Suunto teases new trail watch ahead of possible August launch
Suunto is testing something new. A teaser posted on Chinese social media shows the company is recruiting trail runners to try out an upcoming watch during one of the season’s biggest endurance events. Could it be Race 2, or perhaps Vertical 2?
Suunto goes low-key with its testing campaign
The invite is aimed at people registered for this year’s UTMB. The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc is a high-profile trail running event held annually in the Alps, with the main race circling Mont Blanc. It starts and finishes in Chamonix, France, and passes through Italy and Switzerland. The race is known for its challenging terrain, high altitude and large international field of elite and amateur runners. It is held every year at the end of August, typically on the last Friday of the month. Which is the 29th of August in 2025.
Suunto is now looking for runners who post regularly on social media and are open to wearing a “new off-road watch” from the company. There’s mention of gear sponsorship, but not much else.
Of course, it could be just another colour variant from the UTMB World Series collection. Suunto has done that before – so that’s always a possibility. But this one feels more like a product trial than a marketing campaign. There’s no model name. And the timing is interesting.
It lines up with earlier app leaks
About a month ago, users spotted two unreleased watches, Race 2 and Vertical 2, briefly showing up in the Suunto app. That was before being removed. To remind Suunto Race was released in October 2023, and it was followed by Race S in June 2024 – which is a smaller iteration of the same. Suunto Vertical was released in May 2023.
Now this test program has popped up, right alongside a product listing on a Norwegian retailer’s site. That listing specifically names the Suunto Race 2, with a release date of August 14th. If it is correct – the listed price converts to roughly $680, which is about $200 more than the current Race model.
So unless we’re looking at an extremely premium colour refresh, the price bump suggests a bigger update.
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Between the retail leak, the app sighting and this tester promo, it’s not a stretch to think we’re looking at a full new model. The timing fits. Suunto could easily use UTMB as a proving ground while also collecting content from the field. And it might be good marketing.
What we still don’t know
Everything else is guesswork for now. The teaser doesn’t show the watch, just a silhouete. The Norwegian listing didn’t include specs. And Suunto itself hasn’t said anything official.
We do have those small images from the app – which offer a good indicator on the look of the upcoming devices.
But based on the original Race, we’d expect this one to double down on trail and endurance features. Battery life is almost certain to improve. There could be satellite connectivity upgrades or tweaks to the display. That higher price needs to be justified somehow.
If you’re running UTMB and you happen to be active on Little Red Book, the Chinese social media and e-commerce platform, it might be worth checking if you’re eligible. You might just end up wearing the next Suunto flagship before anyone else.
This article originally appeared on Gadgets & Wearables, the first media outlet to report the story.
Note: We do not include links to independently surfaced source material in some cases, in order to protect the integrity of our research. We always link to public filings and official sources where available.
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