Review of Timex Bodylink Heart Rate Monitor / Speed & Distance T5E671

Timex Bodylink Heart Rate Monitor / Speed & Distance T5E671
By: Timex Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 3
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Great product when you are trying to start a work out routine

On: 2007-08-26

This GPS allows you to use different routes in your running to routine, so that you can break for doing the same route al the time. It does a great job keeping you motivated during your run also because you can see your speed and pace. Total distance, etc. Its great!

Works very well, Timex has a great support

On: 2007-04-29

I have owned this time piece for almost 2 years now. It does take reading the manual to understand all the options, but its well worth it. The GPS unit is very reliable, HRM belt skips once in a while in dry cold and windy weather (I live in Colorado) - this is nothing unusual, ask any HR belt user. Using a conductive gel helps a bit.

GPS battery is supposed to last about 14 or so hours, I reuse my wifes camera batterries. When theyre low enough they cant run the camera anymore, I can still get about 4 hours worth of running the GPS unit.

I managed to change the battery in the watch after about 1.5 years of use and that was a bad idea. I didnt seal the watch correctly and consequently flooded it while swimming. I opened it up, dried it and the watch survived. However, I flooded it a second time (forgot about the bad seal and took a shower) and this time the display lost a few lines. Timex promptly sent me a new one, it took about 8 days. Since the watch was not under a warranty anymore, they replaced it for $37.50 (includes shipping). Which I think is really great.

In the meantime I also got their latest and greatest (5F011). This one comes with a bit lighter GPS unit and is capable of measuring an altitude - kind of nice on a bike.

BTW, the Timex GPS (5F011) altitude measurement comes from satellite reading, unlike some other (well known) brand, which (ridiculously) uses atmospheric pressure.

I used each watch in a full Ironman race, I rarely train without it, it mounts easily on a bike, the GPS arm strap is pretty comfortable as well as the HR chest strap.

The 671 has a better wrist band strap (compared to F011) and is also less bulky (F011 is pretty thick).

The only gripe I have is with the data collector unit since it cant store anymore than 7 hours worth of data. So, doing a full iron, I have to choose whether to record the bike or run since I cant get both. If I want to record anything at all, which I normally dont.

A really good system

On: 2005-09-15

Having used a Polar puls meter for a year, I was really positively surprised by the design (it looks pretty cool) and functionality of my Ironman watch. Instructions were short and informative, and I felt totally comfortable using all features of the system after having spent less than 20 minutes with the manual. Most importantly, the puls/speed system works well where it really matters - out on the track/road: easy to read display, lightweight equipment, and excellent comfort. I will, however, keep my Polar puls meter since the Ironman does not offer the programming features that my Polar has (e.g., pulse/time-based intervall training). Add these features to the Timex and it would be the perfect training system.