If the watch been idle for 60 seconds or more, the backlight can only be activated by a button press.

Backlight brightness affects battery life. The brighter the backlight is, the quicker the battery drains.

The GLONASS setting is a global setting. When you enable it, GLONASS is activated for all sport modes with GPS.

GPS accuracy and power saving

The GPS fix rate determines the accuracy of your track - the shorter the interval is between fixes, the better the track accuracy is. Each GPS fix is recorded in your log when recording an exercise.

The GPS fix rate also directly affects battery life. By reducing GPS accuracy, you can extend the battery life of your watch.

The GPS accuracy options are:

• Best : ~ 1 sec fix rate with full power
• Good : ~ 1 sec fix rate with low power
• OK : ~ 60 sec fix rate with full power

When set to   Best , your watch is using GPS at full power all the time. In full power mode, the GPS is able to filter out interference and get the best fix. This results in the best track accuracy, but also use the battery the most.

By using   Good , you can still get GPS fix every second, but the accuracy is reduced because the GPS is not in full power mode all the time. Between fixes, the GPS goes into a low power mode for a short time, as illustrated below.

This extends battery life, but it means the GPS has less time to find a good fix and filter out interference. So the resulting track is not as accurate as with   Best .

With OK, the GPS fix rate is reduced to once every minute. This significantly increases battery life, but results in a less accurate track.

Whenever you navigate a route or a POI, the GPS accuracy is automatically set to   Best .

Heart rate sensor

You can use a Bluetooth® Smart compatible heart rate sensor, such as the Suunto Smart Sensor, with your   Suunto Spartan Ultra   to get accurate information about your exercise intensity.

If you use the Suunto Smart Sensor, you also have the added advantage of heart rate memory. The sensor memory function buffers data if the connection to your watch is interrupted, for example, when swimming (no transmission under water).

It also means you can even leave your watch behind after starting a recording. For more information, please refer to the Suunto Smart Sensor User Guide.

Without a heart rate sensor, your   Suunto Spartan Ultra   provides calorie consumption and recovery time for running activities where speed is used to estimate intensity. However, we recommend using a heart rate sensor to get accurate intensity readings.

Refer to the user guide for Suunto Smart Sensor or other Bluetooth® Smart compatible heart rate sensor for additional information.

See   Pairing PODs and sensors   for instructions on how to pair an HR sensor with your watch. 

Intensity zones

Using intensity zones for exercising helps guide your fitness development. Each intensity zone stresses your body in different ways, leading to different effects on your physical fitness. There are five different zones, numbered 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), defined as percentage ranges based on your maximum heart rate (max HR), pace or power.

It is important to train with intensity in mind and understand how that intensity should feel. And don't forget, regardless of your planned training, that you should always take time to warm up before an exercise.

The five different intensity zones used in   Suunto Spartan Ultra   are:

Zone 1: Easy

Exercising in zone 1 is relatively easy on your body. When it comes to fitness training, intensity this low is significant mainly in restorative training and improving your basic fitness when you are just beginning to exercise, or after a long break. Everyday exercise – walking, climbing stairs, cycling to work, etc. – is usually performed within this intensity zone.

Zone 2: Moderate

Exercising at zone 2 improves your basic fitness level effectively. Exercising at this intensity feels easy, but workouts with a long duration can have a very high training effect. The majority of cardiovascular conditioning training should be performed within this zone. Improving basic fitness builds a foundation for other exercise and prepares your system for more energetic activity. Long duration workouts at this zone consume a lot of energy, especially from your body’s stored fat.

Zone 3: Hard

Exercising at zone 3 begins to be quite energetic and feels like pretty hard going. It will improve your ability to move quickly and economically. In this zone, lactic acid begins to form in your system, but your body is still able to completely flush it out. You should train at this intensity at most a couple of times per week, as it puts your body under a lot of stress.

Zone 4: Very hard

Exercising at zone 4 will prepare your system for competition type events and high speeds. Workouts in this zone can be performed either at constant speed or as interval training (combinations of shorter training phases with intermittent breaks). High-intensity training develops your fitness level quickly and effectively, but done too often or at too high intensity may lead to overtraining, which may force you to take a long break from your training program.

Zone 5: Maximal

When your heart rate during a workout reaches zone 5, the training will feel extremely hard. Lactic acid will build up in your system much faster than it can be removed, and you will be forced to stop after a few minutes at most. Athletes include these maximum-intensity workouts in their training program in a very controlled manner, fitness enthusiasts do not require them at all.

Heart rate zones

Heart rate zones are defined as percentage ranges based on your maximum heart rate (max HR).

By default, your max HR is calculated using the standard equation: 220 - your age. If you know your exact max HR, you should adjust the default value accordingly.

Suunto Spartan Ultra   has default and activity-specific HR zones. The default zones can be used for all activities, but for more advanced training, you can use specific HR zones for running and cycling activities.

Set max HR

Set your maximum HR from the settings under   Training   »   Intensity zones   »   Default zones .

1. Tap the max HR (highest value, bpm) or press the middle button.
2. Select your new max HR by swiping up or down or by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons.

3. Tap your selection or press the middle button.
4. To exit the HR zones view, swipe right or keep the middle button pressed.

Set default HR zones

Set your default HR zones from the settings under   Training   »   Intensity zones   »   Default zones .

1. Scroll up/down and tap or press the middle button when the HR zone you want to change is highlighted.
2. Select your new HR zone by swiping up or down or by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons.

3. Tap your selection or press the middle button.

4. To exit the HR zones view, swipe right or keep the middle button pressed.

   NOTE:

   Selecting   Reset   in the HR zones view will reset the HR zones to the default value.

Set activity specific HR zones

Set your activity specific HR zones from the settings under   Training   »   Intensity zones   »   Advanced zones .

1. Tap the activity (running or cycling) that you want to edit or press the middle button when the activity is highlighted.
2. Press the middle button to toggle the HR zones on.
3. Scroll up/down and tap or press the middle button when the HR zone you want to change is highlighted.
4. Select your new HR zone by swiping up or down or by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons.

3. Tap your selection or press the middle button.
4. To exit the HR zones view, swipe right or keep the middle button pressed.

Using HR zones when exercising

When you record an exercise (see Recording an exercise), and have selected heart rate as an intensity target (see Using targets when exercising), an HR zone gauge, divided into five sections, is shown around the outer edge of the sport mode display (for all sport modes that support HR). The gauge indicates in which HR zone you are currently training by lighting up the corresponding section. The small arrow in the gauge indicates where you are within the zone range.

Your watch alerts you when you hit your selected target zone. During your exercise the watch will prompt you to speed up or slow down, if your heart rate is outside the selected target zone.

In addition, there is a dedicated display for HR zones in the sport mode default display. The zone display shows your current HR zone in the middle field, how long you have been in that zone, and how far away you are in beats per minute to the next zones up or down. The background color of the bar also indicates which HR zone you are training in.

In the exercise summary, you get a breakdown of how much time you have spent in each zone.

Pace zones

Pace zones work just like HR zones but the intensity of your training is based on your pace instead of your heart rate. The pace zones are shown either as metric or imperial value depending on your settings.

Suunto Spartan Ultra   has five default pace zones that you can use or you can define your own.

Pace zones are available for running and cycling.

Set pace zones

Set your activity specific pace zones from the settings under   Training   »   Intensity zones   »   Advanced zones .

1. Tap   Running   or   Cycling   or press the middle button.
2. Swipe or press the lower button and select pace zones.
3. Swipe up/down or press the upper or lower buttons and press the middle button when the pace zone you want to change is highlighted.

4. Select your new pace zone by swiping up/down or by pressing the upper or lower buttons.

   

5. Press the middle button to select the new pace zone value.

6. Swipe right or press and hold the middle button to exit the pace zones view.

Using pace zones when exercising

When you record an exercise (see Recording an exercise ), and have selected pace as an intensity target (see Using targets when exercising ) a pace zone gauge, divided into five sections, is viewed. These five sections are shown around the outer edge of the sport mode display. The gauge indicates the pace zone you have chosen as an intensity target by lighting up the corresponding section. The small arrow in the gauge indicates where you are within the zone range.

Your watch alerts you when you hit your selected target zone. During your exercise the watch will prompt you to speed up or slow down, if your pace is outside the selected target zone.

In addition, there is a dedicated display for pace zones in the sport mode default display. The zone display shows your current pace zone in the middle field, how long you have been in that zone, and how far away you are in pace to the next zones up or down. The middle bar also lights up, indicating that you are training in the correct pace zone.

In the exercise summary, you get a breakdown of how much time you have spent in each zone.

Power zones

Power meter measures the amount of physical effort needed to perform a certain activity. The effort is measured in watts. The main advantage gained with a power meter is precision. The power meter reveals exactly how hard you really work and how much power you produce. It is also easy to see your progress when analyzing the watts.

Power zones can help you train with the correct power output.

Suunto Spartan Ultra   has five default power zones that you can use or you can define your own.

Power zones are available in all default sport modes for cycling, indoor cycling and mountain biking. For running and trail running, you need to use the specific “Power” sport modes to get power zones. If you are using custom sport modes, make sure your mode uses a power POD so that you also get power zones.

Set activity specific power zones

Set your activity specific power zones from the settings under   Training   »   Intensity zones   »   Advanced zones .

1. Tap the activity (running or cycling) that you want to edit or press the middle button when the activity is highlighted.
2. Swipe up or press the lower button and select power zones.
3. Swipe up/down or press the upper or lower buttons and select the power zone you want to edit.

4. Select your new power zone by swiping up/down or by pressing the upper or lower buttons.

   

5. Press the middle button to select the new power value.

6. Swipe right or press and hold the middle button to exit the power zones view.

Using power zones when exercising

You need to have a power pod paired with your watch to be able to use power zones when exercising, see Pairing PODs and sensors .

When you record an exercise (see Recording an exercise ), and have selected power as an intensity target (see Using targets when exercising ) a power zone gauge, divided into five sections, is viewed. These five sections are shown around the outer edge of the sport mode display. The gauge indicates the power zone you have chosen as an intensity target by lighting up the corresponding section. The small arrow in the gauge indicates where you are within the zone range.

Your watch alerts you when you hit your selected target zone. During your exercise the watch will pormpt you to speed up or slow down, if your power is outside the selected target zone.

In addition, there is a dedicated display for power zones in the sport mode default display. The zone display shows your current power zone in the middle field, how long you have been in that zone, and how far away you are in power to the next zones up or down. The middle bar also lights up, indicating that you are training in the correct pace zone.

In the exercise summary, you get a breakdown of how much time you have spent in each zone.

Interval training

Interval workouts are a common form of training consisting of repetitive sets of high and low intensity efforts. With   Suunto Spartan Ultra , you can define in the watch your own interval training for each sport mode.

When defining your intervals, you have four items to set:

• Intervals: on/off toggle that enables interval training. When you toggle this on, an interval training display is added to your sport mode.
• Repetitions: the number of interval + recovery sets you want to do.
• Interval: the length of your high intensity interval, based on distance or duration.
• Recovery: the length of your rest period between intervals, based on distance or duration.

Keep in mind that if you use distance to define your intervals, you need to be in a sport mode that measures distance. The measurement can be based on GPS, or from a foot or bike POD, for example.

To train with intervals:

1. Before you start an exercise recording, swipe up or press the lower button to open the sport mode options.
2. Scroll down to   Intervals   and tap the setting or press the middle button.

3. Toggle intervals on and adjust the settings described above.

   

4. Scroll back up to the start view and start your exercise as normal.

5. Swipe left or press the middle button until you reach the intervals display and press the upper button when you are ready to start your interval training.

   

6. If you want to stop the interval training before you have completed all your repetitions, keep the middle button pressed to open the sport mode options and toggle off   Intervals .

After you have stopped your exercise recording, interval training is automatically toggled off for that sport mode. The other settings, however, are maintained so you can easily start the same workout the next time you use the sport mode.

Language and unit system

You can change your watch language and unit system from the settings under   General   »   Language .

Logbook

You can access the logbook from the launcher or by swiping right when in the training insight display.

Tap on the log entry you want to view and scroll through log by swiping up or down or by pressing the upper right or lower right buttons.

To exit the log, swipe right or keep the middle button pressed. You can also just double-tap on the screen to return to the watch face.

Moon phases

In addition to sunrise and sunset times, your watch can track moon phases. The moon phase is based on date you have set in your watch.

The moon phase is available as a view in the outdoor style watch face. Tap on the screen to change the lower row until you see the moon icon and percentage.

The phases are presented as an icon with percentage as follows:

Notifications

If you have paired your watch with the Suunto app, you can receive notifications such as in-coming calls and text messages on your watch.

When you pair your watch with the app, notifications are on by default. You can turn them off from the settings under Notifications.

When a notification arrives, a pop-up appears on the watch face.

If the message doesn't fit on the screen, swipe up to scroll through the full text.

Notification history

If you have unread notifications or missed calls on your mobile device, you can view them on your watch.

From the watch face, press the middle button and then press the lower button to scroll through the notification history.

The notification history is cleared when you check the messages on your mobile device.

Outdoor insight

Suunto Spartan Ultra   constantly measures absolute air pressure using the built-in pressure sensor. Based on this measurement and your altitude reference value, it calculates altitude or air pressure.

Swipe up or press the lower button to view the current altitude and barometric pressure.

Tap to view the current temperature.

Swipe left or press the middle button to switch between altimeter and barometer trend graphs.

Make sure you have set your altitude reference value correctly (see Altimeter). The altitude of your current location can be read from most topographic maps or major on-line map services such as Google Maps. 

Changes in local weather conditions affect altitude readings. If local weather changes often, you should reset the altitude reference value regularly, preferably before starting your next journey.

Automatic alti-baro profile

Weather and altitude changes both cause a change in air pressure. To handle this,   Suunto Spartan Ultra   automatically switches between interpreting changes in air pressure as altitude or weather changes based on your movement.

If your watch senses vertical movement, it switches to altitude measuring. When you are viewing the altitude graph, it is updated with a maximum delay of 10 seconds.

If you are at a constant altitude (less than 5 meters of vertical movement within 12 minutes), your watch interprets air pressure changes as weather changes and adjusts the barometer graph accordingly.

Pairing PODs and sensors

Pair your watch with Bluetooth Smart PODs and sensors to collect additional information, such as cycling power, when recording an exercise.

Suunto Spartan Ultra   supports the following types of PODs and sensors:

• Heart rate
• Bike
• Power
• Foot

To pair a POD or sensor:

1. Go to your watch settings and select   Connectivity .
2. Select   Pair sensor   to get the list of sensor types.
3. Swipe down to see the whole list and tap on the sensor type you want to pair.

4. Follow the instructions in the watch to complete pairing (refer to sensor or POD manual if needed), pressing the middle button to advance to the next step.

If the POD has required settings, such as crank length for a power POD, you are prompted to enter a value during the pairing process.

Once the POD or sensor is paired, your watch searches for it as soon as you select a sport mode that uses that sensor type.

You can see the full list of paired devices in your watch from the settings under   Connectivity   »   Paired devices .

From this list, you can remove (unpair) the device if needed. Select the device you want to remove, and tap   Forget .

Calibrating bike POD

For bike PODs, you need to set the wheel circumference in your watch. The circumference shall be in millimeters and it is done as a step in the calibration. If you change the wheels (with new circumference) of your bike, the wheel circumference setting in the watch must also be changed.

To change the wheel circumference:

1. In settings, go to   Connectivity   »   Paired devices .
2. Select   Bike POD .
3. Select the new wheel circumference.

Calibrating foot POD

When you pair a foot POD, your watch automatically calibrates the POD using GPS. We recommend using the automatic calibration, but you can disable it if needed from the POD settings under   Connectivity   »   Paired devices .

For the first calibration with GPS, you should select a sport mode where the foot POD is used and the GPS accuracy is set to   Best . Start the recording and run at a steady pace on a level surface, if possible, for at least 15 minutes.

Run at your normal average pace for the initial calibration, and then stop the exercise recording. The next time you use the foot POD, the calibration is ready.

Your watch automatically re-calibrates the foot POD as needed whenever GPS speed is available.

Calibrating power POD

For power PODs (power meters), you need to initiate the calibration from the sport mode options in your watch.

To calibrate a power POD:

1. Pair a power POD with your watch if you have not done so already.
2. Select a sport mode that uses a power POD and then open the mode options.
3. Select   Calibrate power POD   and follow the instructions in the watch.

You should re-calibrate the power POD from time to time.

Points of interest

A point of interest, or POI, is a special location, such as camping spot or vista along a trail, you can save and navigate to later. You can create POIs in Suunto app from a map and do not have to be at the POI location. Creating a POI in your watch is done by saving your current location.

Each POI is defined by:

• POI name
• POI type
• Date and time created
• Latitude
• Longitude
• Elevation

You can store up to 250 POIs in your watch.

Adding and deleting POIs

You can add a POI to your watch either with Suunto app or by saving your current location in the watch.

If you are outside with your watch and come across a spot you want to save as a POI, you can add the location directly in your watch.

To add a POI with your watch:

1. Swipe down or press the upper button to open the launcher.
2. Scroll to   Navigation   and tap on the icon or press the middle button.
3. Swipe up or press the lower button to scroll down to   Your location   and press the middle button.
4. Wait for the watch to activate GPS and find your location.
5. When the watch displays your latitude and longitude, press the upper button to save your location as a POI and select the POI type.
6. By default the POI name is the same as the POI type (with a running number after it). You can edit the name later in Suunto app.

Deleting POIs

You can remove a POI by deleting the POI from the POI list in the watch or removing it in Suunto app.

To delete a POI in your watch:

1. Swipe down or press the upper button to open the launcher.
2. Scroll to   Navigation   and tap on the icon or press the middle button.
3. Swipe up or press the lower button to scroll down to   POIs   and press the middle button.
4. Scroll to the POI you want to remove from the watch and press the middle button.
5. Scroll to the end of the details and select   Delete .

When you delete a POI from your watch, the POI is not permanently deleted.

To permanently delete a POI, you need to delete the POI in Suunto app.

Navigating to a POI

You can navigate to any POI that is in your watch POI list.

To navigate to a POI:

1. Swipe down or press the upper button to open the launcher.
2. Scroll to   Navigation   and tap on the icon or press the middle button.
3. Scroll to POIs and press the middle button to open your list of POIs.
4. Scroll to the POI you want to navigate to and press the middle button.
5. Press the upper button to start navigating.
6. Press the upper button again at any time to stop navigating.

The POI navigation has two views:

• POI view with direction indicator and distance to the POI

• map view showing your current location relative to the POI and your breadcrumb trail (the track you have traveled)

Swipe left or right, or press the middle button, to switch between views.

In the map view, other POIs nearby are shown in gray. Tap on the screen to switch between the overview map and a more detailed view. In the detailed view, you adjust the zoom level by pressing the middle button and then zooming in and out with the upper and lower buttons.

While navigating, you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen or press the lower button to open a list of shortcuts. The shortcuts give you quick access to POI details and actions such as saving your current location or selecting another POI to navigate to, as well as ending navigation.

POI types

The following POI types are available in   Suunto Spartan Ultra :

	generic point of interest
	Bedding (animal, for hunting)
	Begin (start of a route or trail)
	Big game (animal, for hunting)
	Bird (animal, for hunting)
	Building, home
	Cafe, food, restaurant
	Camp, camping
	Car, parking
	Cave
	Cliff, hill, mountain, valley
	Coast, lake, river, water
	Crossroad
	Emergency
	End (end of a route or trail)
	Fish, fishing spot
	Forest
	Geogache
	Hostel, hotel, lodging
	Info
	Meadow
	Peak
	Prints (animal tracks, for hunting)
	Road
	Rock
	Rub (animal marking, for hunting)
	Scrape (animal marking, for hunting)
	Shot (for hunting)
	Sight
	Small game (animal, for hunting)
	Stand (for hunting)
	Trail
	Trail cam (for hunting)
	Waterfall

Position formats

The position format is the way your GPS position is displayed on the watch. All the formats relate to the same location, they only express it in a different way.

You can change the position format in the watch settings under   Navigation   »   Position format .

Latitude/longitude is the most commonly used grid and has three different formats:

• WGS84 Hd.d°
• WGS84 Hd°m.m'
• WGS84 Hd°m's.s

Other common position formats available include:

• UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) gives a two-dimensional horizontal position presentation.
• MGRS (Military Grid Reference System) is an extension of UTM and consists of a grid zone designator, 100,000-meter square identifier and a numerical location.

Suunto Spartan Ultra   also supports the following local position formats:

• BNG (British)
• ETRS-TM35FIN (Finnish)
• KKJ (Finnish)
• IG (Irish)
• RT90 (Swedish)
• SWEREF 99 TM (Swedish)
• CH1903 (Swiss)
• UTM NAD27 (Alaska)
• UTM NAD27 Conus
• UTM NAD83
• NZTM2000 (New Zealand)