Those familiar with Suunto will first think of their extensive line-up of sports watches, but theSuunto Wing bone conduction headphonesoffer a new angle of active use. In addition to the benefits of better environmental awareness without sacrificing audio, the additional LED safety lights and head movement controls help keep you active with even fewer interruptions.
In practice, the Suunto Wing provides a welcome variety of protection and benefits for many users, but it may not suit everyone due to the limitations of bone conduction headphones.
Suunto Wing
The Suunto Wing bone conduction headphones provide quality audio with both its aptX Adaptive audio codec and CVC (Clear Voice Capture) for better calls. Besides keeping ear canals free for better ambient awareness, Bluetooth 5.2, dual device connectivity, and optional headphone movement control ensure stable, customizable use for all scenarios. Red LED safety lights on both sides of the headphones help you be seen in low visibility conditions, while its IP67 water resistance further protects you from rain and sweat. Extended battery life with a portable power bank lets you adapt to your needs with minimal or maximum feature use.
Setting Up Your Headphones
When first working with headphones, the initial learning curve revolves around the essential shortcuts and connectivity process. With the Wing, especially for those wanting to limit usage of the app, the three onboard buttons can control all the major functions and different settings.
The Suunto Wing headphones can be connected either via Bluetooth 5.2 ornear-field communication (NFC). To connect via NFC, compatible phones can be connected by placing the left side of the headphones with the NFC logo close to the NFC chip inside the phone and looking for the connection prompt. For those looking to use Bluetooth, the method will slightly differ based on whether you’re aiming to immediately set up dual device connectivity.
Once established, occasional dual-device connectivity issues may pop up depending on the exact devices used. These can be fixed by repeating the connection process; it can be cross-checked within the Suunto app under connected devices.
Feeling Out Your Fit and Features
With bone conduction headphones, fit is crucially important both in the ears and around the head. While the Wing is designed to be one-size-fits-all in type, it’ll rest slightly differently on some wearers. While not ideal for all, the over-the-ear hook style is made for easy use and removal on demand.
To further comfort during listening, the headphones are lightweight at around 33g (~0.07lbs) thanks to their silicone and titanium materials. Bone conduction technology also reduces discomfort by keeping your ears open to listen to the environment, take in audio, and protect your hearing over extended use.
Minimalistic Suunto App
When first connecting the headphones to the app, you’ll have to get into the habit of tapping on the user profile icon and accessingMy headphonesfrom the list of options. While the app still puts primary focus on the watch and dive devices, the succinctness of the headphone portion makes it easy to access all of your essential information.
Compared to some of the more complex shortcuts on the headphones itself, making tweaks to important settings can be done in a few taps within the app. While the settings offer very limited options to explore, the easy-to-use layout and visual indicators make fine-tuning easy before extended outings.
Sound modes are limited to a simple normal and outdoor option pairing. While normal is suggested for most daily use scenarios, outdoor usage will provide a higher volume at the risk of potential noise.
Besides the benefit of open-ear headphones helping protect against accidents by allowing you to still hear your surroundings, the Suunto Wing offers added environmental control with red LED lights on both sides of the headphones and movement controls.
With the LED lights, there’s the option to choose between constant, flashing, and SOS light modes. In all settings, battery consumption will go up (around 50% battery life reduction) with an estimated use time of around four hours with the LED constantly on with music playing without the use of the power bank.
Since the LED lights aren’t at the front due to button and speaker placement, they can also be obscured almost completely by longer hair if it isn’t tied away. While the lights are suitably bright for general dusk and nighttime usage, using the flashing option can also help draw extra attention in less clear weather conditions. However, it’s not a replacement for additional safety features during more extreme activities.
When using head movement control instead, it’s not as much of a drain on the battery (around 15% battery life reduction). Battery life without the power bank lowers to an estimated 8 hours while also playing music. For calls, head movement control allows for a quick answer or rejection of a call, whereas for song playback there’s only the option to shake your head to switch to the next song.
For those opting to keep movement control on, it can inaccurately activate depending on your typical head motions or during exercises. While it can prove quite useful while trying to stay hands-free, the shake or nodding trigger isn’t ideal in all settings and should be tested.
Audio Quality for Music and Calls
To support a variety of audio types, the aptX-Adaptive audio codec offers low latency and good sound quality. With bone conduction headphones, audio does suffer to a degree by the nature of the design, with it not sounding as vibrant.
For the Wing, there’s a degree of less audio depth; it’s still suited for most ready to immerse themselves in music or an audiobook without losing complete awareness of their surroundings. Additionally, with a closer fit to your head, the audio quality does improve.
In testing, the automatic wind noise reduction of up to 30km/h (~18.6mph) for voice calls keeps the audio clear. Still, in loud enough environments, the headphones can be drowned out if you don’t heavily raise the volume. However, this comes at the cost of a more notable vibration at ear level depending on the audio being played.
Dual Microphone Testing Outdoors
The two built-in HD microphones on the right side use Clear Voice Capture (CVC) noise reduction to further help with noisy and windy conditions during a call. With both locations, the dual microphones do a good job of capturing audio while remaining largely unobtrusive.
As with the sound quality, the microphone does sound better the closer it is. While you may not be planning to use headphones as an impromptu microphone at mouth level, it’s an option if you want to capture louder, clearer audio.
In light conditions such as walking with some ambient noise distractions, the audio is also suitably clear. So if you’re pausing to take a call mid-workout or exploration, there’s little to be concerned about; it makes answering calls with the motion controls easier.
In a microphone recording during a call whilst jogging, audio is also kept generally clear thanks to the noise reduction technologies on the headphones. Due to the weight distribution of the headphones on your head, they’ll shift slightly during elevated motions such as running, which will impact the quality somewhat. This is more noticeable when venturing into more uneven terrain or off-road; you’ll want to keep in mind your range of motion when using the microphone.
Expansive Battery and Charging Practices
For those looking for more extended use, the Wing has the option of achieving up to thirty hours of battery life when combined with its power bank. Additionally, the headphones feature fast charging with ten minutes of charging, which results in three hours of audio or a full charge of the headphones within one hour with the included charging cable.
To help determine battery life, placing the headphones inside the power bank allows you to simultaneously view the remaining power of both by looking at their respective red lights.
While the exact battery life will depend on a mix of environment, settings, and use conditions, those looking to go off-grid or explore have a suitable extended audio option. When combined with the power bank dock, the headphones are still quite lightweight; they can be easily attached to another piece of gear or tucked away. You’ll still want to avoid any pressures that might bend the headphones unnaturally, but they can easily intermix with an outdoor set-up.
Should You Buy the Suunto Wing?
When deciding whether to purchase theSuunto Wing, you’ll want to weigh your exact use. With great battery life for bone conduction headphones and a lightweight build, it’s incredibly easy to take with you and use for an entire day. The additional features such as motion control and the lights can prove useful, but they may not be worth the nudge up to a nearly $200 price tag and should be weighed against your routines and intended uses.
Overall, if you’re looking for a pair of headphones with minimal presence and weight that will leave you more aware of your environment and offer more safety than standardly available, the Suunto Wing is a welcome option if you may tolerate some minor drawbacks.
