Product cycles in our consumer society are getting shorter and shorter. While by the fourth generation of the VW Golf at the latest, I no longer knew whether I was looking at a 4- or 5-series Golf, Suunto had the Ambit in its range for years. But within a few years we have reached the 3rd generation here too. We have tested for you what the latest generation of the Suunto family can do and how the watch has developed since the last test.
Suunto divides the Ambit3 family into two different usage groups. The Ambit3 Sport for sports such as running and cycling and the Ambit3 Peak for "explorers". It goes without saying that we took a closer look at the Ambit3 Peak for you. The main differences between the two watches are the battery performance when using GPS (50 h Ambit PEAK vs 25 h AmbitSPORT) and the price.
The watch is supplied with a charging cable and a heart rate sensor (HR).
Use in everyday life and on the mountain
What a car is for some, a multifunction watch is for outdoor sports enthusiasts. I've owned an Ambit for two years now and not a day goes by when I don't wear it on my wrist. The Ambit3 arrived in the fall and I was curious to see if the developers had managed to make the watch even better.
The visual difference to the Ambit1 is small. The rounded edges on the case make it less bulky than its predecessor and therefore less susceptible to scratches. The labeling on the compass ring has been renewed, which makes menu navigation even easier. Suunto has also fitted the watch with a thinner strap, which makes it much more comfortable to wear despite the relatively large GPS receiver. In terms of weight, it is still a small piece at 89 grams. It's certainly unusual at first, but after a few days you do miss something when the watch is not being worn.
The watch is actually used every day and in all situations. When ski touring, cross-country skiing, biking, hiking, mountaineering, jogging and in my daily work as a teacher.
If you want to, the watch records all your training data using the heart rate strap supplied. I mainly use the heart rate monitor for intensive sports (jogging, biking). As usual, the data can be transferred to the Movescount account and analyzed. This account is essential for viewing your data, synchronizing the watch and creating your own apps.
The Ambit's menu navigation has remained largely the same, as have most of the applications.
And so the watch has to prove what has changed in detail: The main things that bothered me about the first version were the short battery life, the low storage capacity, a lack of a severe weather warning, the rather inaccurate altimeter and, above all, the inability to use the GPS function to navigate back along the same route I ascended. And let me tell you up front: Suunto has really gone the extra mile with these improvements.
Battery life
The battery life is specified as up to 50 hours in GPS mode (depending on the GPS recording accuracy) and has therefore increased significantly. In practice, this means that you can easily go on a ski tour for three days without a charger and track all routes without running out of juice.
Weather alarm/storm warning
The weather alarm was probably omitted from the first generation Ambit due to the small memory. The new version has this practical additional function. In addition, a weather trend indicator has been integrated into the standard display setting, which shows with a simple arrow how the weather is likely to change.
GPS & Barometric altitude measurement
Who hasn't experienced this? You are on tour and after a while you realize that you forgot to set your altitude in the valley and are therefore not sure what altitude you are at. Or the tedious adjustment of the altitude before the tour in wind, rain and freezing fingers. Suunto has also upgraded here and equipped the Ambit with the FusedAlti mode. Altitude is measured using a combination of GPS and barometric altitude measurement. This is significantly more accurate in practice and eliminates the need for tedious adjustment.
GPS navigation
With the older generation of the Ambit, it was only possible to navigate directly back to your starting point using the Find-Back function. So only as the crow flies from A to B, which is pretty useless in the mountains. The only option you had was to set points when changing direction so that you could navigate back if the weather changed. The Ambit3's Find Back mode allows you to retrace the exact route you've taken so far. This makes the watch (almost) a fully-fledged GPS device, giving you an additional safety margin. In addition, the GPS signal is received much faster and better with the Ambit3.
Gadgets
Most of the improvements mentioned above are already present in the Ambit2. The Ambit3 impresses above all with its close smartphone networking. Thanks to the Bluetooth 4 connection, you can connect the watch to your smartphone. Emails, text messages and calls can be shown on the display and at the same time training data can be displayed and evaluated directly on the smartphone via the Suunto Movescount app.
The question here is whether these "innovations" make sense and are useful for applications on the mountain.
The built-in activity tracker is definitely a success. This fitness tracker records the daily/weekly activities and also the kilocalories burned. This allows you to decide in the evening whether you've earned that second chocolate bar or not.
Conclusion
Suunto has done its homework and the Ambit3 looks much more sophisticated than the first generation. Thanks to the improved GPS navigation (find-back function) and the creation of routes in Movescount, an additional navigation device with more precise map views is largely superfluous. The only pity is that route planning is only possible with GoogleMaps data. As networking with smartphones and the like continues, users can personalize their watch more and more. If you don't need this, you can confidently fall back on the Ambit2. For me, the Ambit3 has become an indispensable companion on the mountain and in everyday life, which I only part with before going to bed. And yes, it is my status symbol.
Note on avalanche transceiver in combination with GPS & heart rate sensor
In a test, I wanted to find out what influence the heart rate sensor and the switched-on GPS have when searching for avalanches. With the heart rate sensor active, my 3-antenna device kept showing me a buried victim in search mode, even when no other avalanche transceiver was nearby. When I searched for a second avalanche transceiver in transmit mode, I kept getting a second signal. I was still able to find the transmitter without any problems, but the observed problems are reason enough not to wear an HR harness on tour. The watch or GPS did not hinder the avalanche beacon search in my (short) test.
Advantages & disadvantages
+ Track-back function (retrace route)
+ Increased battery life
+ Simple operation
+ Combined GPS and barometric altitude measurement
+ Bluetooth Smart, close networking with smartphones possible
+ Built-in fitness tracker
+ Weather trend display
- Route planning only possible via GoogleMaps
- Price
Details
RRP: €449 (without HR strap), €499 (Black Edition with HR), €599 (Sapphire Edition with HR)
Weight: 89 grams
30-hour battery with 5-second GPS accuracy (1 min.accuracy: 200 hours)
Route navigation and track back function
Compass
Altitude measurement (FusedAltiTM)
Weather information
Heart rate while swimming
Activity-based recovery time
Speed, pace type and distance
Bike power support (Bluetooth Smart)
Multiple sports in one log
Movescount training programs on the watch
Advanced function settings via Suunto apps
here is the manufacturer's product information, here you can buy the watch in our partner store.
