Customer Reviews

Suunto t3 Heart Rate Monitor and Fitness Trainer Watch (Black Polished)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The health functionality of the watch is quite nice - the ability to track workouts over time is helpful for those serious about trianing. Seeing progress in fitness level over time is also motivational.

Unfortunately the quality of the watch is subpar. The watch face is plastic and seems like it will easily scratch. The band on this particular version of the T3, though it looks nice in the pictures, is also cheap plastic. The spring loaded and locking clasp somewhat makes up for the cheap band. The inverted LCD on this model also looks cool in the pictures but makes the watch more difficult to read.

Overall I'm impressed with the functionality of the watch, and the ability to add additional features with pods is nice. But the price is far higher than it should be for a watch of this quality, and the pods are far too expensive. Other heart-rate watches cost 1/3 what the Suunto T3 does, and adding a $80 pedometer or $130 GPS only increases the cost without adding features that are really necessary except for all but the most serious training athletes.

Pros:
-Looks nice (I receive a lot of compliments)
-Heart rate monitor is comfortable, unobtrusive, and very accurate
-Lots of heart rate training modes

Cons:
-Cheap plastic face that scratches very easily
-The clasp on the band constantly pops open
-The buttons stick out so far that every time you bend your wrist back or bump your arm the watch changes to a different mode. This happens CONSTANTLY and is extremely irritating.
-It is very complicated to try to figure out all the different training modes
-No compass or altimeter settings that are common on most other Suunto watches

Bottom line:
Suunto has been making great watches for long enough that they should have been able to avoid the mistakes they made when designing this watch. This watch is definitely overpriced for the product that you get. If your looking for a good heart rate monitor you can find models by Polar with all the same features of the T3 for about half the price.

Previously had a Polar F6 (broke it changing the battery but I had worn that thing to death. The F6 was great but I needed something more advanced). I took this thing out of the box and within a minute or two of fumbling around with the menu system, I thought I was going to send it back. If you have come over from Polar or another make, then the menu system will seem counter-intuitive because it's so radically different. But if you take 10 minutes and read the manual and figure out what it does, this thing is a dream.

It provides TONS of data based on customizable settings. You can use a HR min/max as your limits OR you can set up 3 different HR "zones" (based on %. I have Z-1 at 60-70%, Z-2 at 70-80%, z-3 at 80-90%. You have to put in your max HR and you can use any number of programs on the web to derive that figure.) At the end of the workout, the watch displays a cool little graphic representing how much time you spent in each "zone." Even better, during the workout, the watch displays little indicators on the bezel to show what zone you are in. Look at the numbers on the watch face. You can see they range from 80-190 on the left. Let's say your zone 2 is set up as 145-170 BPM. If you are currently in that zone, the indicator lights show up at 145 and 170. If you go in to zone 3, the lights move on the bezel to delineate that range.

Of course, the watch provides cals, max, avg, etc. But there is also a system called "Training Effect." I'm still learning how this works but I think the basic idea is that the watch calculates how "hard" your workout was on a scale of 1.00-5.00. Read the manual. It explains it in better detail. But if you don't like this system or can't understand it, you can still use the watch as if it were not even there.

The watch is also supposedly adaptive. It tells you what your activity "class" is. You look in the manual to set a default "class." If you work out 7-10 hours per work, you are in class 8 (I think). Then, over the course of time, the watch figures out if you are failing to meet that class or exceeding it and adjusts accordingly. This, I think, will serve as a good motivator and keep me on the pedals. But, I haven't used it long enough to see it make any changes so this part of my review isn't that well informed.

I use this watch primarily for 2 activities- road biking and running. I bike approximately 110-150 miles a week and run maybe 20 (I'm more of a biker and run mostly as cross-training). I have run 6 miles with it and biked 60 with it so far.

Major complaint I suppose is that the face of the watch is CHEAPO plastic and it will scratch. I suggest the following- the watch comes with a piece of protective plastic on the BACK of the watch body. I moved that over to the front screen to protect it. There is a company called Invisible Shield that makes a military-grade protective film for the watch for 9 bucks. It's made specifically for the T3- it's not some generic garbage. Get it. Mine is in the mail.

Second major complaint is with the band. Suunto provides a cool band with a deployant clasp but you have to take a razor blade (yikes!) to the thing to size it to your wrist...dunno what they were thinking here. That process is a pain and you have to remove the little bar things that hold on the clasp. But, once you've cut the band it's fine. So don't mess it up!

I'm interested in trying this device with Suunto's bike skewer speed sensor. Has anyone out there used this combination?

Overall, this thing blows my polar f6 away (but then again, it's a different market level- I think the Polar CS300 is the closest equivalent...). If you can take a few minutes to set it up right and learn the menus, this thing is outstanding.



ARGH! Above is my original review. Here it is a few months later and the thing absolutely crapped the bed on me. First HR got stuck at "154" on a 3 hour bike ride. Then Suunto told me to put a new battery in the HR strap. That worked for about a day. Then it crapped out again. Sent it in the Suunto for repair. Suunto support was good and communicative and they paid for shipping. They informed me that I would get a new T3. Ok, fine. But they said they didn't know when this would be. I found this strange so I gave em a call. They said they couldn't send me one for over MONTH! What the heck? They did say they could send me a new one in a different color but I couldn't find that color online so now I don't know what I am getting. What a bummer! Letdown!!

I use to have a Polar F5, but once I saw that Suunto had come with a new line of fitness monitors I had to try them. Given Suunto's reputation for making excellent quality wristop computers I new they were onto something good, and the product lived up to my expectations. Althow It's not as easy to use as Polar products, It is whithout a doubt a far superior piece of equippment, whith a large array of functions a much larger memmory for saving trainig sessions and a beautiful overall design, Two thumbs up for Suunto!

I did not like the watch band on this watch, i cut it too small when i got it and had to buy a new adjustable band. And the band from the HR strap fell off, so i had to get another one of those too. The split numbers on the watch are really small and hard to read when you are running fast. THe HR seems to be alot more accurate and is very easy to read. The HR band is alot better than other ones i have used, my Timex one ripped twice. Overall its a good product.

The heart rate etc. functionality of this watch is terrific, if extremely complicated.

Any of the other T3 options would probably get *****, but I'm giving this *** because of the strap.

The clasp pops open all the time.
It's disproportionately expensive
Handlebar mounting is now impossible! (but the bike pod works really well)
Keeps pulling hairs out of my wrist

I'm going to invest another $20 and get one of the cheaper straps. That really defeats the purpose, doesn't it!

I'm very satisfied! The TE function is a great feature for better achievement, the backlight is very effective in the dark, and the design makes you not need two watches. I would buy it again if I was in need of a heart rate monitor!

Hi Everyone,

Dont go with the appearance of this watch. This watch appear attractive in picture but in reality its cheap plastic. the black clasp is plastic and the most dissapointing thing is you couldnt see the time or any data in the watch because its so dark. also light dose not illuminate the watch more than 3 sec. what good is the watch if you cannot see clearly the details. Please make a decision wisely and I would recommend not to go by the loook.

This watch was for my husband's birthday. He has had a Polar monitor for a while, but this has more features. I didn't get the foot pod at the time, but will soon. He likes the sleek look and that the time is very easy to see while running. I disagree with the other reviews about it being "cheap plastic"--most watches of this type are plastic or a synthetic rubber. The band size was easy to adjust, and all in all he loves it!!

The sleek shiny appearance is what first attracted me to this digital watch, but I soon discovered that the T3 is truly a portable statistician that is capable of measuring my heart rate and loads of other vital information in-order to give me instant feedback on the aerobic benefit of my workout.

Suunto is a company based in Finland that is known for precision electronics for the rugged enthusiast of biking, hiking, skiing, and scuba diving, but their products have the added benefit of looking really stylish. My triathlon training hasn't started, but I have been asked about my cool looking watch on power walks to the local pizza shop.

The face is large with easy to read smooth digits, has a great back light and allows you to customize what data is shown.

The five buttons on the side of the face are not very intuitive, and only labeled underneath the watch which requires a new user to carry around the manual or remove the watch until you become familiar with the settings.

The strap comes in a sporty orange color for $149 or a black polished version for $169. I choose the black model, because it looks like work friendly metal, but is a very comfortable plastic material.

The sizing of the watch was not an easy process. The clasp needed to be removed by separating tiny spring loaded screws and I had to cut the plastic band with scissors. Once sized it was very comfortable and my handy work was not noticeable, but I would recommend taking it to a jeweler if you are not comfortable with operating on your new gadgets.

In the box is the watch, a small direction manual and a heart rate monitor. It was a fun experience to moisten the strap, place it around my chest, and to see my heart rate appear on the watch. I am sure once my training starts this will be an even more valuable device.
I am also excited to try the add-on bike pod (+$49), walking pod(+$99) and GPS pod ($129) that will also interact with the watch.

The Suunto T3 is a smart looking watch with tons of features for those that like to know their exercise is paying off or at least that they look good while thinking of working out.

- Eric M. Strauss, ABC News