While the Suunto Ambit GPS watch might be a little bit serious for most types of backpacking, it could well be a lifesaver if you take your travelling to the extreme and venture off the beaten track.
And with two new updates the Suunto Ambit has gone to another level. The two updates, one available this month and one in November, particularly expand the watch's GPS and navigation functionalities.
While the popular Suunto Ambit already has features necessary for every backcountry skier, hiker, trail runner and mountain climber- a watch that combines a GPS navigation system, altimeter, 3D compass with advanced heart rate monitoring into a robust instrument for mountain and everyday use software updates provide even more features.
The soon to be released version 1.8 update includes on-screen route navigation, online routes to download and location displays. It also adds GPS time-keeping, chrono, constant backlight and five new languages. With this upgrade, you will be able to download routes online or input your own waypoints from your computer. When you get out hiking, running or biking you can see your route in real time, including starting point, position and the route ahead.
The next launch, planned for November, will offer up new training features such as interval timer and compatibility for both the Suunto Foot POD and ANT+ as well as the ability to download community-created features.
These two upgrades follow July's software 1.5 release which added route creation, navigation based on waypoints, a logbook, Find Back, as well as enhanced Views and GPS software to the Ambit GPS watch.
"The software upgrades on the Suunto Ambit are awesome," says five-time Coast to Coast champion and Suunto NZ ambassador, Richard Ussher. "They've enhanced the usability with some of the new functions. It's super easy to use and you can now access all your information on the watch. It's brilliant." Existing Suunto Ambit users can simply upgrade their existing software by connecting the watch to their computer, clicking on Moveslink and following the instructions.
