SYDNEY, Feb. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — February 2026 marks 90 years since the foundation of Suunto, the world-renowned Finnish brand that has long been at the forefront of sports and dive wearables, driving continuous innovation since its beginnings in 1936. Pioneering exploration has been in Suunto’s DNA from the start: for over nine decades, Suunto instruments have accompanied adventurers to the bottom of the oceans, across the wilderness, and to the highest peaks of mountains.
Suunto’s journey began in 1936 when Finnish inventor Tuomas Vohlonen set out to create a more accurate and stable compass capable of enduring the harshest Nordic conditions. His liquid-filled compass laid the foundation for a company defined by precision, innovation and a deep respect for the rugged nature of the brand’s native Finland and the demands it sets for outdoor adventures. After Vohlonen’s passing in 1939, his wife Elli Vohlonen safeguarded these values and guided Suunto through its early formative years until the 1950’s and cemented the legacy Suunto is known for today.
This spirit of Finnish functionality, quiet confidence, endurance and clarity of design, has shaped every Suunto instrument since.
Defining the outdoors – A heritage forged through adventure and innovation
Adventure is not defined by extremes but by mindset: the desire to push further, climb higher, dive deeper or simply step outside to discover something new. The Suunto community trusts the brand because Suunto has been present at every leap into the unknown, offering guidance when it matters most.
Suunto has repeatedly defined new eras in outdoor, endurance and diving technology. In 1965, the discovery that a Suunto compass functioned flawlessly underwater led to the first dedicated Suunto dive compass. In 1997, the Suunto Spyder became the world’s first watch-sized dive computer, bringing full dive-computer capability into a compact wristwatch.
The Suunto Vector, launched in 1998, created an entirely new category as the world’s first “ABC watch” integrating an altimeter, barometer and compass. It became a defining tool for mountaineers and explorers worldwide. Suunto was an early pioneer also in GPS wearables, developing the Suunto X9 and the G9 in the early 2000’s. The G9 was one of the earliest GPS wearables designed specifically for golf, offering advanced shot tracking long before GPS golf watches were common.
Suunto’s sport-specific intelligence has brought structure and clarity to training and exploration. Free offline maps worldwide in all Suunto GPS watches, and heatmaps for various sports have helped athletes discover the safest and most frequented routes. Innovations, such as automatic interval detection for swimming, real-time ski-and-shoot tracking for biathlon and automatic sprint recognition for cycling further illustrate Suunto’s commitment to understanding the true essence of each sport.
The brand has also been a pioneer in physiological analytics. Launched in 2004, the Suunto T6 delivered real-time HRV-based training load insights. Suunto introduced DDFA analysis to better quantify aerobic versus anaerobic effort, built one of the first systems capable of buffering HR data for later synchronization, and as one of the brand’s major innovations in latest years, Suunto introduced ZoneSense in 2024: an HRV-based real-time intensity guidance that requires no laboratory testing.
This innovation has always been shaped by the Suunto community, and bringing the outdoor community together and to the core of the brand is integral to Suunto. SuuntoSports.com, launched in 2002, gave athletes a space to log activities, share insights and join discussions, predating many later mainstream platforms. From the Movescount AppZone to the evolving SuuntoPlus Store, Suunto has consistently kept its platform open to athletes and developers who help shape the next generation of tools.
Towards the next 90
As Suunto enters its next 90 years, the company remains committed to advancing navigation, endurance performance, physiological intelligence, and material durability, while continuing to reduce its environmental impact through responsible operations and processes, repairability, and long-lasting product design. Suunto continues to be the brand of the outdoor community, and the brand’s mission is to ensure that adventure is for everyone and becomes accessible to more people, supporting a broader, more inclusive outdoor community.
Throughout the anniversary year, Suunto will host pop-up exhibitions and community gatherings, panel-discussions and adventurous community challenges in key locations worldwide. These events will showcase Suunto’s most influential instruments, share stories from decades of exploration and celebrate the adventurers who shaped the brand’s past and those who will define its future.
Learn more at: https://apac.suunto.com/pages/90th-anniversary-campaign
Suunto 90 years film: https://youtu.be/n79r2FGpq7E
About Suunto
Suunto is a Finnish brand, established in 1936. It was founded by Finnish inventor Tuomas Vohlonen, who pioneered a new standard for navigational precision. That same year, his innovation – a field compass – was stronger, steadier, and more accurate than any other handheld navigational tool of its time. It was the first of many Suunto products built to withstand the harsh conditions of our native Finland.
In the near century since, Tuomas’s spirit of innovation has continued to chart Suunto’s course. From some of history’s first dive computers and high-altitude wrist altimeters to today’s GPS watches, Suunto remains a trusted companion for outdoor adventurers across the globe.
Supporting explorers, athletes, and weekend warriors alike remains our core mission – providing the tools to dive deeper, climb higher, and push the limits of human potential.
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SOURCE Suunto
