Suunto Vertical 2 ZDNET's key takeaways The Suunto Vertical 2 is available now for $599, or $699 with titanium casing.
Besides the vivid 1.5-inch AMOLED display, it has a very long battery life and sports an LED flashlight.
The watch is only available in one 48.6 mm diameter size, the flashlight controls are limited, and securing the pin on the band can be tough. $599 at Amazon
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Many of the advanced sports watches I test seem to be going more toward the "smart assistant" route, with hands-free communication, payment solutions. But others are doubling down on health and fitness tracking, like Polar and Suunto, two brands that have made some of my favorite smartwatches I've tested in the last two years.
The new Suunto Vertical 2 is one of them -- building upon the features of the Race 2 with an integrated LED flashlight, vibrant AMOLED touchscreen display, and improved battery life.
Also: I tested the best sports watches in 2025: Here are the latest and greatest watches, no matter your budget
Earlier this year I had the opportunity to test the Suunto Race 2 and found it to be one of the best sports watches available today. For $100 more, the new Suunto Vertical 2 provides a more rugged build and some additional improvements. In addition to the extra cost, the Vertical 2 measures in at 1 mm thicker than the Race 2 while maintaining the same 86 gram weight for the stainless steel model.
One design difference I'm not a big fan of is the switch of the center right button's rotating dial to a button. I enjoyed scrolling through my data with the dial on the Race 2, and with the new button on the Vertical 2 I found myself swiping up and down the touchscreen more often.
When you are in the middle of an activity, swiping on the display may be easier than spinning a small dial, so it's only a minor annoyance, but still necessary to mention.
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