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Morning all,
I'm in the market for a runners watch but having looked online there seems to be a quite a bit of choice and before I shelled out for one I wanted to get some views.
My requirements are for a durable device with good rechargeable battery life (preferably with indicator) which I can use for tracking my runs, preferably with an altimeter to measure ascent/descent, waterproof (or at least wearable when raining so probably splash proof is more accurate), decent simple software and, of course, a stop watch.
So it gets good use, I also wouldn't mind something which I can take into the hills to measure the same kinds of things but probably more important here would be altitude, battery life from full charge (can then be charged from a standard mini in-car USB?) and GPS accuracy.
Has anyone else bought one of these watches and are they pretty accurate and can then be used in the hills?
Thanks
Richard
I'm in the market for a runners watch but having looked online there seems to be a quite a bit of choice and before I shelled out for one I wanted to get some views.
My requirements are for a durable device with good rechargeable battery life (preferably with indicator) which I can use for tracking my runs, preferably with an altimeter to measure ascent/descent, waterproof (or at least wearable when raining so probably splash proof is more accurate), decent simple software and, of course, a stop watch.
So it gets good use, I also wouldn't mind something which I can take into the hills to measure the same kinds of things but probably more important here would be altitude, battery life from full charge (can then be charged from a standard mini in-car USB?) and GPS accuracy.
Has anyone else bought one of these watches and are they pretty accurate and can then be used in the hills?
Thanks
Richard
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
One thing to bear in mind with altimeters - if you get a GPS watch with an altimeter, the elevation data can be subject to considerable inaccuracies. It's good if you're in the open, but if the satellite signal is degraded (in among buildings, trees, gullies, steep-sided hills), the elevation data can be very poor. In my running club, we measured the elevation data of our marathon route with a GPS watch, and it was out by a factor of about 2.5.
The bad news being that if you want a GPS watch with a barometric altimeter, which is more accurate (or at least, less sensitive to degraded GPS signals), I think there's only one available - I think it's either the top-of-the-range Suunto or Garmin one - and it costs a small fortune.
For what it's worth, I have two. I have a cheap Soleus one (£50 in the Run4It sale at the start of the year). It's accurate, but doesn't have an altimeter and the display isn't very good. I also have a Garmin 410, which does have considerably more bells and whistles, including elevation readings. They're both sufficiently robust for use in the hills on wet days, and can both be recharged from an in-car USB.
One thing to bear in mind with altimeters - if you get a GPS watch with an altimeter, the elevation data can be subject to considerable inaccuracies. It's good if you're in the open, but if the satellite signal is degraded (in among buildings, trees, gullies, steep-sided hills), the elevation data can be very poor. In my running club, we measured the elevation data of our marathon route with a GPS watch, and it was out by a factor of about 2.5.
The bad news being that if you want a GPS watch with a barometric altimeter, which is more accurate (or at least, less sensitive to degraded GPS signals), I think there's only one available - I think it's either the top-of-the-range Suunto or Garmin one - and it costs a small fortune.
For what it's worth, I have two. I have a cheap Soleus one (£50 in the Run4It sale at the start of the year). It's accurate, but doesn't have an altimeter and the display isn't very good. I also have a Garmin 410, which does have considerably more bells and whistles, including elevation readings. They're both sufficiently robust for use in the hills on wet days, and can both be recharged from an in-car USB.
In reply to tony: There's two GPS watches with barometric altimeter - the garmin fenix and the suunto ambit.
I have both (sad, I know), but am currently using the Suunto.
Reasons:
Customisation: I can change the fields for each activity, and add and subtract as many as I want. You can also construct "apps" to measure what you like (so for example in the "track running" activity I've added a field to show me my pace per 400m, so if I'm intending to run 90 sec laps I can keep an eye on pace)
Button presses: it sounds daft but the Garmion requires quite a long press on the lap button, which if you're doing hard intervals you don't want to do.
Looks: I like the look of the Suunto better
Updates: Suunto have a track record of providing regular, meaningful updates to firmware, whereas garmin tend to be pretty good in the early days (usually fixing bugs) but then move onto the next device.
Movescount: I quite like the Movescount website that stores "moves" and allows to use other users "apps".
Movement detector: The Suunto has a motion detector and the Garmin doesn't - that doesn't matter to me at the moment, but they could use this to track swimming activities with a software update.
However, the Suunto's not perfect - it doesn't have an auto-pause, which is a pain. Garmin has a much cleverer ski racking mode that can recognise lifts (and auto laps on them). The Gramin has better alarms - you can set a Mon-Fri alarm, and have multiple alarms as well. The Suunto doesn't have a vibrating alert, which I like on the Garmin. And finally Strava doesn't work directly with Strava - you can import tracks but it's a two step process.
So at the moment I'm keeping both, but I may be selling the Garmin at some point! For seriously in-depth reviews check out dcrainmaker's site.
I have both (sad, I know), but am currently using the Suunto.
Reasons:
Customisation: I can change the fields for each activity, and add and subtract as many as I want. You can also construct "apps" to measure what you like (so for example in the "track running" activity I've added a field to show me my pace per 400m, so if I'm intending to run 90 sec laps I can keep an eye on pace)
Button presses: it sounds daft but the Garmion requires quite a long press on the lap button, which if you're doing hard intervals you don't want to do.
Looks: I like the look of the Suunto better
Updates: Suunto have a track record of providing regular, meaningful updates to firmware, whereas garmin tend to be pretty good in the early days (usually fixing bugs) but then move onto the next device.
Movescount: I quite like the Movescount website that stores "moves" and allows to use other users "apps".
Movement detector: The Suunto has a motion detector and the Garmin doesn't - that doesn't matter to me at the moment, but they could use this to track swimming activities with a software update.
However, the Suunto's not perfect - it doesn't have an auto-pause, which is a pain. Garmin has a much cleverer ski racking mode that can recognise lifts (and auto laps on them). The Gramin has better alarms - you can set a Mon-Fri alarm, and have multiple alarms as well. The Suunto doesn't have a vibrating alert, which I like on the Garmin. And finally Strava doesn't work directly with Strava - you can import tracks but it's a two step process.
So at the moment I'm keeping both, but I may be selling the Garmin at some point! For seriously in-depth reviews check out dcrainmaker's site.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
i use an iphone and runkeeper for my runs (on 3g) which does a decent job and have used skitracks (on GPS) which is pretty cool and i imagine it would be fine for running.
i use an iphone and runkeeper for my runs (on 3g) which does a decent job and have used skitracks (on GPS) which is pretty cool and i imagine it would be fine for running.
I have a Suunto Ambit, it's accurate in the hills and also in the centre of London (once you've got a signal). Battery life is at least as good as Suunto claims (50 hours recording at 10s intervals). I use it twice a day for my commute and charge it every other week or so.
http://www.suunto.com/gb/en/collections/suunto-ambit
http://www.suunto.com/gb/en/collections/suunto-ambit
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
There are not many of those and prices are a bit steep. Normally for the price of combined altimeter and GPS watch with heart monitor thrown in is a price of three separate devices
Anyways, I'd have a look at Polar RS800CX with external GPS sensor if I were you. The price is steep, but probably you'll get a good value - didn't have this particular watch, but had good experience with Polar with other HRMs.
If you quit the GPS requirement, the price goes down by 100EUR, so you're left with a good HRM and altimeter.
I had the same problem few years ago, so I finally set with a bit of a workaround system. When running on the trails, I go with a cheap Polar with just basic HRM functions (no analysis possible afterwards)
For the mountaineering I normally take Suunto Core - although the altimeter leaves a bit to be desired in terms of accuracy.
In both cases I complement this with an eTrex20 - it's a lot bigger than a watch and I have to keep it in hand when running, but I got accustomed to it now and frankly it gives me some good added value:
- current speed
- covered distance
- position
- and I always have a map reference if needed (maps for Garmin are easy to get)
HTH, cheers
RS
There are not many of those and prices are a bit steep. Normally for the price of combined altimeter and GPS watch with heart monitor thrown in is a price of three separate devices
Anyways, I'd have a look at Polar RS800CX with external GPS sensor if I were you. The price is steep, but probably you'll get a good value - didn't have this particular watch, but had good experience with Polar with other HRMs.
If you quit the GPS requirement, the price goes down by 100EUR, so you're left with a good HRM and altimeter.
I had the same problem few years ago, so I finally set with a bit of a workaround system. When running on the trails, I go with a cheap Polar with just basic HRM functions (no analysis possible afterwards)
For the mountaineering I normally take Suunto Core - although the altimeter leaves a bit to be desired in terms of accuracy.
In both cases I complement this with an eTrex20 - it's a lot bigger than a watch and I have to keep it in hand when running, but I got accustomed to it now and frankly it gives me some good added value:
- current speed
- covered distance
- position
- and I always have a map reference if needed (maps for Garmin are easy to get)
HTH, cheers
RS
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
I have found that my Garmin 305 and now my 310xt have been more than adequate for altitude in the mountains. I don't think it's worth forking out even more money for one with an altimeter which are themselves inaccurate if the weather changes.
I have found that my Garmin 305 and now my 310xt have been more than adequate for altitude in the mountains. I don't think it's worth forking out even more money for one with an altimeter which are themselves inaccurate if the weather changes.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers: I've a garmin 405. Really not a fan, it has glitches on its read out, it loses accuracy, it can freeze, the bezel can't be used when you are sweating.. plus is the battery life.
The garmins are easy to use and link with strava et al easily.
The garmins are easy to use and link with strava et al easily.
In reply to Eric the Red: I reckon a GPS altimeter is pretty spot on unless you are on very steep ground, but certainly within 20m or so.. normally even down to the right meter. Barometer Altimeters are great if you calibrate but they lose that quickly.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers: The Ambit look ace and a quick search of the reviews comes out at pretty much universally praised.
The featureset looks really good and it does what i need it to.
The cost is not cheap but I have managed to get a good deal from GoOutdoors who are looking to be £50 cheaper then even Amazon. The Polar looks a bit flaky from some reviews Ive seen and the Garmin doesnt appear quite sao functional.
Most likely choice will be the Ambit.
The featureset looks really good and it does what i need it to.
The cost is not cheap but I have managed to get a good deal from GoOutdoors who are looking to be £50 cheaper then even Amazon. The Polar looks a bit flaky from some reviews Ive seen and the Garmin doesnt appear quite sao functional.
Most likely choice will be the Ambit.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
Have you checked if the batter life will suit you? For me, for example, charging the watch every few days is a straight no-no. Sure, my Core eats one watch battery per 6 months, but then again - charging the watch every 24-48 hrs is a complete disaster when on longer outings in the huts etc...
> Most likely choice will be the Ambit.
Have you checked if the batter life will suit you? For me, for example, charging the watch every few days is a straight no-no. Sure, my Core eats one watch battery per 6 months, but then again - charging the watch every 24-48 hrs is a complete disaster when on longer outings in the huts etc...
In reply to RockShock: The Ambit and the Fenix will both run for 50 hours whilst running GPS - the time between charges if you're not running GPS is yonks.
In reply to andy: Does the Ambit not track the ascent/descent on the runs. I'm reading the blurb and it appears to not do this i.e. lateral tracking only.
Also, does the ambit use barometric rather than GPS altimeter. What are the pros/cons of each?
Also, does the ambit use barometric rather than GPS altimeter. What are the pros/cons of each?
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers: You certainly get ascent/descent on runs - you can either have it as a number or as a graph. You can download the manual from the Suunto website.
BTW Chainreactioncycles.com have the Ambit at £314 if you don't want the HR strap. I use my Garmin strap as it now works with ANT+ devices like the Garmin bike sensor and foot pod (for indoor running if that's what floats your boat).
Barometric altimeter is more accurate than GPS as long as the weather's not changing dramatically - I tend to recalibrate mine every couple of weeks as I know the height at home. They have said they may add the facility to choose GPS or barometric altitude but they haven't as yet. They are pretty good at adding functionality - since it was launched they've added ANT+ connection, UK grid references, a basic mapping facility to navigation and the facility to add your own apps.
It's a very close run thing (boom boom) over the Fenix for me, but the fact they're both trying to outdo each other with software upgrades is good for the punter. As far as I can see the things that'll never be the same are that the Ambit cannot have a vibration alert added and the Fenix can't add the motion sensor ("fused speed" as they call it). At the end of the day impho the Ambit looks better (I'd get the black one - I wear it every day and it looks less bulky).
BTW Chainreactioncycles.com have the Ambit at £314 if you don't want the HR strap. I use my Garmin strap as it now works with ANT+ devices like the Garmin bike sensor and foot pod (for indoor running if that's what floats your boat).
Barometric altimeter is more accurate than GPS as long as the weather's not changing dramatically - I tend to recalibrate mine every couple of weeks as I know the height at home. They have said they may add the facility to choose GPS or barometric altitude but they haven't as yet. They are pretty good at adding functionality - since it was launched they've added ANT+ connection, UK grid references, a basic mapping facility to navigation and the facility to add your own apps.
It's a very close run thing (boom boom) over the Fenix for me, but the fact they're both trying to outdo each other with software upgrades is good for the punter. As far as I can see the things that'll never be the same are that the Ambit cannot have a vibration alert added and the Fenix can't add the motion sensor ("fused speed" as they call it). At the end of the day impho the Ambit looks better (I'd get the black one - I wear it every day and it looks less bulky).
In reply to andy:
I can probably squeeze the full system and strap for about that money. Is this a wrist strap or chest strap.
> (In reply to TheDrunkenBakers) You certainly get ascent/descent on runs - you can either have it as a number or as a graph. You can download the manual from the Suunto website.
>
> BTW Chainreactioncycles.com have the Ambit at £314 if you don't want the HR strap.
>
> BTW Chainreactioncycles.com have the Ambit at £314 if you don't want the HR strap.
I can probably squeeze the full system and strap for about that money. Is this a wrist strap or chest strap.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
Garmin 310xt. About hundred and sixty atm. Meets most of the requirements.
Garmin 310xt. About hundred and sixty atm. Meets most of the requirements.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
Chest - never seen an HRM that works on the wrist.
Where're you getting it for with HRM for that price? V cheap.
> (In reply to andy)
> [...]
>
> I can probably squeeze the full system and strap for about that money. Is this a wrist strap or chest strap.
> [...]
>
> I can probably squeeze the full system and strap for about that money. Is this a wrist strap or chest strap.
Chest - never seen an HRM that works on the wrist.
Where're you getting it for with HRM for that price? V cheap.
In reply to andy: Go Outdoors.
In store for £350 and then another 10% if I can prove that I can get it cheaper online, which I can.
Mwhahahahahaha.
In store for £350 and then another 10% if I can prove that I can get it cheaper online, which I can.
Mwhahahahahaha.
In reply to Darren09:
Another vote for garmin 310xt - does everything you have asked for - I use it for hill walking / running / mountain biking and download to Garmin connect & Sporttracks for stats. Proper waterproof too, unlike the 405 etc.
About £160 - £170 at Amazon.
Have a look here for review:- http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/09/garmin-forerunner-310xt-in-depth-review....
Another vote for garmin 310xt - does everything you have asked for - I use it for hill walking / running / mountain biking and download to Garmin connect & Sporttracks for stats. Proper waterproof too, unlike the 405 etc.
About £160 - £170 at Amazon.
Have a look here for review:- http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/09/garmin-forerunner-310xt-in-depth-review....
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers: Nice one - so it only has to be a quid cheaper soemwhere else and they'll knock 10% off? Mwahahahaha indeed.
In reply to Ken Shewry: I want something I can wear every day - I used to have a separate "running watch" but I sometimes run from home, sometimes from work and sometimes from a hotel - I found I was forever leaving my watch somewhere I wasn't, so i decided to get a watch I could wear all the time.
Suunto does it for me - expensive but ticks pretty much every box. I can run, cycle, ski and swim in it, and it wakes me up in the morning as well!
Suunto does it for me - expensive but ticks pretty much every box. I can run, cycle, ski and swim in it, and it wakes me up in the morning as well!
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
And also a mega in depth review of the Ambit here too -
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/04/suunto-ambit-in-depth-review.html
The Garmin 910xt replaced the 310xt but does pretty much the same thing - if I had your budget I would get the Garmin 910, but only because it's prettier than my 310. My primary use is running though, then cycling, then hill walking / climbing - Ambit looks great too.
And also a mega in depth review of the Ambit here too -
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/04/suunto-ambit-in-depth-review.html
The Garmin 910xt replaced the 310xt but does pretty much the same thing - if I had your budget I would get the Garmin 910, but only because it's prettier than my 310. My primary use is running though, then cycling, then hill walking / climbing - Ambit looks great too.
In reply to Ken Shewry: Just remembered another thing the Fenix has but the Ambit doesn't - it has a (very, very) basic map included, so if you're flying somewhere you can see where you are if you're sat by the window. Not terribly important, and something Suunto could add via software updates.
In reply to andy:
Fair point - and the Ambit aces the Garmins on non-gps use at 50 hours plus. I wear mine as a watch when I know I can charge it every night (along with my phone - humans need in-built solar chargers in the future...) though I think the Ambit will look better as a day-to-day watch.
Enjoy!
Ken
Fair point - and the Ambit aces the Garmins on non-gps use at 50 hours plus. I wear mine as a watch when I know I can charge it every night (along with my phone - humans need in-built solar chargers in the future...) though I think the Ambit will look better as a day-to-day watch.
Enjoy!
Ken
In reply to Ken Shewry:
The Garmin Fenix (and the Ambit) will do 50hrs of GPS recording if you set it to less frequent updates. With GPS off (ie just in watch mode) they'll run for up to 30 days.
> (In reply to andy)
>
> Fair point - and the Ambit aces the Garmins on non-gps use at 50 hours plus. I wear mine as a watch when I know I can charge it every night (along with my phone - humans need in-built solar chargers in the future...) though I think the Ambit will look better as a day-to-day watch.
>
> Enjoy!
>
> Ken
>
> Fair point - and the Ambit aces the Garmins on non-gps use at 50 hours plus. I wear mine as a watch when I know I can charge it every night (along with my phone - humans need in-built solar chargers in the future...) though I think the Ambit will look better as a day-to-day watch.
>
> Enjoy!
>
> Ken
The Garmin Fenix (and the Ambit) will do 50hrs of GPS recording if you set it to less frequent updates. With GPS off (ie just in watch mode) they'll run for up to 30 days.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers: Damnit, I didnt see the Fenix. How does that compare?
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
For a running watch you'll do no better than the Garmin Forerunner 610. Also Garmin connect is top notch and getting better defo check it out before making a decision finally Garmin customer service is as close to perfect as I've ever had from a company.
I did look at Polar as the shop recommended them BUT even the top of the range one felt like a cheap plasticy child's watch and yet cost nearly 500 quid!!. Also I think that Polar is more geared towards athletes rather than people like us.
For a running watch you'll do no better than the Garmin Forerunner 610. Also Garmin connect is top notch and getting better defo check it out before making a decision finally Garmin customer service is as close to perfect as I've ever had from a company.
I did look at Polar as the shop recommended them BUT even the top of the range one felt like a cheap plasticy child's watch and yet cost nearly 500 quid!!. Also I think that Polar is more geared towards athletes rather than people like us.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers: Have had my eye on a Fenix since it was released but the price is well over of my budget so have been waiting (in vain as it happens) for the price to come down.
I like most people here can get the BMC 10% discount but that's still too expensive. Would love to hear of any info on a retailer giving a goodish discount.
Thanks
I like most people here can get the BMC 10% discount but that's still too expensive. Would love to hear of any info on a retailer giving a goodish discount.
Thanks
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
I've got both - see my first post for my comparison. I'm pretty much decided on the Ambit as my "favourite" so may be selling my Fenix shortly.
dcrainmaker has a hugely detailed review of both watches and comparison of them.
> (In reply to TheDrunkenBakers) Damnit, I didnt see the Fenix. How does that compare?
I've got both - see my first post for my comparison. I'm pretty much decided on the Ambit as my "favourite" so may be selling my Fenix shortly.
dcrainmaker has a hugely detailed review of both watches and comparison of them.
In reply to andy: Ah yes, I read your original post but I didnt spot the model name.
In reply to Indy:
The 610's a great watch for running (and dcrainmaker's favourite!) - but I swapped for the Ambit as the Ambit (and Fenix) will do navigation as well. I'd have to disagree about Garmin's service though (although I know most people's experience is good) - I had a bike computer (Edge 800) fail 4 weeks after warranty and they wouldn't even consider replacing it. I did the usual "merchantable quality" thing but they told me that wasn't their issue and to take it up with the retailer. They're also pretty flaky when it comes to software upgrades - they have a history of releasing some pretty buggy code.
> (In reply to TheDrunkenBakers)
> For a running watch you'll do no better than the Garmin Forerunner 610. Also Garmin connect is top notch and getting better defo check it out before making a decision finally Garmin customer service is as close to perfect as I've ever had from a company.
> For a running watch you'll do no better than the Garmin Forerunner 610. Also Garmin connect is top notch and getting better defo check it out before making a decision finally Garmin customer service is as close to perfect as I've ever had from a company.
The 610's a great watch for running (and dcrainmaker's favourite!) - but I swapped for the Ambit as the Ambit (and Fenix) will do navigation as well. I'd have to disagree about Garmin's service though (although I know most people's experience is good) - I had a bike computer (Edge 800) fail 4 weeks after warranty and they wouldn't even consider replacing it. I did the usual "merchantable quality" thing but they told me that wasn't their issue and to take it up with the retailer. They're also pretty flaky when it comes to software upgrades - they have a history of releasing some pretty buggy code.
In reply to andy:
Can you get the UK Grid Ref when you're out and about? If so that's excellent.
>
> Barometric altimeter is more accurate than GPS as long as the weather's not changing dramatically - I tend to recalibrate mine every couple of weeks as I know the height at home. They have said they may add the facility to choose GPS or barometric altitude but they haven't as yet. They are pretty good at adding functionality - since it was launched they've added ANT+ connection, UK grid references, a basic mapping facility to navigation and the facility to add your own apps.
>
> Barometric altimeter is more accurate than GPS as long as the weather's not changing dramatically - I tend to recalibrate mine every couple of weeks as I know the height at home. They have said they may add the facility to choose GPS or barometric altitude but they haven't as yet. They are pretty good at adding functionality - since it was launched they've added ANT+ connection, UK grid references, a basic mapping facility to navigation and the facility to add your own apps.
>
Can you get the UK Grid Ref when you're out and about? If so that's excellent.
In reply to mattrm:
Yep - quite a decent range of location options.
> (In reply to andy)
>
> [...]
>
> Can you get the UK Grid Ref when you're out and about? If so that's excellent.
>
> [...]
>
> Can you get the UK Grid Ref when you're out and about? If so that's excellent.
Yep - quite a decent range of location options.
In reply to andy:
They were good to their word. Go outdoors matched some German supplier on Amazon ***********AND************ beat the price by 10%. Amazing. I would have been happy with a price match but the Ambit for £310 with heart monitor is pretty good for me.
Now Ive got to learn how to use the bloody thing.
> (In reply to TheDrunkenBakers) Nice one - so it only has to be a quid cheaper soemwhere else and they'll knock 10% off? Mwahahahaha indeed.
They were good to their word. Go outdoors matched some German supplier on Amazon ***********AND************ beat the price by 10%. Amazing. I would have been happy with a price match but the Ambit for £310 with heart monitor is pretty good for me.
Now Ive got to learn how to use the bloody thing.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers: Wont beat the Breitling for style though
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
Brilliant - that's a great deal. Must say I definitely prefer the look of my Ambit to my Fenix, but I think the Fenix currently slightly has the edge on functionality (multiple alarms, auto-pause, basemap and it recognises time zone changes), although there's very little Suunto can't match with software updates.
> (In reply to andy)
> [...]
>
> They were good to their word. Go outdoors matched some German supplier on Amazon ***********AND************ beat the price by 10%. Amazing. I would have been happy with a price match but the Ambit for £310 with heart monitor is pretty good for me.
>
> Now Ive got to learn how to use the bloody thing.
> [...]
>
> They were good to their word. Go outdoors matched some German supplier on Amazon ***********AND************ beat the price by 10%. Amazing. I would have been happy with a price match but the Ambit for £310 with heart monitor is pretty good for me.
>
> Now Ive got to learn how to use the bloody thing.
Brilliant - that's a great deal. Must say I definitely prefer the look of my Ambit to my Fenix, but I think the Fenix currently slightly has the edge on functionality (multiple alarms, auto-pause, basemap and it recognises time zone changes), although there's very little Suunto can't match with software updates.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers: Oh and no matter what people say in my experience the Suunto HR strap is MILES better than the spiky Garmin one.
In reply to andy:
After about 5 mins, didnt even know it was there.
> (In reply to TheDrunkenBakers) Oh and no matter what people say in my experience the Suunto HR strap is MILES better than the spiky Garmin one.
After about 5 mins, didnt even know it was there.
In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:
They're both quite comfy - the "spiky" element of the Garmin one refers to the fact they often give ludicrously high readings, sometimes just at the start of a run, but also when it's windy and you've got a waterproof/windproof top on.
> (In reply to andy)
> [...]
>
> After about 5 mins, didnt even know it was there.
> [...]
>
> After about 5 mins, didnt even know it was there.
They're both quite comfy - the "spiky" element of the Garmin one refers to the fact they often give ludicrously high readings, sometimes just at the start of a run, but also when it's windy and you've got a waterproof/windproof top on.
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