Suunto Spark Earbuds Review: Open-Ear Buds That Just Might Replace Your Running Watch

Built from titanium and silicone, the Suunto Spark open earbuds pair excellent sound and IP55 protection with running-tracking features — though their head-gesture controls falter the moment you start running.

These are earbuds aimed at people who would happily trade pavement for trails and who might be tempted by the idea that what sits on their ears could replace the device tracking their movements on a wrist or in a pocket. The Suunto Spark open earbuds have rapidly become my favourite pair to work out with.

Fit and Build: Light and Reassuring
With earbuds, fit is everything — and that matters even more for a pair designed around runs and long weekend rides. The first thing Suunto nails is the weight. Each bud comes in at 0.3 ounces (9 grams), so while these aren't the lightest buds around, the blend of titanium and silicone is spread well from the speaker unit through to the flexible ear hook. I'd call the fit reassuring without ever feeling like the buds are clamped onto the outside of your ear. I wore them with caps, regular glasses, and sunglasses, and none of those extras left the Spark fighting for space.

It's no surprise that Suunto has given the Spark some defence against sweat and rain. The IP55 rating doesn't cover the charging case, which is reasonably compact and slim enough to drop into a pocket or running belt if you need to bring it along.

Controls: Decent Touch Panels, Frustrating Head Gestures
Suunto offers two control methods, but neither is the kind I like to see on buds built for exercise. There are touch panels on the outside of both buds, which I usually find fiddly to use while running or with sweaty hands. Even Suunto admits single-tap controls can be set off by accident. Thankfully, the controls are well spread across the speaker units, and accidental triggers were rare. You can tap or hold them to skip a track back or forward, adjust volume, and play or pause audio. They also switch on metronome and workout tracking modes. That's all good, but I'd have liked them to toggle between EQ modes too.

The head gesture controls are less of a success. They rely on the same kind of standard motion sensors found in most smartwatches, registering head nods or shakes to answer or reject a call or skip a track. I've used these on Suunto headphones before, and my experience hasn't been great. If you're walking or sitting on a bike, they're perfectly fine. But when you run, your head naturally moves around a lot, and that ends up triggering the controls by accident. It quickly becomes annoying.

Sound: Up There With the Best
Bottom line: the Suunto Spark sound great. I've tested plenty of open-ear earbuds and headphones, and I'd rank the Spark alongside the very best, including Shokz, Anker, and Bose.

Whether it was the overall depth of the sound or the versatility of the fit, I came away impressed. They're even good at stopping wind from cutting through and drowning out podcasts or calls. A big chunk of that strong showing comes down to the EQ modes, which — as mentioned — have to be enabled from the Suunto phone app. This is the same app used to set up Suunto's watches. It isn't the prettiest, but the headphone section is fairly easy to navigate.

There are four EQ presets plus an extra custom option, handing you more control over the sound profile than other Suunto headphones do. The shift to air conduction is what makes that possible. Air conduction works by placing the speakers close to your ears and behaves much more like traditional earbuds. One of its main advantages over bone conduction is the far greater scope for sound customisation.

Suunto also throws in a spatial audio mode intended to deliver more immersive sound. Pairing the most balanced EQ preset with this spatial audio mode produced the most pleasing results. The sound is bright and energetic, and the bass never becomes overbearing. Whatever I was listening to, it was enjoyable.

Run Tracking and Metrics
You'll also find features in the Suunto app that have nothing to do with sound. That includes a run tracking mode able to capture some aspects of a run. There are advanced running metrics too, like cadence and average vertical oscillation. It counts steps rather than distance covered, so you'll need something else to track routes or pace.

I compared that data against a Garmin watch and heart rate monitor that serve up the very same metrics. The numbers didn't always line up. They did at least tell roughly the same story, as with running cadence, which dropped as I tired or eased off during a run. The way the data is presented and deciphered in the Suunto app still needs work.

You can also switch on the metronome, which produces a clicking sound to nudge you into holding a preferred running cadence or tempo. This felt like a feature that would help far more runners than those extra metrics will.

Battery Life
That might have something to do with available space and battery performance, which is fine. Suunto says you should get up to seven hours of battery life from a single charge. A fully charged case holds another 29 hours. A 10-minute top-up can buy you up to two hours of listening time.

How much battery you get depends on listening volume and the sound modes you pick. I found that an hour of listening with the Legendary EQ preset and spatial audio mode enabled saw the battery drop by 20 percent. Dropping the spatial audio mode for the same stretch pushed the decline closer to 15 percent. It's good enough, and at least on par with the competition.

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