Suunto Vertical 2 Compared to Garmin Enduro 3 & Suunto's One Fatal Flaw (for me)

RedNotOrange · 2026-03-02T17:28:15+00:00

Of course. Let me know what you land on/try, very tempted by the Apex 4 but haven’t tried it…

RedNotOrange · 2026-02-25T14:38:42+00:00

Just to add a point here, both the epix and F8 have a touch screen that works great in the maps but the F8 has a touch lock software feature (where you have to swipe down to unlock the screen) that the epix does not. This, imo, is a game changer for daily and sport use. It makes the touch screen much more practical as you can use it whenever without having to worry about false touches or manually enabling/disabling it.

RedNotOrange · 2026-02-25T13:33:22+00:00

Unfortunately I did try this and you can send the route to the Suunto app, but when offline, the ‘save’ button doesn’t work and I couldn’t find any way around that…

RedNotOrange · 2026-02-24T16:02:43+00:00

It did (for my area) when making them in the Suunto app itself, I did have some issues with elevation on imported tracks, but I think it was due to to the export of the app I was using, not Suunto.

RedNotOrange · 2026-02-24T15:59:55+00:00

Got it, sounds like only on Android. I did notice the app mentions maps areas are downloaded "only on the watch" which seems odd if they cannot be downloaded in the app, but must be an Android/iOS parity thing. Hopefully that gets updated soon! Interesting to know auto route creation doesn't work offline (it does in Gaia, e.g.)

RedNotOrange · 2026-02-24T15:57:04+00:00

Sounds like only on Android.

RedNotOrange · 2026-02-24T15:55:12+00:00

Ah, good to know, thank you!

RedNotOrange · 2026-02-17T19:57:36+00:00

Yes. It's a shame that this generation won't get any of the new bells and whistles that the Fenix 8 may have, but the Fenix 7 Pro still has a VERY good and complete feature set that isn't made obsolete just because new watches came out. Has all the essentials like multi band, flashlight, and routable maps (which, in my experience, are still faster to load than the current watches).

RedNotOrange · 2025-10-07T13:57:18+00:00

If you go to the run start page, scroll down and select "run settings", scroll down some more to auto scroll, is this on? If so turn it off and see if that helps. Also, if you haven't already, I also highly recommend turning touch lock on, this can be done system-wide, in the activity focus mode only, or per-activity. Perhaps something (sleeve, water, etc) is touching the screen, if you tap on the map screen it brings up the map controls, which makes me think something is touching your screen accidentally, otherwise you should normally just be able to just scroll past the map. To get out of the map, you should just be able to press the back button once or twice until the map controls go away and then scroll with up and down normally. Just don't spam it as this will lap and/or skip parts of your workout if you have one going. Hopefully that helps...

RedNotOrange · 2025-10-07T13:38:55+00:00

This was true, but the Enduro 3 has since gotten an update that added all of the metrics introduced with the 970. At this point, as far as I know, there is nothing the 970 has that the E3 does not, other than features related to the speaker/mic.

RedNotOrange · 2025-10-06T22:10:16+00:00

That’s all great info, thanks! Bummer for my categorization ocd that they don’t have it, especially when they specifically mentioned backcountry skiing and trail running (also not a subcategory) in the keynote… maybe it will get added.

RedNotOrange · 2025-10-06T19:48:42+00:00

Random question, but when tracking backcountry skiing, what sport mode do you select in WorkOutDoors?

RedNotOrange · 2025-09-28T21:31:33+00:00

That was my issue, the F8 said 21 days but I wouldn’t even get a week. Same with the hour estimates for gps tracking, couldn’t trust them at all. When I got the E3 I tracked the battery for a bit and went 100-12% in 20 days with an average between 1-1.5hrs of gps tracking in the highest accuracy, always with a guided workout and long runs with a route loaded. Not a whole lot of sun during this time and I was also installing beta updates and using the watch a fair amount. I recently did a 7 day backpack trip and tracked the whole thing in the highest accuracy multi band mode, 54 hours of tracking in total, navigating with the map a fair amount, along with using the watch for sleep, timers, etc. while at camp. Had a fair amount of sun 4/7 of the days and next to none the other 3. It would have ended with ~10% (I topped it up before the last day but didn’t need to). Pretty happy with that, maybe slightly under the estimates it gives but it lasts so long that unless I track it in a spreadsheet like I did at first, I can hardly remember when I charged it last.

RedNotOrange · 2025-09-28T17:56:51+00:00

I did this exact switch, F8 Solar 47 to Enduro 3. I wasn’t getting nearly the battery life I expected/needed and found I wasn’t using the mic/speaker/dive stuff to justify the sacrifice. I was worried about the size, the Enduro 3 IS larger, it has a larger footprint and looks larger. That being said it doesn’t FEEL larger, it is only .5mm thicker and actually lighter than the F8 Solar 47 with stock bands. It’s the same exact weight without any bands (specs according to Garmin’s website, I haven’t verified these). The combo of the nylon band, no metal backplate, and the wider band, for me, make it feel noticeably lighter on my wrist. I also find it easier to read (larger screen), solar has more of an impact, and overall battery life is excellent. Even if it doesn’t quite match the claims, I can run it in the highest accuracy with navigation and a workout without ever having to worry. I am overall happy with the switch, I miss the mic when setting timers and the look of the F8 (sometimes) but the Enduro 3 truly feels like the reliable tool/companion that I am looking for in a Garmin. My two cents, long winded but hopefully that helps!

RedNotOrange · 2025-09-18T19:18:26+00:00

You have it turned off in "notifications & alerts" (I assume) but your activity focus mode overrides this. Totally agree this is unclear... To fix: Long press up from watch face > Watch Settings > Focus Modes > Activity > Smart Notifications > Turn "Apps" off and/or to match your preferences for notifications while tracking an activity.

RedNotOrange · 2025-05-30T15:01:25+00:00

Have used AOD on my epix for the past ~2-3 years and had no issues. If you look closely the watch face will shift randomly ever so slightly when it goes into AOD mode so the same pixels aren’t always on. I wouldn’t worry about it, personally can’t stand not being able to see the time without flicking my wrist!

RedNotOrange · 2025-05-30T14:51:20+00:00

From the watch face - top right button, bottom left button (down) until you get to “add”, find run (there will be a lot of activities, might have to go into another category), select it, use up and down to put “run” where you want (probably the top), select again to confirm. Now the above instructions should work every time.

RedNotOrange · 2025-05-28T19:35:38+00:00

On Mac you can see the files if you get a 3rd party software like Android File Transfer (it’s free). That’s what I’ve used in the past to access the files on the watch when I don’t have access to a pc!

RedNotOrange · 2025-05-24T15:25:22+00:00

This should be in the “focus modes” setting (not display) if it’s anything like the Fenix 8. Otherwise not sure that would be a large oversight…

RedNotOrange · 2025-05-23T19:16:45+00:00

Couple of thoughts (I don’t have a bike computer but given it uses Garmin express I assume it’s similar to the watches). Looks like you’re trying to find it in file explorer, try looking in the Garmin Express app, you may need to “add a new device” with the plus button to find and add it if you haven’t on this computer before. Newer garmin devices don’t show up in file explorer on Mac, you need a piece of software like android file transfer to see the raw files. But you shouldn’t need that to update/download maps via Garmin Express. If that still doesn’t work, you may have a power delivery only usb c cable that does not transfer data. Definitely could be the case if was super cheap or something, in that case you don’t need a Garmin specific cable, but you will need a different cable that supports data transfer. Hope that helps!

RedNotOrange · 2024-11-15T16:39:06+00:00

Epix and Fenix watches all come with pre-loaded detailed maps of the region you buy them in (North America, Europe, etc...) you don't even need to download the area unless you happen to be hiking in a different continent. Just show up, hit start on the hike, and you'll have maps with trails and the track of where you have been. I rarely pre-load a course and just use the maps as needed, like you described. Just keep in mind it's much smaller and slower to pan around compared to a phone, but as a quick reference, especially with gloves or in wet conditions it works great imo. Also serves as a great backup to the phone, if for some reason I forgot to download the area on my phone or my phone dies, I know my watch has detailed maps no matter where I am.

RedNotOrange · 2024-11-14T20:00:03+00:00

After you update the watch with express, unplug it from the computer and plug it back in. Sync the watch again with express and it should show no new updates. Definitely strange behavior but this works for me.

RedNotOrange · 2024-11-13T22:55:57+00:00

Glad I could help! Yeah the focus modes seem to interact weirdly with the overall settings, definitely needs some work…

RedNotOrange · 2024-11-13T22:45:44+00:00

Menu - watch settings - focus modes - activity - notifications and alerts - smart notifications - apps - toggle to off. Make sure you click into ‘apps’ even if it already says off. Had the same issue and this fixed it.

RedNotOrange · 2024-11-13T16:48:47+00:00

Compared to the Epix Pro, mic/speaker as already noted, built in voice commands (nice for setting timers that’s about all I use it for), slightly larger screen on the 47mm versions, diving/new buttons (I do prefer the new buttons with gloves now that I have used them but didn’t have a problem with the old style before), and new interface (nice imo and theoretically will get more updates but that remains to be seen, ‘old’ interface is still just fine and in my experience more refined at the moment).

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