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How accurate is your Suunto T-3 compared to the Garmin 305 in terms of speed and distance measurements?

How accurate is your Suunto T-3 compared to the Garmin 305 in terms of speed and distance measurements?

Steve, I'm not done testing it yet, but it seems like it has potential to be pretty good. Unlike a gps, the Suunto has to be calibrated, but once it's calibrated, I think it's accurate within a few meters. You do have to make sure it doesn't shift on your shoe, because that can throw it off, but I figured out how to get that right just a couple days ago. Also, the Suunto watch is very hard to use; not user-friendly at all. The Suunto will stay accurate in canyons, forests, and on trails, unlike the Garmin. Current pace on the Suunto is also a lot more stable and reliable than any GPS I've used.

But all that said, the Suunto is so hard to set up and figure out, for the money I'd rather go with a GPS. I prefer my Timex Bodylink over the Suunto.

Paul:

Can Suunto give you the stride rate?

Sasha, I haven't seen a stride rate feature anywhere. I'll have to check, but I kind of doubt it. You figure it would be a basic function, but on the other hand, very few runners would want it. Personally, I'd be kind of curios to have that as a readout, to see how close I get to Daniels' 180 strides/minute.

I have the Suunto t6, which predates the t3 Paul is testing. It does not give stride rate either. I read about the t3 and I like the fact that it gives you the training effect feedback in real time; that's useful because you don't have to upload to data to the PC to get the info. It still uses the foot pod for speed/distance info, however, which I have found to be a major limitation over time (I loved it when I first got it a year and a half ago). Perhaps the improvements are better with the t3, but I have found the Suunto foot pod to be highly unreliable, requiring me to send the watch and footpod back to Suunto a couple of times. It turns off for no reason, sucks batteries quickly, and does not provide consistent pace/mileage data at speeds that vary significantly from the speed I calibrated it at. Again, I hope that Suunto fixed these things with the t3. Anyhow, the problems with the Suunto are the reason that I finally decided to purchase the Garmin 305 yesterday (through the FRB Store). Although, after reading Paul's review of the Timex Bodylink on The Final Sprint, I like the sound of that unit too. So, that's my unsolicited input!