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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Suunto Spartan Ultra Review}}[[File:Suunto Spartan.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]

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{{BuyAmazon|AZID= B01I05C0LS|AZN=Suunto Spartan Ultra}}

* '''Something Novel'''. To belabor the point a little, to justify this price tag, I'd like some new feature rather than a nice display and materials. I've not found anything innovative that the Spartan provides, nor does there appear to be anything on their roadmap.

* '''Apps'''. Suunto were the first sports watch manufacturer to allow extensibility through apps. These apps were relatively simple and nothing like the complexity and sophistication of Garmin's [[Connect IQ]], but they allowed for new functionality to be added by the community. Sadly, this functionality is not available in the Spartan, but I hope it eventually gets added in. It would be even better if they include some of the rich options that are available with Connect IQ. I've really come to appreciate the custom watch faces, new data fields, and support for niche [[Running Sensors]].

* '''Navigation'''. There's only a primitive display of the course you load, not waypoints, off course notifications, distance to the end, backtrack, etc.

* '''Interval Timers'''. I'm not a fan of using timers for interval training, but it's something I'd expect on watches that are far cheaper than the Spartan.

* '''Where's my phone?''' I've come to appreciate the Garmin "Where's My Phone?" feature that buzzes the phone to help you find it. It's one of the most useful bits of having a watch connected to the phone.

=Physical Characteristics=

The Spartan is a big watch, though it is dwarfed by earlier devices like the [[Garmin 910XT]] which always felt like wrist mounted computers. On my minuscule wrists, the Spartan feels large, but not cumbersome or awkward. The design seems to epitomize the simplistic elegance that the Scandinavians and Finns are renowned for. There is nothing about the Spartan that indicates it's a sports watch, and I feel that it would not look out of place when worn with more formal clothing. It's a far less fussy design than the [[Garmin Fenix 3]] and like other Suunto watches, the strap is made of wonderfully soft material that feels pleasant next to the skin. Below you can see the Spartan next to some of its competitors. To the right of the Spartan is the [[Garmin Fenix 3]], which is probably closest in terms of style and tactile qualities. It's a little more rugged with its exposed bolt heads, but this also makes it a little more visually fussy. Next is the [[Garmin Epix]] that has a little more functionality than the Spartan, adding in preloaded maps which is great for navigation. As we continue to move right, the [[Polar V800]] has similar design aesthetics to the Spartan, using high-quality materials and an elegant, simplistic layout. The Polar does not have the conventional design of the Spartan but it is a beautiful watch. The polar lacks a color display, but has outstanding GPS accuracy. Finally, we have the [[Suunto Ambit3]], which is here to show an earlier (and much cheaper) offering from Suunto.

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=Going For A Run=

|[[File:Spartan Run (5).jpg|none|thumb|x300px|Then choose the exercise mode..]]

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|[[File:Spartan-Run.jpg|none|thumb|x300px| The Spartan can display lots of data, though it looks to me like the distance is negative, which is confusing.]]

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|[[File:Spartan Run (2).jpg|none|thumb|x300px|Pause resume is the top button, even though start was the middle.]]

|[[File:Spartan Summary.jpg|none|thumb|x300px|Lots of summary data at the end of the run,]]

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=Navigation=

[[File:Spartan-Map.jpg|center|thumb|x300px|]]

=Sensors=

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