whichwearable :  You’ve had a Suunto before. What was it and what was your lasting thoughts about it?

Tracey : I have had a Suunto T6 watch before which was purchased approximately 9 years ago, I used this watch for in the gym and running, I also had the heart strap with it.  I loved this watch as it didn’t require charging it was battery operated and I would only have to change the battery every 10/12 months.   It was always ready to go and because I didn’t wear it daily this was extremely convenient.

whichwearable :  Opening up the Suunto box what were your initial thoughts?

Tracey : Opening the box, my first thoughts were – nice looking watch but large.   Trying the watch on the strap seems a little flimsy and if I was to wear this watch day in and day out I would be concerned about knocking it, and it getting dirty, the positive on this is that the strap is washable. The manual was easy to pick up and only a few pages to get an understanding of the watch which was great.

which wearable : What was your first impression after your first run?

Tracey : The watch is big but not heavy or bulky which was good.  I found it easy to navigate the watch to the required settings when I wanted to go running.  I struggled at times to read the screen when running when in extreme sunlight.

whichwearable : What was your your impression after your first use of the App on the iPhone?

Tracey : The watch took quite a time to Bluetooth sync to the app, and cause I am not wearing the watch all the time that was a bit frustrating.

whichwearable : Did you manage to understand if it had locked to GPS or not at the start of your run? Did the phone give clear feedback to you?

Tracey : Not really, it stated that you must be connected to the app, once I connected I had assumed it had worked.  I did not have any instances where GPS was not recorded on my runs.

whichwearable : How was the battery life?

Tracey : I wore the watch for 2 days in total just to try it out – the battery life is pretty good, lasted about 3 days, but I don’t tend to play with my tech that much so someone who consistently navigates the watch may have a different experience.

whichwearable  : How did you see its attractiveness for a female?

Tracey : I definitely like the look of the watch as in gold and white, but felt that the watch was extremely large for a ladies wrist.  I would not want to wear this watch daily as it is too big for me.

whichwearable :  : Did you discover the training plan on the watch? Did you follow it and was it useful?

Tracey : I did look at the training plan and it seemed easy to set up – I didn’t use this but would find this useful if I was training for something in particular.

whichwearable : Were there any issues?

Tracey : Only issue I had was when I tried to charge the watch from a USB plug it would not charge – had to do this from the PC.

whichwearable : How did you find the User Experience?

Tracey : Overall the watch is easy to navigate and manage on a day to day basis, I found the iphone app simple to set up and change settings where required.

whichwearable : Would you buy one?

Tracey : I wouldn’t buy one as this is a daily wearable tech and I prefer to have a training watch that is just for me when I am exercising or running.  The fact that you have to upload applications on your PC to upgrade the watch and that you can’t seem to charge the watch from a USB plug is a not convenient.

whichwearable : What could improve the product?

Tracey : I would prefer the watch to be slightly smaller for my use and the display a little clearer.   Less applications to load up to keep the watch up to date either a phone app or PC not both.  Also the charging cable is a little temperamental to make sure that it is connected.   

whichwearable view : The old “T” series products from Suunto really gave them a good position in the growing wearable tech market over 10 years ago. They were a great product line with a battery life that you didn’t need to worry about. You just put the product on and ran with a heart rate monitor and at the end of the year you may have changed the battery yourself. New products today don’t have a removable battery but you can day do much more including track your location. My Moto360 watch was brilliant and has now become my beside alarm clock as the battery needs replacing. It can’t be replaced easily as it’s a sealed water-resistant unit. It would be great for device manufacturers to consider a user replacement battery. I know why they don’t as the failure of the battery to keep charge after two years is a reason to buy the new model. Ethical devices such as the Fairphone allow you to do it. If you are bothered then buy a Fairphone.