Suunto t6

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CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
Detailed editors' rating

Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 reviews
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Product summary

The good: Excellent training software; collects comprehensive workout data; nice design; PC upload option.

The bad The bad: Expensive; problematic altitude measurements; oversize watch face may not appeal to everyone; no phone support in the United States.

The bottom line: This wrist-top personal trainer will win you over with its wealth of features and excellent software, but be prepared to spend the big bucks.

Specifications: Product type: Watch (combo device); Designation: Technical; Clock: 12/24 hour; See full specs

Price range: $399.00

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Robert Vamosi
Edited by: Rebecca Viksnins
Reviewed on: 11/23/2004
Released on: 07/01/2004

Let celebrities have their personal trainers. The Suunto t6 will help you take your fitness goals into your own hands. The first in a new line of Suunto fitness watches emerging from a partnership between Firstbeat Technologies and the Finnish Research Institute for Olympic Sports, this high-quality watch aims to do everything--and it almost does. You'll have to pay a high price for its features, though. The t6 is listed at $449.99.

The t6 is part watch and part heart-rate transistor belt. The transistor feeds data back to the watch, which, in turn, reports information on a number of bodily functions, including heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen intake, and energy consumption. Based on those vitals, the device computes a unique value: Excess Postexercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). EPOC analysis was born in physiological research labs and is essentially a way to judge the quality of one workout against another.

The watch face itself is uncomfortably large, and the LCD takes some getting used to. For example, the normal time display is just fine; however, when in Alt/Baro mode, the current time is shown in exceedingly small characters. Around the watch's face are five buttons that let you access various functions, such as activating laps and storing data into the watch's 1MB of training memory. You'll also get Suunto's standard, sporty feature set, which includes multiple timing functions, an altimeter, and a barometer. The t6 also comes with special USB cable (one end clamps to the watch itself), a necessity for downloading data from your watch to your PC. Pretty cool, eh?

Suunto also includes in the box a training software CD called Suunto Training Manager. From the software interface, you can manipulate data you've downloaded from the watch. You can monitor your training logs, design training programs for different fitness levels, and take three baseline tests for gauging your health status.

See more CNET content tagged:: watch,; transistor,; training,; function,; monitor

User reviews

Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 reviews
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Showing 3 of 5 user reviewsSee all 5 user reviews
4.0 stars

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful

"Geeky trainer's dream"

by Minh Nguyen on June 22, 2005

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4.5 stars

"Great training tool...solid build-quality"

by kamikaze_runner on January 18, 2007

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4.0 stars

"Meet your new training partner!"

by andrewebb on July 16, 2006

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Suunto t6

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