Suunto T6D – Performance Review
Suunto may not be as well known as Casio but you will find that they have plenty of high tech watches on the market. We here at TrekWatches have become quite fond of Suunto’s hiking watches over the years so we thought it would be wise to test out one of their highest selling heart rate monitors.
At first, I must say the price doesn’t seem to match the look. I love when a watch looks like you have spent the money for a reason. This one is a very simple design but no surprise to me, it feels sturdy and well made. I have come to trust Suunto watches. I don’t need to tell you too much about its look as you can see it here and on the YouTube video below.
Lets take it for a test run!
I would suggest not trying to decipher the manual. Give it a quick scan and then try to get to know the watch by using it. The manual is a little confusing and I am kind of glad this doesn’t translate into the watch itself. If found that I learnt more by going though the watch’s modes and functions in the first 5 minutes then I did reading the manual for 45 minutes!
The watch appears to be quite accurate. It is comfortable on your wrist and is quite easy to read. You will notice though that it is a little bit difficult to read if you don’t have a lot of light. If you are inside and it is dim then it is a little faint. You can obviously fix this by pressing the light button but I would have preferred not to have to do this whenever I’m not outside or under a light.
The watch comes with the belt/strap for your sternum to aid in calculating your heart rate. These belts can sometime be a little uncomfortable and pinch on your sides. I had no such problem. Some reviews I have read spoke about the belt being so comfortable that you forget that it’s there. I do not totally agree with that. Even though it doesn’t feel like a burden, you can still feel it when you move. I would much rather not have it there but it is kind of crucial for getting accurate results.
If you are needing to you can also upload all of the data onto your PC/Mac. You can download the software for this off of the Suunto website. People use this to go through their training logs and study the data from their run. You can find out all sorts of stuff with this (a lot of these are fairly useless though). The key things are heart rate, pace, altitude, distances, training effect and lap times.
The T6d Running Pack
With the running pack you get the watch component, the chest strap and the foot pod. I didn’t try using the watch and strap without the foot pod. I trust that it does help improve the accuracy. You do have to make sure that you calibrate everything well before you use the three together. This was rather simple to do and it wouldn’t be an issue to do it before every run.
Other User Reviews
“I have owned the Suunto T6d watch, belt and foot pod for over a year now. I use them to run about three times a week. So far it has been great and I have no regrets. Easy to set up, accurate and quite comfortable. Things I don’t like though are the back light and the cables. The backlight is difficult to read when running at night or late afternoon. The computer cables are annoying to set up when you are sweaty and grimey after a run. Some sort of bluetooth connection would have been better.”
Tota (Orlando) – Amazon.com
“I had been using the Suunto T3 for quite some time and decided to upgrade to the T6d. After using this one for the past two months I can say that I am more than satisfied with my decision to upgrade. Despite the fact that I had to pay a bit more for this one, I would definitely recommend it. There are some things I would have preferred though. I would have like more storage for more training sessions. I also think that would be better if it had in integrated GPS and not the external foot pod.”
Alex (Unkown) – Facewest.co.uk
Conclusion
I would recommend this watch for people who do take their running/training seriously. It is on the expensive side for most heart rate monitors so if you are not needing all of the additional features then I would probably have a look at some of the cheaper ones on the market.
The training pack is a good idea. Compare to the price of the watch itself, it’s not that much extra and worth it for more comprehensive data. If you are looking to purchase then I suggest having a look at Amazon at the moment they have it for a discounted price. I would also check out other retailers as they can sometimes have better discounts.
At the moment Amazon have the running pack for 27% off.
If you have an OPINION, QUESTION or any other INFORMATION about this watch please feel free to leave it below in the comment box. Thanks!
(links on this page are sponsored affiliate links the owner makes commission if you buy after clicking these links. The owner has thoroughly researched it and provided his personal opinion only)
