Suunto t6 Review

About a month ago, my trusty old Timex watch finally passed on to the next life. I've had that watch for almost 15 years now and would certainly vouch for their moto: "it takes a licking and keeps on ticking". Still, its a sad day when an old friend like that needs to be replaced ;-)

So began my search for a new watch. Last year I had promised myself I would get a fancy new running watch with a heart monitor if I could manage to keep running regularly for 2 months. As luck would have it, I finally met that goal this summer, so it was time to make good on my promise! I checked out watches from Timex, Polar, and Suunto, and finally settled on the Suunto t6 and have been using it for the past two weeks.

Retail price is about $450 and I got it for about $300 from an eBay store. The watch comes with a heart rate monitor (which straps to your chest), a USB cable, and a CD with the Suunto Training Manager software on it. I swapped out the rubber watch band with a buckle that it comes with in favor of a cloth band that velcros (buckles alway dig into my arm and the cloth is just more comfortable).

The watch itself keeps track of date and time, obviously, and it also has a built-in barometer and thermometer. Calibrating the barometer is a bit counter-intuitive, but the default calibration seemed correct once I set my altitude properly. While in "barometer" mode, the watch displays a graph of recent pressure changes. We haven't had any drastic pressure drops around here recently, so I haven't been able to really test it, but it should be interesting to watch when a storm is coming. The thermometer doesn't seem to work all that well and generally reports a temperature significantly higher than it should, but I suspect its just warmer next to my wrist. Taking the watch off for a while makes it report roughly the correct temperature, so if I ever REALLY need to know the correct temperature I should be able to figure it out. More interestingly, though, the thermometer and barometer can work together as an altimeter while I run.

The "training" mode has typical stopwatch functionality with lap times. It also has a warm-up timer and an interval timer (which I haven't really used yet). While the stopwatch is running, it will also record altitude and heart rate information. Other PODs can also send data to the watch to be recorded. There are currently PODs for running and biking as well as a GPS POD that I'm thinking about getting at some point in the future.

After a workout, I plug the watch into the computer to download all the stored data. The software calculates a bunch of other interesting things from the data and personal parameters that you enter and then can graph them all and compare several workouts. The most interesting calculation is the EPOC value (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) which is basically a measure of how hard the workout was. Based on my current level of conditioning, this number is then converted into a Training Effect which lets me know if I'm training too hard or not enough. If I'm still tired from a previous run, the next run will be more difficult and have a higher Training Effect as a result. This helps me to make sure I have a good mix of hard and easy days in my workout schedule.

I used to be in much better shape than I am today. I ran cross-country and track throughout high school, but stopped once I went off to college. I've tried to start running again several times, but wasn't successful until recently. Looking back, the most important thing seems to have been telling myself to SLOW DOWN. Its going to be a while before I can run a 5 minute mile again, so trying to train at the pace I used to in high school just doesn't work. I started with a "Couch-to-5k" workout schedule and mixing walking with running really helped at the start. Now that I'm running with the t6, it helps remind me to jog slower to keep my heart rate down where it should be which is letting my run farther to build a bigger mileage base.

pros:

• Heart rate during a run is a good way to stay at the proper pace.
  
• EPOC/Training Effect is a great way to track training progress.
• The altimeter and barometer are kinda cool.
• Speed/distance/location tracking can be added with additional PODs.
  

cons:

• Thermometer doesn't really work next to my wrist.
• Some settings are a bit strange.
• It would be nice if it toggled between alt/baro modes automatically.
• The software kinda sucks. Suunto should open source it or create an API or something. There's lots of opportunity here for some sort of "virtual coach" that tailors future workouts based on past performance.

I'll report more as time goes by but, overall, I'm liking the watch so far.