If you’ve been reading WWR for even a little while now, you know that we’re no strangers to the Timex catalog. Today, however, marks the first time that we’ve dipped into the portion of the catalog that focuses on fitness. We were recently sent over one that ties in (wirelessly) to a heart rate monitor; read on for our impressions!
Let’s just get one (hopefully) obvious item out of the way up front in respect to this watch – it is not something you’re going to be wearing for a night out or to impress your buddies. Instead, it is lightweight and purpose-driven. This is, in some respects, a very literal definition of a tool watch. With it’s included heart rate monitor, you can use this to tune your own exercise routine. I won’t go into all the aspects of getting yourself to a target heart rate, as that’s really not the focus here. And, thankfully, the included documentation does a good job of walking you through that (more on that later).
So, what do we have with the watch itself?
- Digital time display (12/24 hour)
- Date display
- Syncs to heart rate monitor
- Indiglo backlighting
- Water resistant to 30m (but not the HR monitor)
Given how light it is, the watch practically disappears on your wrist – which is what you’d want for something you’re exercising with. The heart rate monitor is definitely a bit more noticeable. Not that it’s heavy, but you do need to cinch it pretty snugly for it to be able to pick up your heartbeat. That said, once you get into your activity, if you’re still aware of the monitor, perhaps you’re not working hard enough!
So, how do you know if you’re using the monitor correctly? To start with, if you have a rate displayed on the watch, you’re headed in the correct direction. Past that, you can rely on the included documentation. It discusses things such as target heart rates and cool downs. It also walks you through a whole process that gets you to record your existing heart rate in a variety of activities, to help you determine what your targets should be.
In the end, I was impressed by the whole package. As a watch by itself, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. Combined with the heart rate monitor (and it’s list price of $70), though, then it becomes a greater value. Given that you’d be getting something like this for a specific purpose (not full-time wear) the low price point is appreciated. Of course, perhaps if a future revision added step-counting functionality, then it may be more useful for all-day usage.
