Five Hacks Every Suunto Race 3S User Should Know

Suunto's new Race 3S arrives as a lightweight, premium racing watch with a $599 retail price tag, stepping up significantly from the Race S which often sells for $299. However, the device brings major hardware upgrades, packing a battery that holds 46% more charge—good for up to 38 hours of dual-band GPS—and double the storage at 64GB. To truly justify the investment, exploring everything the watch is capable of is essential.

One of the first steps is downloading free worldwide offline maps over Wi-Fi while still at home. The Race 3S offers contour lines and place names with no subscription required, allowing runners to store multiple regions and avoid relying on mobile signals at trailheads. Users can also drop points of interest directly from the watch mid-run to serve as navigation targets.

For hikers, Climb Guidance splits loaded routes into flat, uphill, downhill, and descent segments while displaying remaining ascent to help pace efforts. Additionally, users should remember to recalibrate the barometer via the settings menu every time they start a workout from a new elevation to ensure precise altitude tracking.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

Default heart rate zones rely on broad formulas, but the SuuntoPlus store offers an Anaerobic Threshold app to find the exact effort level where training becomes hard. The threshold test requires a tough 30-minute run at maximum effort following a warm-up, and pairing the watch with a chest strap is recommended for maximum precision during this assessment.