Customer Reviews

Timex Men's T5E231 Ironman 100-Lap Watch

5 star:		(187)
4 star:		(65)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I've had various incarnations of the Timex Ironman watches over the years. They take a beating and have great functionality. To me, this model has about the best practical value overall, being rather feature-laden without being overcomplicated. One distinct value of this watch over the "sleek" and similar models, is that it does NOT have an integrated band. Sure, integrated bands look cool, but if you wear the watch daily the band will start to break down after about a year and then you have to send it back to Timex for a new band. Not so with this watch. New users will have to take a little time to figure out the various functions of the watch, but once you get the idea, operation is very logical. The stopwatch is great for training, having more laps at your disposal than you're ever likely to need, multiple timers and alarms, and two time zones. These are also useful for training, but also just useful in general life (moreso than you'd think). In all, a solid choice for a digital sports watch, and an excellent value considering Amazon's prices. Highly recommended.

I've seen this watch in stores for $65. Bought it using my Amazon Prime for $43, free shipping, got it 2 days later. Its a great watch, especially the Flix system. It took me a short time to figure out the right way to flick my wrist to activate the light, but once I got it, it worked every single time. Besides the great features, its a good-looking watch also.

This is the fourth watch I've bought for running since I began to need reading glasses for near objects, and its the only one that solved all the problems aged eyes cause a runner. The FLIX option is fantastic and worked without a hitch, and is easy to see at night. The buttons are easy to see and work, and become intuitive within an hour of strapping the watch on, even while running. Its even fairly attractive, as digital watches go. Most important is that the numbers are large, clear, and easy to read even when running through the desert -- as an aside, if you ever get shin splints try offroad running, especially in deep sand: its easier on your legs, more effective as cardiovascular excercise and much more interesting. My only complaint (and its a small one) is that a digital compass would have been a nice addition for offroad runners, but I was able to fix that with a Suunto Clipper L Micro Compass (Luminous Bezel). Other than that this watch would get a five star rating, so if you run on the street, buy it.

This watch replaced a G-shock as my primary workout and everyday watch. I bought it primarily because I am now doing mostly interval workouts, both for running and in the gym, and wanted an audible indicator so I did not have to keep checking my watch.

PROS:
Decent-looking watch, except for the BOLD white-wall lettering on the band, but a Sharpie takes care of that. Numbers easy to see, controls easy to figure out and manipulate. Rubber strap does not absorb sweat or grab wrist hairs. FLIX feature very handy for night work, not overly bright. Light-weight, lower profile than typical G-shock.

CONS:
1. Weak chime - hard to hear over any noise.
The roads I'm running are reasonably quiet, aside from the occasional UH-60 helo flying over or diesel honey-truck going by, so most of the time I can hear the multi-tone chime signaling end-of-interval, but have missed it when a vehicle is passing by. Fugedaboudit if you're in a typical loud gym with music, cardio machines, TVs, and the grunters and plate-slammers, or your own mp3 player, Creative Zen Stone Plus 2 GB MP3 Player (Black).
2. Will NOT work for Tabata Intervals of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, repeat 8 times. I set INT 1 at 20 seconds, INT 2 at 10 seconds (REPEAT at end), then DONE. At end of first 20 sec interval the watch gives only the faintest "pip" before going into interval 2 - practically impossible to hear if you're involved in any intense cardio exercise. After a little experimenting I discovered that if the second interval is set below 15 seconds you'll only get that 'pip,' otherwise you get a more noticeable "ditty-dee, ditty-dee" signaling the start of interval 2. DOES give a very noticeable 10-second chime at end of interval 2 as it recycles to 1 and repeats.
3. Menu lag time. There's an annoying 3-4 second lag when switching to the CHRONO mode before you can press START. Does not seem to affect other modes. I'm impatient, and switching between CHRONO and INTERVAL modes while working out or running should not cost me time.

I might buy this again for a running watch, but for my primary workouts (RossTraining.com) I now use the awesome $20 Gymboss Interval Timer clipped to the band of my Ironman watch, set to VIBRATE 1-second between intervals. GYMBOSS does Tabatas perfectly! Train Hard!

This is already my 2nd TIMEX which I use for my swimming practices..
This one beats the older model (Timex 51931 Ironman Triathlon) with some interesting changes:

1) The larger digits on this model makes it easier to read the numbers (as some mentioned to do so when running) even when I am swimming, with a quick flick of the wrist at the turn, it's possible to see the minutes and the seconds.... The older model had smaller number, thus not making it possible to do this.

2) The navigation on this model became quite easier. It was already easy on the older model but this one included instructions on screen, such as NEXT, DONE, + or - in order to advance with your practices and training... Plus a chance to change the way you want to see the information of the your laps (Laps in the big digits and splits at the smaller one, or the oposite)
A Real nice add on by TIMEX.

3) A simple but effective wrist band "clip" (the tiny piece of strap that attachs the "extra" wrist band that is left after you put the clock on)
It has a piece of rubber on the inside that locks on at the wrist band and does not make it loose or even letting it go as some other watches do sometimes. This is more effective underwater I think, as it remains the way you set your wrist, as the older model I had did not quite held in place all the time.

4) Plenty of memory (100 laps is really a nice number), maybe more then most will need but, as a swimmer I use to count splits over 100m (or yards) with many laps during one training... It is quite usefull. I go easily on 10 to 15 laps of the memory in one training.
And with the date feature, that reminds when you did these times, it is quite usefull to keep track on the training with a spreadsheet, for instance... (as I do !)

5) A really big START/SPLIT buttom that is great to press when I am swimming laps and have to press myself at each turn at the pool.
Just perfect. Never a miss !

And the feature which was already at most of the models, of the repeat countdown, and the start of a chrono, or a repeat (what I use the most) in order race agains your average rhitym inside a certain time frame that you can set it up ! And of course the flix technology, which is very good to have it... Just flick your wrist (when you set it to ON) and it will show you at night all info that you need.

It is another great watch from TIMEX and it deserves a look, specially for the price. It is worth to pay a bit more if you are like me and uses a lot of the memory for the laps on swimming pool. Maybe for runners it can be quite a lot of memory, but the price difference is worth the change, for some of the options mentioned at this review.

This is a really good watch to have..
Will you definatelly like as we all are at these reviews.
:-) It deserves the 5 stars rating !

As far as watches go, it's hard to beat this watch for the money. I'm a very active individual, and have considered going to the next level with my watch (i.e. heart rate, altimeter, thermometer) but have been reluctant to pull the trigger on a $300+ watch. So I stick with this timeless (no pun intended) classic. At the end of the day, what makes the watch so good, is that it just works! Anyone who is remotely familiar with a watch knows that $43 is an excellent price for something that you'll have 5 years (at least). And for that money the watch does exactly what you want it to. The watch has a timer, chronograph, dual time zones, and excellent alarms (you can set 5 different alarms). It is my go-to companion at the gym or outdoors. I had a FLIX about 4 years ago that I lost, and replaced with this model. This model's Indiglo/Night Light/Whatever-you-call-it is phenomenal. My old FLIX was not easy to see with the indiglo at night, but this watch has fantastic contrast when the indiglo is on.

And the indiglo is easy to use without actually pressing the button every time. By pressing and holding the indiglo button for three seconds the watch goes in to night mode. In night mode any button press, or a flick of the wrist turns on the indiglo for three full seconds. It gives you an opportunity to check the time, your pace while running, whatever you may need. It may seem gimicky, but the FLIX feature is actually very nice. Imagine walking down the sidewalk, holding hands with your child or significant other, and you want to check the time. Just flick your wrist and look at your watch - no need to let go of their hand and press and hold a button. I know that seems minor, but it will amaze you how much you'll love the FLIX feature.

To comment on the alarms. You can have up to five programmed in the watch, and they are easily activated or deactivated with the push of a button. The alarm itself is great, because it's annoying as heck. It's more than just a beep-beep, it's this bizarre, loud almost music-like tone that is certain to wake you.

In a nutshell, you can't go wrong with this item. Would make a great Birthday or Christmas/Holiday gift for anyone high school and up.

BUY!

I've had Timex watches for years and thought this new "flix" enabled watch would be just the right upgrade when my last one died after 4 years and got my parents to buy me one. Not so. First I had one die about 2 months after I got it, at the beach the second I got in the water. I thought, oh that must have had a bad coating or something, and since it was a gift and I didn't have the proof of purchase or any of the stuff to get a warranty replacement, I just went ahead and bought a new one of the same model. It lasted 2.5 months. Timex replaced that one with a new one and it died again about a month and a half later. The Flix system seems to make it way less sturdy than the other Timex watches (or at least how they used to be) so that even ordinary arm motions can make the whole thing become unresponsive and then just lock up or die. I'm a geology grad student and I need to have a trustworthy watch that I don't have to take off when I go and do field work, but if these watches can't even handle me sitting at a desk, they're junk.

This is a great sports watch that is easy and intuitive to use. The interface is such that I picked up this watch and within a few minutes had figured out nearly all of the functionality. This watch has five clocks, a single shot timer, an interval timer with nine slots, a 100-lap/split chronograph and multiple alarms. The interval timer is a very nice feature and is excellent for timed interval workouts (i.e. 1 minute effort, two minutes rest, etc.) The chronograph works simultaneously with the timers, so that is nice. The face has large, easily visible characters and the FLIX system is very nice - you can turn on the Indiglo light with just a flick of the wrist.

The only minor nitpick I have (and this may be my failing) is that I can't figure out how to change which of the five clocks is shown by default - it always seems to show clock 1 and pressing the split button cycles you through the clocks. Really this is only a problem if you travel between different time zones a lot.

Overall, this watch exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it.

I've had it for only a couple of weeks - bought it at a certain nationwide store that has a crosshair symbol as the emblem - and then accidentally saw this page on Amazon, so I thought I'd review it.

It's very comfortable as another review said.
It looks great. At first, I was a little self conscious about wearing this big thing when I first got it home and tried it on, but come to think of it, it's not that much bigger than my Seiko diver's

I'd highly recommend it. Defintely happy with it, even though I won't be using most of the many features on it.

( But I'd sure like a watch with multiple timers one of these days. Even though I sometimes use the multiple Alarms on this thing, having multiple *timers* is way more useful to me, since I like to have a timer for 40 min for a lot of the things I cook, and another timer always set at 25 min to get the clothes in the washer, and then a couple of other timers always available for whatever comes up)

I suspect some of you shopping for this watch may be trying to replace the multiple countdown timers option of the Timex Ironman Datalink USB which is impossible to find now.

Before buying this I even tested it at Walmart and the timer was loud enough, could do repeat and could do times less than one minute. All the functions of the countdown timers of the Timex Ironman Datalink USB were there.

However, after I bought it I tried to configure some of the other timers. The interval timers are all linked together - you cannot run them independently.

The watch provides a regular countdown timer and then ONE 9 interval timer - so you can configure two independent countdown timers, but that's all.

It is relatively easy to set the countdown timer, so if you are not put off by setting timers before you run them, then it could still work for you.

It also does not have the rotary controller of the Timex Ironman Datalink USB, the most frequent part to fail.

Also, I found out I can get the Timex Ironman Datalink USB repaired or replace (out of warranty) for $37 through Timex's service department.