# Traverse Alpha and Tactix Bravo



## danscoular

Hello,

I know today has been designated Spartan Ultra Day Part One by Suunto, but I was wondering if anyone can offer some thoughts on the tactical side of GPS watches.

I have relied on a Suunto Ambit since they first came out, and their reliability has been rock-solid. The nice man from Fedex delivered a Traverse Alpha to me this morning, and it seems to have great promise. Look and feel is nicer than Ambit, and with the nylon strap, it is the most comfortable GPS watch I have owned.

I have looked, but failed to find any comparisons with the Tactix Bravo and I wonder if anyone can offer some unbiased thoughts. Principally GPS performance, use in the field, battery life, reliability, and so on.

Thanks!


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## airplanek8

I own a Suunto Core and I'm dying to upgrade to the Traverse Alpha or the Tactix Bravo, but don't have enough information on these. I'm looking forward to the answers we get on this thread to your questions, OP. 

Danscoular, would you be willing to place some photos of the Traverse alpha on your wrist from a few angles? I have a 6 inch wrist and really don't want my watch to look ridiculous. I feel like I'm already borderline with my Core. Thanks in advance!


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## HIKESOLO

Well, the Tactix Bravo is literally the Fenix 3, but with a couple minor tweaks. Accuracy and all the jazz will be identical to the Fenix 3.

I don't think either one will be as accurate as an Ambit 3 (GPS-wise) but they are both serviceable. I have owned both and can say that they are both super nice looking watches. I prefer the look of the Traverse Alpha slightly more and love the red backlight and auto shot-detection. Tactix Bravo has a longer battery life. If you are looking for an awesome looking tactical type watch you will be happy with either one. 

Regarding price, you can find the Tactix Bravo right now for $599.99 and that's about as cheap as you will find it. If you PM me I can tell you how to get 30% off of the Traverse Alpha (from a Suunto authorized retailer) which brings it to $398. So you either go with The Tactix Bravo with the longer battery life - but $200 more, or you go with the Traverse Alpha which at the price I can get it is probably the better choice. 

Overall Tactix Bravo definitely has more features since it's a rebranded Fenix 3, but I prefer the build quality and reliability of Suunto products. Tough decision!


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## danscoular

Airplanek8: ok, pics below...! I am not a photographer!

HIKESOLO: Thanks for the thoughts- I have taken delivery of the Alpha- what I am going to be trying to determine over the next few weeks is how far it's something I can use when out of the country and away from power (although I will be buying a Power Monkey.) I'd really like to know what real-world battery performance users of the Bravo/Fenix 3 get compared to the Alpha.

I am wondering which is going to perform better. If I learned the Bravo massively out performed the Alpha, I would consider a swap. But I really like Suunto's OS, and have found their GPS accuracy pretty good.


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## airplanek8

Hikesolo, 

Thank you so much for the info and the additional help! 

Danscoular, 

Sweet pics man! Fortunately enough, you have the black one which is the one I'm interested in! I might order mine tonight! Let me know how your experience goes with the watch as you try on the battery life, OS and GPS. Also, looking forward to hearing from those experts out there that play with these two watches daily!

Cheers!


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## danscoular

In case anyone is interested, here is my GPS comparison against the Ordnance Survey (UK) app. The grid ref and height are pretty much spot on. Weather was cloudy and the fix was instant. It's been consistently accurate over the weekend with (at worst) accuracy within 10 metres. Not bad for a watch!


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## Erik Ditzler

I have not used a Garmin Tacticx watch, but I have had a Traverse Alpha for a few months now, so Ill give you my impressions so far. I had a first gen Ambit previously, and liked it overall, but hated the antenna bulge. The GPS accuracy was great. I never used it for anything other than hiking, so there were a lot of sports features i never used. I used the heart rate monitor once or twice, and never again after that. My biggest complaint was that there was no way to sync it with my cell phone, so I rarely updated the satellite data. It became difficult to acquire a lock after not updating for months at a time.
The Traverse Alpha solved all those issues for me. The watch looks great (i have the foliage model, and love it). The GPS fix is very quick. I assume its because I acquire the satellite data so much more frequently now. 
I find the moon phase calendar very useful. Its always nice to know how bright the moon will be before you go out on a stargazing trip! I LOVE the fact that you can easily sync to your phone now. I have an iPhone, and have heard that it is much more reliable than the android sync now. Hopefully Suunto will fix that issue but if you use iOS you shouldn't have a problem.
The only complaint that I have is that I do not trust the watch band lugs. My band actually fell off when I was getting into a canoe. Luckily I was just pushing off, and not out on open water, or I may have lost my watch. I had not removed the band up to that point, so it was in the same condition from the factory. I put the pin back into the lug, and haven't had the issue since, but I can't say I completely trust it. I need to buy a NATO strap, so if it happens again, i won't lose the watch. 
Overall, its a great watch. The sapphire face doesn't show any scratches, and I have not been gentle to it. I think it will last a long time, if it doesn't fall off my wrist again.


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## danscoular

Hi Erik Ditzler, and thank you very much for your thoughts over time. Definitely agree about the speed of the GPS fix- very impressive. How are you finding the battery life?

Would be good to know what NATO strap you get for the watch. 

Surprising that the pin seemed to have come out easily- I have read elsewhere on this forum that the pins are very difficult to remove, and in fact in order to keep the integrity of the holes on the plastic arm, it's safer to cut the pins and replace them with new ones when changing the strap!


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## airplanek8

Excellent to hear it works good, guys! I ordered mine and should have it within two weeks! I can't wait! I'm also going to put on a NATO strap. Sucks to hear that the pins are not very secure. My question is how would the NATO strap make it more secure? Do let us know the strap that you end up choosing especially since I want one and I don't know where to get a good one. I think a one piece strap would be more secure than a two piece strap since you would still be holding your watch if only one of the pins came off, theoretically.

Cheers!


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## -J-T-A-

airplanek8 said:


> Excellent to hear it works good, guys! I ordered mine and should have it within two weeks! I can't wait! I'm also going to put on a NATO strap. Sucks to hear that the pins are not very secure. My question is how would the NATO strap make it more secure? Do let us know the strap that you end up choosing especially since I want one and I don't know where to get a good one. I think a one piece strap would be more secure than a two piece strap since you would still be holding your watch if only one of the pins came off, theoretically.
> 
> Cheers!


Nato strap (one piece) will prevent watch for falling in case one pin does come off. My Traverse (Black) band did come off many times untill one of the lug holes was clearly damaged. I then used super glue to create "fixed lugs" and after that no pin failures 

Naturally I am now using only nato straps (all straps cut so that it goes only once under the watch).


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## airplanek8

What spring bars does the watch use? Would these be okay for replacement? 

I want to go ahead and get the tool plus some bars for replacement just in case.

Thanks guys!


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## Pegasus

-J-T-A- said:


> Nato strap (one piece) will prevent watch for falling in case one pin does come off. My Traverse (Black) band did come off many times untill one of the lug holes was clearly damaged. I then used super glue to create "fixed lugs" and after that no pin failures
> 
> Naturally I am now using only nato straps (all straps cut so that it goes only once under the watch).


Did they just fall out or had you been removing them previously? Worrying if they are just falling out.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## -J-T-A-

Pegasus said:


> Did they just fall out or had you been removing them previously? Worrying if they are just falling out.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes, I did change orginal shoulderless pins to regular ones at first, but then went back to orginal ones. Band did come off when twisting arm for example getting up and supporting with hand.

Main reason for this problem is weak plastic/composite lug hole.


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## airplanek8

Someone with experience please tell us which spring bars are better for this watch. I've been looking at the 2.0mm, 24mm-26mm for the NATO straps. Any advice on these bars?

Thank you!


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## Panatime

I believe 24mm

Do you like Phil Collins?


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## HIKESOLO

airplanek8 said:


> Someone with experience please tell us which spring bars are better for this watch. I've been looking at the 2.0mm, 24mm-26mm for the NATO straps. Any advice on these bars?
> 
> Thank you!


The Traverse Alpha comes with different spring bars than the regular Traverse. I would keep the ones it comes with. I never had my strap come off even once on my Alpha or regular Traverse. The key is to not change straps too often (unless you are using nato/zulu straps in which case removal of the bars are not needed each time). If you swap 2 piece bands often you will for sure start to degrade the lug holes which may cause issues down the road.

Traverse (all variations) use 24mm straps. Stick with those.

If your plan is to use a 1 piece nato strap, just carefully use a removal tool the first swap. Put the bars back in (original bars) and you are good to go. Then you can slide straps in/out as you please. If your plan is to use a 2 piece strap, just consider being sure of which strap you want to put on because as I mentioned above if you swap it often it may degrade the holes.


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## airplanek8

HIKESOLO said:


> The Traverse Alpha comes with different spring bars than the regular Traverse. I would keep the ones it comes with. I never had my strap come off even once on my Alpha or regular Traverse. The key is to not change straps too often (unless you are using nato/zulu straps in which case removal of the bars are not needed each time). If you swap 2 piece bands often you will for sure start to degrade the lug holes which may cause issues down the road.
> 
> Traverse (all variations) use 24mm straps. Stick with those.
> 
> If your plan is to use a 1 piece nato strap, just carefully use a removal tool the first swap. Put the bars back in (original bars) and you are good to go. Then you can slide straps in/out as you please. If your plan is to use a 2 piece strap, just consider being sure of which strap you want to put on because as I mentioned above if you swap it often it may degrade the holes.


Ah, perfect! I was planning to get better Spring Bars since it didn't seem like the regular Traverse had good ones based on reviews. If the ones the Alpha brings are different from the regular Traverse as you say, then I'm guessing they might have done it to get rid of that fault (or minimize it at least). I'll also follow your advice since I don't have experience with watches, yet (except my core). I'll be getting a spring bar removal tool in order to place the 1 piece NATO straps and be able to change them from time to time without removing the bars. I certainly don't want the lug holes to degrade.

...I'll check on youtube on how to do this swap, but if you guys have a must watch video, let me know!

Thanks a lot, HikeSolo!


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## airplanek8

Panatime said:


> I believe 24mm
> 
> Do you like Phil Collins?


Thanks on the strap size! Phil Collins? I'm not very knowledgeable in pop culture! ...or is there some brand of spring bars with that name? lol.


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## Panatime

airplanek8 said:


> Thanks on the strap size! Phil Collins? I'm not very knowledgeable in pop culture! ...or is there some brand of spring bars with that name? lol.


It's my tapatalk signature.

If you saw the movie American psycho, you'd understand.  it's some sick humor....

Do you like Phil Collins?


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## airplanek8

Panatime said:


> It's my tapatalk signature.
> 
> If you saw the movie American psycho, you'd understand.  it's some sick humor....
> 
> Do you like Phil Collins?


Ahh, I see! I can't promise anything, but I'll try to watch the movie  I've had it recommended a few times before.

Cheers!


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## airplanek8

Would you guys recommend Da Luca straps? They seem like very good quality and high attention to detail on the straps. I have a skinny wrist, so I'm definitely doing the 1 piece strap since two straps between my wrist and the watch would make it protrude too much.


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## airplanek8

airplanek8 said:


> Would you guys recommend Da Luca straps? They seem like very good quality and high attention to detail on the straps. I have a skinny wrist, so I'm definitely doing the 1 piece strap since two straps between my wrist and the watch would make it protrude too much.


I've also noticed that Panatime had a few links on his signature, one of which led me to NATO Strap Co., where I would be able to get 2 straps (15 each) for the price of one Da Luca (30 each)! Any reason I should go for the expensive one? Seems like they are also high quality. By the way, is there a way to edit posts so I don't end up spamming the threads?


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## airplanek8

Hey guys,

So I got my Alpha Stealth! Couldn't be happier! The quality, feel and software remain great!
I should get my springbar tool tomorrow and I should be able to swap the original straps for the extra three I got from NATO STRAP CO.
I've added more photos for those out there who might still be looking for views of this fairly new product. I've also placed my Core in there for comparison, as it was one of the questions I was dying to get answered. Also, I have a pretty small wrist (6 inches), but I'm tall, have big hands and the watch still looks very nice! So, don't feel intimidated if you're like me! Hopefully this helps someone out there! Cheers!


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## Acidham

He traverse stealth owners. I am wondering if I am the only person in the world who is using movescount site to enter POI? Does anyone tried it and sync with the traverse stealth? 


Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk


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## tichy

Hello, also a question to the already-Traverse-Stealth-Owners: Is it possible to trigger the "shot detection" by a (certain) arm movement? The manual warns about that but I wonder whether one could use that feature deliberately, i.E. save a waypoint with a (surely interesting to watch) movement of the hand...

To me, the Stealth has a couple of features really appealing: night vision friendly backlight, moon age and of course it looks good.

Thanks and greetings from the north, Tichy


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## danscoular

tichy said:


> Hello, also a question to the already-Traverse-Stealth-Owners: Is it possible to trigger the "shot detection" by a (certain) arm movement? The manual warns about that but I wonder whether one could use that feature deliberately, i.E. save a waypoint with a (surely interesting to watch) movement of the hand...
> 
> To me, the Stealth has a couple of features really appealing: night vision friendly backlight, moon age and of course it looks good.
> 
> Thanks and greetings from the north, Tichy


I haven't noticed shot detection happening accidentally, but I think that's active only in the hunting activity. The backlight is a superb feature, both red and white, and you can adjust the brightness. Even in the field with it set to red and "very dim", the screen is clear. I tried this alongside the Fenix3 sapphire, and it feels like a much more robust and professional bit of kit, and the Alpha is much, much, much clearer. (Though to be fair, the Fenix 3 is a good watch.)

I noticed that the Alpha's battery lasts as long as Suunto say, whilst the Fenix was no better, despite the literature.


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## tichy

danscoular said:


> I haven't noticed shot detection happening accidentally, but I think that's active only in the hunting activity. The backlight is a superb feature, both red and white, and you can adjust the brightness. Even in the field with it set to red and "very dim", the screen is clear. I tried this alongside the Fenix3 sapphire, and it feels like a much more robust and professional bit of kit, and the Alpha is much, much, much clearer. (Though to be fair, the Fenix 3 is a good watch.)
> 
> I noticed that the Alpha's battery lasts as long as Suunto say, whilst the Fenix was no better, despite the literature.


Thanks for the reply! You are right, shot detection is active by default. I haven't found something related to de-activate nor enabling shot recognition in another mode. Reading the procedure to save a POI, it would be nice to get an anonymous POI through a "fistbump" :think:

And thanks also for clarification about battery life compared to the fenix 3. For hikes the GPS "good" might/should be enough, both accuracy- and battery-wise. The only think I would miss is the precise temperature reading through a tempe-sensor. I'm doing that regularly through my handheld GPS...


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## danscoular

airplane k8 How are you getting on with your NATO straps: was it easy to change? 

I have ordered one also from NATO Strap Co


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## danscoular

tichy said:


> it would be nice to get an anonymous POI through a "fistbump" :think:


I've been trying a few things out today. Shot detection is much more effective if you wear the Alpha on your right wrist of you are a right-hander! Gratuitous image...


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## tichy

Hello, just want to say that I got a Traverse Alpha today. Awesome build-quality, can't wait to try it on a run. Seeing the backlight (main reason I bought it) let me wonder why on earth nobody else thought of making it (very) dim: it's supposed to work in *dark* environments. For everything else the flashlight-mode is maybe more appropriate... Also the moon-phase is awesome and really easy to use -- very practical for paddling in areas with a tide worth to mention. One nitpicking: I really don't know how Suunto measures the thickness of their watches... I really can't see a significant difference between e.g. a Ambit 3 and the Traverse Alpha...

Greetings from the north, Frank


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## gmartinez9554

HIKESOLO PM sent.


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## gmartinez9554

Its been several months, so I wanted to read some updated reviews of either the Garmin Tactix Bravo or the Suunto Traverse Alpha. Im interested in both, but am concerned about their respected battery life. Which watch are you running and how hard are you using it and what kind of battery life are you getting out of your watch. I'm most interested in the GPS, sun rise/setting abilities, and night time modes. I honestly believe I dont need the Bravo as a Fenix 3 seems to have everything I would use, but I do prefer the finish on the Bravo. However, Im really leaning towards the Alpha overall.


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## tichy

I'm quite happy with my Alpha. The backlight is awesome, it is very nice to wear and navigating a route works much better as I expected -- see my night hike here, where I rarely used the head-torch: http://www.movescount.com/de/moves/move119315410. Sunrise/Sunset work flawless, even above the polar circle ;-) Battery life is my major concern, on every trip I take a battery pack with me. On longer trips you might need to charge while walking, I didn't try that (and would rather not do it while paddling on seawater). One other drawback: you can't change the settings of the sports-modes without network connection (i.e. cell coverage).

Greetings, tichy


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## gmartinez9554

tichy,

I was under the impression that the connection between the watch and phone was bluetooth? Why then would you need cell coverage to adjust the settings? Also, what setting was your gps set to on your hike and how long did the battery last? Where you using the feature which drops a pin every second or every minute? What kind of external battery pack did you use to recharge your watch? Ive been interested in Bushnell's powersync product to use for charging items, would this work for the watch?


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## pegase747

I got the Traverse Alpha Foliage, so I can't speak for the Garmin, however, for the look, I did not have to think much about it. I love the utilitarian look of the Traverse Alpha. It is a tough watch, with a very readable display, and it is made to last. I don't care for color screens and connections to phones unless for setting up the watch and the routes. I have mine on a 24mm heavy duty NATO from Natostrap co, and it has already seen a lot of hiking, running, swimming sessions.
It is holding very well except from some tiny scratched on the knurled bezel.

I couldn't be happier with my purchase.

Yes the connection between the phone and the watch is bluetooth but I am not sure you can get them synchronised if the phone is away from a data signal.

Battery usage :
I normally do some quick intense hikes around Hong Kong Island that last 3-4 hrs.
If I use the best accuracy after 4 hrs the battery is down to around 60%, while started with 99-100%, so the 10hrs are realistic but I haven't tried yet.
Note that the GPS accuracy can be changed on the watch ( only during navigation recording ) so you can go from BEST 1 sec fix interval ( 10hrs ), to GOOD 5 sec interval (20hrs), then to OK 60 sec fix interval, so battery can be saved ( 100hrs with 60sec fix in theory )

I noticed that GPS accuracy is hardly affected when you switch from BEST to GOOD. GLONASS is only used when BEST is selected.

Sunrise/Sunset :
I am not using that much but cross checking with the local observatory data it is spot on, as long as your position/time was updated with GPS.
You have the ability to set an alert for Sunset and/or Sunrise minus xx (120 to 00 minutes ) minutes.

Night mode :
The Traverse Alpha excels in that department.
for normal back lighting is has either white or red backlighting.
It has 4 modes : ( from the manual )
- Normal: The backlight turns on for a few seconds when you
press [LIGHT] and when the alarm clock sounds. This is the
default setting.
- Off: The backlight is not switched on by pressing a button or
when the alarm clock sounds.
- Night: The backlight turns on for a few seconds when you press
any button and when the alarm clock sounds.
- Toggle: The backlight turns on when you press [LIGHT] and stays
on until you press [LIGHT] again.

The red is great as it lights up the screen perfect but dos not blind you.
And obviously you ahve the flsh light function which works great to avoid bumping in furniture at night and is powerfull enough to get help avoiding obstacles in the dark, in or outside the house. Love it.

Worth noting is that all functions work the same with backlight turned on, compass, settings etc... I had a Protrek before, big improvement.
Also the backlight lasts for 8 seconds, unless you touch a button and it's starts counting 8 seconds again.

If you have anymore question about it please ask. I have used my intensely since 4 months and I absolutely love it.

the ABC functions are also very accurate and the auto baro/alti selection works really well.

edited for further info :

With no phone data signal, I could pair the watch with the phone on bluetooth and adjust the basic watch settings. Could not change the data in the sport modes. However I don't see it as a drawback. I prefer having my sport modes well prepared before my hikes or runs.

Hope that helps.
cheers


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## tichy

Yes, the connection between watch and mobile is bluetooth. Nevertheless the watch tries to get the settings from movescount before an attempt to change something on the watch. It only affects the sports modes, yes. So, if you find out that some settings of your sport settings are incorrect while on a trip, you can't change them without cell coverage.

I did a walk with the Traverse and the 60s settings here: pilotpirxs 2:14 Std. Wandern Move It's quite sufficient IMHO, unless you really need it spot-on and don't have that much error-margin. The hike mentioned above was done with the 1s setting...

I usually use some battery-pack suitable for mobiles, no specific brand... I suppose, as long as it's within USB spec, it should work. One of my powerbanks shuts of if it considers the gadget "full", so it charges the Traverse only to 95% or so.

Just to make it clear: I'm also very happy with the Traverse and my Garmin GPS is more in use by my 6 year old ;-) Especially the backlight is awesome. It is rugged and very comfy to wear. Switching Altimeter and Barometer is performed flawlessly automatic and "just works".


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## Philip Onayeti

Although needing internet connection to change sports mode configuration may seem a drawback, after a while you rarely change the settings. Once you have become happy with your set up, internet connection is irrelevant.


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## pegase747

Philip Onayeti said:


> Although needing internet connection to change sports mode configuration may seem a drawback, after a while you rarely change the settings. Once you have become happy with your set up, internet connection is irrelevant.


Fully agree with this statement.

If you go for a hike/trail run etc, you should be prepared. the minimum is to have your modes ready.

In the worst case, if you have no route planned, then the bread crumb and compass are here to help you not to get lost.

The sport modes just help you to display some info while you record your move.

cheers Pierre


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## tichy

Well, in my case I didn't have the Traverse very long. I needed to adjust a tiny bit on the "hike" configuration because Autopause was a bit annoying. Not having cell (data) coverage here isn't that uncommon. So, yes, now it's not a problem. But it's nice to know beforehand that you can't fiddle with the sportsmodes while doing a trip abroad.


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## pegase747

tichy said:


> Well, in my case I didn't have the Traverse very long. I needed to adjust a tiny bit on the "hike" configuration because Autopause was a bit annoying. Not having cell (data) coverage here isn't that uncommon. So, yes, now it's not a problem. But it's nice to know beforehand that you can't fiddle with the sportsmodes while doing a trip abroad.


That is right, Autopause cannot be changed on the fly, only with cell connected and with internet access.

However I never used Autopause, and do not plan to. I'd rather pause my move myself.
Very important is that you can adjust the GPS accurracy on the fly so you can save battery.

Traverse is still the best for me.

Cheers


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## tichy

pegase747 said:


> However I never used Autopause, and do not plan to. I'd rather pause my move myself.


That was exactly what I wanted to remove from the sportsmodes too  As I set-up the sportsmodes, I thought it was a good idea. Well, it wasn't ;-) And yes, can't pronounce it often enough: I'm very happy with the Alpha...

Let's see how the Alpha copes with neither sunrise nor sunset. But Suunto being Finish, I'd figure it will work...

Greetings, Frank


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## pegase747

tichy said:


> Let's see how the Alpha copes with neither sunrise nor sunset. But Suunto being Finish, I'd figure it will work...
> 
> Greetings, Frank


Not sure what you mean by this, The Alpha has Sunset and Sunset mode, even with Alarms settable for up to 180 minutes before the event in both case.

Cheers


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## tichy

I'm living above the arctic circle. In about 2 month we'll have the last sunset and the sun won't rise for two month. But since Finland is also located partially above the arctic circle, I don't expect problems there.

Tichy


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## pegase747

tichy said:


> I'm living above the arctic circle. In about 2 month we'll have the last sunset and the sun won't rise for two month. But since Finland is also located partially above the arctic circle, I don't expect problems there.
> 
> Tichy


Now I see what you mean, but then since it is based on GPS position, it may just work.

Cheers Pierre


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## Seattle

I as well opted for the one piece NATO on my Travers Alpha Foliage; I was able to find a nice OD green that is rugged and gives me some piece of mind that it will stay put.


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## Slickcheech

HIKESOLO, was seriously considering purchasing an Alpha and came across this old post. Was wondering if any Suunto authorized retailers are still selling it for $398? I've seen that price online but I'm sure they are not authorized sellers and I don't know how that would effect the warranty. Thanks!


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## user_none

Slickcheech said:


> HIKESOLO, was seriously considering purchasing an Alpha and came across this old post. Was wondering if any Suunto authorized retailers are still selling it for $398? I've seen that price online but I'm sure they are not authorized sellers and I don't know how that would effect the warranty. Thanks!


If you can snag one when still available, Suunto Watches | Dutyfreeislandshop.com is an authorized Suunto dealer.


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