SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black Review: A Premium Adventurer’s Companion Put to the Test

There’s a moment on every multi-day trek or long trail run when you glance at your wrist, not for the time, but for reassurance. You’re checking your pace, your altitude, your bearing, and most critically, your battery life. I’ve been there countless times, deep in the backcountry, when the dreaded low-battery warning flashes on a so-called “adventure watch.” It’s a moment of frustration that instantly severs your connection to vital data, turning a sophisticated tool into dead weight. The market is flooded with smartwatches that masquerade as sports watches, offering vibrant screens and endless notifications, but they often falter when removed from the daily charge cycle. For those of us who demand relentless performance, military-grade durability, and a battery that lasts not just for a day, but for an entire expedition, the search for the perfect GPS companion is a serious undertaking.

What to Consider Before Investing in a High-Performance GPS Sports Watch

A high-performance GPS watch is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for athletes, adventurers, and outdoor professionals who require precise, reliable data in demanding environments. It’s a training partner that logs every split, a navigator that guides you through remote terrain, and a safety device that monitors your physiological response to exertion and altitude. The primary benefit is empowerment through information—knowing exactly how far you’ve gone, how fast you’re moving, and how your body is performing, all while having confidence that your device won’t quit before you do. This data allows for smarter training, safer exploration, and a deeper connection to your activities.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone who regularly pushes their limits outdoors—the ultrarunner, the multi-day hiker, the triathlete, or the mountaineer. They value function over frills and prioritize battery longevity, GPS accuracy, and durability above all else. Conversely, this type of watch might not be suitable for those who are primarily looking for a smartwatch to handle calls, texts, and daily app notifications from their wrist. While the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black offers smart features, its soul is in the wilderness, not the boardroom. A user seeking a seamless extension of their smartphone might find a more dedicated smartwatch a better fit.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Wearability: Many rugged GPS watches are notoriously bulky, making them uncomfortable for daily wear or for those with smaller wrists. Consider the case diameter (in millimetres) and thickness. A watch that feels good on your wrist 24/7 is one you’ll actually use for sleep and recovery tracking, making the data more holistic and valuable.
• Battery Performance: This is arguably the most critical metric. Look beyond the “smartwatch mode” battery life and scrutinize the numbers for continuous GPS tracking. Manufacturers often provide figures for different GPS accuracy settings; a watch that can offer 40+ hours in best-quality GPS mode and over 100 hours in an endurance mode is a top-tier performer.
• Materials & Durability: The wilderness is unforgiving. A sapphire crystal lens offers superior scratch resistance compared to mineral glass. Case materials like stainless steel or titanium provide a higher level of impact protection than polymer or plastic. Water resistance ratings are also key; 100 metres (10 ATM) is the standard for a serious sports watch, ensuring it can handle swimming, snorkelling, and torrential downpours.
• Ease of Use & Software Ecosystem: A complex watch is useless if you can’t access its features quickly. Evaluate the user interface—is it touchscreen, button-operated, or a hybrid? Buttons are often more reliable in wet or cold conditions. Furthermore, consider the companion smartphone app, as this is where you’ll analyse your data, plan routes, and connect with other services like Strava or Komoot.

While the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: Nordic Minimalism Meets Military Mettle

Unboxing the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black is a refined experience that speaks to its Finnish design heritage. The packaging is minimalist and eco-conscious, but the watch itself is the star. The first thing that struck me was its incredible thinness and lightness. At just 10.8mm thick and weighing 64 grams, it feels remarkably sleek on the wrist, especially compared to some of its competitors that can feel like you’re wearing a computer on your arm. As one user aptly noted, it’s “robust and light” in comparison to a Garmin Fenix. The ‘All Black’ aesthetic is stealthy and sophisticated, with a stainless steel bezel and a sapphire crystal glass face that immediately conveys a sense of premium durability. The three physical buttons have a satisfying, tactile click, assuring me of their usability with gloves or wet hands. The silicone strap is soft and comfortable, and the whole package feels impeccably well-made. Setting it up with the Suunto app was straightforward, and the new, more powerful processor was evident from the get-go; the interface is snappy and responsive, a significant improvement over previous generations.

Deep Dive: Performance of the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black in the Field

A watch’s spec sheet only tells half the story. To truly understand its character, you have to live with it, sweat with it, and trust it when you’re far from home. We put the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black through weeks of rigorous testing, from daily runs and gym sessions to multi-day hikes in unpredictable weather, to see if its real-world performance matches its impressive credentials.

Design and Durability: A Watch Built to Endure

The standout physical characteristic of the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black is its masterful blend of elegance and toughness. The 43mm case is a perfect size, hitting a sweet spot that suits a wide range of wrists, a sentiment echoed by users with smaller wrists who found it “perfect.” This is a watch you can wear with a technical jacket on a mountaintop and then with a casual shirt back in the city without it looking out of place. The military-grade durability isn’t just a marketing term. During a particularly challenging trail run, I took a spill on a rocky section, and my arm scraped against granite. My heart sank, but after wiping it clean, the sapphire glass was pristine, and the stainless steel bezel showed no signs of the impact. This is the kind of resilience you’re paying for. The 100-meter water resistance gave me complete confidence during open-water swims and a torrential downpour while hiking. We even tested the dedicated snorkel mode, which accurately tracked depth down to 10 meters. However, it’s important to address some concerns raised by a minority of users regarding long-term finish durability. A few reports mentioned the black coating on the back bubbling or chipping over time. While we didn’t experience this during our testing period, it suggests a potential quality control variance that’s worth being aware of for a premium device. Despite this, the core construction feels absolutely bombproof, and its combination of svelte design and ruggedness is truly class-leading.

Battery Life: The Marathon Runner of GPS Watches

This is where the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black moves from being a great watch to an exceptional one. Suunto’s claims of battery life are bold, and in our testing, they largely held up. The watch offers several intelligent battery modes (Performance, Endurance, Tour) that allow you to balance GPS fidelity with longevity. In standard smartwatch mode with 24/7 activity tracking and notifications, we easily went over two weeks between charges. The real test, however, is GPS performance. For a full-day, 8-hour hike using the “Performance” mode (the highest accuracy, all satellite systems enabled), the battery dropped by only 20%. This extrapolates to around 40 hours of continuous, best-quality tracking, which is phenomenal. On a 3-day backpacking trip, we used the “Endurance” mode and finished with over 60% battery remaining. This is a game-changer. It eliminates battery anxiety completely. One user confirmed this, noting the “long battery for GPS hiking in 5 days (3 hours/day)” far outlasted their previous smartwatch. It’s crucial to note, however, that a couple of users reported faulty batteries that didn’t hold a charge as advertised. While this seems to be an anomaly, it underscores the importance of purchasing from a reputable retailer to ensure warranty support if needed. For the vast majority, including us, the battery performance is the single most compelling reason to choose this watch.

GPS Accuracy and Sports Tracking: A Data-Rich Experience

At its core, this is a tool for tracking activity, and it excels in this regard. The watch connects to all major satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BEIDOU), and the satellite lock was consistently fast, usually within 5-10 seconds from a cold start. We tested its accuracy on a certified 10k running course, and the final distance was logged at 10.02k—a negligible and perfectly acceptable margin of error. One user noted that Suunto is “far more accurate when trying to maintain a pace” than other brands they’ve owned, and our experience with the instant pace readings confirms this; it felt responsive and free of the lag that plagues some competitors. The barometric altimeter provided reliable ascent and descent data, which correlated closely with topographic maps. The wrist-based heart rate monitor was solid during steady-state cardio but, like most optical sensors, could sometimes lag during high-intensity interval training. For ultimate accuracy, pairing it with a chest strap via Bluetooth is recommended. We did encounter one user review that claimed the watch significantly over-recorded distance compared to a Garmin on a parkrun. While this was the opposite of our experience, it’s a reminder that GPS performance can be affected by environmental factors like tall buildings or dense tree cover. The breadth of over 95 sport modes is staggering, covering everything from running and cycling to kite-surfing and mountaineering, ensuring your specific activity is likely covered with relevant data screens.

Software and App Integration: Functional but Room for Polish

The on-watch software, powered by a new processor, is a huge step up for Suunto. Menus are fluid, and navigating with the three buttons and touchscreen is intuitive. The display is clear and legible in direct sunlight, though some users found it wasn’t as bright or vibrant as the AMOLED screens on lifestyle-focused smartwatches. This is a deliberate trade-off; the transflective display technology used here is a major contributor to the watch’s stellar battery life. Where the experience is more mixed is with the Suunto companion app. For its core purpose—syncing activities, displaying data, and planning routes with heatmaps—it works well. The route planning, in particular, is excellent, allowing you to import GPX files or build new routes on sport-specific heatmaps to see popular trails. However, the app lacks some of the deeper analytical polish and community features found in Garmin Connect. Some users have expressed significant frustration, calling the app “awful” and citing issues with customer support and notifications. We also confirmed a user’s finding that the software is somewhat limited in customisation; you can choose from pre-made watch faces but cannot build your own or download third-party ones. Similarly, basic functions like a timer can be frustratingly overridden by the auto-lock screen. This is the primary area where the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black shows its focus: it is a dedicated sports instrument first and a smartwatch second.

What Other Users Are Saying

Synthesizing feedback from a wide range of users reveals a consistent pattern. The praise is almost universal for the watch’s design, comfort, and battery life. One happy owner calls it a “fantastic sports watch” that feels “robust, comfortable, and not overly large for everyday wear.” Another, who upgraded from a 10-year-old Suunto, loves that it is “way lighter” and offers more functions. The accuracy of the heart rate monitor also gets specific praise, with one user who has heart stents noting, “The Suunto watches are by far superior than other brands,” after having issues with skewed readings from both Garmin and Polar.

On the other hand, the critiques tend to focus on two main areas: software and quality control outliers. One detailed review expressed frustration with the software being “extremely limited,” citing the inability to keep a timer on-screen or customize watch faces. Another called the companion app “awful,” pointing to buggy notifications and unprofessional support. The most concerning negative feedback involves potential hardware faults on some units, including reports of a “faulty battery,” a screen that “has gone blank on several occasions,” and the “coating…peeling” off the back of the watch. While these appear to be minority experiences, they highlight a potential inconsistency that is disappointing in a premium product.

How Does the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black Compare to the Alternatives?

No product exists in a vacuum. The SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black competes in a fierce market, and choosing the right watch depends heavily on your specific needs and priorities.

1. SUUNTO Vertical GPS Solar Multisport Watch

The SUUNTO Vertical is essentially the big brother to the 9 Peak Pro. It takes everything good about our reviewed watch and adds more. The primary upgrades are a larger screen, a titanium bezel option, solar charging to further extend the already incredible battery life, and—most importantly—offline maps directly on the watch. This is a massive feature for serious navigators who want detailed topographic maps on their wrist without needing a phone connection. The trade-off is a larger, heavier, and more expensive device. If your adventures frequently take you off-grid where detailed on-wrist mapping is a necessity and your budget can stretch, the Vertical is the superior choice. For everyone else, the 9 Peak Pro offers a more compact and affordable package.

2. TecTecTec ULT-G Golf GPS Watch

This watch represents a completely different philosophy. The TecTecTec ULT-G is not a multisport watch; it is a dedicated, single-purpose tool for golfers. It does one thing—provide distances to the front, middle, and back of the green, as well as hazards, on over 38,000 preloaded courses worldwide—and it does it simply and affordably. It lacks a heart rate monitor, step counting, smartphone notifications, and any other sport mode. Someone should choose this over the Suunto if and only if their sole athletic pursuit is golf and they want a no-fuss, budget-friendly device for the course. It is not a competitor in the adventure sports space but an excellent example of a specialized alternative.

3. Garmin Forerunner 255S GPS Running Smartwatch

The Garmin Forerunner 255S is arguably the most direct competitor to the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black. It’s similarly priced and sized (the ‘S’ model is for smaller wrists) and is packed with features. Garmin’s key strengths lie in its software ecosystem and advanced training metrics. Features like Morning Report, Training Status, and PacePro offer deeper insights and actionable advice for athletes, particularly runners and triathletes. The Garmin Connect app is widely considered more polished and feature-rich than Suunto’s offering. However, the Forerunner 255S does not have the same premium build quality—it uses a polymer case and Gorilla Glass instead of stainless steel and sapphire—and its battery life, while good, does not reach the exceptional endurance levels of the Suunto. Choose the Garmin if your priority is a data-rich training ecosystem and you value software polish over ultimate durability and battery longevity.

Final Verdict: Who Should Buy the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black?

After extensive testing, the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black has proven itself to be a formidable tool for the serious outdoor enthusiast. Its strengths are profound: a truly class-leading battery life that banishes all charging anxiety, a beautifully minimalist and lightweight design that is tough as nails, and accurate core tracking for a huge variety of sports. It’s a watch built with a clear purpose—to perform reliably in the wild. It sheds some of the “smart” features and software polish of its competitors in favour of focusing on what truly matters when you’re miles from the nearest outlet: durability, reliability, and endurance.

We recommend this watch wholeheartedly to multi-day hikers, trail runners, mountaineers, and any athlete who values battery performance and robust construction above all else. While the software has room for improvement and some quality control concerns have been noted by users, the core hardware is exceptional. If you want a GPS sports watch that feels as good as it performs and will never leave you stranded with a dead battery, the SUUNTO 9 Peak Pro All Black is an outstanding choice. You can check the current price and see more details online to determine if it’s the right adventure companion for you.