TFS Review: Suunto Running Pack (T3, HRM, and Foot POD)
Posted May 4th, 2007 at 9:23 AM by Paul Petersen
Section: Gear & Apparel, Gadgets & Acces., Product Reviews, Special Features, TFS Reviews
Product: Suunto Running Pack (T3, HRM, and Foot POD)
Price: $269.99
Rating: Good 6.7/10.0
Pros: Accurate, stable HR monitor; POD is non-obtrusive and lightweight; POD works indoors and outdoors in any terrain or tree cover; 15-day training log built into T3 watch; Training Effect is great concept.
Cons: T3 watch is difficult to use with a steep learning curve; Need to continually recalibrate food POD; Foot POD accuracy can be variable, especially if position on shoe has shifted.
Overall: This is a nice concept, as the accelerometer (POD) will work indoor/outdoor and with any sky visibility, unlike GPS units. The heart-rate monitor is among the best I’ve ever used, and is in itself a great product. However, the T3 watch is not user-friendly. In addition, although sometimes the speed/distance readings are extremely accurate, too often they become systematically erroneous. The Suunto Running Pack would be a good buy for those who do a lot of indoor or trail running and/or want a training log within the watch itself. Others may want to consider adding Suunto’s GPS POD and/or just opt for a completely GPS-based training device.
In the growing world of athletic speed/distance monitoring, runners are presented with two primary choices: GPS units (ie - Garmin 305, Timex Bodylink, MotionLingo Adeo) or accelerometers (ie - Suunto Foot POD, Polar Foot Pod, Nike+iPod). I have trained with several different fitness GPS units and had variable success, and “foot pods” provide an intriguing alternative because they can be used indoors, under any sky condition, and boast of potentially high accuracy. I had the opportunity to try out the Suunto Running Pack (T3, HRM, and Foot POD), and put it to the test over three rigorous weeks of training.
Design - 6 - The Running Pack consists of three components: the T3 Fitness Trainer Watch, the Foot POD Wireless Transmitter, and a heart rate transmitter. All of these components are compact and efficient; making the overall trio less bulky than some competing products. The HR monitor is a standard chest transmitter, similar in design to the Polar and Timex transmitters I’ve used. Nothing to write home about in terms of design.
The Foot POD is also a relatively simple device. With the AAA battery, it weighs two ounces (according to my postal scale), a weight that is not noticeable when mounted to my shoe. Purists who race in flats may not want that extra two ounces, but most runners will be pleased with its low weight and profile.
The hard plastic foot POD has a flexible rubber case that it snaps into. The rubber case should be tightly attached into the shoelaces without the POD in it, so that it can be bent and manipulated to ensure a secure fit. Once the case is mounted, the POD is easily inserted. Doing this improperly will allow the POD to shift during the workout, and yield inaccurate measurements. The user manual is clear on how to perform these steps.
The POD has only one button. Press it for a couple seconds, and the device turns on (indicated by a blinking red light). Press it again for a couple seconds, and the device turns off. I’m a big proponent for simplicity, and the Suunto foot POD gains points in this respect. Although the HR transmitter and foot POD are very simple and intuitive to use, I did not find the same to be true for the T3 watch, which is the component that processes the sensor data and gives the user their training feedback.
The appearance of the watch is attractive, although slightly disappointing in real life compared to its website pictures. Other users have complained about the plastic watch face being scratched easily. I had no problems with scratches, due to the fact that I left the watch in its soft storage bag when not using it.
Design of the watch during use had many cons, but also some pros. I found operation of the watch and button layout to not be intuitive, and paled in comparison to user-friendly watches such as the Timex Bodylink Ironman. The watch buttons are labeled … on the back of the unit, which made learning the buttons rather difficult! I spent my first several workouts wallowing rather than running, hitting buttons, and just praying I would hit the correct button, combination of buttons, or button press duration to get the it to tell me what I wanted to know. Yes, this was partially my own fault, since I did not first read the manual closely at first. But with the Timex Bodylink, I did not need to read the manual; it was completely intuitive, and buttons/options were well labeled on the watch itself! Timex set a high standard for ease-of-use, and the Suunto T3 falls far short.
I eventually read the manual. And then I read it again. Finally, after a third read and two weeks of use, I came to the apex of the learning curve, and could finally operate the T3 with ease. I suppose that with any expensive gadget, you should invest some time into reading the manual and truly learning the functionality. Beginners should be wary of this, though, and even experienced techies will need to dedicate some solid time to learning the T3 before its features really pay off.
Once I delved into the watch functionality, I found a nice array of features:
- Time Mode displays time of day, date, and dual time.
- Training Mode can display running time, current heart rate, average heart rate, training effect, calorie consumption, lap/interval time, speed, and distance.
- Speed and Distance Mode can display current pace/speed, total distance, time of day, average pace/speed, chrono, and heart rate data.
- Settings of these respective modes allow you to dial in on vital statistics (age, gender, weight, height, etc.), measurement units, HR zones, intervals, and autolap distances.
During exercise, the watch simultaneously displays three training features in the center of the face, depending on which mode you are in. These features can be toggled to provide the specific combination desired by the user. I preferred to show time, distance, and pace on most of my runs. In addition, a unique benefit to the T3 is data shown along the outside of the watch face, namely heartrate and Training Effect.
Although it is difficult to see precise values of these bar readings, a quick glance was sufficient to tell me that, for example, my heart rate was just under 150, or my Training Effect was approaching 3.0. Using this creative method of showing training data, the watch is able to simultaneously display a total of 5 different training readings. Not bad!
A key concept to the Suunto that is truly unique is the “Training Effect“, which uses a one-to-five scale to show the effect of a workout. In other words, it will quantify in real time the amount the workout is actually improving your fitness level. The Suunto calculates this using your heart rate, duration of exercise, and personal stats. It’s a good concept because it allows you to put a real number to the difficulty of the workout, rather than just going with a “gut” feeling.
Pairing the foot POD to the watch and calibrating it to your stride is fairly simple (especially after you’ve studied the manual!). Pairing the POD to the watch merely involves turning on the POD and hitting a few buttons in the watch settings. Once the pairing succeeds, you don’t have to do it again. 
Calibration ensures that the the POD will give accurate speed/distance information no matter what should you wear. To calibrate, you go out to a track, or other measured course, and run a set distance with the watch and POD active.
Once you complete the set distance, stop the watch and compare the actual distance to the POD distance reported by the watch. If the reading is different, simply adjust the POD distance using the up/down buttons on the watch to match the real distance. This sets a correction factor, and you are then good to go! Calibration can be done at any time during a run, and I found it pretty easy to do once I got the hang of it.
Effectiveness - 7 - Design shortcomings in the T3 watch are evident through the difficult interface, but this can be surmounted with a little perseverance and patience. As Winston Churchill said,
“Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”
With most devices, I am more than willing to overlook user-unfriendliness and a steep learning curve if the effectiveness and productivity of the device flat-out rocks. Would the Suunto Running Pack find my good graces through its actual performance? The answer is: sort of.
First off, I must mention that the heart rate monitor is one of the best I’ve ever used. Unlike the Timex Bodylink and various Polar units I’ve used throughout the years, the Suunto HR unit rarely recorded an anomalous reading. Day-in and day-out during three weeks of intensive use, I found it to be reliable and relatively error-free, even on cold days. I simply dampened the back of the transmitter with tap water before putting it on, and it performed well with few hiccups for the entirety of my runs. I was impressed.
But heart rate is only half of the equation; what about foot POD performance? The first time I ever took it out, I went out to a track and ran 1600 meters (4 laps). The Suunto was dead-on, and continued its trend of accuracy throughout the remainder of that particular run along my favorite course with known mile markers. Wow, I was impressed! However, during my next several runs, it measure my pace to be too fast and course distances to be too long. I re-calibrated the POD, and received very high accuracy again for that first run…but subsequent runs later in the week again drifted off.
I soon realized how sensitive the POD was to user error. I made several adjustments to keep the accuracy more reliable:
- The POD must be on the shoe very tightly, so that it cannot move during the run. I improved the way I mounted the POD by skipping over only one set of laces rather than two.
- The POD must be placed on the same foot every time (right vs. left). Due to stride characteristics and imbalances, the calibration is valid for the foot it was performed on.
- The POD must be mounted on the shoe the exact same way every time. If it is in a slightly different position or angle, the calibration will be invalid. It is best just to never take the POD off the shoe so that you don’t have to worry about this, but like many runners, I rotate my shoes, and do not wear the same shoe two days in a row.
I fixed these mistakes in my use of the POD, and what followed during my final week of testing were some pretty accurate distance and pace measurements during all my runs. Error for shorter runs was usually within a few hundredths of a mile, and on longer runs (over 10 miles) up to a couple tenths of a mile. This is similar or slightly better than GPS units I’ve used. I tested the Suunto against my training partner’s Garmin 305, and by the end of a 16-mile run, the Suunto’s distance reading was within 0.05 miles of the Garmin’s measurement.
I found, as others have noted, that the calibration for the Suunto is most applicable for the speed at which it was calibrated. For example, if you run 7:00-miles to calibrate the POD, it may be a little less accurate when running 5:30-miles, or when running 10:00-miles. If I wanted to ensure it to be dead-on for a particular workout, I needed to recalibrate it beforehand to meet those needs. The constant recalibration was a definite disadvantage when I just wanted to get going with the workout. GPS units have a leg up on the Suunto in this area, since there is no calibration required, and they operate the same at any speed.
When properly calibrated, the Suunto yielded very accurate pace measurements. Unlike GPS units, where the instantaneous pace measurements have a lag time and jerky readings, the Suunto’s instantaneous pace readings were always very responsive, accurate, and never jumped around. This characteristic provided very useful information during interval training. It was even handy to have on a track, and reduced my need to do mental math to figure out interval pace while my brain was oxygen-starved.
After the workout, the Suunto training log provides a fairly robust platform for workout analysis. The watch itself stores all of the data, no computer is necessary. For those who desire direct computer transfer and logging, the T3 is compatible with the PC Pod (purchased separately, $110).
Since I store all of my workouts on an independent online training log, I did not miss the computer interface, and the enjoyed that the workouts could be accessed completely from the watch. The watch training log stores the last 15 workouts in entirety, including Training Effect, peak HR, average HR, calories, average pace, and information for each split. This workout log is updated on rolling basis, and the oldest workout is deleted when the newest workout is completed. It was nice being able to access any of my last 15 workouts and not have to worry about resetting the watch and deleting the most recent run by accident.
In addition to the training log, the T3 also stores and displays training totals for the current week, the previous week, and for the past six months. It provides an easy and efficient method of summarizing the number workouts, total time, total distance, and calories burned over larger blocks of time. This may be a redundant feature for those who keep a detailed training log, but it is a nice touch, and is useful for when you don’t have time to log your data somewhere else.
Value - 6 - Suunto Running Combo Pack lists at $270. Although this is a large chunk of cash, it is below or equal to most of its GPS competitors, including the Garmin 305 ($377) and Timex Bodylink Speed + Distance ($275). But considering the Garmin 305 includes a full suite of computer software, and both the Garmin and Timex units yield more reliable measurements, the Suunto stacks up as only a moderate value.
However, while shopping around, I was able to find the Suunto Pack at over $100 less than list price on Amazon.com. At $160, the Suunto becomes a much better deal, as it is difficult to find a similar training package in that price range. This is obviously quite a range in price, and the “value” of the Suunto will vary depending on what sort of deal you can get on it. At its list price, though, there are better units and better values out there than the Suunto.
I should also note here that the AAA battery life on the foot POD is excellent, rated at 55 hours. I used the POD a total of 18 hours during my three-week testing period (I know that thanks to the T3 training totals features), and the battery was showing no signs of quitting. It was evident to me that I wouldn’t be spending much money on batteries for this contraption, especially if I used rechargeables.
I really wanted to like the Suunto Running Pack, and although it showed surges of brilliance and accuracy beyond that of a GPS, it too often let me down in terms of reliability and ease-of-use. However, the Suunto is still a decent product, and should be considered by trailrunners, indoor runners, and those who need more precise real-time speed feedback and often run in places that are difficult for GPS units. If you shop around, the Suunto can be a fairly economical device that provides full suite of speed/distance and heart rate training feedback.
Editor’s note - The overall rating was calculated by weighting Effectiveness as 70%, Design as 20% and Value as 10%.
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Tags: accelerometer, Combo, distance, Foot POD, gps, GPS POD, heart rate monitor, HRM, POD, product review, review, Running Pack, speed, suunto, suunto running pack, training, training assistant, training device
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The Final Sprint
[…] TFS Review: Suunto Running Pack (T3, HRM, and Foot POD) Filed under Gear & Apparel, Gadgets & Acces., Product Reviews, Special Features, TFS Reviews. ***Note: We encourage EVERYONE to see a doctor before altering their diet, taking a supplement and/or performing athletic, fitness or other … Original post by Paul Petersen and software by Review How To […]
May 4th, 2007 at 10:22 am[…] Section: Gear & Apparel, Gadgets & Acces., Product Reviews, TFS Reviews Product: Garmin Forerunner 50 Prices: $200 (watch + HR monitor + food pod + USB ANT stick), $90-$100 (for other combinations without food pod OR without HR monitor) Rating: Good 7.4/10.0 Pros: Easy-to-use watch interface. Less expensive than most of its competitors. Can purchase components “piecemeal”. Reliable HR monitor. Fairly accurate foot pod. PC upload with USB ANT Stick is VERY fast and easy. Work with free desktop software (Garmin Training Center) and/or free online community (Garmin Connect). Cons: Fewer features than its competitors. Watch displays only two measurements at a time. Can find Garmin 305 units for comparable price. Overall: Compared to its peers (Suunto Running Pack, Polar RS800sd), the Garmin Forerunner 50 is a less expensive, relatively “no-frills” fitness device. The fact that it has fewer features than its competitors makes it a bit easier to use and also less expensive. All-around performance was solid. […]
January 4th, 2008 at 4:22 pmI’ve run with the Suunto T3 for a full year and have had lots of frustrations. I stopped using the foot pod because it requires a lot of work to get an accurate reading and the screen sucks because it is almost imposible to see my splits during workouts. The watch is excellent for HR based workouts and the watch screen shows your HR in big bold numbers.
I give this watch 5 out of 10
January 16th, 2008 at 7:09 pm