Suunto T4

IrishBlue
Reviewed: 29 May 2010

Good motivator, helps prevent over training injuries.

T4C is a functional HRM which monitors expended effort and provides a schedule for following five days. Battery can be changed by user.

Polycarbonate watch face scratches VERY easily. At this price, the face should be scratch resistant.

Good piece of kit but compromised by poor finish and high cost of replacing flimsy strap which WILL break.

FinbarD
Reviewed: 22 February 2008

LOVELY WATCH, FATALLY FLAWED

Despite the weighty instruction manual the Suunto T3 is easy to use and its interface is intuitive. Though large, it looks much more 'normal' than other HRMs and could quite happily be worn for non-sporting activities. The batteries in both the watch and heart rate belt are easy to change at home with nothing but a pound coin (to undo the chunky screw fitting), and the waterproofing has survived one change completely intact.

Whilst on paper the Suunto T3 is a great watch, there are several reasons why i would not recommend buying one:

1) The buttons protrude from the watch considerably and are far too easy to press accidentally with your wrist or (even more so) glove. I am forever trying to check my heartrate only to see the display has switched to the distance or time screen.
2) The older footpod (2005/6 model, i believe it has changed now) is simply not secure enough. Mine has popped out of its own accord on two occasions, leaving an empty rubber case attached to my shoe.
3) Finding the right length for the cloth strap is very fiddly and all too easily slips out of place.
4) The coach function, if you are a reasonably well-educated runner, is a complete waste of time. It has nothing to offer and, in my experience, favours a very low intensity schedule, regardless of the info you input to it. It may perhaps be more useful if you use the watch for other sports (e.g. cycling) as well, but this is not the case for myself.

Probably best left for 'lifestyle' fashion rather than fitness purposes!

Gnarly Buttons
Reviewed: 19 February 2008

VERY WELL FEATURED WIDGET

Good-looking watch, lots of attachments for running, cycling etc, Coach feature is brilliant.

Distance measurement on foot pod seems variable. Connection to PC pod is rather flaky. Figures on screen can be a bit small to read when running in poor light.

A very useful training tool, possibly let down by some of the attachments

Thomas Styles
Reviewed: 19 October 2007

EXCELLENT HRM THAT HELPS YOU TRAIN MORE EFFICIENTLY.

Suunto Coach is an excellent addition to the Suunto HRMs. It helps you plan training sessions and more importantly recovery sessions. Using the Training Effect meter it is easy to work out how hard you have trained. What is particularly good as well is the watch's looks. It is not as big as the more Suunto Altimeter watches and looks just as good when not training.

It's compatibility with the Foot POD is a big strength and this allows you to accurately log runs without getting maps and pieces of string out. I haven't tried it with the PC POD but this is something I will be investing in soon.

The heart rate belt is comfortable and uses the Suunto ANT system which means it will not interfere with other HRMs in close promximity.

Perhaps the real bonus for this watch is the that you can change the batteries yourself with small cell batteries that are readily available.

The menu system does take a little bit of time to get used to but once you do it is relatively straight forward.

It is expensive but one thing you can guarantee with a Suunto watch is that it is built to last and represents the best workmanship in the business.

A very good and fashionable HRM that has great features and compatibility with other Suunto products.

Twin with the Foot POD for the most benefit to your training.