My 2 New Suuntos: T3c and Core Alu Black

[coldaspiration]

Hey guys,

I picked up two Suuntos not too long ago and have been very pleased with them! Got a black arrow t3c to congratulate myself on completely dominating my finals and the core was a christmas gift.

T3C:
I got it after looking at many many different heart rate monitors and specifically what attracted me was the Training Effect, which helps me choose how hard to push myself depending on my goals for the day. It also have a very sweet log book function that helps me track my progress. A major bonus is that Suunto is also somehow tied to Mavic (a reputable biking company) and as a competitive cyclist this is good news to me. They make "PODS" which are little devices with specific purposes that add on to the functionality of the watch. I bought the Bike Pod so now my watch is also my bike computer displaying my speed/distance/and heart rate + training effect. Suunto really means it when they say "replacing luck"
The watch's training effect also grows and learns to know your body and its limit. For example, it recommended me an activity class of 7.0 depending on my # of hours I workout per week. It gave me a TE of 5.0 (overreaching) the first few times and then it realized thats just how hard I workout normally and that same workout turned into TE of 4.0 (rapid aerobic improvement). Pretty cool.

The only negative is that the watch face is essentially low quality plastic. I wore it for a couple days and it got Major major scratches that actually destroys is readability, especially on the negative display I have. This is apparently a very widespread complaint of this series. So I stopped wearing it for now and am waiting for my polywatch scratch remover and have a protective invisible shield waiting to be put on.

It is a great companion for working out and oh yeah, telling the time.

Core Alu Black:
What can be said about the CORE?? All of you know it and it gets lot of discussion here for a reason. However, I found it interesting that I couldn't find a single picture on here of this version, the Alu Black. So here it is!

I took it on a mountain climb on my bike as its first test. I also went snowshoeing the other day and it performed quite well on both days. I must say I was very surprised with its weight. Looking at it, you would expect this chunky watch to be quite heavy but it is very light. i don't know if it is a good or bad ... Also the black leather band that came with it was quit shoddy and thats the first thing I replaced with an italian rubber strap that I had and am quite pleased with the way it is now.

[JL71]

It's becoming a trend to get two Suunto's at once Congratulations, the Core looks very good with that band!

[Jeff_C]

The TE and the Activity Level will adjust to your training. I love the TE and it too is what drew me to my T3. I find it very useful.

Oh, and Brasso will work just fine on that synthetic plastic crystal. I use it all the time on my T3 and my Vectors. Its readily available and cheaper than Polywatch.

[coldaspiration]

Dang, now I feel like going to pick up some brasso but I already got a $10 tube on the way. haha good to know.

[Jeff_C]

I think 10.00 will buy you 3 gallons of brasso... LOL

[gus]

very sharp looking coreby the way

[coldaspiration]

very sharp looking coreby the way

Hey thanks!

I have a question for you all though.

My T3C is a 9xxxx serial number so its the newer one. It has tremendously better readability than the Core. Both are negative display.

The Core is 8xxxx serial number. Same story with the backlight. The backlight is amazing on the T3C while not so much on the Core, in fact, dismal compared to the T3C.

Is this a T3C vs Core thing or is it a Suunto 8xxx vs 9xxx thing?