Nike Triax C5

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OK, in a world with limitless resources I would probably pony up the $350-$400 dollars for a top of the line Garmin Forerunner with all the accessories, but as an impoverished grad student with a family to feed, I need to accomplish my goals without breaking the bank. That’s where the Nike Triax C5 Heart Rate Monitor Watch comes in.
The Nike Triax C5 is admittedly an entry level heart rate monitor, but it works, it’s sturdy, and it does what I need it to do. The display is large (but not too large) and easy to read when I’m pounding the pavement. The face illuminates brightly when I need it to at night, and the heart rate monitor strap is surprisingly comfortable. You certainly are aware that you are wearing it when you run, and this is something that new runners might have to get used to, but it is also something that you can wear for many sweaty miles without constantly messing with the strap.

Some lessons learned - when I first started using it I would get inconsistent HR readings for the beginning part of my run. Once the sweat started pouring, the sensitivity got better. So, now what I do, and laugh if you want, is turn the faucet on to wet the sink, sprinkle some table salt in the sink, and dip my finger in the salt water. I coat both sensors with the salt water and now I get rock solid tracking of my HR from the word go. That’s probably overkill, since it works fine with spit on race day. It’s just my inner geek imagining the better conductivity and decrease in impedance with all the Na+ and Cl- ions floating around.

As far as the watch features, it has what you would expect from a basic stop watch - time (12H/24H), alarm, stopwatch, light. The most obvious problem with this watch though is the lack of a rather basic lap function. I don’t run on tracks, but when I’m racing I like to keep track of my splits. It is something I used to do with my old watch, but I am unable to do with this watch. Considering that an $8 POS no-name watch from Mal-Wart can record laps, and that this watch is marketed towards the runner (beginner or not), this seems like a big omission on Nike’s part.

If you’re an experienced runner or if you run on a track and absolutely need the ability to record lap times, take a pass on this watch. If you’re new to the sport and not sure if your going to stick with it, this is a good inexpensive option. If you stick with it and move on to bigger and better races, you can always reward your success with that Garmin later.

RunFasterDaddy Rating: Does the job ***
Pros: Price ($30-80), comfortable, well illuminated screen, large numerals on watch face, good consistent HR monitoring, sturdy, Watch AND Chest Strap water-resistant.
Cons: Missing rather basic Lap/Split function, reports only Average HR, not Average and High.