Many wearable and sports manufacturers emphasise sustainability and circularity nowadays, which is great news, as the planet's ecosystem is indeed in danger. And while we aren't trying to pretend that a low-carbon emission GPS watch is going to save the planet, it's certainly not a bad thing that the new Suunto 9 Peak Pro only generates 7.5 kg of CO2e during its whole lifespan!
The new watch looks like the perfect candidate to take the number one spot in our best Suunto watch guide, not least because the watch is fully 'carbon compensated' in a reforestation project with Verified Carbon Units, which are said to be validated by the international verification program ensuring the quality of carbon offsetting projects. I wish all the best triathlon watches and best running watches did the same!
The Suunto 9 Peak Pro is built on the design of the Suunto 9 Peak, a stylish multisport watch, but the new version hones in long-lasting construction and repairability to "minimise waste and the impact on the environment", Suunto says. People criticised the Suunto 9 Peak for being a bit sluggish, and Suunto listened: the new Suunto 9 Peak Pro was engineered with a new, more powerful chipset architecture that "boosts the performance of the watch to a new level", Suunto adds.
Thankfully, the improved performance didn't negatively affect battery life – as a matter of fact, the Suunto 9 Peak Pro has the best battery life of any Suunto watch yet, with three battery modes: Performance, Endurance and Tour. The battery lasts for 21 days in daily use, 40 h in Performance mode, 70h in Endurance mode and 300h in Tour mode. There is also fast charging: the Suunto 9 Peak Pro charges to 100% in 1 hour or 10 hours of training time after charging for 10 minutes.
As for GPS performance, the watch can connect with up to four satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BEIDOU) and up to 32 individual satellites simultaneously! It's not clear whether it can connect to multiple satellite systems simultaneously, but the GPS stats look promising nevertheless.
From a physical point of view, the Suunto 9 Peak Pro has a 10,8 mm thickness (excluding the HR dome), is made with sapphire glass, stainless steel, and two models with grade 5 titanium and weighs. The watch weighs 55 grams (titanium model; steel model is 64 grams). It's not only thin and light but also rugged: the watch has been tested to the MIL-STD-810H military standard of toughness.
The Suunto 9 Peak Pro is available from 25 October 2022 directly from Suunto US, Suunto UK and Suunto AU. There are four models built with stainless steel (RRP £429, approx. $475/AU$750) and two models built with titanium (RRP £549, approx. $605/AU$960). A wide variety of accessory straps will also be available.
