Suunto M5 Heart Rate Monitor Misc

Suunto M5 Heart Rate Monitor (Misc.)
By Suunto

$209.00 $128.77 - $209.00
Customer Rating:

Product Details

Size: *, None
Color: none
Brand: Suunto
Fabric type: synthetic
Dimensions: .63 pounds

Features

Men's - All Black
Women's - Black/Gold, Black/Silver
Fitness Test
Daily exercise instructions with ideal duration and intensity
Recovery time recommendation after exercise
Motivational feedback messages
Upload exercise data to Movescount.com

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

54 of 54 people found the following review helpful.
Black M5- Poor visibility in low light conditions, exchanged for white.
By Oil Boiler
I ordered the black model M5 and was very pleased with the watch except that I found the negative display ( white numbers on black background ) to be very difficult to see at dusk or in any low light conditions. It is not nearly as bright as the product photos show except at high noon sun. If you exercise mostly during full sun, it's very readable, in fact probably less glare than the white face. Consider your exercise venue before you order. Could be my eyes, but after searching other forums on negative faces, I'm not alone. I wound up exchanging the black face for 2 white face women's M5s. I was concerned about the women's band on my wrist, but it still fit with a hole or 2 to spare. Trinow fitness was very helpful and I got them next day. The watch bodies are the same, so if I really decide I want the man's band, I'll order one, but don't see the need right now.

If you're looking for a training aid to get you on track, this is it. I ordered the foot pod and bike pod and they both connected flawlessly and are pretty accurate when checked on a known distance. The chest strap is the most comfortable I have tried and it also links up quickly. We've been using them for about 3 weeks and so far I'm still very satisfied. We were hit or miss with our exercise routine, but the M5 takes the guesswork out and keeps you on track. You really need to maintain your heart rate at a training level for the correct amount of time to get a full workout, and the M5 has helped us do that. A big plus is all the devices use a user-replacable, common watch battery. Remember that Suunto is currenlty offering a free Movestick interface with the M5 & M4, so if you buy, log on to their site and print out the rebate form. Waiting on delivery of ours as of today 8/16/10. It allows you to upload and store your training logs. I'll post a followup review in about a month.

UPDATE 1/28/11
I had to downgrade my review mainly because the software ( Movescount ) is pretty dismal when used with the M5. It's mostly a social networking tool that misses even simple tools like plotting your current fitness position versus your goals. If you want to help Suunto design a Beta quality attempt at fitness software , you'll love it. Not very intuitive.
Some points I have learned:
1. The foot POD and bike POD are fixed in their calibration with the M5. It's close, but if you're expecting a cycle computer , you're out of luck.
2. The chest strap is the most comfortable I've worn and stays wirelessly connected to the watch pretty well.
3. If you should happen to fall off your excercise plan over a certain # of days, the watch will keep repeating the same day. Suunto's way to fix it, reprogram it to a lower level and the restart at the bottom of the level you were at.
4. If you really need athlete quality reporting. This watch is not for you. It's also not $500.
5. Still like the watch. It will keep you on track. For someone trying to get in cardio shape, it's a good tool.
6. I paid $189 for mine. The price today is an indication that it's not exactly flying off the shelves. I would wager you will see this watch settle in at about $125 or a little less.
7. The PC POD does connect flawlessly and tranfers data with no problem.
8. The standard watch battery is a good idea and battery life has been very good.
9. So.....Buy the watch and enjoy it, it has surely helped improve my cardio fitness. At present, don't bother with the PC POD unless you like social networking more than fitness tracking.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Mixed Feelings
By ThatDenverDude
I'll start my review by saying I've never owned any other heart rate monitor...that being said...

I bought the monitor because I started a workout program to lose weight. I wanted to monitor my heart rate and improve my performance over time. I've owned it and worn it almost daily for the past two months. It's been with me walking to work, at the gym, cycling, skiing, etc.

Here's why I have mixed feelings. My biggest complaint is at times, it's tough to get a good heart rate reading. I've tried applying water to the pads, lotion to the pads, gelly to the pads, and I've even followed the picture in the instruction pamphlet by putting the pads under running water before putting the chest belt on. When first starting out, trying to get an accurate and consistent heart rate can be a terrible experience. You end up loosening the belt, tightening the belt, moving the sensor up, moving the sensor down, etc. in order to get it to read on the watch. It's not like you can start your workout when you want to - if you want to use the monitor, you have to get the thing to pick up your heart rate accurately and consistently which leads to delays - often 5 - 10 minutes of shuffling around to get things to work.

Sometimes the monitor is inconsistent in readings. I've had instances where the monitor will say my heart rate is 128 when I can manually feel it's actually 64 (and I'm at rest). The dual pickups double up sometimes. At other times, when bending over, doing situps, weight lifting, etc., the sensors will stop picking up your heart rate and it appears, a calculation is done internally to guesstimate how many calories you've burned. It can be very frustrating.

The small complaints include the "hard to see in the dark" points others have made. The light on watch flashes when you press it - I'm sure that's to extend battery life. The online "community" that Suunto put together for keeping track of your fitness and goals leaves a bit to be desired. Sure there are "groups" you can join but there is no search functionality to find the groups - you have to scroll down an International List.

I'll probably keep using it until it dies, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to a friend or buy another one.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Love this HRM
By Momma.hill
This does everything I needed. Tracks HR, cals burned, time exercising... It will help you exercise by suggesting types of workouts for your goals.

Watch isn't too big for my small frame, it's comfortable to wear. The HR band is not uncomfortable.....I forget to take it off when I'm done b/c I don't know it's there. It is also compatible with the machines at the gym.

Would HIGHLY recommend this to all of my friends!!!