mode, up to 90 hours in endurance mode, and up to 280 hours in ultra mode with sufficient exposure to sunlight. It can also run for up to 30 days in watch mode with heart rate tracking (no activity tracking), or up to 60 days with solar charging.
The Vertical is available to pre-order now direct from Suunto for £545 in stainless steel, or £725 in titanium. We've been putting the watch through its paces, and will bring you a full review later today.
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