Your core body temperature can massively impact your performance. That’s why athletes pour water over themselves during races. They’re trying to cool down because they know once their core body temperature reaches a certain level, they’ll lose power and their performance will deteriorate. Like heart rate and power, core body temperature is a crucial metric for elite and recreational athletes alike. A new partnership with Suunto and CORE gives the Suunto community the opportunity to gain heat awareness and improve performance. The Suunto 9 Peak Pro, the most powerful watch we’ve ever made, combined with the CORE sensor mean the three key metrics of training and performance - heart rate, power, core body temperature - are all displayed on your watch face. Read on to learn more and for three ways to control your core body temperature. Overcoming the data and knowledge gap Performance manager at CORE and road cyclist Christopher Jones believes a general awareness and understanding of core body temperature and how it affects performance is limited. Until recently, athletes could only use invasive technology - e-pills and rectal probes - to monitor core temperature, and only for short time windows. Whereas heart rate monitors have provided almost around the clock data for decades. As a result the general public don't know a lot about core body temperature and how increased temperatures impact performance. But the CORE sensor changes that. “The big advantage an athlete gets from CORE is understanding their body and being able to perform better in the heat,” Christopher says. “It is an easy-to-use and affordable solution that opens up this data and heat awareness for everyone.” Embrace the tech and train smart Christopher is excited CORE has now partnered with Suunto. The body temperature sensor has been used by athletes, coaches and sports scientists for several years. Just as heart rate monitors eventually began enjoying popularity with recreational sports enthusiasts, the same thing is gradually happening with core body temperature. “It’s a new technology,” he says. “So just like a heart rate monitor, or a power meter, it will take time for people to adapt. But if you’re not racing in the Tour De France, you still use a heart rate monitor, right? Same thing with CORE. The tech will help guide sports people so they can train and race at their best. In a hot weather environment where it’s even harder to stay cool, the real time core body temperature data helps people to take the right steps to avoid heat becoming a problem.” How does core body temperature affect performance? When you get hot, your power output drops. Thermoregulation is, however, individual. Some people are better at operating at higher temperatures than others. When athletes get hot, the body diverts blood away from power-producing muscles to the skin. Sweat evaporation then cools the blood and the core body temperature. 3 ways to keep your core body temperature down The CORE sensor delivers live data directly to your Suunto watch and means you are informed and can take action before it is too late. There are a few specific approaches to help manage your core body temperature for performance. Follow a heat strategy This involves doing things like easing off before you know you will begin a long ascent so you can cool your body down in advance. Or another example is staying behind other riders to reduce the amount of power needed and to keep your core body temperature as low as possible until you see a better opportunity to push. Do active cooling Staying well hydrated, pouring cold water over yourself, and wearing highly breathable fabrics and gear are all tactics that can be combined to keep cool. Train your body to perform better when it’s hot Heat training involves conditioning your body to be more efficient and perform better when you’re hot. CORE helps you elevate your core temperature to a precise temperature zone, letting your body adapt without wearing yourself out. “Some athletes do heat training as a two-week training block, and then after that they can keep the conditioning with maintenance sessions.,” Christopher from CORE says. “Another approach is to slowly integrate heat training sessions into regular training sessions.” How to use CORE body temperature sensor with your Suunto SuuntoPlus CORE sports app is compatible with all Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches. To get started with CORE temperature sensor go to SuuntoPlus Store in Suunto app, find SuuntoPlus Core and select "Add to watch". Before starting your activity, go down to exercise options and select CORE sports app. This connects your watch with the CORE sensor. During your workout, your watch will receive and display live data from CORE sensor. Your body temperature data during the activity will also be saved in your workout. Note: Make sure your Suunto 9 or Suunto 5 watch is updated to the latest software.   Learn more about CORE body temperature

Suunto athlete and outdoor sports junky Gregor Strasser has been using ActiveLook-powered Julbo smart glasses with his Suunto for a few months, but is already liking what he’s seeing. He’s been testing them in the mountains above Salzburg in Austria and loves the way the most important performance data is always right there, displayed on a lens. “I’m a technology freak and hoped they would make my everyday training easier,” Gregor says. “Of course, you have to get used to the new field of view, but once everything is perfectly adjusted, you can hardly imagine it any other way.”   Focus on what matters ActiveLook is a division of Microoled, the second largest micro OLED supplier in the world. ActiveLook produces an embedded head-up display technology that fits into sleek, lightweight frames and lenses. Marketing & partnerships director of ActiveLook, Xavier Bonjour believes smart glasses are going to revolutionize outdoor sports. “When you have the data displayed in your field of vision, you can better manage your effort and no longer need to look at your watch anymore,” he says. “We’ve tested our technology with athletes at the Copenhagen, Boston and Paris marathons. All the users beat their personal bests by two to five minutes.” All Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches are compatible ActiveLook is a display technology used by various sport glass brands such as Engo, Julbo and Cosmo. And now this technology is compatible with the all the Suunto 9 and Suunto 5 watches, including the the new Suunto 9 Peak Pro. It gives Suunto watch owners their key data directly in their field of view, on the inside of their lenses. “Thanks to the overhead display, you always have the most important training parameters in view,” Gregor says. “Especially in urban areas with a lot of traffic or on rough trails in the mountains, it's great not to be distracted by having to look at my watch or bike computer. This increases safety during the training sessions because you always have everything in view and can fully concentrate. I have never been able to track my performance data in such detail and always stay up-to-date. The glasses give me completely new insights that I didn't have before.”   How the technology works ActiveLook display technology consists of the following components: A high-precision micro-projector: the data is projected to the right eye, and the perceived position is between the upper center and upper left. It varies from user to user based on individual morphology, head size, and distance between pupils. A low power display Dialog based ”Smart Wearable on Chip” Custom lens coatings to maximize visual experience Ambient light and gesture sensors A battery with up to 12 hours power A charge connection on the bridge A high brightness, 304 x 256 pixel, yellow data display Low power (1mW) thanks to a “memory pixel” that avoids the need for refresh scanning. Smart sport glasses weigh between 30 and 40g The miniaturized and invisible augmented reality technology displays essential performance data without obstructing the field of vision. A smart chip integrated into the eyewear projects data to a discrete near-eye display that “melts” into the optics. It gives access in real time to whatever data is monitored by athletes as they train or compete, such as distance, duration, speed, pace, power, or heartbeat. Train smart and boost motivation Activelook-powered smart glasses are the perfect gadget for activities when looking at a watch is difficult, such as mountain biking in technical terrain, running hard intervals, or cross-country skiing. The technology displays the essential workout data from the watch, such as heart rate, pace, power as well as turn-by-turn navigation information. “When you have visual data right in front of you it can be very motivating,” Xavier says. “Like your own personal coach.”   Getting used to them Xavier says it’s hard to explain how they feel to wear. “It’s a little like wearing a watch or a ring for the first time,” he says. “The first time you put the glasses on it’s a new experience , but once you start moving you forget about them and it becomes natural. When you look ahead, the display disappears - you intuitively learn where to look to see the data. And when you take them off again, you feel something is missing. Like misplacing your smartphone.” If possible, test them at a shop before you buy, Gregor advises. “Unfortunately, these glasses are not cheap and everything should feel good and fit perfectly.” How to use with Suunto After turning on your ActiveLook glasses, simply open the SuuntoPlus ActiveLook sport app in your watch and start your activity. If you don’t have ActiveLook sport app available in your watch yet, go to SuuntoPlus Store in Suunto app and select "Add to watch". During your activity, the app will send data to the glasses (types of data available varies model to model). When using navigation with waypoints, notifications will be delivered ahead of the waypoint so you don’t miss your turns. Note: Make sure your Suunto 9 or Suunto 5 watch is updated to the latest software. Discover ActiveLook-powered sport glasses ENGO sport glasses Cosmo Vision sport glasses Julbo's Evad-1 sport glasses   All images by Gregor Strasser

William celebrates after completing a new world record. Depth freediving is unlike most other sports. To be successful, you need to be like a Zen master - calm and clear minded. Adrenalin, anger, stress, the flight and fight response are the sworn enemies of champion freedivers like Suunto ambassador William Trubridge. Instead, they cultivate calm and relaxation through a combination of mental and physical methods. It’s his decades of exploring, developing and mastering these methods that led William to launch his new Mental Immune System program. It’s a double-pronged approach that uses these methods to dissipate stress, as well as to create barriers to its formation. We caught up with the underwater Zen master himself to discuss the system. William just set a new underwater endurance swimming record by completing a distance of 50,575 m underwater on a breath hold, with no propulsive assistance. The distance was swum as 2,023 underwater laps of a 25 m pool in Nassau, Bahamas. He did it to raise awareness about the mental health crisis facing the world today. Read on for our Q&A with William. What is the Mental Immune System? It’s a system for dealing with stress or anxiety issues. Or the general pressures of our age, and mental health problems that have become a real crisis in recent times. It’s like an app you can upload into your brain to work in the background. The idea is that it is programmed into your subconscious mind. It involves breathing and mental techniques that both have proven to have huge benefits for maintaining calmness and equanimity. How did you come up with the idea? I came up with the idea just by seeing how applicable the mental and breathing techniques that I used in freediving throughout my career were to deal with daily stress. Freediving is not like other sports in that the stress response, the adrenalin, the fight or flight reflex, cannot be channeled into a better performance in the same way they can in boxing or sprint running. In freediving it’s counterproductive because you’ll end up using oxygen quicker, maybe panicking underwater, which is the worst case scenario. And the same applies to stress in our day to day lives. We’re not confronting sabertooth tigers anymore or living in the wild. Stressful situations normally involve family, loved ones, business, work, day to day life and in pretty much all of those if you respond with a flight or fight response you’re not going to go very far in life. The more calmness we can generate in those situations the more we will thrive. So freediving is very similar to daily life in that respect. I saw how effective these techniques were in freediving and when I started to use them myself in day to day life I found they were helpful and started recommending them to others and teaching them. I feel like it would be a crime for me to not make these techniques readily available. Why now? We’re living in an age of mental health crisis. It was getting worse before COVID, and then the pandemic catalyzed it. The statistics are frightening. 40% of adults suffer from anxiety disorder and/or depressive disorder. It’s not just that people feel a little anxious now and then; it’s an actual disorder. And a lot of people are taking drugs to cope, which is creating other dependencies. Then there’s the younger generations which is maybe even worse. Kids who are run into the ground by these anxiety problems. It’s something that is very difficult for our species at this point in time and we need all the techniques we can get to help us, especially methods that don’t come at a cost by causing dependencies and other stuff. The Mental Immune System is long lasting and it is self-replenishable and has no side effects. Freedivers use a variety of breathing exercises. How does the program work? It’s a double prong approach. Because stress attacks us mentally and physically we need to respond with mental and physical techniques. The physical mostly revolves around breathing techniques; a specific type of breathing that’s simple enough to learn and switch over to and is hugely powerful. The mental techniques are similar to mindfulness. It’s basically a variation of mindfulness that uses the brain itself to break the spiraling thought patterns that we get into and the negative self-talk we do. How is it different from mindfulness? The game changer, the thing I think that makes the system so powerful, is it is programmed into the subconscious mind. If you’re freaking out, the last thing you’re going to do is sit in a corner and practice some funky breathing method or meditate with your eyes closed. You cannot do that in a business meeting or during an argument with another person. It has to be a technique that is there in the background and operating without your conscious involvement so you can be carrying out your role, whatever that may be. That’s the game changer - to program it into the subconscious mind. In the same way that our physical immune system is completely autonomic; we don’t tell our white blood cells to go and fight a virus. It has to be automatic. I think the same applies for the mental immune system. Find out more here! Lead images: André Musgrove

Avalanches are an integral part of the natural cycle in the mountain environments. The potential for avalanches exists on steep and even moderately steep snow slopes. When the terrain and the snowpack are right (or wrong for the backcountry travelers) avalanches can happen. While the snow changes throughout the season, the terrain doesn’t. For snow to slide, the slope must be steep enough. Most avalanches occur on slopes between 30 and 45 degrees. That’s why we have added a new map layer in Suunto app highlighting those critical slope gradients. You can use Suunto app and the Avalanche terrain maps on your phone, Android tablets, iPads and even newer Mac computers (Mac's with a M1 or M2 processor). You can find the Avalanche terrain map layer in Suunto app: Go to the map view, tap the map layers button, and select the Avalanche terrain map layer. The darker the color, the steeper the slope. This information will help you plan your routes in the mountains. While planning the route, you can change between the different layers, like a regular outdoor map, the Avalanche terrain map, a ski touring heatmap and more. A very important thing to understand about the Avalanche terrain map – and avalanches in general – is that avalanches may run out on flat and low-angle terrain. So, in addition to thinking where you are or where you plan to travel in the mountains, pay attention to what’s above you. Especially slab avalanches can be triggered remotely. A fracture in the snowpack can propagate along a weak snow layer until it reaches a part of the slope that is steep enough to slide. Antti Autti studying the snowpack in Northern Norway. Backcountry snowboarder and Suunto ambassador Antti Autti says he aims to plan his routes with as little exposure to avalanche danger as possible. “The further I can go without being in any avalanche terrain the better,” he says. After planning a route using Suunto app he syncs it to his Suunto 9 Peak Pro for navigation. “But no app alone is gonna keep me safe in the mountains. It is important to constantly educate myself and learn about snow safety so I can make the best possible decisions in the mountains,” he notes. Images by Jaakko Posti READ MORE 8 steps for planning trips in the mountains How to find your way in the mountains 8 avalanche safety checks to tick off before the ski season Follow Antti Autti’s adventures in his Arctic Lines video series where he ventures deep into the Arctic Circle in search of epic, unique and unridden lines in the frigid reaches of the Nordic north.

Learn everything you need to know to confidently explore the underwater world with just a mask, snorkel and fins. Dipping beneath the surface of the ocean opens up an incredible new world. It can expand our minds and bring us closer to our blue planet. With snorkeling, there’s no need for dive training or to carry heavy dive equipment. All you need is a good mask and snorkel, fins, a rash guard, reef-safe sunscreen, basic knowledge, and the new Suunto 9 Peak Pro so you can use the “snorkeling mode”. Are you planning on trying snorkeling for the first time? Or maybe looking for the best snorkeling locations for kids so you can share the experience with the whole family? Then before you go, read our 15 tips and keep everyone safe and ensure you all fall in love with snorkeling.   Become a good swimmer This tip seems obvious and easy to overlook. But the better swimmer you are, the more enjoyable and relaxing your snorkeling trip will be. And being a good open water swimmer isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. It requires training and practice. If you live far away from the ocean, or rarely go swimming in open water, then we recommend spending some time working on your swimming before your family snorkeling trip. Otherwise, you might find it strenuous rather than fun. Consider getting swimming lessons, and practice open water swimming. It’ll go a long way. Read more about open water swimming! Learn to relax in the water This tip is really a continuation of the previous one. Being a good swimmer isn’t only about fitness, strength and technique. Though those are important for snorkeling in open water. It’s also about a kind of trust and relaxation. That’s also why it’s valuable to get lessons and spend time in open water before your snorkeling holiday. The upshot is when we trust that our body can float, we no longer flail around in the water trying to keep ourselves from sinking. Instead, we can relax, let the water hold us and conserve our energy. This is another aspect of swimming we need to practice. It takes time to gain that trust.   Learn to breathe through the mouth This is something you’ll start to learn when you get swimming lessons. It feels unnatural to begin with. It’s helpful to become familiar with before going on your snorkeling trip. While snorkeling, you’ll breathe in air through the snorkel above the surface into your mouth, and out through your mouth. You can begin getting a feel for this before your trip by visiting your local pool and practicing with a mask and snorkel. Hold on to the edge of the pool with your face down in the water and your body and legs stretched out. Kick your legs to keep your body close to the surface and smoothly breathe in through the snorkel. By breathing calmly and deeply, you avoid building up C02 in the body. Breathe out through the snorkel slowly, too. Start at your own level, but try to work up to extending your in and out breath to around four to five seconds.   Get snorkeling lessons You’ve arrived at your snorkeling destination and the whole family is eager to get started. Slow your roll, and see if there’s somewhere you can get snorkeling lessons or get a guided session. You’ll learn more that way about gear, technique and what to look for. You’ll feel more confident and have more fun.   Get good gear Invest in good quality snorkeling gear and learn to fit it properly. This will reduce annoying interruptions and obstacles when you and the family are out in the water. If you’re renting gear at your snorkeling destination, try to rent newish gear that’s the right size.   Position your snorkel properly This is another thing you can practice in a pool. While snorkeling, the back of your head should be above the surface. Your snorkel should be on a 45 degree angle with roughly half the tube above the surface. Keep your head down and look a little ahead. This will prevent you from accidentally sucking in and swallowing water. Make sure your mask and snorkel fit you and are positioned properly.   Expel water this way It’s normal for a little water to get caught in the snorkel’s reservoir. It’s annoying because it interferes with having a smooth breath. If that happens you need to clear it. To do that, take a full breath and exhale forcefully to blow all the water out. Inhale slowly and gently. All clear!   Prevent mask fogging Next to having water in your snorkel, a foggy mask is the most annoying thing. It stops you from really relaxing and taking it all in. There’s tons of blog article explaining how to prevent this, but it comes down to this: Clean your new mask with dishwashing liquid before going snorkeling. Apply a defogging solution before your sessions. Rinse your mask once you’re back on land.   Go with a group or a buddy We don’t recommend going snorkeling alone. Ever. It’s safer and more fun to go with a group or at least with a buddy. That way you can keep an eye out for each other. And make sure you tell someone onshore when and where you’ll be going and when you’ll be back by.     Track your snorkeling session with a Suunto 9 Peak Pro The new Suunto 9 Peak Pro GPS sport watch is the fastest, most powerful watch we’ve ever made. It has a best in-class battery life and is the first Suunto watch to include a snorkeling - or mermaid sport mode. You can track your snorkeling session, including your dives down to -10 m, with this watch and it will tell you your depth while you’re out there. Back on land, you’ll be able to see more info about your dive in Suunto app, including a map of where you swam, distance, duration, heart rate and depth. Read more about how to use the snorkeling mode here!   How to dive down This is a skill worth learning because it will allow you to see marine life more closely and in detail. Just remember, don’t push it. The big risk of breath holds is they can lead to blackouts and having one underwater is dangerous. So consider getting professional lessons and start with shallow dives and follow your max depths and time it on your watch. Then gradually extend the times and depths as your capacity increases. Here’s how to dive down: take a deep breath (but do not hyperventilate) and roll forward by bending your upper body to a 90 degree angle. Your feet will be vertical above the surface and once they hit the water start kicking and swimming down. Make sure you equalize by pinching your nose to avoid any discomfort in your ears as the pressure changes. Always do this with a buddy who stays at the surface while you dive.   Keep it calm and sheltered your first time This tip is especially important if it’s your first time and you’re not familiar with swimming in open water. Choose a time that’s calm — you’ll get better underwater visibility that way too — and in an area that is sheltered from wind and swell. Then you won’t get pushed around as much and use less energy. Use MyRadar to keep track of the weather.     Learn to read the ocean This is another thing that takes time. It’s especially hard to learn if you have never lived close to the sea. One of the best ways to learn this is to talk to an informed local and ask them about the currents, tides, dominant wind directions and other things to look out for. With this local knowledge, you’ll be better able to choose your time and locations.   Prepare your body before taking the plunge You know your location and time, you have all the gear and are set to go. One last thing — get your body ready. Here is how: Make sure you are well hydrated. Drink plenty of water in the hours before your session. Don’t go out with a full or empty stomach. Have a snack shortly before you go. When you get to the beach, spend 15 minutes stretching and doing mobility exercises to warm up your body.   Know your limits You want to have a snorkeling experience that’s pleasurable and makes you and the family love it and want more. So know your limits and the limits of everyone you’re going snorkeling with and respect them. This specifically relates to depth, conditions and duration. If you or someone else in your group isn’t confident in deeper water, don’t push it. Stay in shallower water where they feel comfortable and will have a good time. Same principle for conditions; if a wind whips up while you’re out there and it makes it more challenging for your kids, then don’t be afraid to call it a day. There’s always tomorrow.

GPS is just one of many. It stands for Global Positioning System and is a US based global navigation satellite system (GNSS). There are four other GNSS and counting. With more of them connecting to your navigation device you’ll get better accuracy, more often, than with one only. That’s because it’s more likely a satellite will be directly above your position and able to send and receive clear, fast, unobstructed signals. How GNSS work It almost seems like science fiction: hundreds of satellites in orbit around the planet sending and receiving signals from billions of devices. But how does it all work? A GNSS system is a group of satellites strategically placed in orbit to generate and relay geospatial data via radio signals to connected sensors on the earth – including your Suunto watch. GNSS satellites orbit the planet once every 11 hours, 58 minutes and two seconds. Each satellite transmits coded signals containing the satellite’s precise orbit details and a very stable time stamp from an atomic clock. GNSS systems have three parts: Space: the satellites orbiting our planet. Control: This part includes ground stations located around the equator to control, monitor, track and communicate with all the satellites. Users: That’s you and your Suunto watch. Or your mobile phone. Your car’s navigation system. The entire IoT! Each device includes a GNSS receiver which comprises an antenna and a processor. The former receives the signal, while the latter decodes it. Five systems is better than one With the release of the Suunto 9 Peak Pro, navigating with a Suunto watch and accurately tracking the route of your activity has never been better. The GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou and the QZSS global navigation satellite systems all work with the new sleek and versatile watch. Moreover, the watch’s navigation system is controlled by a new Sony chip that requires less power, resulting in less drain on the battery. “The increased number of visible satellites that can be utilized simultaneously will improve the likelihood your watch positions you accurately,” says Markus Kemetter, product manager at Suunto. “This is especially the case when you’re in areas with obstacles, such as a city with skyscrapers or between steep mountains where part of the sky is blocked. “In addition to being more accurate, the Suunto 9 Peak Pro’s navigation system consumes less power giving the user longer battery life.” “Another super important thing affecting your tracking accuracy is the assistant data coming from Suunto app every time you sync,” Markus continues. “Keeping that up to date is crucial for accuracy – so sync regularly.” They work together by default With all those satellites orbiting the planet and connecting to your watch, it doesn’t matter whether you’re running in Manhattan or mountaineering in the Himalayas. You can count on the best accuracy of any Suunto device we’ve ever made. And there’s no need to fiddle with the settings to make any selections. In the Suunto 9 Peak Pro all five GNSS are simultaneously active by default. You don't need to do anything" Change your navigation settings to extend your battery life You can change the Suunto 9 Peak Pro’s navigation settings to extend its battery life. Performance mode This is the setting for optimal accuracy. In Performance modem, the Suunto 9 Peak Pro’s battery can last for 40 hours before requiring a charge. Endurance mode Selecting Endurance mode in your Suunto 9 Peak Pro puts the watch’s navigation chip into “duty cycle mode” – it sleeps half a second and switches on for half a second to get a fix. This extends the battery life and provides a less accurate, but still reliable track. The accuracy will, however, become poorer in more difficult terrain. Tour mode In this mode, the watch’s battery can last up to 300 hours. The mode extends the battery life by having the navigation chip on for 1–2 minutes every 30 minutes. This reduces the accuracy and is usually used by people who are traveling light and fast, can't regularly access a charge and don’t want to carry a battery pack with them. Lead image: © Philipp Reiter