Suunto Vertical Solar Review (2026): Still Worth Buying After the Vertical 2?

Battery life remains main reason to consider the Vertical Solar.

Suunto rates the watch for up to 65 hours of multi-band GPS, increasing to 90 hours with sufficient solar exposure. Less demanding GPS modes stretch considerably further, with Tour mode reaching up to 500 hours.

For normal daily use, Suunto advertises up to 30 days, or 60 days with solar assistance under its specified conditions.

Independent testing backs up the general theme even if real-world numbers naturally vary. OutdoorGearLab praised its battery performance, while Advnture managed five days of hiking during a camping trip without needing to charge it.

That is exactly where this watch makes sense: multi-day trips where charging is annoying or impossible.

GPS and navigation are still excellent

The Vertical supports dual-frequency GNSS and can communicate with GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou.

OutdoorGearLab measured only about 0.08 miles of GPS difference during its testing and rated the Vertical strongly for accuracy.

Advnture also found that the watch could distinguish small route details such as running along different sides of a road.

The onboard maps are equally important.

You can download offline maps, navigate routes and POIs, view elevation information and use breadcrumb navigation even when your phone has no signal.

For hikers and backpackers, that’s far more useful than having another smartwatch app store.

The MIP display is both a strength and weakness

The 1.4-inch display uses a 280 × 280 memory-in-pixel panel.

It isn’t remotely as colourful or punchy as the AMOLED screen on the Vertical 2.

But MIP has an advantage outdoors: sunlight actually makes it easier to read, and it consumes very little power.

OutdoorGearLab specifically praised the watch’s readability in bright conditions, while Tom’s Guide criticised its relatively low-resolution display.

Both observations are fair. This is a functional expedition display, not eye candy.

Heart-rate tracking remains its biggest weakness

Heart-rate tracking is where opinions become more mixed.

OutdoorGearLab actually recorded good overall HR results, with roughly a ±3.7 BPM difference in its testing.

But other reviewers haven’t been nearly as impressed. The5krunner highlighted wrist-heart-rate accuracy as the Vertical’s biggest disappointment, while longer-term testing has found that it can underestimate heart rate, particularly during cycling and harder exercise.

The likely takeaway is simple: GPS is the Vertical’s speciality; wrist HR isn’t. Serious athletes training by heart-rate zones should consider pairing a chest strap.

It is still a proper outdoor watch

The Solar All Black uses a stainless-steel bezel, sapphire crystal and fibre-reinforced case and weighs 87g. It’s rated to 100 metres of water resistance.

You also get an altimeter, barometer, compass, weather information, storm alarms, sunrise/sunset information and more than 115 sport modes.

It’s not small, but that large case makes more sense when you’re actually looking at maps on your wrist.

Some Vertical owners reported unusually high battery drain following firmware updates in 2026, including watches lasting only several days instead of weeks. Others in the same discussions reported normal performance, including around 2.5 weeks with roughly 20 hours of GPS activity.

Battery life of 6 days (vertical solar MIP)
by u/life9118 in Suunto

Suunto Vertical Solar vs Vertical 2

The decision is actually pretty simple.

The Vertical 2 gives you a larger 1.5-inch AMOLED screen, redesigned heart-rate hardware, improved navigation and a built-in LED flashlight. Suunto rates it for up to 65 hours of high-accuracy GPS and around 20 days of normal smartwatch use.

The original Vertical Solar fights back with its extremely efficient MIP display and solar-assisted battery life.

Choose Vertical Solar: maximum endurance and value.

Choose Vertical 2: better screen, better HR hardware and a more modern overall experience.

Is the Suunto Vertical Solar Worth Buying in 2026?

Yes — especially at a discount.

The arrival of the Vertical 2 hasn’t suddenly made the original Vertical Solar bad. In fact, buyers who specifically want long battery life may prefer the older MIP-and-solar combination.

Pay full price, however, and the Vertical 2 becomes much harder to ignore because its AMOLED display and improved HR sensor address two of the original’s biggest weaknesses.