Five Life Hacks Every Suunto Race 3S User Should Know
The new Suunto Race 3S is a lightweight, premium racing watch, but with a retail price of $599 , it’s significantly superior to the Race S, which typically retails for $299 . However, there are some significant improvements: the battery is 46% larger than the Race S, providing up to 38 hours of use with dual-band GPS; the memory is double that of the Race S, at 64 GB. And, as always, you can download apps and integrations from the SuuntoPlus store , allowing your watch to do more than just the standard functions. Ultimately, the best way to justify the price is to truly use all the features of the watch. Here are five ways to get more out of your Suunto Race 3S.
(Suunto Race 3S users should also check out these Suunto Run hacks .)
Use offline maps features to plan your next adventure in advance without leaving your couch.
There are several ways to explore new hiking routes directly from your watch or app, without leaving home. First, make sure you’ve downloaded offline maps at home. The Race 3S offers free offline maps of the world with contour lines and place names, and there’s no subscription required. Download your regions via Wi-Fi before heading out to avoid relying on your phone’s signal at the trailhead. 64GB of memory allows for multiple regions, so download the places you actually run, as well as any places you travel. The menu paths may change after a firmware update, so check the Suunto app if its location has changed.
From there, you can build a library of points of interest (POIs). A POI is any location worth returning to, such as a trailhead, water source, campsite, or viewpoint. In Suunto’s case, the definition of “POI” is very broad and includes places for hunting, fishing, foraging, or wildlife viewing. Built-in POI types let you mark where a deer probably rubbed its antlers, where you saw marine mammals, or where you spotted mushrooms. And with the Race 3S, you can save up to 250 such points on your watch.
You can create points of interest (POIs) on the map in the Suunto app even if you’re not there, or if you stumble upon one, you can save your current location from your watch during a run. Simply set the POI as a navigation target in the settings for your trail run or other activity. There’s also a navigation app available at the bottom of the widget list (select “All apps”), so you can navigate even when you’re not running a workout. Organize your POIs by area before your hike, and you can navigate to the trailhead or spring with just a few taps, while the map displays the area around you.
For all hiking enthusiasts, there’s the “Ascent Predictor” feature, which lets you preview routes. When loading a route, “Ascent Predictor” breaks it down into flat sections, uphill sections, downhill sections, sections with both uphill and downhill sections, and shows the remaining elevation gain. Use it to decide where to speed up and where to slow down. It doesn’t set your pace, but it allows you to adjust it based on the terrain.
Install a storm alarm to avoid getting caught in the rain again.
The Suunto Race series features a storm alert that monitors sudden drops in barometric pressure—a warning sign of changing weather conditions. This is only useful if your barometer readings are reliable, so before ascending, set your altitude to a known reference value (a trailhead marker or a confirmed altitude). To enable storm alerts, go to Settings > System Notifications > Alerts > Storm. (You can also set up sunrise and sunset notifications here.)
Don’t forget to calibrate the barometer every time you start moving at a new altitude. You can also select “Altimeter & Barometer” in the “Settings” menu, then choose “Set Altitude” or “Automatic Altitude.” Automatic altitude calibration uses GPS readings to calibrate the altimeter. However, if you know your current altitude from a map, you can set it manually.
Set heart rate zones based on your actual heart rate.
Heart rate-based training is a great idea, but the default zones on your watch are based on general formulas and assumptions. In the SuuntoPlus app store, you can select “Anaerobic threshold” and follow the instructions to determine the heart rate at which exercise becomes intense, so your zones will be tailored to your body.
Be prepared: the lactate threshold test is a challenging workout. After a warm-up, you’ll be asked to run as fast as you can for 30 minutes. At the end, the app will show your heart rate, which is likely to be in line with your lactate threshold.
Now for the fun part: on your watch, go to “Settings,” then “Training,” then “Intensity Zones.” Select either “Default HR zones for all sports” (which I recommend if you’re unsure), or select a sport in the advanced settings. Here, you can set the boundaries between zones. The boundary at the bottom of zone 5 (and, correspondingly, the top of zone 4) should be set to the value obtained during the threshold test. If you want to customize other zones, Suunto provides additional information on how to calculate the values for the other zone boundaries.
And for any threshold tests where accuracy is paramount, I recommend using a chest strap .
Use these SuuntoPlus apps to improve your running performance.
SuuntoPlus apps run on your watch and display additional data during your workouts, and these two apps are worth setting up during your workouts:
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The Cadence Coach app displays your cadence and stride length in real time, allowing you to work on your running technique and, according to Suunto, avoid injury. Run a few easy workouts with the app, find a cadence that feels comfortable to you, and use it as a target.
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Sprint automatically records your steps and sprints using wrist acceleration. Instead of marking laps during steps or hill sprints, just run and analyze your results later.
Activate both features in the SuuntoPlus store of the Suunto app before starting your training and see how your running performance improves.
Save time preparing for the timer.
My favorite way to quickly save time is to pin the timer widget. Widgets are available on the watch face with a swipe up or a twist of the crown, and you can choose which ones to display and in what order in the Suunto app. Move the timer to the top and pin it so that pressing the crown opens it. Then, the top button starts and stops the stopwatch, and the bottom button resets it. This is perfect for interval training, meal prep, and pre-race warm-ups, and you never have to start a full workout to quickly time yourself. The timer remembers whether you last used the stopwatch or the countdown.
Finally, I’m keeping an eye on the launch of the Race Planner feature. It’s designed to create a pace plan based on your route, weather, and target time, and then adjust your pace on race day. Suunto hasn’t announced a launch date yet, so I wouldn’t buy a watch just for this feature.