Back in May 2024, I claimed that the Suunto Vertical Solar Titanium might be the last watch I would ever need. I still mostly stand by that. It has been on my wrist for everything I do, and the solar charging felt like a kind of smug superpower. Look at me, barely needing electricity. Very outdoorsy. Very self-sufficient.
But now the Suunto Vertical 2 has shown up.
The first thing I noticed was the screen. It is an AMOLED, and it is super bright. After the MIP display on the Solar Titanium, this thing feels like switching from a candle to a stadium floodlight. Maps look incredible, the data fields are sharp, and with my failing eyes, I can actually read the thing in low light.
The next surprise is the built-in flashlight. At first, I laughed because a flashlight in a watch sounds like a gimmick. Then I used it. It is genuinely useful for sneaking out of huts early in the morning, in tents, or when you drop something small and important in the dark. I used it within five minutes of owning the watch.
It lacks the solar harvesting of my older watch, but battery life is still solid. The Vertical 2 holds its own with very respectable runtimes: up to 65 hours with dual-band GNSS (over 200 hours in Tour mode), and up to 20 days in smartwatch mode.
There are nice improvements under the hood, too. The watch is faster to navigate, the GPS seems sharper, and the new heart rate sensor feels more accurate. It all just feels a little more modern, a little more responsive, and a little more enjoyable to use.
So is this now the last watch I will ever need? Honestly, probably not, because Suunto keeps upping its game. But the Vertical 2 is a genuinely great update, and despite my love for the Solar Titanium, I have found myself wearing the new one more and more.
I’ve only been using the watch for the last few days, and I’ll definitely be dropping a more in-depth review after a few months of intensive use in the hills.