Suunto T3d Review
Cheapest Retailer – Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
The Suunto t3d is one of the most stylish, practical and feature rich heart rate monitors on the market. Its simplicity is its main advantage and as well as making heart rate training easy and enjoyable the Suunto t3d also presents your heart rate to you in an intuitive graphical form and utilises the powerful ‘Training Effect’ feature which changes with your fitness and tells you exactly how intense you need to train and for how long in order to improve your fitness. This Suunto t3d review will examine the t3d’s features in more detail as well as suggesting ways in which you can use the t3d in your running, cycling or multi-sport training.
Suunto T3d
Heart Rate Monitoring
The beauty of the Suunto t3d is its simplicity. The watch is supplied with an easy to fit and adjust heart rate strap that clips on securely around your chest using the elastic strap. Once the watch is switched into training mode it connects to the Wireless Ant+ digital sensor in under three seconds and your heart rate is displayed in large sized digits in the centre of the watch face even when the stop watch isn’t activated.
When running with the Suunto t3d in training mode the watch continues to display your current heart rate in the middle of the watch face. You can then choose to display one of a few other training metrics at the bottom of the watch face. You can choose either lap time, average heart rate, calories burned or the time of day as the extra training metric and can cycle through the various options at the click of a button.
Suunto t3d and Heart Rate Monitor
The Two Main Suunto td3 Features – Training Effect and Heart Rate Intensity.
This wouldn’t be a very good Suunto td3 review if I didn’t talk a little bit about what makes the watch different to any other sports watch on the market. There are probably two main functions on the td3 that doesn’t feature on any of the Garmin Forerunners or Timex Ironman watches and it is these two features that make the td3 really stand out as an advanced training aid as well as a top of the line heart rate monitor.
Suunto T3d On the Wrist
Training Effect
The Training Effect feature of the Suunto td3 is one of the main features that differentiates it from all other heart rate monitors on the market and makes the watch an advanced training aid as well as a heart rate monitor. Using your heart rate data and a few other preset details, the Suunto td3 can tell you exactly what your level of exertion is whilst you are training and how long you have to train for to meet your desired fitness targets. So what is the Suunto Training Effect and how do you use it? This wouldn’t be a very good Suunto td3 review if I didn’t try to answer this question so here we go;
Firstly, there are five levels of Training intensities that you can choose from as follows:
- Level 1.0-1.9 – Improves recovery ability and in longer sessions (over one hour) this also improves basic endurance. This level does not significantly improve aerobic performance.
- Level 2.0 – 2.9 – Maintains basic aerobic fitness and builds base fitness for future harder training sessions.
- 3.0 – 3.9 – Improves aerobic performance if repeated 2 – 4 times a week. There are no specific recovery requirements associated with this level.
- 4.0 – 4.9 – Rapidly improves aerobic performance if repeated 1-2 times a week. Requires 2-3 recovery sessions per week as well as these 1-2 sessions.
- 5.0 Extremely high impact in aerobic performance is adequate recovery is allowed. Should not be done often.
You preset the watch with the training intensity level that you want to achieve for that session and then hit the start button on the timer. The Suunto t3d then displays a timer as well as the current training intensity, your target training intensity and the time you need to training at your current training intensity to achieve your target training intensity goal training session. This is probably better explained using the graphic below:
Suunto t3d Training Effect
Using the diagram above as an example a given runner has set the training intensity level on the Suunto td3 to 3.0. The watch displays the time that the runner has trained for so far (28mins 57 seconds), the current training intensity that the runner is training at (2.8) and the time that the runner needs to train at that level for (2.8) to meet their training target of a training intensity 3.0 session. The watch also graphically displays your current training intensity.
The Suunto td3 is very clever in that the training intensity that it thinks that you are training at changes to reflect your current level of fitness. The more you use the td3, the more information the watch builds up about your current fitness and it will adjust your current training intensity accordingly. What might have been a 4.0 session for you when you started using the watch might now be a 3.5 session after a few months of using the td3.
To give the Suunto td3 a helping hand it prompts you to pre set your current perceived level of exercise experience. This ranges from 1 – 10, with 1 being ‘no previous exercise experience’ to 10 which reflects you training for over 15 hours a week (obviously level 10 is only for IronMen and endurance athletes).
Heart Rate Intensity
As well as displaying your heart rate in big bold letters in the middle of the watch face, the td3 also has a digital bar that moves around the left hand side of the watch against a heart rate scale. This scale starts at 80 and stretches to 190 when the bar moves up and down against this scale it represents your current hear rate in beats per minute. This nifty little feature gives you a visual representation of your current heart rate and when used in conjunction with the numerical rate displayed in the middle of the watch means that there is no way you can fail to know what your current heart rate is even with just a casual look at the watch. This visual representation of your heart rate means that the Suunto td3 would be suitable for anyone that doesn’t really get on well with numbers or prefers working with diagrams instead of numbers (or for anyone that just gets a bit bored of the usual numerical heart rate display that features on most sports watches).
Sunnto t3d GPS Speed and Distance Recording
The Suunto t3d is compatible with one of Suunto’s high sensitivity GPS pods that you can use to track both speed and distance whilst out running or cycling. The GPS pod can clip onto your shorts or can attach to your arm using the supplied armband and connects to the watch unit using the digital Wireless Ant+ pairing which ensures that the watch pairs to your GPS pod and no other (good for race day crowds).
Water Resistance.
The Suunto has a water resistance of 30m which truly makes it a multi-sport training watch that is more than capable of surviving swimming pools and open water swims. There has been some talk over in the Runners World forums regarding people using the td3 for scuba diving but no one has yet pressed any buttons at a depth of 30m to test the watches claims!
Heart Rate Levels
If you have a specific heart rate zone that you want to train in then you can set this up on the watch before you head out on a run or cycle. If you slip above or below your target heart rate maximum or minimum then the watch will alert you with a chime and you can adjust your pace and intensity accordingly.
Interval Training
A popular feature of a few high end sports watches is the interval sessions feature. You can set up advanced interval sessions that have a predetermined period of high intensity exercise time set and a period of rest. Once this is set and you hit he start button, the watch counts down your period of high intensity exercise and then alerts you when you need to slow down and rest. At the end of the rest period the Suunto td3 then alerts you to start your next rep and will continue with this pattern until you hit the stop button.
Training Logs
The Suunto t3d can store up to 50 past training sessions for you to view in the log. The Log displays your last 15 training session’s average heart rate in graphical form and you can then dive into any individual training sessions in more detail by cycling through the different training sessions and laps.
MovesCount Online Training Portal
Recording all of these runs on the t3d is easy but as it can only record 50 training sessions it has a limited use when it comes to tracking your long term fitness goals. This is where the powerful MovesCount online training portal comes into play. You can either use a PC pod to automatically transfer all of your training data to the portal or you can enter your previous training sessions into the portal manually. Each training session is called a ‘Move’ and you can view and analyse all of your training data in graphical form so that you can track your long term fitness.
MovesCount Online Training Data Portal
Apart from the training side of the Movescount portal there is also a fun community side as well. You can ‘shout’ about your individual training sessions (essentially a comment on the session) and you can also search for, view and comment on friends Moves and Moves in your local area using the search function or Google Map’s style interface. You can also post your Move’s to facebook, twiter or your blog which is something that only Garmin’s Connect Portal offers out of all the online trainig logs.
Analyse and Graph your 'Moves'
Suunto td3 Review Summary
The Suunto t3d is one of the most advanced heart rate monitors available. Not only can you connect it up to a GPS sensor, bike sensor and heart rate monitor to measure all aspects of your training, but the unique and powerful Training Effect feature means that the watch tells you exactly how long you need to run for to improve your fitness levels and even adapts to your improving fitness with every training session that you record. Combining this feature with 30m water resistance, graphical heart rate level and graphical training intensity interface makes the watch not only a unique heart rate monitor but also one of the most powerful multi-sport training tools available to runners, cyclists and triathletes.
Cheapest Retailer and Where To Buy
This Suunto t3d wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t tell you where you can get your hands on one! The cheapest place to buy is online and the cheapest retailer by far is Amazon. Direct links can be found below.
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Suunto t3d Cheapest Retailer – Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
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For another take on the Suunto T3d see the review from UtahOutside.com
Thanks for the review. I have been thinking about making the move to one of the new Suunto GPS watches for a while now as in my opinion the Garmin watches are full of bugs and I have never met a person who has run with a Forerunner for any length of time without some sort of mechanical or software problem.
I have been trying to find out a little more about the Suunto ‘Training Effect’ wizardry that goes on behind the scenes of the T3d and have found your explanation very helpful although I am still not exactly sure how the watch is going to know if I am getting fitter or just training at a lower intensity!
Hi Ross,
Nice review! Currently I am using the Suunto T6c for my marathon training runs. Suunto has a broad range of great heart rate monitors. In the past I used a Timex, but I can really recommend a Suunto monitor. I never tried a Polar monitor so far, but I heard good stories as well.
Thanks,
Paul
Paul Koks recently posted..Mar 19- Long Island Marathon – Festival Of Races
Hi Paul,
Glad to hear that you are getting on well with your Suunto. I am looking into reviewing the T6c at the moment so if you have any specific feedback on the watch that you would like to share then please don’t hesitate to drop me an email!
Ross
Read your review and was about to but my T3s online…then I saw that Garmin are bringing out a new Forerunner 610 touch screen watch…then I saw rumours on how much the watch is going to cost and I decided to stick with the suuno!
Good review. I have a T3D and have been running with it over the past 6 months. I like the watch very much as a heart rate monitor HOWEVER I was in for a big surprise when I finally purchased the “Movestick” USB ANT device to upload my workouts to Movescount.
Before I go on, let me say that Movescount is a very robust tool and after I got used to it there is more potential there than with Garmins’ Connect.
OK, the kicker – The T3D ONLY records your average heart rate for each workout. What this means is that it does not record beat-for-beat (like the graph in this review shows) when you upload to Movescount. The watch will display real-time HR but does not record it. I have confirmed this with Suunto tech support. In fact if you look closer at the screen shots above you’ll notice the information (HR, EPOC, VO2, etc) was captured with a T6D. This might sound like a petty gripe but when analyzing a workout to compare to a similar workout 3 months ago or to track nutrition needs, beat-for-beat analysis is very important.
I just wish I’d have know this before I purchased or I would have gone with the T6D…Anyone want to buy a used T3D?
Hey Justin,
I would love to buy a used Td3, if it is still available. Please e-mail me at jennifermsivlers@gmail.com and we can talk specifics and arrangements. Thanks!
I’m a calorie counter at heart and I’m looking for something close at hand for my schedule. This watch will probably do the trick, barring any bugs or mechanical problems (thanks for the heads up Craig!) especially with the online portal to track my progress.
Suunto uses ANT protocol not ANT+ which means you cant pair (and share) with other manufacturers sensors like Garmin, VDO, Timex or Bryton. It is the reason I am getting rid of my T6C
Richard recently posted..Bryton Cardio 30 review (the first few days)
Is there any problem to read data from BLACK MOVE and BLACK POLISHED model of t3d?
I found that “black on white” screen is easier to read than “white on black”.
Does anybody has knowlage and comparision about it?
i really like BLACK MOVE model, but i’m afraid that i won,t see data on the screen during a training, when you really need to do it quickly.
thanks
Few addition to the review by a user:
- These watches (T3, T3c, T3d) have major problems with water – cheapest Walmart watch outperforms them… Suunto however was relatively good at replacing them every time water entered the watch.. Until now, when the watch just flew off my arm during windsurfing, so I can’t really send it back anymore…
- The signal from the heart rate belt only travels in close proximity to the watch, thus even sitting on a stationary bike with the arm being a bit to the side rotated outwards, watch misses all the data… Swinging your arm around – forget it…
- I think the TE estimation of the watch is bogus… If your activity level is set lower, your TE goes up very quickly, while if you set the activity level high, TE goes up much slower, regardless of your fitness level… (since the watch can’t record any water activity – it will underscore your activity level too…)
- The screen of the watch is a really soft plastic, that scratches super easy… Suunto even sells scratch removing polishing liquid…
- The comfort belts clicking mechanism is reliant on a 1 mm plastic bit, which breaks off in hurry- and Suunto won’t replace it even under warranty…
I have a question to user’s: what do you think about precision of calories burned monitor? I’m squash player and suunto showed that I can burn more than 1500kcal per hour. It seems very impossible to me. My activity class is set to 7,5. Thanks for answers!
I have used the t3d for three years and over 3000 miles of cycling in addition to hiking and surfing. Each year I replace the batteries and it always works. I have bumped the face several times and looked expecting to see scratches but I must have the watch with the “magic” plastic because it still looks like it has never been worn. I love it!
I do triathlon, and liked to buy suunto road bike pod and suunto foot pod mini for the bike and the run, and i want like to use t3d simultaneously with both the Bike POD and the Foot POD.
For example, starting on the bike, as the pod bike in the display of the watch, when i step into the run, as I do to pass the viewer to watch the pod run? just press the lap, and he immediately takes the pod run?
or how?