UKC

Hi,

i want to buy a basic watch based device that when i run in the hills can tell me how far i went, what speed i did and how far up and down i went.

Very happy to buy 2nd hand off ebay.

I have done some research but as i was interested in 2nd hand ( i am skint so need it as cheap as possible ) i was finding it hard without wading through a lot of info.

Any pointers most welcome.

In reply to biscuit: seemed to be either the ambit or fenix when I was looking and I couldn't find many/any 2nd hand. I went for a new fenix, it's fantastic and gives some very useful data. I did see the old style ambit going for £280 the other day, let me see if I can find the link...

In reply to alooker: http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Accessories/Navigation/Altimeters-Alt...

I preferred the fenix but they both seemed very good.

In reply to biscuit: If not too interested in HR and you have a smart phone, have you tried http://www.strava.com/

If you want ocasional HR, you could try https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/instant-heart-rate-heart-rate/id409625068?m...

So if you have a smart phone you could have what you want for free.

In reply to Bob kate bob:

don't have a smart phone as i keep dropping my phones off cliffs and such like.

My brother may be giving me his old i phone soon though so that could be the way ahead. Thanks a lot.

In reply to biscuit:
>

Garmin have brought out some more affordable devices for those that don't want the added bells and whistles. Eg.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Forerunner-Sportswatch-Heart-Monitor/dp/B004...

However you don't say exactly what your budget is which would help. I seem to remember hearing about some around the £100 mark, but I'm still using my Forerunner 405 from about 5 years ago so didn't pay much interest.

Smartphone apps are good, and I use Strava on my iPhone when I don't have my watch, or its not charged up, but:

- Its annoying to use the screen when hands are wet, cold, sweaty
- You keep it in a pocket so hard to keep easily checking distance/time, unlike a watch
- The app (especially on the iPhone) is a bit flaky (although I think this is down to the poor GPS in the iPhone)
- less likely to drop it off a cliff if its strapped to your wrist

In reply to alooker:

tis indeed very good but also quite a lot.

In reply to yorkshireman:

Garmin 405 + HRM could be the way ahead. About £80 on ebay 2nd hand.

Thanks.

In reply to biscuit:

I want to buy a device that will make basically my brainless 1-2 day hikes and long trail runs that are advertised as "bring a map and compass", given that I can pre-load it the day before. After a thorough review of the technology out there, I've decided that such a device is 1-2 years away. There are too many compromises with the existing stuff, though its getting closer.

In reply to FallingUp:Not sure that is quite true. I have a wrist mounted Garmin 910x. I save all my normal ski tours on that and if the weather comes in, I just pull them up and follow the track.

In reply to biscuit: soleus gps watch at sweatshop this week for 50 quid. dont know what they are like but seems cheap enough...half price.