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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Suunto Ambit2 R Review}} The Ambit2 R, available in black or white. The {{Suunto Ambit2 R}} is one of my highly recommende..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Suunto Ambit2 R Review}}
[[File:ambit2r.jpg|none|thumb|200px|The Ambit2 R, available in black or white.]]
The {{Suunto Ambit2 R}} is one of my highly recommended running watches. The "R" in the name is for "Runner" and is the moniker for the cheapest of the Ambit2 range. It lacks some of the features of the more expensive Ambit2 watches, but the price is far more attractive. The Ambit2 R offers great functionality and reasonable GPS accuracy, and it's only significant flaw is the inability to display pace from a [[Footpod]].
===Ambit2 R Pros===
* The watch is highly configurable, and configuration is via a web site rather than fiddling with the watch. The Ambit2 can display up to 8 different pages of data, including various graphs.
* You can download or create 'Apps' for the Ambit2, which allow for some degree of extensibility. These are not really applications, but small scripts so the functionality is rather limited.
* Data has to be uploaded to the Suunto website movescount.com but it can then be exported in many different formats including TCX and FIT.
* While the standard battery life is not great at 8 hours, you can configure the Ambit2 so it only checks GPS data periodically, which compromises [[GPS Accuracy]] but improves battery life. I found that after 20 hours of use with 1 minute GPS checks I had a claimed 61% of battery life left, giving a projected life of about 50 hours.
* The Ambit2 will download a list of GPS satellites for quicker GPS acquisition. This seems to work well, and when the cache is stale because the watch has not been connected to the internet for a while, GPS acquisition is still reasonable.
* The Abmit2 displays [[Firstbeat| Training Effect]], but unlike the Garmin units you have to explicitly set your 'activity class' rather than have the watch work it out automatically. In many ways I prefer having the activity class set explicitly.
* There is also support for "[[Firstbeat| Recovery Time]]", though it's less obvious than the Garmin implementations which display the value at the end of each workout. The [[Firstbeat| Recovery Time]] displayed at the end of each workout is for that workout alone, which is rather useless. You can go into the log book to find the cumulative [[Firstbeat| Recovery Time]] but that's a pain.
* The Suunto web site (movescount.com) has remarkably good analysis and data from the Ambit2.
* The "R" version of the Ambit2 is available in black or white, with the white version intended for women. I tried the white version as I have smaller wrists and I found the materials used for the strap are remarkably soft and comfortable.
* If you're prepared to pay more, you can get other versions of the Ambit2 that provide extra functions.
** There's also a Sapphire version that uses "sapphire glass" which is far tougher, but given the extra cost it's only worth considering if you're really tough on your watches.
** Suunto has announced the Ambit3, but that's only worth considering if you are intending to buy the more expensive Ambit2 or Ambit2 S. The Ambit2 still offers far better value for money. The main changes for the Ambit3 are some activity monitoring functionality, smartphone uploads,, and a swap from Ant+ to Bluetooth sensors.
{| class="wikitable"
!
! Ambit2
! Ambit2 S
! Ambit2 R
|-
| Price
| $500
| $350
| $250
|-
| Claimed battery life
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Up to 50 hours
| Up to 25 hours
| Up to 25 hours
|-
| Barometric altimeter
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| No
| No
|-
| Cycling support (speed/candence/power)
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| No
|-
| Swimming support
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| No
|}
===Ambit2 R Cons===
* The biggest downside to the Ambit2 compared to the 310XT/910XT/610 is that there is no way of displaying your current pace from the [[Footpod]] while using GPS for overall distance and course. You can only use a footpod by turning off GPS, which is pretty useless.
* The Ambit2 does not have a vibration alert, which is something I miss far more than I'd have expected. The vibration is useful for alerts, as you may not hear the beeping in noisy environments or when wearing headphones. The vibration in other watches is also useful as a confirmation you've actually pressed the lap button.
* Like any complex device, the Ambit2 can occasionally need a reboot. Sadly, while you can shut down the Ambit2 from the menu, the only way of waking it up again is to plug it into a USB power source. This should be a very rare issue, but if it happens to you on or just before a race, you're screwed. (To shut down, press the "Back/Lap" and "Start/Stop" buttons pressed to enter the service menu.)
* While the Ambit2 can display a map of a route, or give you a map for going back to the start, there is not a simple display of your current route.
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
[[File:ambit2r.jpg|none|thumb|200px|The Ambit2 R, available in black or white.]]
The {{Suunto Ambit2 R}} is one of my highly recommended running watches. The "R" in the name is for "Runner" and is the moniker for the cheapest of the Ambit2 range. It lacks some of the features of the more expensive Ambit2 watches, but the price is far more attractive. The Ambit2 R offers great functionality and reasonable GPS accuracy, and it's only significant flaw is the inability to display pace from a [[Footpod]].
===Ambit2 R Pros===
* The watch is highly configurable, and configuration is via a web site rather than fiddling with the watch. The Ambit2 can display up to 8 different pages of data, including various graphs.
* You can download or create 'Apps' for the Ambit2, which allow for some degree of extensibility. These are not really applications, but small scripts so the functionality is rather limited.
* Data has to be uploaded to the Suunto website movescount.com but it can then be exported in many different formats including TCX and FIT.
* While the standard battery life is not great at 8 hours, you can configure the Ambit2 so it only checks GPS data periodically, which compromises [[GPS Accuracy]] but improves battery life. I found that after 20 hours of use with 1 minute GPS checks I had a claimed 61% of battery life left, giving a projected life of about 50 hours.
* The Ambit2 will download a list of GPS satellites for quicker GPS acquisition. This seems to work well, and when the cache is stale because the watch has not been connected to the internet for a while, GPS acquisition is still reasonable.
* The Abmit2 displays [[Firstbeat| Training Effect]], but unlike the Garmin units you have to explicitly set your 'activity class' rather than have the watch work it out automatically. In many ways I prefer having the activity class set explicitly.
* There is also support for "[[Firstbeat| Recovery Time]]", though it's less obvious than the Garmin implementations which display the value at the end of each workout. The [[Firstbeat| Recovery Time]] displayed at the end of each workout is for that workout alone, which is rather useless. You can go into the log book to find the cumulative [[Firstbeat| Recovery Time]] but that's a pain.
* The Suunto web site (movescount.com) has remarkably good analysis and data from the Ambit2.
* The "R" version of the Ambit2 is available in black or white, with the white version intended for women. I tried the white version as I have smaller wrists and I found the materials used for the strap are remarkably soft and comfortable.
* If you're prepared to pay more, you can get other versions of the Ambit2 that provide extra functions.
** There's also a Sapphire version that uses "sapphire glass" which is far tougher, but given the extra cost it's only worth considering if you're really tough on your watches.
** Suunto has announced the Ambit3, but that's only worth considering if you are intending to buy the more expensive Ambit2 or Ambit2 S. The Ambit2 still offers far better value for money. The main changes for the Ambit3 are some activity monitoring functionality, smartphone uploads,, and a swap from Ant+ to Bluetooth sensors.
{| class="wikitable"
!
! Ambit2
! Ambit2 S
! Ambit2 R
|-
| Price
| $500
| $350
| $250
|-
| Claimed battery life
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Up to 50 hours
| Up to 25 hours
| Up to 25 hours
|-
| Barometric altimeter
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| No
| No
|-
| Cycling support (speed/candence/power)
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| No
|-
| Swimming support
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| style="background-color: #D5E3BB;" |Yes
| No
|}
===Ambit2 R Cons===
* The biggest downside to the Ambit2 compared to the 310XT/910XT/610 is that there is no way of displaying your current pace from the [[Footpod]] while using GPS for overall distance and course. You can only use a footpod by turning off GPS, which is pretty useless.
* The Ambit2 does not have a vibration alert, which is something I miss far more than I'd have expected. The vibration is useful for alerts, as you may not hear the beeping in noisy environments or when wearing headphones. The vibration in other watches is also useful as a confirmation you've actually pressed the lap button.
* Like any complex device, the Ambit2 can occasionally need a reboot. Sadly, while you can shut down the Ambit2 from the menu, the only way of waking it up again is to plug it into a USB power source. This should be a very rare issue, but if it happens to you on or just before a race, you're screwed. (To shut down, press the "Back/Lap" and "Start/Stop" buttons pressed to enter the service menu.)
* While the Ambit2 can display a map of a route, or give you a map for going back to the start, there is not a simple display of your current route.
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
