Suunto X9i experiences

I have promised a long time ago to write more on the use experiences with Suunto X9i, so here are some comments. I have not done any extensive testing; i.e., the comments below are based on the observations during semi-active usage during roughly 6 months. I also have one of the first products that got out from the factory; hopefully the SW is nowadays better. If you have better experiences, let me know. Is there some way to update the SW?

In general the usage is easy and the device kind of holds the promise, but there are few annoying details that hinder the usage significantly.

It takes ages for GPS to get first fix: even when the GPS has been used previous day in the exactly same position, it takes over 2 minutes to get the 1st fix – and you cannot move the device at all during that time to get a fix at all. If you just but the GPS on start walking, it’s likely that you are back home before the GPS gets a fix. This makes casual usage to keep log on the walking, biking, skiing, etc. hard (I don’t have patience to wait over 2 minutes standing before I can start the exercise).

The GPS also looses track every now and then, also in relatively open areas. There are two choices for tracking frequency: once every second or minute. The latter mode is in practice unusable; it looses the fix even on ice (of sea) every time. The one second mode is much better, but eats the battery out in 4-5 hours. Thus, you cannot use the device to track whole skiing day with GPS.

Switching time zones takes way too many clicks. For people like me who travel a lot, it is quite important that the clock has the right time and that can be set without any hassle. In X9i, you need to remember to set the right time in two separate places: First, you have to setup the right time in time settings and then change the time zone in other menu. If you forget to set the time zone, the clock will reset time back to your previous time zone when using GPS. Why it is not enough to change the time zone and the main clock would adjust accordingly?

If you are looking for X-training tool to track your performance, I would still look for other options…