Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR

As usually happens edition after edition, at the CES technology fair in Las Vegas the new products presented at the beginning of the year are those that set the trend in the short and medium term for the rest of the year and the season. In the case of sport, the Finnish manufacturer Suunto has surprised with the launch of its new Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR, the newest member of the Suunto Spartan family, and specifically, which comes to expand the Spartan Sport saga.

The Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR is designed to monitor the statistics of multisport activities, and that brings as main argument in favor the inclusion of optical heart rate measurement from the user's own wrist, which means that it is not necessary to use the chest strap. And in this sense, Suunto takes a giant step forward, and for sure, by establishing an agreement with the American company Valencell, which is a leader in biometric data sensors. This collaboration is embodied in the inclusion of the patented PerfomTek system, biometric sensors of high precision, to which is added the complete pack of Suunto sport and tracking functionalities.

Thus, Valencell's optical sensor features a set of three LED lights, two green and one yellow, which are responsible for collecting more accurate metrics, and over a wider range of skin tones.

The result on a practical level is that the athlete will benefit from more accurate statistical data, with wrist-based monitoring, and therefore more efficient training sessions. These are the clues to the new generation of Suunto GPS Heart Rate Monitors & Sports Watches, in which the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR will be the pioneer, being the first gadget with an optical pulse sensor from the Nordic manufacturer.

Features of the Sunnto Spartan Sport Wrist HR

At the level of functionality and compared to the original version of the Suunto Spartan Sport, the Wrist HR presents identical features as its base model, the Spartan Sport. That is, the 80 pre-set sport modes to provide specific parameters for cycling, triathlon, running and swimming, among others. Advanced GPS/GLONASS system to accurately track your physical activity. In addition to a touch screen and high resolution, and integrated accelerometer, for example.

At the moment the main difference between the Suunto Spartan Sport and the Sport Wrist HR, in addition to not needing the chest strap to measure heart rate, is that the Wrist HR has a thicker body, but, especially, that now its bezel is black, something that may change, almost certainly, in future editions of the model.

In addition, the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR will also feature the Suunto Movescount community tools, as well as the Movescount App. An essential aspect for training planning.

With all this, the Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR follows that marked line of being a wearable suitable for both training and competitions. For the moment, the Sport Wrist HR will be available in three different colors: Blue, black and the so-called Sakura color.

By the way, last note. The launch of the new Suunto Spartan Sport Wrist HR fuels the "open war" between Suunto and Garmin during this 2017 season, and the user's own experience will be the one who will tip the balance in favor of the Suunto Spartan collection or the Garmin Fénix 5 series.