Field notes 3 MIN READ
Suunto and Coros exports, step by step
Both write FIT, both hide the export in a slightly different place, and both are better sources than a synced copy. Where to look.
Both brands write FIT, which is the format you want. The only question is where the button lives.
Suunto
In the Suunto app, open the activity and look for the share or options menu on the activity screen. The export saves a FIT or GPX file through the normal share sheet.
If you use Suunto's older Movescount exports, those are GPX and work fine too.
Coros
In the Coros app, open the activity and use the menu in the top corner. Coros offers several formats; FIT is the closest to what the watch recorded, GPX is the safest if anything downstream is fussy.
Coros also has a web dashboard at trainingdata.coros.com where the same activities can be downloaded from a desktop, which is easier when you want several at once.
The general rule
Whichever watch wrote the activity is the best place to get the file. Every sync — to Strava, to Training Peaks, to anywhere — is an opportunity for elevation to be recomputed and smoothed by somebody else's rules.
That does not make the synced copy wrong. It makes it a second-hand account of the same afternoon. If you are printing the profile, use the first-hand one.
Then
Bring the file over and the route is drawn in your browser immediately. The file itself never leaves your machine; only the finished line travels with an order.
Questions people actually ask
- Do Suunto and Coros files work as well as Garmin ones?
- Yes. All three write FIT, and the format is identical regardless of who made the device. Position, timestamps and barometric altitude are all present.
- Can I export from the watch itself?
- No, not usefully. Both watches sync to a phone app and the export lives there.
- What if the export only offers a link rather than a file?
- Save the linked file rather than sharing the link. A share link points at their site; the file is what a print is drawn from.
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