A closer look at the flashlight on Suunto Vertical 2

Suunto Vertical 2 packs a real LED light in the bezel. It’s not some screen glow thing, it actually shines forward and comes in handy way more often than you’d think.

A flashlight that shines forward

This is the first time Suunto has added a dedicated flashlight to one of its watches. Unlike the typical screen-as-flashlight approach, as you might find on Race 2, Vertical 2 uses actual LEDs housed in the top edge of the case.

The result is a beam that shines away from your wrist, so you get proper illumination ahead while still being able to glance down at your workout screen or time display. It’s a simple thing, but that forward projection makes a big difference when you’re moving around in the dark.

It’s not just for athletes. The flashlight makes itself useful in everyday situations too. Whether it’s finding your way to the bathroom at night, looking for something under the sofa or navigating a campsite after sunset, having light on your wrist means one less thing to fumble for. It becomes one of those features you don’t plan for but end up using often.

Garmin is amongst the first to offer a flashlight with this feature. Zepp Health recently followed with Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro. Now Suunto is getting in on the fun.

How to switch it on

The fastest way to turn on the flashlight is by using the buttons, but you need to set up a shortcut first. You can assign it to either the top or bottom right-hand button. Just pick flashlight from the list of customisation options. I set mine to the bottom button, so a long press brings up the full screen light interface.

You can also find it by going through the menu. Scroll to the Control Panel widget and the flashlight toggle is in there. But let’s be honest, no one wants to dig through menus just to turn on a light. Setting up the shortcut is definitely the better way.

Bright enough for short-range use

Once you’re in, you can cycle through four white brightness levels. It starts at 50% and then you can cycle in increments of 25% by tapping the top or bottom button.

Continue tapping to switch to red mode. It is is slightly brighter than what you’ll find on a Garmin watches, which makes it a bit more useful when you’re trying to preserve night vision but still want to see where you’re going.

Suunto also includes flashing and pulsing options for safety use. This includes a SOS signal and a red Alert. These aren’t just throwaway features. They’re bright enough to be visible at a distance, so they could come in handy if you need to signal someone or be seen in a low-light environment.

Finally, there’s also a breathing mode. Which can be used as a meditation tool.

The controls are pretty straightforward. The light stays on until you manually turn it off.

There has been some discussion on social media as to the strength of the light. One users says “it shines a dim moonlight’s worth of light”.

You can’t really compare a LED flashlight on a watch with a headlamp. Having tested other watches with this feature, I actually found beam strength and spread to be good for a wrist light. For around-camp tasks, walking at night or getting through a power cut, it more than holds its own.

Worth noting is that the watch remains fully usable while the flashlight is on. This means you can track a workout or check metrics without needing to angle your arm toward the path.

A few quirks to iron out

There are some minor limitations worth calling out. For one, the flashlight UI doesn’t exit automatically when you turn the light off. You’ll have to manually back out of the screen, which feels unnecessary.

There’s also room for improvement in how the light integrates with activities. Ideally, you’d be able to activate it from any screen without interrupting your session. That’s not currently the case.

If you are in the middle of a workout, you will need to back out of the activity screen before you can get to the flashlight. This could be a problem if you need quick access in the middle of a trail run or hike.

It’s also a bit annoying that the flashlight always defaults to the same brightness mode when activated – 50%. If you prefer a specific setting, like the red light for night use, you’ll need to reselect it every time. There’s no memory of your last-used mode.

A handy addition to a rugged watch

Overall, the flashlight on the Suunto Vertical 2 is more than a novelty. It’s a well-executed feature that proves genuinely useful.

Once you get used to having it, you’ll probably reach for it more often than expected. It works best as a convenience light rather than something you’d rely on for long night hikes, but within that range it performs well. It also helps that it’s built into an already rugged device, so you’re not worried about it breaking or draining battery excessively.

This isn’t the kind of feature that will sell a watch on its own. But it’s exactly the sort of thing that turns a multisport device into a reliable everyday tool.

Suunto Vertical 2 can be purchased from the company’s website.

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