Garmin Forerunner 170 vs Suunto Race 2
Our pick: Garmin Forerunner 170 takes it — 85 vs 84.
Both are strong — the call comes down to what you prioritise:
- Garmin Forerunner 170 — You coach runners or endurance clients and want Garmin's readiness and load metrics on a first 'real' training watch, without the €500 tier.
- Suunto Race 2 — You want a big, bright multisport watch with maps, dual-band GPS and multi-day battery for well under a Forerunner 970, with wrist heart rate you can mostly trust.
Garmin Forerunner 170
A software-led upgrade on the 165: Training Readiness, Training Status, running power and dynamics and Garmin Pay arrive at the entry price, on the same AMOLED and sensor. Street prices have settled near where the 165 was, but battery is a touch shorter and GPS is still single-band.
Suunto Race 2
The Race 2 keeps what made the Race our value pick (dual-band GPS, free offline maps, huge battery) and fixes its biggest flaw: wrist heart rate is much improved. The screen is larger and brighter and the case lighter, but it costs about 130 EUR more than the Race does now, and smart features stay basic.
Compare side-by-side
| Garmin Forerunner 17085Scorefrom€250.56Review → | Suunto Race 284Scorefrom€449.10Review → | |
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| Recovery / HRV | — | — |
| Subscription | — | — |
| Water resistance | — | — |
Prices are our researched reference points.
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