Over a typical week (work, 3–4 sessions, notifications), the two watches largely hold up. The Forerunner 55 plays the simplicity card: you charge it, you follow your life, you reconnect when the gauge drops significantly. You don't have any mode puzzles to deal with.
The Suunto 5 Peak gives you leverage. Performance, Endurance, Tour modes. You choose the GPS ping frequency, you accept (or not) a slightly lower precision to save hours of tracking. For a very long trail, a committed hike or a trip where the grip is far away, it changes everything. In short: for 90% of outings, the Garmin is sufficient; for the most extreme 10%, the Suunto reassures.
We are not going to embroider: the two watches are more than precise enough for an amateur. Yes, you will see traces that “undulate” in the city between two buildings, slightly smoothed curves in dense forest, a sometimes cut turn. But the distance remains consistent, the pace usable, the post-session analyzes relevant.
The real difference is the navigation. On the Suunto 5 Peak, you can load GPX tracks, follow a line, use return to the starting point. The Forerunner 55 doesn't offer that. If your world is the city and the park right next to it, you won't suffer from it. If you're willing to bury yourself on unknown paths, it starts to seriously matter.
Both watches can withstand the life of an athlete without worry: sweat, rain, light shocks, washing in cold water after training. Where it becomes more difficult is if you work on site, in the workshop, with repeated shocks, dust, abrasive materials. This is no longer really their territory.
In this case, I would rather advise you to look at dedicated models, like those that I have grouped together in this complete guide to choose a robust construction site connected watch. It’s another world, another specification.
On the Suunto side, robustness is not just a marketing argument. Some of the brand's watches are found on the wrists of professionals in the field. If you want very concrete feedback, you can read the military's opinion on Suunto watches in real conditions.
The Forerunner 55 is designed like a simplified coach. You find the daily workout suggestionsgenerated from your recent load, your history, your level. You turn it on, you look at what the watch offers, you validate. No need to become a physical trainer to structure your week.
You also have race time predictions (10 km, half, marathon), pace alerts, 24/7 heart rate, recommended recovery time. Everything converges towards one objective: to help you run better, more regularly, without burning out.
And behind it, the Garmin Connect ecosystem does the rest. Detailed analyses, segments, activity comparison, synchronization with third-party applications. To understand to what extent Garmin remains a reference in this aspect, I show it clearly in my comparison of Garmin Suunto Polar connected watches for sportsmen.
The Suunto 5 Peak does not try to coach you in the same direction. It focuses on the diversity of sporting profiles (running, trail, hiking, cycling, swimming, cardio room, etc.) and on the load/rest balance. You are less in a “pure chrono performance” universe, more in a “intelligent multi-activity” logic.
You can alternate sports without losing track, adapt the profiles, see how your body reacts to this variety. It feels like a real multi-use outdoor watch, not just a running watch in disguise.
In both cases, you have the expected modern base: optical heart rate on the wrist, sleep monitoring, stress estimation, daily activity monitoring. You can understand if you're doing too much, not enough, or if you're keeping the right pace.
But we must be clear about what is not there:
These are sports watches, not mini smartphones. Do you want to pay for your coffee and manage your calendar on your wrist? Bad product. Do you want to run, measure, analyze, start again? There, they are perfectly aligned.
I'm not comparing these watches from a desk. I put them on my wrist for a long time, in real conditions.
The comments on autonomy, comfort, readability or navigation do not come from a product sheet, but from sessions where I really ran, sweated and sometimes railed against one or the other. In short, it's sweat, not copy and paste.
You run 2 to 4 times a week. Road, track, clean paths. You're aiming for 10 km, half, maybe a marathon one day. You want numbers, but you don't want to become a slave to your screen.
There, the answer is simple: Garmin Forerunner 55. You benefit from an integrated coach, a clear screen, an ultra-mature ecosystem. You press start, you run, you stop, you analyze. And you start again, a little stronger, a little cleaner.
You love the trails, the height difference, the tough hikes. You spend time on the track platforms, you like the idea of setting out in the morning with a line to follow and seeing where it takes you. You're not just looking to beat a time, you're looking for terrain.
For you, it is clear: Suunto 5 Peak. Track navigation, battery management for long outings, varied outdoor profiles. The watch is not just there to validate a time, it is there to take you somewhere.
You run, you do a little trail running, sometimes hiking, you quickly get bored if you stay on just one type of terrain. You recognize yourself in both profiles. So, you block.
The key is not the technical sheet. It's your progression priority :
Choosing a watch only because it is €20 cheaper is a bad idea. You will live with it. You're going to look at it every day. You're going to trust his numbers. Better to take it adapted to your terrain than just adapted to your promotion.
Test carried out by David Detevefounder of L'Swiss Made Watch and independent watch tester for several years. I have worn dozens of GPS models (Garmin, Suunto, Polar, Amazfit, etc.) on my wrist on the road, trail, in the gym and in vanlife – with a simple obsession: what really holds up in the field, not what shines on the product sheet.
Article updated in November 2025 to include the latest autonomy information and recent field feedback.
For road running, simplicity and coaching, the Garmin Forerunner 55 makes the most sense. For outdoor, light trail, hiking and GPX trails, the Suunto 5 Peak takes the edge with its navigation and long-lasting battery profiles.
Yes, for occasional trail running on known or marked trails. You have reliable GPS, running profiles, solid battery life. If you want to follow GPX tracks on unknown routes, you reach its limits: in this case, the Suunto 5 Peak is more suitable.
It's suitable, but its interface and outdoor options may seem a little “too much” for a beginner who just wants to track their miles. If your main goal is to start running regularly, the Forerunner 55 is easier to use on a daily basis.
In classical use, the two are close. The big difference is Suunto's advanced autonomy management: with Endurance and Tour modes, the 5 Peak lasts much longer on very long outings by playing on GPS precision. For a “normal” week, the Forerunner 55 holds up without problem.
For hiking, the Suunto 5 Peak is more consistent. You can load a track, follow the line on the screen and use long-lasting battery modes. The Forerunner 55 can track your time and distance, but it doesn't offer true route navigation.
In the end, the real question is not “what is the best watch?” but : what type of progression do you want to focus your energy on?. Your time or your terrain. The rest follows behind.
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