Comparison - Polar RS800CX - Garmin Forerunner 405Cx and Suunto T6C
20/04/2009 by Tris.
We - heartratemonitor.co.uk - often get asked “which is BEST” between : Polar RS800CX - Garmin Forerunner 405Cx and Suunto T6C?
Good question. In a recent email - this was my reply:
Any of these : the Garmin Forerunner 405CX , the Polar RS800CX RUN or the Suunto T6C would make perfect marathon training tools. They are truly excellent units that all have the ESSENTIAL features that any heart rate monitor / speed distance training device should have like - AUTO LAP - MUTLIPLE countdown timers, Stopwatch with LAPS and SPLITS and full PC download.
The Garmin has the advantage of being an “all in one unit” - no foot pod or separate GPS unit, PLUS, it has the very useful VIRTUAL PARTNER feature (you tell it how far and in what time.. it paces you along to help achieve your objection). However, it is quite bulky and needs regular charging. The PC software is ADEQUATE, but not very analytical. There are no FITNESS TEST options. Garmin Forerunner 405CX here
The Polar RS800CX RUN has better software, far more analytical (see here for examples of Polar Pro Trainer 5 screen grab). The Foot POD is VERY SMALL and lasts over 200 hours, so no charging hassle (it also provides LEG cadence and STRIDE LENGTH). You also have a FITNESS test (OwnIndex - provides a VO2 max figure) and an over training test (Polar OwnOptimizer - tells you on a scale of 1 - 9 if you are under / over trained) - Polar RS800CX RUN
Then, there is the Suunto T6C with FOOT POD. This has the advantage of REAL TIME TRAINING EFFECT, telling you just how hard (aerobic fatigue) a session is. Suunto TRAINING EFFECT is great to help recognise patterns of over / under training. Suunto T6C available here
I have used them all - and would be happy if I had to stick to just one…..
If you like DATA analysis and want to keep long term PC graphs for comparison and you think an over / under training feature is going to be useful, then I’d suggest either Polar (post exercise over training test by way of 5 min lying and 5 min standing test - Polar OwnOptimiser) or Suunto T6C (realtime over / under training by way of TRAINING EFFECT).
If you want to train with realtime VIRTUAL PARTNER, then the Garmin is going to be great. Now with IMPROVED calorie burn formula.
