The story of the Suunto brand – From compasses to watches

Tags: About the brand | Suunto | Smart

30.3.2022 | 5 MIN | 1x comment

A Finnish precision that literally saved at least one human life. That's the Suunto brand. Although the brand had to go through compasses before finally making watches, there is no outdoor enthusiast who does not know this brand. And that is why we are taking a closer look at it today.

In 1936, Tuomas Vohlonen was seriously disappointed by the offer and accuracy of the compasses of the time. As an orienteering runner and a very innovative engineer, he didn't lose time and invented a compass filled with fluid, in which the needle was much calmer, more readable, and, of course, more accurate. He patented this solution and laid the foundation for the Suunto brand.

It feels the best underwater and in the mountains.

Primarily, Suunto has always focused on scuba diving equipment, for which it is also most famous. I don't know exactly how it happened, but I imagine it like this. One glorious day a letter came (or an owl) to the Suunto headquarters which said "I have tested your compass while diving. I chained it to my hand, and it worked even underwater." So, ever since then (the year 1965), the brand started to focus on devices for diving. By the way, this event really happened.

The first compass with the possibility to attach it to the hand.

From the beginning of its work in these waters (ie depths), Suunto is the king of diving "computers". The brand was the first to come up with computers on hand that calculated the time of the dive, etc. |And finally, going through the SME-ML and the spider series, the brand got to two final products: the EON and the D series. Those are manufactured even today.

The Suunto EON on the left, the Suunto D5 on the right.

In 1998, Suunto took on another element. The earth. Vector is an iconic sports model that has once again broken down all possible walls beyond the borders of the world. Literally. Although the highest mountain measures 8849 m, Vector can measure altitude up to 9,000 meters above sea level. In addition to the altimeter, the model also had a barometer, compass, and thermometer.

The iconic Suunto Vector

After that, Suunto continued with a series sharing a similar focus as Vector to sports testers and today's smartwatches. For those interested in how exactly it went, here is the timeline:

• 1965 – the first diving compass
  
• 1987 – the first computer able to calculate the length of the dive
• 1997 – the first diving computer in the style of everyday watches
• 1998 – the first Suunto outdoor watch
• 2004 – introduction of the t6 Suunto, a series for athletes (calculated EPOC and training efforts)
  
• 2007 – introduction of Suunto Core
• 2009 – introduction of Suunto Elementum
• 2010 – launching of Movescount platform
• 2012 – the first GPS watches by Suunto, the Suunto Ambit
• 2015 – the Suunto EON model introduction
  
• 2016 – the Spartan series introduction, later containing the Suunto 9 model

Tuomas Vohlonen – the founder of the Suunto brand.

A Finnish brand owned by China

Although Suunto is a purely Finnish brand, its ownership has not remained in Finland. The founder, Vohlonen died 3 years after the brand was founded and then the history of the ownership is quite unclear. In recent history, Suunto is most associated with Amer Sports (with Suunto since 1999), which owns many brands, including Salomon, Atomic, and Wilson. Since Amer Sports is also a Finnish company, everything falls under one state. But the coup came in 2018–2019 when the Chinese corporate ANTA Sports bought Amer.

At the end of 2021, another announcement came as Suunto broke away from Amer Sports (hence ANTA Sports) and announced that it had been bought by another Chinese corporation called Liesheng, under which it should operate fully from the spring of 2022. Heikki Norta (current CEO) has stated that nothing is changing for customers.

Heikki Norta – the current Suunto CEO.

An age-old duel in which Garmin moves in different directions and Suunto runs straight.

Garmin has its family, and Suunto has its own. That's how it was, is, and will be. Every brand has its advantages and disadvantages, of course. The next part is focused on smartwatches, or sports testers only.

The Suunto 9 Peak on the left and the Garmin Fenix 7X on the right.

If we look closely, it is worth mentioning the striking fact. If we want a Garmin watch, we only have three "series" to pick from, the Forerunner, the Fenix, and urban (Venu, Venu 2, Vívoactive...). Those series offer many subseries in which we can choose the ideal variant for us in terms of function and price.

16.3.2022
Suunto 5 Peak introduction – Different coat, same heart

Suunto, on the other hand, walks a straight line and offers 4 types of watches that replace any series and subseries from Garmin. They are marked by numbers: 3, 5, 7, and 9. I do like this simplification of selection as one doesn't have to go through a billion of information but has 4 clear series in front of them, with each one being specific. However, they all have common roots in renowned robustness and quality workmanship.

Anyway, whether you are a Suunto fan or a Garmin fan: beer tastes the same to everyone after the race, so there is no need for unnecessary emotions and resolute opinions about quality or other aspects.

Four reasons to go with Suunto

So first, the compass will always be accurate. That is a certainty that nobody can take away from you. But now in all seriousness. There are a few things Suunto simply can do:

• The first one is the design, which can evoke many emotions. The robust design that Suunto once defined was a big cult. The beautiful sophistication of Finnish steel and graceful curves cannot be denied. The Peak watches then have a sleeker design with reduced robustness.
• The second one is easier. You don't like Garmin, and you trust the European quality.
• Sports efficiency – a simple sports tester.
• It's a keeper that will last for centuries.

And why does Suunto have such renowned robustness and durability?

Compasses that can withstand shelling

So you're probably still wondering about the whole Suunto saving lives situation. The gripping story took place during The Winter War in 1939 when Finnish Lieutenant Norrback got hit by a Russian sniper. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a deadly shot, but the M-311 field compass caught the bullet, saving the lieutenant's life. And surely, Suunto has since been proud of its robustness.

Shot Suunto M-311 compass.

During World War II, Suunto supplied M/40 compasses for artillery officers and for all those in need of a precision instrument to measure azimuth or objects.

In the 1950s, Suunto embarked on the path of nautical and classical compasses. Its first navy compass was called K-12, had a brass case, and at that time was almost considered as an art piece. Thanks to this, the brand also supplied its compasses to more than 50 countries around the world.

Prospects for the future?

I might be engaging more fantasy now, but... I think Suunto will also grow under the new owner, and as it gets more financial support, it could grow to a larger scale. No, I don't just mean the case size, but it could also add a bit to the smartness, keeping all the sporty and great features it already has. Can you imagine Suunto with card payment, map data, and other smart features? I sure do.

Do you like Suunto watches? Let us know in the comments which would you choose and why do you prefer Suunto :-)