Gear of the year: Suunto Ambit

When Suunto launched the Ambit it was dubbed ‘the GPS watch for explorers’. The truth is the built-in GPS is only half of the story. The Ambit also packs a barometric altimeter, compass, temperature sensor and an optional heart-rate monitor. It stores all the information it collects on your hike/run/cycle/whatever in its onboard memory. Once you’ve caught your breath, hook it up via USB to an internet enabled computer and log onto the dedicated website (www.movescount.com), where the captured information is presented with an easy-to-understand graphic interface. Using tabbed browsing, you can see your track overlaid on a Google map, with details of ascent, descent, heart rate, VO2, calories burnt, recovery time and so much more. The website provides a window on the deep data the unit records, access to configure the watch and even adds a social aspect to training through a Facebook-like community. Members share tips, advice, encouragement and uploadable training schedules.

The Ambit – and the online community that’s sprung up around it – scores for surpassing any other gadget I know of to maximise physical training to reach peak performance, and make friends doing it.