SUUNTO SPARTAN TRAINER WRIST HR REVIEW

I recently got my hands on the fitness tracker/watch from SUUNTO called the Suunto Spartan Trainer Wrist HR. A mouthful I know but for a mouthful it is a rather small device compared to the GARMIN FENIX 3 which I am coming from. Measuring in at 46 x 46 x 15.7mm and weighing in at just 56g...I would say that this is the smallest and lightest fitnes watch I have had on my wrist in a long time and I have had quite a few: from the humble beginnings of having a XIAOMI MI fitness band through to having a full featured fitness heavyweight known as the GARMIN FENIX 3. Another first for me was the optical heartrate sensor that acompanied the Suunto. Now I don't really go for optical sensors as such as I find these sensors to be unreliable but after doing some research into the Spartan Trainer it was said to be the cream of the crop of optical sensors being a VALENCELL sensor (whatever that means). Coming from the GARMIN FENIX 3 fitness watch that I have had for a couple of years now, the transition wasn't an easy one: I mean for the first few days I simply hated the Suunto.Still, I did give the watch a fair trial and used it for a couple of weeks and guess what?? Yup, it grew on me (into 3rd week now and still on my wrist).
First lets start with the things I didn't like. Battery life was nowhere comparable to my trusty ol' GARMIN...OK, OK its unfair to put this lightweight up with a heavyweight so from a somewhat standalone perspective the battery life was more than adequate. With heavy use meaning all tracking features turned on and I got about 4 - 5 days out of it. However, with some features turned off, it did manage to last a whole week. Theres also a maximum power saving mode but I didn't get a chance to try that out (yet) but I'm guessing that it might extend to about 9 - 10 days. The Suunto app that it pairs with on the phone is mostly barebones (no detailed statistics like Garmin or Polar) but Suunto are working on improving their mobile app. If you like veiwing statistics (and who doesn't) then you just have to look to their MOVESCOUNT app on the computer. Although still a bit lacking, it does a halfway decent job.The sleep tracking is almost like an afterthought because the data that is viewable only shows how much you slept. Also of note is that to keep the Spartan Trainer as affordable as can be there is no GLONASS (Russian GPS),barometer and no compass either which makes sense as the watch is less than half the price of the Garmin Fenix series of watches.
Now on to what I did like about the watch; for starters it is the most comfortable watch I have worn even though that I'm wearing it tighter than previous watches due to having a more stable contact between skin and the HR sensor. As for ther sensor: it is the most accurate sensor next to a HR chest strap (still do use a strap during more intense exercises).

The first picture is showing heart rate using the on board sensor whereas the second one is when using a chest strap. As you can see both are more or less similar although the optical sensor does take a few minutes to lock on to the heart rate and to rectify this minor niggle it is recommended to warm up for the first few minutes before starting the recording. If you are going to use the optical sensor for walking, it does a good job but in my opinion if you are going for a run be it outside or on a treadmil or going for a bike ride or any other activity where the watch will jiggle around on your wrist then a heart rate chest strap is more feasable as it will give a more consistant reading. Chest strap is also recommended (by me) if you are going to do high intensity workouts as nothing is worse than having an inconsistant reading at the end of it. Because this watch is bluetooh smart, it can and will pair with any bluetooth sensor. Just keep in mind that it can pair with one sensor at a time.
In conclusion: if I didn't already have a Fenix 3 fitness watch then I wouldn't mind having the Spartan trainer as my main tracker but should also mention that it has given me a tough choice on which one to have. In future I will go for the Fenix 5 (when I can afford it) but in the meantime it's my trusty Fenix 3 and if I can get a good deal on the SUUNTO SPARTAN TRAINER WRIST HR all the better.