You can now officially buy the Suunto Spartan ULTRA. Or at least so said the email to me today from Suunto Marketing which I am sure many of you also received.
I am not at a stage to produce a review yet only having had about 6 hours worth of sports’ usage out of it. However the unit IS of a very high quality of construction, it looks good and the display looks generally very good too.
On Suunto’s MOVESCOUNT platform there are various pre-defined sport profiles. Suunto call them Sport Modes. These are different pre-defined device configurations for different sports uses. So, for example, there could be profiles that automatically turn off GPS for indoor use and others that display data from certain sensors such as power meters. They are not specifically aimed at configurations for different pieces of kit but rather for different uses – eg racing vs. training where your required display metrics will likely be different.
The Spartan Ultra and Spartan Sport both officially support STRYD’s running POWER sensor. As the graphic below shows there are 3 pre-defined screens, two with 5 metrics/screen, and a 4th breadcrumbed route screen.
Apologies to Suunto for showing the Garmin strap with the STRYD unit. Ooops! It is a nice strap though for the standard-sized pods.
Last Updated on 16 January 2026 by tfk the5krunner
Small things I always use
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter: Charges your Garmin from any USB-C cable. Essential when travelling. I use one.
- Body Glide: The blue anti-chafe stick swimmers and runners carry. I use it.
- Speedo earplugs: Fewer ear infections and no cold-water dizziness. I use them.
- Dryrobe Advance: My winter changing robe for open-water swims. I use one. A cheaper option is the AONYIYI changing robe.
- Maurten: Race fuel that stays easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Beet It Sport nitrate shots: Beetroot shots I take in the days before a race. I use them.
- Garmin charging puck: The quickest way to top up before a session. I use one.
- Injinji: Toe socks that stop rubbing, so you run more. I use them.
- Ultimate toe protectors: Stop black toenails on long runs. They work. I use them.
- Compressport R2 v2 calf sleeves: My calf sleeves of choice. I use them.
- Cellucor C4: My pre-workout before hard sessions.
- TPU tubes: Schwalbe Aerothan, Tubolito and Pirelli SmarTube. Light, tiny spares. I use all three.
- G8 insoles: Adjustable insoles that are good. I use them.
- Cycplus Cube: A 97g electric pump that gets a road tyre rideable in two minutes. I carry one. 5% off with code THE5KRUNNER.
Watches and sensors
- Polar H10: My daily driver for waking HRV.
- Polar Verity Sense: My backup arm-worn HR sensor.
- Nomad bedside charger: Charges my iPhone and Apple Watch overnight. I use it, and many of their bands.
- Train.Red: The best muscle oxygen sensor I’ve used.
- Tymewear: Accurate heart rate and reliable ventilatory zones. I use it to pace endurance rides over an hour.
- Garmin Forerunner 970: A pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Apple Watch Ultra 4: My daily smartwatch. No phone needed on rides.
- Garmin Fenix 9 Pro: I’ve just bought one.
On the bike
- Continental GP5000 for everyday riding, and Aero 111 on the front for special occasions.
- Helmets: Specialized S-Works Evade 3 for road riding, and Rudy Project Wing for TT-style races. I use both.
- Ravemen FR300: A front light that mounts under your Garmin or Wahoo. I use one.
- Wahoo TRACKR Radar: I use it on one bike and Varia on the other. They perform the same.
- Garmin Varia RTL515: Radar that warns you of cars from behind. I use this model.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3: The bike computer that’s easy to use. I use mine on most rides.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2: Accurate power pedals that swap easily between bikes. I use this model.
Home and indoor training
- NPE Runn: Makes my basic treadmill smart, sending more accurate speed and distance to my watch and Zwift. I use it.
- Google Wifi: Keeps Zwift connected in my pain cave. I use it.
- Apple TV 4K: Zwift on the big screen. I use two.
- Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen): My video doorbell, running in both Google Home and Apple Home. I use it.
Health, recovery and sleep
- FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus: Shows how my blood sugar responds to diet.
- hDrop: Measures my sweat loss in summer and indoors.
- Fourth Frontier Zone: Checks my heart under load in hard sessions.
- Oura Ring 5: My partner’s recovery tracker of choice.
- Eight Sleep: A cooling mattress cover my partner and I use nightly.
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. See the gear tfk uses. ID
how are your initial impressions? going to get rid of the fenix 3?
I’m going back to the Garmin 305. I was faster then
Getting Polar V800 2 years ago taught me one thing: don’t listen to what the manufacturers promise or plan. If it’s incomplete, you’ll be stuck for months with exactly what you bought. V800 is still not complete today, and there are so many new watches I could get today for the price I paid then…
Does Spartan show other metrics from Stryd? Vertical or Ground contact times? I see the Garmin IQ app shows those.
this is what STRYD said. by coincidence I had asked them the exact same question!! “The running dynamics, for example vertical oscillation and ground contact time, are pushed through to view in realtime only when using 1) the Stryd mobile app, and 2) the Stryd Connect IQ app on a Connect IQ-compatible watch. Lastly, these metrics are also recorded on the device itself and you can sync these metrics post-run through the offline sync feature of the Stryd Mobile App.”…so I think the simple answer to your question is “No”.