Customer Reviews

Timex Men's T56381 Ironman Triathlon 42-Lap Combo Dual Tech Watch

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This is a great watch for athletes with aging eyes who also like analog features. I like to know exact numbers when I work out but many watches have small digital numbers that I can't see without my glasses. I also like analog features. This suits that need. Times watches are very reliable and lots of value for the price. The indiglo night light works very well so you can see what time it is in the dark. Highly recommended.

I'm a wristwatch fan, and I have a modest collection of nice luxury watches, and I was looking for something inexpensive that I could use for "rough" activities where I don't want to damage my nicer Omega or Rolex watches. I wanted something with sport functions and alarm.

Most sports watches with digital displays (e.g. Casio or even other Timex Ironmans) are pretty ugly, they look out of place wearing anything but sweats and sneakers. But I was pleasantly surprised by this Timex model. You can turn off the digital display and it looks like a reasonable handsome analog watch, but one press and the display functions appear again. However, there are some drawbacks:
- the digits can be hidden by the thick hands of the analog display.
- The white on black digital display isn't very clear except in good light. You'll be using the Indiglo backlight often.

The rest of the watch is pretty nice overall. The casing is heavy, and thick but thanks to the comfortable rubber band, I don't find the watch annoying on my small wrist. The loop on the band to hold the end of the band secure stays put pretty well. The overall weight is hefty but not as overbearing as some other watches with metal straps. The finish isn't exactly Rolex quality, it looks like what you expect a $50 watch, the brushing is a bit uneven. The design is modern and smooth, and the watch looks a bit more expensive than it is.

The functions of the watch are pretty typical of any digital watch. There isn't anything about the watch I find confusing. As long as you walk through the functions once in the manual, you shouldn't have problems doing it again later without the manual. Usually you have to hold the top left button to go into set modes, and the other buttons go up/down or advance the setting mode. I could completely figure out the watch without the manual.

As for the sport functions, the three loop countdown timers allow you to set up intervals. For example, you can one loop to time running interval, and then a second loop for the walk break. The chrono function keeps track of 42 laps, and you can see each lap time in the recall mode. However, because the hands can easily cover the digits, I wouldn't suggest this watch if you really need to be able to read the digits at all times, stick with a digital only Ironman model

The Indiglo backlight just adds enough light to the digits to allow you to see the light in any lighting condition, but as I said, you'll more likely to use it in this watch because of the low contrast of the digits. The Alarm is average for a digital watch, it is good enough to wake most people when placed on the bedside (it isn't very loud worn on the wirst)

This watch is great. It has full iron man functionality and actually looks nicer than a geeky casio - unlike prior iron man watches. I probably should have gone with the steel band as it could be worn out as well. It has solid construction and easy functionality. The indiglo could be a little brighter but I am sure that would cost battery life.

The things I did not like about the watch:
Digital display not as bright as indicated in the pictures, it is basically a negative LCD display.
It is a bit heavy.
Resin strap.
Things I like:
Day, date, time all displayed at the same time.
Dual time zones.

I really do love this watch and get compliments on it all the time, but just a couple things bothered me that led me to leave a 4 star rating instead of 5.

- My resin strap started cracking within 1 year and I looked high and low in many store and specialty watch shops for a replacement. Turned out that the strap is pretty much custom and no standard Ironman replacement strap would fit it exactly. I had to call Timex customer service to obtain the replacement, so I got 1 extra just in case. I tried to replace the strap by myself, but it was SUPER difficult. Timex used a really tight non-springed pin and I was only able to get one of the pins partially out. I started damaging the metallic casing, so I took it to a watch repair shop to finish what I couldn't complete. The repairman thought it was going to be an easy task, but it wasn't. He said it took a long time to pry the pin out and it broke as he tried to remove it. When he finally got it out, he used a spring-loaded pin instead to make it easier next time. Oh yeah, and he replaced the strap.

- About a week ago I tossed the watch on the kitchen counter and the backplate fell off. I tried to snap it and tap it back in, but in wouldn't go. Seems like it's a tight fit. Looks like I'll be visiting the watch repair store again.

Other than these two issues, I love this watch. I think most men will enjoy this watch, just be aware that the straps are hard to find... and replace.

At first it felt really heavy, but now I don't mind at all, and I like that it feels built like a tank. It's comfortable, really cool looking, and looks like an analog watch, if you want. I've been wanting something like this for a really long time, so I'm glad it exists.

After a long hard search I found this watch, which seemed to be my perfect watch as it had all the features I wanted: a full face analog watch, digital watch with chrono and alarm, water proof enough to go scuba diving with, and looks that work for a professional engineer. This would be my 5 star watch for under $60 if it were not for one major downfall: the analog hands are UNRELIABLE (I originally gave this 4 stars, but because of the analog problem, I give it 1 star).

This is a *watch*, so unreliability completely destroys the usefulness of it. Luckily the digital portion is reliable, but that means I have to ignore the analog hands; which means... I could have gotten a superior digital only watch!

WHEN it works, this watch is awesome. The white analog hands are easy to read with a yellow/orange second hand contrasting nicely with the others. The tick marks are just clear enough to read, but not blaring as to detract from the looks of the watch. The silver body brings elegance and the black plastic band makes it scratchproof/rugged/sporty. And best of all, the black face gives it a clean modern look... and the digital readout can be turned off completely making it look like an analog only watch! (If only the analog was reliable...)

The digital watch is your typical set of digital watch features: dual time, date, chrono/lap, count down, 2 alarms. Strangely, it lacks an hourly chime, which I wish it had as I use it as "computer break reminder" while working at a desk. The beeping of the alarm/countdown is too soft too hear in all but the quietest environments, so using it as a wake up call doesn't always work for heavy sleepers.

But the deal breaker is the unreliable analog hands. After less than a year of use, the analog started to randomly act up. Strangely, the problem is very sporatic. 97% of the time, it's accurate, but woe is the day it decides to get stuck and makes me late for something important.

I've also had a dual function Armitron where the analog went completely out in a year. So, Armitron and Timex down, time to try Casio next.

Great design, nice features, the on/off feature for the digital display is great. HOWEVER, I had this watch for two months and buttons began mysteriously falling off. Maybe I got a lemon, but the buttons should be designed to stay on the timepiece.

I wanted to get a watch I could wear to work, wouldn't look out of place with a suit, and yet could still double as my workout watch. This fits the bill perfectly. It's actually more stylish and classy looking than the picture shows. As others have stated, it's heavy, but not that heavy. It feels solid and well-made. The digital display is bright and easy to read, even under direct sunlight. The strap is thick and seems very sturdy. It is not connected directly to the watch body, so you can get a replacement (theoretically, I haven't checked availability) if it ever breaks. Other things to note and that aren't listed on the description: 1) the movement is made in Thailand, the strap is made in China if this matters; 2) the strap buckle is made of plastic, not metal (this is the only thing I am disappointed with the watch); and 3) the battery is rated for 2 years.

I have owned 2 previous Timexs, each of them lasted over 10 years. In fact, my previous Timex is still running fine at just over 10 years old but the strap broke and it costs about $15 to replace it. For that much, I figured I'd just get a new watch. I did a lot of research into combo watches before I bought this one and I feel that you can't get a better deal with any other brand.

The biggest negative that people seem to mention with this watch is that the analog and digital times do not automatically sync. While it is annoying to have 2 different times, I think it can also be very beneficial for anyone who travels a lot. You can set one time to your local time and another to where ever you are traveling to and be able to see both at a glance. I travel a little for work and so I actually thought having 2 different times on one face would come in handy.

I strongly recommend this watch for anyone looking for a combo watch that is work and casual appropriate. It's a great deal and will probably last you for a very long time.

I have bought this watch three times and the analog functions have never lasted more than 18 months and once lasted just a year. I've kept buying it because I need one watch that works for me on runs and triathlons and still looks good in the office, but after three failures I'm probably going to look elsewhere. Can't understand why Timex can't figure out how to make the minute,second, hour hands work more than 18 months...if they could this would be an outstanding product.