Compare Suunto Vertical vs Garmin Forerunner 970

P1 Suunto Vertical
P2 Garmin Forerunner 970

Comparison Takeaways

Suunto Vertical

Where It Has the Edge

  • battery life is 4.9 vs 3.3. Battery life was the clearest strength, with reviewers reporting week-plus daily use, strong GPS endurance, and class-leading longevity.
  • reliability is 4.7 vs 3.1. Reliability was supported by long-term battery stability and a reviewer describing it as dependable.
  • pairing reliability is 4.2 vs 2.7. Pairing and syncing evidence was positive for fast satellite acquisition and quick app syncing.
  • companion app quality is 4.6 vs 3.7. The Suunto app was strongly praised for route planning, visual data, and a simpler organization than some competitors.

Garmin Forerunner 970

Where It Has the Edge

  • contactless payments is 4.3 vs 1.0. Contactless payments were consistently confirmed through Garmin Pay or NFC payments, with caveats around bank support.
  • onboard music storage is 4.5 vs 1.3. Onboard music storage was strongly supported, with 32GB storage and offline music or streaming-service downloads mentioned across reviews.
  • ECG functionality is 4.2 vs 1.0. ECG functionality was widely confirmed as a major health upgrade, usually described as manual or snapshot-based rather than...
  • heart rate accuracy is 4.5 vs 2.3. Heart-rate accuracy was one of the clearest strengths, with many reviewers finding the Elevate Gen5 sensor close to...
Average score
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.8
Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.0
activity auto-detection
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
No score yet
Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.0

Auto-detection evidence was limited but positive, with support for automatic sport-specific counts and lap auto-detection during swim testing.

app ecosystem
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.2

Reviewers saw a useful SuuntoPlus and partner-app ecosystem, but one noted that only one SuuntoPlus app can run at a time.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

The app ecosystem was a clear Garmin advantage, with Connect IQ, downloadable faces, apps, and extensive sports-watch software repeatedly mentioned.

band quality
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.3

Band feedback was positive overall: reviewers liked the comfort, standard 22mm compatibility, ventilation, and secure strap design.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.2

Band quality had limited evidence but one review praised the strap’s subtle stretch and stabilizing micro-adjustment effect.

battery life
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.9

Battery life was the clearest strength, with reviewers reporting week-plus daily use, strong GPS endurance, and class-leading longevity.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.3

Battery life was the most mixed repeated theme: GPS endurance was usable or improved, but AMOLED smartwatch endurance and always-on use were frequent concerns.

blood oxygen tracking
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.0

Blood oxygen was confirmed as an available widget/tracking view, but reviewers did not deeply validate SpO2 accuracy.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.0

Blood oxygen support is present through PulseOx or SpO2, and reviewers also tied it to breathing disturbance and broader sensor tracking.

Bluetooth connectivity
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.8

Bluetooth support covers common external sport sensors, including heart-rate straps, though sensor management is not especially advanced.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.4

Bluetooth connectivity was supported for headphones and external sensors, including Bluetooth and ANT+ pairings.

brightness
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.3

Brightness improved versus older Suunto models, with reviewers praising the backlight and quick wrist illumination.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.6

Brightness was one of the most consistent upgrades, with reviewers calling the AMOLED display substantially brighter or Garmin’s brightest yet.

build quality
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.7

Build quality was repeatedly described as premium, rugged, sturdy, and tank-like.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

Build quality was strong overall, supported by sapphire, titanium, polymer construction, and a premium feel.

button controls
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.2

Button feedback was mostly positive for gloves, solidity, and simplicity, though one reviewer wanted a five-button layout.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.8

Button controls were a strength, with the five-button layout and dedicated buttons preserving reliable control when touch is not ideal.

call handling
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
No score yet
Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.8

Call handling was useful but mixed: reviewers liked wrist calls and speaker/mic additions, while some found call volume or wrist talking less compelling.

calorie tracking usefulness
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.2

Calorie estimates were viewed as more realistic than another tested watch in one review.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
No score yet
charging convenience
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
2.9

Charging convenience was mixed: the magnetic charger attaches easily, but reviewers disliked proprietary/no-wireless charging and one reported charging trouble.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.0

Charging convenience was mixed, with the familiar cable supported but reviewers still wanting wireless charging or noting the watch must be removed to extend recording.

charging speed
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.2

Charging speed was presented positively in the review evidence, with a full charge cited at about 90 minutes.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
No score yet
coaching features
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.1

Coaching and training tools include VO2-related tests, Suunto Coach, and personalized training/recovery guidance.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.3

Coaching features were broad and useful, with Garmin Coach, triathlon plans, daily suggested workouts, race planning, and structured training repeatedly supported.

comfort
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.3

Comfort was good for a large outdoor watch, with reviewers saying it was not chunky and could be worn or slept in comfortably.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

Comfort was a major strength, with reviewers finding the lighter, slimmer body comfortable for 24/7 wear despite occasional sleep bulk concerns.

companion app quality
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.6

The Suunto app was strongly praised for route planning, visual data, and a simpler organization than some competitors.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.7

Companion app quality was mixed: Garmin Connect was comprehensive and synced well, but one reviewer criticized app layout and built-in workouts.

contactless payments
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
1.0

Contactless payments are a clear miss, with reviewers explicitly noting no NFC or tap-to-pay functionality.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.3

Contactless payments were consistently confirmed through Garmin Pay or NFC payments, with caveats around bank support.

cross-platform compatibility
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.0

The route-planning experience extends beyond the phone, with one reviewer noting tablet and macOS desktop use.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.8

Cross-platform compatibility was functional but limited by phone platform, especially Apple restrictions on replies and media in notifications.

customization options
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.3

Customization is strong across widgets, watch faces, activity profiles, buttons, and home-screen data.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.6

Customization options were strong, including customizable watch faces, widgets, data pages, focus modes, and battery profiles.

display quality
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.4

Display quality improved markedly, with a larger, readable MIP screen, though it is less flashy than AMOLED rivals.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.6

Display quality was widely praised for the bright, crisp, clear AMOLED touchscreen, with several reviewers calling it vibrant or readable.

durability
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.9

Durability evidence was strong, citing sapphire glass, MIL-level testing, and long-term rough-use confidence.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.6

Durability was broadly positive due to sapphire scratch resistance and long-term mark-free use, though one review reported bezel scrapes.

ECG functionality
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
1.0

ECG is not included, and one reviewer grouped it with other missing smartwatch-style features.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.2

ECG functionality was widely confirmed as a major health upgrade, usually described as manual or snapshot-based rather than passive continuous monitoring.

fit
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.5

Fit was praised by one reviewer who found the watch lighter and less noticeable than a larger previous GPS watch.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.1

Fit was positive for reviewers who liked the 47mm balance and wrist feel, though sleep fit and one-size limitations created caveats.

fitness tracking accuracy
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.1

General fitness tracking was strong on land, but open-water swim tracking was a serious weak spot in one in-depth review.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

Fitness tracking accuracy was strongly supported in one detailed review that found near-perfect land-based workout tracks and solid optical heart-rate accuracy.

GPS accuracy
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.7

GPS accuracy received broad agreement as a major strength, with reviewers repeatedly calling the tracks accurate or best-in-class.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.6

GPS accuracy received broad agreement as excellent or top-tier on land, including road, trail, city, and race testing, with only some open-water caveats elsewhere.

health tracking accuracy
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.8

Health tracking evidence was limited but generally positive for training data realism, while other health metrics were mixed.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.1

Health tracking evidence was mostly positive for derived health signals, including heart-related data and cycle/temperature-related observations, but one review noted Garmin can overestimate sleep.

heart rate accuracy
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
2.3

Heart-rate accuracy was the most consistent weakness, especially for sports, with several reviewers recommending or implying a chest strap.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

Heart-rate accuracy was one of the clearest strengths, with many reviewers finding the Elevate Gen5 sensor close to chest straps or reliable in running and workouts.

LTE connectivity
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
No score yet
Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
1.0

LTE connectivity was a clear weakness because reviews explicitly said the 970 lacks cellular or LTE functionality.

mapping and navigation
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
No score yet
Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.1

Mapping and navigation were major strengths for offline maps, routes, ClimbPro, and route tools, but map lag and rerouting bugs were repeated caveats.

materials quality
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.9

Materials quality was a strength thanks to sapphire glass plus titanium or steel construction.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

Materials quality was strong, with titanium and sapphire repeatedly cited as premium upgrades while keeping the watch light.

menu navigation
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.6

Menu navigation was described as intuitive and easy, with key settings and data not buried too deeply.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.8

Menu navigation was powerful but mixed: buttons and touchscreen offer control, while some reviewers found menu depth and clicks cumbersome.

music controls
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.5

Music controls are available for controlling phone audio, but the feature does not extend to onboard playback.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.1

Music controls were supported through direct wrist playback and standard Garmin music features, though audio quality was not a central strength.

onboard music storage
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
1.3

Onboard music storage is absent, and multiple reviewers called that a downside or missed opportunity.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

Onboard music storage was strongly supported, with 32GB storage and offline music or streaming-service downloads mentioned across reviews.

operating system experience
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.5

The operating system was considered usable and intuitive enough, but not especially polished.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.2

Operating system experience was mostly positive for Garmin’s depth, but reviewers also found the feature set overwhelming or less polished in some areas.

outdoor visibility
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.3

Outdoor visibility was mostly strong in bright sun, though one long-term reviewer reported glare in some cloudy situations.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.4

Outdoor visibility was strong, with multiple reviewers reporting good readability in sunlight or bright conditions.

pairing reliability
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.2

Pairing and syncing evidence was positive for fast satellite acquisition and quick app syncing.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
2.7

Pairing reliability had limited direct evidence and was mixed, with one reviewer needing several attempts to pair the watch with the app.

recovery insights
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.4

Recovery insights were viewed positively through Suunto app metrics, training load, fitness change, and recovery guidance.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

Recovery insights were consistently praised, especially impact load, running tolerance, training readiness, recovery time, and load guidance for managing training.

reliability
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.7

Reliability was supported by long-term battery stability and a reviewer describing it as dependable.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.1

Reliability evidence was mixed: some long-term use was reassuring, while route crashes and map glitches appeared in several reviews.

safety features
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.0

Safety-related tools include storm alerts, weather alerts, and sunset information, with storm accuracy described as useful but imperfect.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

Safety features were strong, with flashlight strobe, Incident Detection, LiveTrack, emergency alerts, and nighttime visibility cited.

size options
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
2.0

Size options are limited, with one-size hardware and variation mainly by materials or straps.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
2.3

Size options were weak because the 970 comes only in a 47mm size, which reviewers noted may not suit smaller wrists.

sleep tracking accuracy
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.9

Sleep tracking was mixed: several reviewers liked sleep/wake timing, while another distrusted motion-based sleep data.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.6

Sleep tracking was useful and often consistent for sleep timing or ratings, though reviewers were cautious about stages and noted misses or comfort issues overnight.

smartphone notifications
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.4

Smartphone notifications work, but one reviewer noted weak emoji support.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.0

Smartphone notifications were supported directly, including notifications, weather, calendar alerts, and phone-range message handling.

smartwatch features
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
2.6

Smartwatch features are limited compared with broader smartwatches, especially for music, payments, and richer smart functions.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.3

Smartwatch features were solid for a sports watch, covering notifications, calls, voice assistant, music storage, NFC payments, and general daily smarts.

software smoothness
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
2.8

Software smoothness was a recurring complaint, though later software was described as noticeably improved.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
2.6

Software smoothness was a recurring caveat, with reviewers citing lag, slow saves, map delays, route crashes, and unclear guidance in some advanced metrics.

stress tracking
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.0

Stress tracking appears through Suunto's resources metric, tying stress and recovery into energy-level feedback.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.4

Stress tracking drew positive evidence, especially when reviewers saw stress feed into recovery, daily training, or Body Battery style insights.

style and design
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.5

Style and design were widely liked, with reviewers praising the clean, rugged, premium Suunto look.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.3

Style and design were generally praised as sleek, good-looking, premium, and less intimidating than rugged adventure watches, though not everyone loved the rubber-band look.

third-party app support
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.4

Third-party app support is useful through SuuntoPlus, partner apps, and an app store reviewers felt had caught up.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.4

Third-party app support was strong through Connect IQ and integrations or services such as Strava, Komoot, RideWithGPS, and useful extra apps.

touchscreen responsiveness
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
2.8

Touchscreen behavior was mixed: usable in rain and sweat, but repeatedly criticized for lag.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.8

Touchscreen responsiveness was mixed: some found it snappy and useful, while others noticed scrolling lag, sensitivity quirks, or overwhelming touch interactions.

user interface
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.1

The interface was generally understandable and organized, though hardware/software lag held it back.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

User interface evidence was positive where reviewers highlighted quicker menus and an easy-to-use widget/glance structure.

value for money
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.4

Value was mixed: the watch is expensive, but some reviewers found it competitive versus Garmin and COROS alternatives.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.4

Value for money was mixed: reviewers called it capable and sometimes worth it, but repeatedly emphasized the high price and stronger value from alternatives.

voice assistant quality
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
No score yet
Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.0

Voice assistant quality was useful for commands, timers, phone assistant access, and watch controls, though reviewers noted it is not always immediate or broad.

watch face quality
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
3.5

Watch-face options exist and can be customized, but one reviewer still wanted better watch faces.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.6

Watch face quality was supported by multiple stock faces and many Connect IQ options, though only one review directly discussed it.

water resistance
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.3

Water resistance was treated as suitable for swimming/snorkeling, with reviewers citing 100m specs and shallow-water use.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
3.9

Water resistance was adequate for swimming and 50-meter or 5ATM use, but reviewers emphasized it is not diveproof like some Fenix models.

wellness insights
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.2

Wellness insights include HRV and broader training/recovery context rather than deep medical-style health features.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.4

Wellness insights were a strength, with Evening and Morning reports, Body Battery, sleep coaching, health status, and day-planning guidance repeatedly cited.

Wi-Fi connectivity
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.0

Wi-Fi enables map downloads, but reviewers noted constraints such as needing normal Wi-Fi, a charger, and time.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
No score yet
workout tracking variety
Product 1: Suunto Vertical
4.8

Workout variety is broad, with reviewers citing more than 90 modes, up to 95 sport modes, and many sport profiles.

Product 2: Garmin Forerunner 970
4.5

Workout tracking variety was very strong, with reviews citing large sport libraries, new sport profiles, multisport tools, swimming, cycling, strength, and running modes.