Suunto t6 or Garmin 305

I had a T6 which I sold (along with a Forerunner 201) to get the Forerunner 305 when it first came out a couple years ago. I had gotten the T6 mainly for it's Vo2 estimation and idea AT could be estimated via an Excel spreadsheet. After using it for 6 mo, I decided field tests are just as good without the headaches of trying to figure out what all the data meat

The T6 is a very nice HRM and the altimeter is nice to have if you're curious about elevation. But, the only thing useful in the water is the stopwatch as the HRM signal will not work in the water. I only had the T6 with HRM (ie no pods) and sold it right when the 305 came out. A big problem I had with the T6 is that if the stopwatch was running for a certain time and there were no HRM signal (ie swimming), the HR data would  not be recoreded. So, for a triathlon, you will see the HR for bike/run, but it will not be recorded for download. This may have been fixed by now, though.

I've been real happy with the 305 and feel it has more features. I must also say that mine split open last month as the top & bottom are just glued together rather than screwed together. I have reglued it and it still works.

Fwiw, the customer service at Garmin is phenominal ... such as in the best I have experienced with any company.

I called the support folks today regarding my 2 1/4 year old Forerunner 305 not retaining battery power beyond 2-3 hours when fully charged.  I fully expected them to tell me that either:

1) I needed to get the battery replaced and for there to be a fee involved; or,
2) You cannot change the battery and you are SOL.

I got neither.

Garmin said that since it a problem that is obviously through no fault of the user that they would deem this to be a 'full warranty' job.  They gave me a return authorization number and promised to ship it back fixed after 7-10 days upon receipt.

It is this customer service that compelled me to stick with Garmin over the years, particularly when I upgraded from the 301.  It is also this customer service that enabled me to recommend them to at least half a dozen friends who has since purchased a 305.

I cannot attest to Suunto because I have never owned one, but can tell you that in the unlikely event you have problems with your unit then you have something to fall back upon.

I don't have any experience with the T6 but I got my 305 about a month ago and LOVE it. Such a huge upgrade from the Nike+. While the Nike+ lied to me and gave me false hope when it didn't track distances correctly making me think I was way faster than I really was I like the accuracy and all the features of the 305.

I couldn't be happier with my purchase. Oh and it is very user friendly, I had an old HR monitor which I could never figure out how to do ANYTHING except look at my HR even with the manual. Granted I only paid $20 for it online it was really frustrating!! haha

Garmin all the way...

Matt Cazalas
Technical Writer

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