So When Suunto sent me the t6c I was pretty excited. The watches I tried so far have had a fatal flaw – maybe the footpad was too big or the connection was poor or the heart rate monitoring was flakey at best. During my runs I’d constantly go back to the Garmin Forerunner 405, one of my favorite watches, simply because it had GPS built-in along with HR monitoring, making it considerably more useful than anything else I’ve used.

So how does this watch compare? Well, the Suunto is much lighter and with an optional foot pod you can assess distances run with a high degree of accuracy.

The Suunto watch also as a special feature called Training Effect. The watch gives you a 1-4 rating of your current effectiveness. There’s a little book included that tells you all the tips and tricks. I won’t go into those here.

It also has an altitude monitor to watch your ascents and descents in real time and customizable screens that allow you to add different settings to the watch face.

The heart rate monitor includes min and max heart rate alerts along with training tools like a countdown timer, stopwatch, split times, and, with the foot pod, vertical speed. It is water resistant to 330 feet.

Now – the big differences. Well, first there’s the price. The watch without foot pod costs $429 although I’ve seen it for about $325. The 405 is $299.99 and the 405CZ, the next-gen watch, is $369.99. All of these prices will fall by an order of magnitude in real settings, but off the bat I’m leaning towards the Forerunner. The Triathlon pack with foot pod, bike pod, and cadence pod, costs $629.95 at Amazon.

However, there is build quality. I’ve seen the Suunto factory in Finland and I came away impressed: for a mass-market, commodity device there is a lot of care put into the manufacture of these pieces. The t6c is much lighter and more compact than the 405 and when you’re running ever gram counts. The user interface is also slightly more streamlined than Garmin’s cascade of menus.

Sadly there is no OS X support for Suunto products, another ding against this watch.

Bottom Line
Of all the heart rate monitoring watches I’ve tried in the past few months, this model is the most powerful and easiest to use. It still hasn’t replaced the 405 on my wrist but it comes in at a close second.

Suunto watches are fun. This latest wrist-computer gizmo improves on the companies X9i GPS watch with even stronger GPS tech. Plus, the company throws in an altimeter, barometer, digital compass, thermometer, stopwatch and kitchen sink functions. Back to that GPS stuff though.

“After converting your Suunto X10 logs with Suunto Track Exporter, you can share your adventures with anyone who uses Google Earth,” explains Suunto Outdoor Product Manager Petteri Hernelahti. “You can save your tracks in Google Earth, and then email them to friends or family, or post them on a website or blog for downloading.“

How handy is that. We know of a couple gents that could use this feature next time they are out Bigfoot hunting. Maybe with this watch, they could remember where and when they spotted the EVIL fella. No word on price just yet, but we do know you can start impressing the boys around the water cooler in September.

PR via Navigadgets

Suunto is launching 11 new models just for the ladies, breaking their long tradition of building some of the beefiest watches on the planet and toning things down a bit. Don’t worry, guys. There’s still something for you. Trying to get some pictures right now and, since the company didn’t supply them with the press release I decided to use a picture of something the ladies might like.

T6c Fusion Slide

T1c Female and T3c Black follow…

The Suunto X9i is a powerful wristwatch for anyone who likes to travel or participate in extreme sports. The X9i features a GPS system, barometer, compass, water resistance, an altimeter and a menu-based interface that will let you navigate through functions with ease. The X9i also connects to PCs via USB and comes with Suunto’s tracking software, so you can map out and email your route to your friends.

Not only will you be able to view your route with an overhead perspective, you’ll also be able to view it on Google Earth. The watch can prove to be a powerful device to have when you’re on your next camping trip, or going out skiing during the wintertime. And a compass and GPS system are always a good thing. If you do some research, you can find the watch for a little under $400 somewhere online, which isn’t too bad at all.

Suunto X9i [product page]

So are you feeling a bit adventurous lately and also need a new wristwatch? Look no further than the Suunto X9i say the dudes over at Spungle. Big and bulky, this bad boy isn’t just a watch, but an expandable survival tool. It comes with a 3D compass, an altimeter, can calculate sea pressure, and has a GPS system accurate up to three feet! Clearly made for the outdoorsman in your family. You can even use the X9i to track your hikes and sync it with your computer. Overall, it gets the outdoorsman’s seal of approval. If sippin’ on lattes is your thing though, maybe it’s best you stay with the Movado.

Suunto X9i (Verdict: What a watch!) [Spungle]

It’s about $169.99 with a black face and $149.99 for a standard LCD face. Pedometer and heartrate pods sold separately.

Product Page [Amazon via Spungle]