Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)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.
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Suunto M5 Women's Heart Rate Monitor and Fitness Training Watch (Black/Gold)The Suunto M5 provides versitile guidance for multi-sport exercise. Set your fitness goals with the easy-to-use interface and the M5 provides an ideal daily workout schedule to help you achieve them - including telling you when it's time to rest. Choose from improving your fitness, weight management or free training, and the Suunto M5 automatically prescribes an exercise program with ideal intensity and duration for the next 7 days. The Suunto M5 measures heart rate in context of your fitness level and provides motivational feedback and guidance in real time. The included Suunto Dual Comfort Belt is compatible with most gym cardio equipment. Exercise data captured by the M5 can be quickly and wirelessly uploaded to MovesCount.com for tracking, analysis and sharing, and custom training programs can be downloaded to the M5 (requires optional Suunto Movestick). Add speed and distance data to your logs with the optional Suunto PODs (Peripheral Observation Devices), sold separately.
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