Suunto t4c Heart Rate Monitor and Fitness Trainer Watch (Black Volcano)

by Suunto

Product Features

• Versatile heart rate monitor watch in contemporary "black volcano" color
• Displays current heart rate, average heart rate, and calories burned
• Training Effect function measures how hard your body is working
• Suunto Coach mode lets you create personalized 5-day training workout
• Interference-free digital ANT transmission; water-resistant to 100 feet; 2-year warranty

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

How long should you run? How fast should you pedal? How quick you should move? Answer these questions and more while receiving all the training guidance you need with the Suunto t4c heart rate monitor watch. The t4c employs a Suunto Coach feature to evaluate your athletic performance via a personalized five-day training program. Rather than spending weeks tweaking your workout regimen, the Suunto Coach quickly gets you on the right track by making intelligent training recommendations for the frequency, duration, and intensity of your workouts. And this, in turn, helps you get in great shape without wasting a ton of effort. Plus, if your schedule suddenly changes, the Suunto Coach will adapt by making a new plan that advises you which days to train and how, as well as when to rest.

The t4c also tracks your real-time Training Effect, a quick and accurate measurement of how hard your body is working at any given moment. By knowing your Training Effect, you'll enjoy a more intimate understanding of your body's workout "sweet spot," an essential tidbit if you want to achieve your targets without setting yourself back by under- or over-training. The Training Effect works intuitively: The watch first notes the info from your personal fitness profile, and then analyzes your physiological progress and translates the data into a simple one-to-five scale. For example, if you want to improve your aerobic fitness at a moderate tempo, you should exercise until your TE meter reads between 3.0 and 3.9, two to four times per week. To improve your aerobic condition more rapidly--but without the risk of over-training--you should push yourself harder once or twice per week, so your TE meter reads 4.0 to 4.9, with a few recovery sessions in the TE 1.0 to 2.0 range. The Training Effect is relative to each individual. While a novice runner might achieve a TE of 4.0 on a four-mile jog, a professional runner might have to complete an uphill marathon to get the same reading. In other words, both runners will have to exercise hard to achieve a TE of 4.0.

The Suunto t4c also offers interference-free digital ANT transmission, making it easy to pair your heart rate monitor with the included Suunto comfort belt. You can also use this secure connection to monitor your speed, distance, or cadence by pairing your Suunto t4c with an optional Suunto training pod. Training pods are small units that attach to such items as a running shoe or a bike to calculate your speed, distance, and even pedal revolutions per minute while you exercise. Pods are ideal for athletes who aren't satisfied with half-hearted training efforts, but really want to monitor their training routines down to the last detail. Finally, the t4c is equipped with an integrated training logbook that compiles your progress and personal stats. You can even conduct a more thorough analysis of your workouts by using the Suunto Training Manager Lite software.

Specifications:

• Color: Black volcano
• Stopwatch: Yes
• Max number of split times in memory: 50
• Timers (interval and warm-up): Yes
• Average heart rate: Real time
• Training effect: Real time
• Calories: Real time
• ANT digital coded signal: Yes
• Memory capacity: 15 logs
• HR limits and HR zones: Yes
• Suunto heart rate belt: Compatible, sold separately
• Suunto comfort belt: Included
• Suunto memory belt: Compatible, sold separately
• Water resistance: 100 feet
• Selectable metric/imperial units: Yes
• Menu-based user interface: Yes
• Dot-matrix display: Yes
• Backlight type: Electro-luminescent display
• User-replaceable strap: Yes
• Software: Suunto Training Manager Lite
• Low battery warning: Yes
• User-replaceable battery: Yes
• Suunto Coach personal training program: Yes
• Button lock: Yes
• Compatible with pods: Yes
• Watch: 12/24 hour
• Calendar clock: Yes
• Dual time: Yes
• Daily alarms: 1

Manufacturer's Warranty
Two-year warranty

About Suunto
Suunto was founded in 1936 by outdoors man and a keen orienteering enthusiast, Tuomas Vohlonen, who had long been bothered by a problem: the inaccuracy of traditional dry compasses and their lack of steady needle operation. Being an engineer with an inventive turn of mind, he discovered and patented the production method for a much steadier needle, better readings, and a new level of accuracy. By 1950 the company was exporting compasses to over 50 countries around the world, including Canada and the United States. In 1952, Helsinki was hosting the Olympic Games, and the torches carried to light the Olympic flame were Suunto products. The next step was improving the stability and accuracy of marine compasses. The first marine compass, the Suunto K-12, was launched onto the market in 1953. In 1957, Suunto started manufacturing hypsometers, which measure the height of trees.

In the 1960s, the compass range grew further and Suunto introduced its first diving compass--initiated by the divers themselves. A British sports diver attached a Suunto compass to his wrist and found that the device also worked underwater. Thanks to his feedback and initiatives, the new business category was found. Suunto's exports and business grew steadily and Suunto then focused on combining its strength in precision mechanics with new skills in electronics. Accuracy, reliability, and ruggedness have been Suunto's key values from the very beginning of the company history.

Today, Suunto is a leading designer and manufacturer of sports instruments for training, diving, mountaineering, hiking, skiing, sailing, and golf. True to its roots, Suunto is today the world's biggest compass manufacturer. Prized for their design, accuracy and dependability, Suunto sports instruments combine the aesthetics and functionality of watches with sport-specific computers that help athletes at all levels analyze and improve performance. Headquartered in Vantaa, Finland, Suunto employs more than 500 people worldwide and distributes its products to nearly 60 countries. The company is a subsidiary of Helsinki-based Amer Sports Corporation with the sister brands Wilson, Salomon, Atomic, Precor, and Mavic.

Product Description

Suunto T4C offer even a goal oriented cyclist the opportunity to train properly and get results. In addition to the heart rate monitor, the devices contain a real time TE display that directs your training more accurately than before. The Training Effect (TE) value notes not only heart rate but also heart rate variability and thus provides reliable information on workout intensity and the effect on your fitness. Monitoring the TE value also reduces the risk of over training. Planning and taking long rides, efficient workouts or recovery exercises is easier when you know exactly what their training effect is.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 5.3 x 3.4 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00141B526
• Item model number: SS013577010
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,641 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but Training Effect does not really work correctly, August 16, 2008

By 

Hank Nguyen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Suunto t4c Heart Rate Monitor and Fitness Trainer Watch (Black Volcano) (Sports)

Overall, the T4c does exactly what Suunto advertises. The heart rate monitor is fairly accurate (I have checked it against the HR monitors on many different treadmills). I believe the coach works well although I often feel like it schedules far too many runs of the slow and lengthy type. If I increase the activity class, the sessions become much longer with little adjustment in difficulty. Suunto should have included a coach that plans for more sprint or interval sessions rather than just plain-old-fashion run-at-a-gentle-pace-for-an-hour-or-more sessions. As it is, I have to pick a day to do sprints and just see how it affects the coach's decision-making afterward.

Another major problem with the T4c is the Training Effect (TE). This feature goes hand-in-hand with the coach. Basically it is a numerical rating of the difficulty of your session. Lower numbers are easy to achieve. Anything between 3 and 5 will require more and more effort. The T4c gives an expected completion time based on your TE goal and current heart rate. However this estimate is wildly inaccurate, bouncing between times that differ by at least an hour.

The T4c menu system is a bit confusing at first but I figured out how it works after just the first run.

As for the hardware, I have yet to see my screen get scratched like so many others on the site. However I haven't removed the plastic film that the product was packaged with. I'm still waiting for my InvisibleShield to come in the mail. That should prevent ANY scratches.

Overall, this is a decent product but I do not believe I will buy another Suunto trainer in the future.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Lovit I Lovit I Lovit I Lovit, June 1, 2009

By 

pomuA. "momof2grls" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Suunto t4c Heart Rate Monitor and Fitness Trainer Watch (Black Volcano) (Sports)

This is a sweet piece of gear. I've been using it for about a month now. It works great and gathers a lot of data.

The watch itself is comfortable the band works especially well, (mine is the black volcano). A friend has a Suunto T4C as well, (his is the black frost), but his band is a little different. I will agree with other reviews that the face is prone to scratching. With this in mind I use mine only for workouts. The interface isn't too difficult to figure out. Had it totally figured out after about 4 workouts. I saw a lot of reviews complaining about the complexity however with all the things this thing does the 5 buttons are easy enough to work with. My Timex was about as difficult to figure out.

The chest strap is OK. About as comfortable as a chest strap is going to be. It took a week or so to figure out exactly where to place the strap on my chest and how tight was tight enough. Once the chest strap placement is determined this thing rarely loses heartrate once it has captured it.

I could take or leave the coach function. It usually tells me to do long low intensity workouts or to rest. I haven't really done much with the coach function as a result.

The data that the T4C can store is pretty extensive. There is detailed workout data available for the 14 most recent workouts. This data includes duration, training effect, average heart rate, peak heart rate, calories burned, and lap times (if using the lap timer). I don't have the PC interface but transfer the infomation manually to a spreadsheet every few days. Long term data is available (totals) for the current week, the previous week, current month, and the previous 11 months. This data includes the number of workouts, total workout time, total running distance (Foot Pod), total bike distance (Bike Pod), total GPS distance (GPS Pod), and total calories burned.

I don't have the Foot, Bike, or GPS POD paired devices.

I've found it most helpful when lifting. I've set heartrate targets for starting my next set so my weight workouts remain in a cardio zone. Prior to having the watch I'd just wait until if felt like my heartrate had dropped enough. Now I have hard data to start the next set.

Spent a lot of time researching before buying. I recommend buying something really cheap that you won't mind throwing away when it fails/battery dies or buy something decent. This is something decent. Things that drew me to the Suunto T4C is a coded system. You won't get crosstalk in a spin class with others using a monitor. With the Suunto you can change your own batteries. Most of the Polar monitors have to be sent back to the manufacturer for battery replacement, (read the reviews). The only other monitor that I considered was the Garmin Forerunner 305. Picked the Suunto T4C based on word of mouth of a friend, and I have no regrets.

That's about all I have to say about that.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love it -- minor gripes, December 12, 2008

By 

J. B. Jones (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Suunto t4c Heart Rate Monitor and Fitness Trainer Watch (Black Volcano) (Sports)

I love the watch. It's really gives a great idea of the intensity and rest needed to improve performance. My only issues are that it takes a while to catch up to your actual level of fitness and training level. It starts you off at the lowest intensity level even if you select a starting fitness level that puts you at 5+ hours of training per week. One other thing I noticed is that it's good for use as a single sport watch, but if I use it for all of my workouts (I'm a triathlete), it gives an unusually long rest period (3-4 days in some cases). I'd suggest using it as a means to improve your weakest event if you're a triathlete. In that respect, it performs exceptionally well!