Suunto T1c Review

A few months ago I decided that it was time to start exercising to get back into shape. Like many folks these days, I had simply enjoyed stuffing myself too many times. Now the reason this introduction has some relevance to watches is because exercise works better if you keep track of your progress as you do it. And that brings me to the subject of this review, the Suunto T1c. You know the way those digital meters on an exercycle keep tabs on your pulse, time and calories burned, well, the T1c does that too.

A little background first, Suunto is a Finnish company that makes a series of digital watches that are all very advanced in their capabilities. Some have GPS capability, some can measure altitude, some can track the weather and some seem to be capable of doing just about everything. Overall, the company’s products are geared towards an active, outdoor lifestyle. If that describes you, these folks have something you'll appreciate.

On to the T1c. The watch is in many ways a typical digital watch. It gives you the time, the day and date, it has an alarm, a backlight and it can handle another time zone. So far, nothing special although the reverse contrast display and the sweeping seconds indicator (a digital dot that orbits the dial) are pretty cool. It measures 44mm in width (including the pushers) and 12mm in height. (Mind you, the T1c seems to wear smaller that its dimensions would suggest. I think it’s because of the integrated band.) The watch band is plastic and can be replaced when it wears out. The case is plastic as well with a stainless steel back. Water resistance is rated at 30 meters. All really quite conventional so far. Where things get interesting though is when you press the Mode button and unpack a curious accessory in the Suunto box.

Before you get started, there are a few preliminaries to take care of. The first thing you have to do (after setting the date and time) is to enter some information about yourself. The watch needs to know your age, weight, gender and approximately how active you are based on a scale (included in the manual and online). Don't be put off by this step by the way. The controls are intuitive and it only takes a minute to set up. You are now ready to put the T1c to work. Pressing the Mode button puts the watch into Training mode where it is now ready to start measuring you as you exercise. The accessory I mentioned gets used now too. In the box, you will see what looks very much like an elastic belt, which is exactly what it is. This belt contains a small wireless transmitter that, when worn across the chest, tells the watch how you are doing. The belt is thankfully soft and unobtrusive so wearing it for an hour or so is no problem. One caveat, there are two pads on the inside part of the belt that need to be moist to work. A little hand cream seems to do the job nicely. (The belt is washable if you are concerned btw). Suuunto does tell you to wet these pads but the importance of this step is great. The belt will not detect your pulse otherwise. (Suunto warns that people with pacemakers should not use this device by the way).

I wore the Suunto T1c while riding my recumbent exercise bike. The bike itself has a computerized digital display that measures calories burned among other things so I was able to gauge how accurate the T1c was. It did pretty well, coming in within 5 percent of the bicycle computer's reading. (For all I know it may be the more accurate of the two). That seems pretty good to my reckoning and more than informative enough to be used to track one’s workout. In addition to tracking an individual workout, the T1c also stores the results of your workouts for later reference should you want to check your progress over time. You can also set the watch to measure your progress as a function of your heart rate using the heart rate zones feature.

Overall, the T1c is a pretty slick piece of equipment. It really is an exercise computer that happens to have a watch on board. Mind you, the T1c would do fine as a daily wearer. It is comfortable and its timekeeping functions are excellent. Its utility as a workout tracker though is very helpful indeed if you are serious about getting into shape. Wearing the T1c (and its sensor belt) effectively puts an electronic monitor on any exercise routine you choose to do. That makes tracking both your heart rate and the all important “calories burned” very simple. I wasn’t sure if I would like using a watch like this while exercising but seeing those totals come up after a workout is addictive to me. If you are into exercise or thinking about starting an exercise routine, consider the T1c a recommended accessory.


P.S.-Before anyone asks, I have dropped 33 lbs in the last 7 months and now weigh 179lbs. Getting there :)