Pro reviewer:
Over the past few years I’ve used a few watches such as altimeters for mountaineering and gps watches for running and training. Finally, with the Ambit 3 Peak I’ve got a watch that does everything in one package, plus a whole lot more. There are some great features that make this watch very suited to a mountaineer; a long battery life; barometric and GPS altimeter and easy to use navigation features such as the track back function, which will guide you back along your route (if you’ve been recording your progress that is). While not replacing a mapping GPS device the watches navigation features are very user friendly, with the option of uploading GPS waypoints via your computer. The Ambit 3 Peak really excels as a training aid for any endurance activity. The usual GPS functions such as distance covered and speed apply, but using the watch with the Suunto heart-rate strap gives you some useful training data, especially peak training effect and recovery time. Suunto’s online Movescount software is a well thought out resource, with the ability to sync to other services if you wish. You can also upload training plans or customised “workouts” to the watch, perfect for the dreaded interval sessions!
With an automatic software update in June 2015 you can use the heart rate strap and watch to monitor your recovery overnight, something that would have previously required expensive equipment and which Suunto have incorporated into the Ambit 3 for free.
The Ambit 3 peak is ready to use out of the box, but it is fully customisable if you wish, so you can change the displays or settings through the Movescount website or through the watch menus. There really are so many features on the Ambit 3 that it’s impossible to fit it into a short review like this, it really does have all the bells and whistles. I can’t recommend this watch highly enough.
You can find out more about Ben on our Mountain Guides page.
See full product information on the Ambit 3 Peak HERE.