This particular fitness tracking watch is very much intended for outdoor use. The functions and features gear it towards the wilderness, giving you GPS and topographic maps to get you through mountain biking, skiing, running, or just a leisurely hike or swim out in the world. You could certainly use it to keep track of your urban escapades as well, but it would be a severe limitation of all of the features you have at your fingertips by investing in this device. If you also happen to be a hunter, this watch may come in handy depending upon how far you need to trek to reach your blind or nest, though it is geared more towards the expectation of travel than hunting. There is no reason not to use it as a hunter, of course – hunters like to know where in the world they wandered while seeking their quarry.

At its base level of function, the Traverse is a pedometer, a calorie counter, will notify you of incoming calls, texts, or push notifications, and keeps time. It has a GPS to tell you where you are and help you navigate your route. It is waterproof to 100 meters (or 330 feet) so that if you happen to need to cross a stream or river and get it wet, you need not worry about the integrity of your device- it does not drown easily. These functions are where some simpler fitness trackers and smart watches stop, but the Traverse blows them all away with everything else it has up its sleeve.

In addition to all of the normal functions, the Traverse really steps up to the plate with everything you need for outdoor hiking. The Movescount software (and corresponding app to your smart phone) has topographic maps, integrated GPS and GLONASS satellite navigation systems, as well as a step retracing function in case you need to follow the virtual breadcrumbs to get back to camp safely. It also offers weather trend and daylight logging, meaning it will warn you when a storm is coming by measuring barometric pressure where you are and telling you when to find cover. The daylight hour tracking will tell you how long until sunrise or sunset and has a backlight flashlight function to help you with tasks that require illumination as you get ready for bed. It also offers vibration alerts that are strong and noticeable, but at the same time keep noise disturbance in nature to a minimum. Nobody wants the heartbreak of seeing a wild creature in its natural environment, only to have an unnatural tinny chime frightening the creature off before you can properly appreciate its majesty.

The Suunto Traverse connects, as most smart watches and fitness trackers do, via Bluetooth to your smart phone. You can either look up online how you do this (the instructions for Android or iOS will be slightly different) and it is noted that you should always make sure your system and apps are all as up to date as possible to ensure peak performance capabilities. Through its integrated GPS and GLONASS systems for navigation it can convert and calculate data into information you need on your hike. It can calculate your speed and location; through it’s Fused Alti software it can read your altitude, vertical speed, and total ascent and calculate out every readout you could ever need for your journey, including the barometric pressure and satellite altitude. You may want to lose yourself in the great wide wilderness, but you will never be lost while you are out there.

Suunto is going through a transition from the Movescount App to the Suunto App in general for all of their users. While this is a wonderful way of keeping everyone connected, the transition does offer some glitches. For example, you cannot have Movescount and the new Suunto App both on your phone and paired to your device at the same time – it will crash and glitch frequently if you try. Suunto recommends transitioning to the new app sooner rather than later in order to already be on board when Movescount is ultimately discontinued. For the nuances of what this might mean in terms of available functions carrying over, where your treks will be stored, and what features are remaining the same or being remastered, it is recommended that you go online with specific questions in mind and find the answers on their site to be sure you know exactly what you are getting into. Hopefully all of the bright features of Movescount carry over, including the Heatmaps feature, which shows the most popular routes for various activities and locations, with millions of Moves from users collected and stored and shared on the app in compilation. If you would prefer to take a road less travelled, however, there is also the topographic maps available to blaze your own trail. Another feature that is hopefully carried through to the new app is the movie making option. The Movescount app currently syncs up any photos you take with your recorded trek, and when you sync up on your device you can format into a movie and upload it to share on their YouTube channel or even on your own social media.

With an adjustable buckle-style closure and several band materials to choose from, you are more than capable of finding an option that best suits your comfort. As with most other wrist-worn devices of this nature, be sure to take it off from time to time and let your skin breathe to avoid skin irritation or buildup of dead skin in the area. With a four day lifespan between charges, the idea of ‘my skin will breathe when I charge it’ might not be adequate; try to give yourself a night off every now and then between charging cycles, for optimum cleanliness and health. If you miss a few tracked calories in your sleep, or the drive home from a hike, so be it; your overall health and safety should always come first.

The Suunto Traverse is a highly customizable watch, not only in quick access features within the software but within the hardware itself. The straps and buckles are customizable in several different combinations, which will be touched upon in detail later in this review. The appearance of the face and housing is just as detailed when broken down into individual parameters. The bezel comes in brushed steel or grey steel. The bezel screws can be chosen in color apart from the bezel color itself, giving you the option to have them stand out against the bezel as a pop feature or blend in for uniform look, coming in steel, black, or grey. The case comes in either black, blue, grey, lime, or white. The buttons come in either a flat design or a rounded design. The rounded option only comes in polished steel appearance. The flat design come in brushed steel or brushed grey steel, or in black or brushed black. You can even personalize something to be printed on the back of the case, pressed against your wrist like a watch engraving from a movie. The character limitation or precise location on the back of the case, or any fonts available was not as readily detailed as the other parameters for customization, so keep an open mind until you are ordering your watch.

After being put through Suunto’s own rigorous durability testing in Finland where every watch is handmade, the Suunto Traverse watch is handed over to the military to run their own standard testing. This ensures that not only are Suunto’s expectations met, but also real, inarguable levels of real-world comparison rugged durability can be assured by having the military run their gambit of exercises and quality controls upon it. Only being waterproof to 100 meters (330 feet) it is clearly not a deep sea watch, but if you take it kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding down the rivers or rapids from campsite to campsite, you will not have to worry about it. Your watch is in good hands, and with its composite case, stainless steel bezel and recessed screen, it can take a beating.

With a mineral crystal material glass composition, the face of the Suunto Traverse is designed to withstand the wilderness right along with you. It’s recessed mounting within the bezel ensures it will not bump or scratch as easily as some flat-faced smart watch screens, keeping it looking pristine for years to come. It offers a black or white (normal or inverted) appearance setting, and a backlight option for nighttime use and flashlight capabilities, as well as being framed by four buttons outside the bezel for simplicity of function. Including the bezel and buttons, the face of this watch reaches 50 millimeters (or 1.97 inches) in length and width, sitting at a depth of 16 millimeters (or 0.65 inches). It is big enough to see and be seen and lean enough not to be cumbersome as you seek out the world.

Being a watch for every kind of outdoorsman, the Traverse is designed with several different options of band to choose from to suit your personal style and preference. There are different looks to choose from individually between the buckle and the strap: the buckles can be brushed steel, polished steel, polished steel in black, or a matte black metal. The straps have even more options depending on what in the Suunto family you buy, though it was not made distinctly clear if you could cross an Ambit3 strap with a Traverse watch, if you wanted that particular color instead, so be careful in your selections. As for specific colors available, in the listed Ambit3 Vertical (silicone) you can choose between white, lime, blue, or a shorter white strap variant for smaller wrists. The standard Traverse (silicone) bands come in black, amber, or graphite. There are also three leather strap options: grey, black, or white. Additionally, for the Traverse Alpha, you can opt for the foliage (green) or stealth (black) textile strap, a sturdy woven material.

This watch is designed to be functional with ease while you are on your hike so that you do not need to spare much attention to use it – you are out in the wilderness in order to see the world around you, not stare at your wrist the entire time. As such, it has multiple buttons designed with customizable quick access features, easily scrolling menus, and several items can be done with a single touch rather than selection from a series of screens. It also records your trek in real time, so you can get home safely and then transfer the data, instead of having to try and remember what your watch said at various points along your hike.

It would not make much sense to have a watch that wants you to seek the wild if you were going to be tethered to a charging point at all points during a day, so it comes as no surprise that the Traverse can boast up to 100 hours of battery life while recording – that is four days of use between charges. Even if you plan on being out longer, the charging cable can be plugged into any compatible solar charger during your trek. If you intend to hike the Appalachian Trail, you may want to include recharge sticks at checkpoints when you mail yourself supplies ahead of time, but if all you bring is a good powerful solar charger and your charging cable, you will still be able to log your entire journey.

The capability of customizing the appearance of your watch when you order it comes from ordering directly from the Suunto site. Other retailers may or may not offer the same level of detail, difference in colors, or minutia of selection categories. If your heart is set on a specific conglomeration of options, be prepared to see a much higher price tag than that of an already-constructed standard appearance watch for sale. These watches, depending upon your preferences, can climb into the $500 range, so watch your budget carefully.

Being so customizable, the Traverse is something that you can buy standard and swap out wristbands later if you so desire. Just be aware that not all aftermarket swaps will include every customizable feature if you build your watch yourself on their site or order it that way through a direct dealer. You will save money by purchasing “off the rack” so to speak, but if you have your heart set on every specific parameter being met to suit your mental image of what this watch could be, then by all means. In terms of a pairing accessory, there is a chest strap heart monitor that is directly correlated with the Suunto line; whether a different brand is just as functionally compatible is unknown. Before you invest in such a thing, double check that it will work, especially if you are caught up in the phasing out of the Movescount App and the phasing in of the general Suunto app.

• GPS & GLONASS navigation systems
• 100 hours battery life
• Phone notifications and alerts
• Highly customizable (depending upon retailer)

In summation, the Suunto Traverse is a watch to help you seek the world and then seek home safely at the end of your journey. Strapped to your wrist you will have thousands of topographic maps, weather advisories and tracking, daylight hour marks, altitude and ascent measurements, and a Hansel-and-Gretel-esque fail-safe way home should you need to turn back ahead of schedule. It is built to survive your journeys, built not to drown, and built to last. You can customize its appearance for a look that is uniquely yours, mark the places you like en route, and log photographs along the way to compile into your recorded memory later. This watch is a way to help you get out there with confidence and find your way through the wilderness.