Suunto t6 (Verdict: RIP Mickey Goldmill)

[$300] When Suunto approached me about reviewing the Ferrari of athletic watches, the Suunto t6 (40% off),I let out a resounding YES! I've been a huge fan of Suunto for years, and heard great stuff from PADIinstructors and from runners using Suunto technology during this year's NYC Marathon. For those of you not in the know, the Suunto t6 is hands down the most advanced and easy to use wrist-top physiology laboratory!

The Suunto t6, as opposed to all the other crap on the market, has an easy to use interface that lets the athlete view his heart rate, running speed, or bike speed, at any given moment with the push of a few simple buttons. Yet, the t6, like all Suunto products, is stylish enough to be worn as your everyday watch, yet powerful enough to help you train for the Olympics like US Olympic Ski Racer, Daron Rahlves.

In addition, the Netherlands Olympic Committee * Netherlands Sports Confederation (NOC*NSF) considers Suunto t6 an essential training tool for athletes.

The power of the t6 is not just from the heart rate monitor, or the optional footor bike pod; the power of the t6 is in the outstanding, (free) included software that allows you to sync your t6 with your computer. With this device hooked up to either your PC or Mac (via virtual PC),you can look at analyses of 7 body parameters including EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), training effect, oxygen consumption, energy consumption, respiration rate, heart rate, and ventilation. You can read more on monitoring respiratory activity in field, the accuracy of heart rate based V02 monitoring, and the technology behind EPOC and the other Suunto products by clicking on any of the hotlinked words.

The t6 is THE fashion statement to make next time you are training at Equinox, because when someone sees a t6 on your hand, they know you're serious about your training and most likely you can kick their ass!

PS: If you have no clue who Mickey Goldmill is, you should be ashamed of yourself, but feel free to click his name and let out a giant DUH!