At the top, you can view total activity time and mileage:. From there, the files are available locally in. TCX file format, as well as copied to Garmin Connect where you can view your activity and complete workout history.
For those tech savvy folks, the. These files are copied locally on your computer, and are available for you to export to other applications should you need to:.
TCX files. The site enables you to setup calendars, track history and even set goals. From a per activity basis, it allows you to see basic information such as pace, speed, altitude and maps of where you went. Finally, you can also replay back your run — allowing you to map exact heart rates, speed and other metrics against a moving map of where you were at that exact time.
In general Garmin Connect is a good solution for the average athlete looking to track information about their workouts. It does not however cater well to the advanced athlete looking to get more analysis out of their workouts. The next three pieces of software are simply ones that I like — though there are plenty more out there that do similar things.
Garmin Connect supports both PC and Mac. Sport Tracks is a great alternative that allows far more in depth analysis. You can read more about Sport Tracks in my 3. The free version is limited to 2 plug-ins, and also limits some reporting functionality. Note that Sport Tracks is only available on PC. I use Training Peaks on a day to day basis to upload workouts from my devices to the online site.
From there, my coach is able to analyze the workouts in depth and provide commentary. Training Peaks has a free variant, and a paid variant on a subscription basis.
I use the paid variant, but most of the features that FR would be able to take advantage of are offered in the free variant. Training Peaks supports PC and Mac. Last but not least — is Golden Cheetah. But for those cyclists that want to analyze their workouts — this is an amazingly detailed piece of free software. The Forerunner has a number of compatible accessories that you can either buy individually, or with one of the bundled packages.
Garmin introduced a slightly new heart rate strap with the Edge — and that same strap is being carried through to the Forerunner and the FR And based on my testing — it does a pretty good job of this.
However, be aware — there are still two older more common types out there, which compared, look like this:. The new edition of the premium soft strap is currently only available with the bundled FR, FR and Edge units, however, Garmin has confirmed will eventually be sold separately as well.
Personally, I love it — since it allows me to easily record workouts while in a gym on a treadmill:. Plus, the battery lasts forever at least a year. At the time the FR and FRCX originally came out, there were simply no other options in this form factor or size.
Which, in a long winded manner brings me around to my principal issue with the FR — the touch bezel. As such, I found that in general the touch bezel simply adds more complexity than is needed. Buttons in my opinion work just fine here for this purpose at this time. Both watches are just as capable actually, more capable. It now supports the footpod,. BC — Not fully waterproofed.
As always, thanks for reading, I appreciate it. If you have any questions — feel free to post them below, I try to answer as often as possible. Hopefully you found this review useful. By doing so, you not only support the site and all the work I do here — but you also get a sweet discount. Note: As of June 11th, , the FR has been discontinued, any remaining inventory is simply that — leftover inventory.
Additionally, you can also use Amazon to purchase the unit all colors shown after clicking through to the left or accessories though, no discount. Or, anything else you pickup on Amazon helps support the site as well socks, laundry detergent, cowbells. And as you can see, I mix and match accessories based on compatibility — so if a compatible accessory is available at a lower price below, you can grab that instead. Thanks for reading! And lastly, if you felt this review was useful — I always appreciate feedback in the comments below.
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Subscribe me to the newsletter. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can click here to Subscribe without commenting. Thank you for the comparaison chart. My old is still up tu date, and cheap and ugly, i admit! Thank you for this helpful and thorough review. I had thought maybe Garmin was what I was looking for but now reading about the touch bezel perhaps that is too much of a pain. I have not had a GPS watch before. I am trying to figure out which device to get that does the following when I run: -I can customize the display to tell me current pace, average pace, distance, time elapsed—all on one screen.
Would also love it to tell me HR and actual time on that screen but that may be asking for too much at once. Epic review Ray, thanks. In the end, glad I went with the XT. It looks pretty sharp. I want the newer HR strap. Can I live with the bezel…. Great review as always Ray. Great review as usual! I just picked up the FR60 in part due to your review and was surprised to find it contained the new HR strap as well! They must have just started bundling it with the FR60, the manual still describes the older premium strap.
Two things that I was frustrated with in case of was quite long satellite pick up — sometimes up to two minutes and secondly touch besel behaviour in wet conditions and I am hoping for some improvement within these two issues. I want to seriously thank you for the reviews of the garmin fitness watches. Again, thanks for such thorough reviews. Ok, have to share this becaus it just blew my mind. The one thing I did want to mention has to do with the GPS lock-on. I had the FR open yesterday and, on a lark, I tried to see if I could get satellites through my office window I work in downtown DC.
So I walked to a wide open metro entrance area and… it took a while. So, this morning I opened the XT and was just fussing around with it, charging it, syncing it to the computer, etc. Like, in less than 15 seconds, while indoors!!! I turned it off, walked into my bedroom at least 8 feet away from any windows and it acquired signals again!!!
This seriously blows my mind. Out of the box, it was faster than the although under slightly different conditions, i. I have the myself and im dissapointed to see that the basically is just the same watch, with just the same flaws. I think the bezel design is a clever way of navigating the menues, however if Garmin could just swap the touch bezel with a turning style bezel like the suunto core has it would have been some much better for outdoors.
It would have been the ultimate watch! Hi Ray! Are the differences between the two really that great? Thank you so much! Actually, scratch that. Thank you so much for your blog! Hi Ray. Is the sensor part of the HR strap the same as the current Premium strap or are both the sensor and strap different? Is it worth waiting for the bundled strap to be available separately? Absolutely outstanding review.
Keep up the Great work! Unfortunately the FR uses the same chip as the FR for satellites, based on my conversations with the Garmin Engineers. The new strap is now available seperately on Garmin. You helped me chose between the and won! Thanks for taking the time to post ALL of your reviews. I read a lot of negative reviews about some of the Garmin watches elsewhere, but none of them were in depth as yours. Currently confused between Edge and the Forerunner Which option is better considering the ruggedness and occasional falls on the trail?
Thanx for all your great reviews. In this one I was wandering why you recommend the FR60 for the advanced runner. According to the Garmin site the FR60 does not have the advanced workout feature link to buy.
Cause this would make the FR60 far more interesting for runners who are not only training by fixed time interval workouts. And how about direction? Those functions would be great if you like to do orienteering and geocaching, I understand from the specs you can encode waypoints. Witch model would you go for? Any and all feed back would really appreciated by all. Do you think that the i worth the extra buck compared to the ?
I have the I like it. I will be using it during an IM for the run portion which will last about 4 hours 30 minutes. Do you have any info on full discharge time?
Yup, check out my in depth review here: link to dcrainmaker. You can create workouts using Garmin Training Center and download them to the watch. You can simply tap to go into a mode to show you current position and compass. Thanks all, and sorry for the delay here — been a bit of a crazy few months with wedding and honeymoon, just getting a chance to catchup on all the past comments.
Thanks beforehand. I am thinking to also use it for Hiking. If you cannot, what can be used? Your review is awesome! Thanks for the help. I have been using my Forerunner for a about three weeks now and I love it! Also I found a relatively inexpensive fix for the difficulty of using the bezel while wearing gloves.
They are thin, and great for running, but the finger tips have a piece of polymer on them that allows them to work with touch screen technology on smart phones… AND the bezel on my Garmin.
Just an idea! Sorry if you already mentioned this as an idea in your review, I read the aspects of it that were most important to me more carefully. I can even begin to tell you how impressed I was with your review, how thorough it was, and how clear your information was. I found this very helpful and helped me make my decision of which watch to get.
Thank you! Thanks for all your hard work. The is my first GPS watch and your review has been a big help. Dick A. I always hate running with guys that think that they can leave the house for a 16 mile run with no plan because they have a Garmin. But because it was a gift I have used it dutifully and although my eyes are not useful enough anymore to actually read any data during a run, I do enjoy having the data to ponder post-run.
The rub is the technology they use. You can either use their Virgin Pedometer or upload your data from polarpersonal trainer. So after scowering the web for 20 minutes I gave up and thought I would ask a disinterested someone who might be able to tell me this: Can I upload data from my Garmin to polarpersonaltrainer.
Does just manually enterting in the activity details on PolarPersonalTrainer. Thanks for the great review! My wife started running half-marathons about a year ago, and now runs 4 times a week. I need to buy her a Garmin watch for Christmas and I was clueless as to which one.
Since she is not a serious competitor, and not a techy by any means, it looks like the is the watch for us. I hugely appreciate your input. Do you know what that numbe means? Excellent review. Even though they specs state that the does not calculate recovery heartrate, I am surprised.
Does the review data show recovery anywhere? When searching the internet for product reviews, I came across your review; they were very detailed; thank you. My question to you, for a newbie at both sports, which FRs would you recommend. Your feedback is most welcome. Thank you. I ran my first race with a watch this week-end 10K and was pleasantly surprised by the precision of the GPS.
However, when I uploaded my data to Garmin Connect, I was unable to see my course on a map. New guy here looking at gps watches. Ive recently started running cross country and im torn between the forerunner for the added features and the forerunner for the smaller size my wrists arent exactly big.
I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on the two. Thanks for the thorough review. I just returned my Polar RSx SD because of the poor quality, dark screen, dim back light, aftermarket FlowLink, having to calibrate big foot pod, etc. Is this the only device that offers 5 heart rate based training options or does the old as well?
Ran a marathon after one. When you said In Depth you really meant it! I love reading your reviews rainmaker — I only wish I had before I bought the ! I find the screens change with a small bump from clothing or even my wrist and then I get all confused before I realise the data is different. Not entirely to be honest. Great review. Have you heard of any issues with downloading workouts with with Windows 7?
However, on my actual data screens, it only changes the VP screen to speed. My other screens still display pace. Nice review, appreciate you putting up so much information. In the end, I went with the The is way more than I need, and much more than I want to spend. The is a nice mix of features and value, plus it feels like a normal watch. Over a year later and the is still going strong.
It has also survived a few open water swims without any sign of slowing down. All in all, I have to disagree with your assessment that the is only for the person who wants the touch bezel.
It is a perfect fit for the recreational i. By comparison, a training buddy bought the XT not long before I got the and his unit takes twice as long to find a GPS signal, has intermittent issues with the lap button being non-responsive, and the case is beat to crap because it is so large and catches on everything.
I use an old Garmin forerunner and now I have to change it. The bezel and umidity sensibility of the Garmin, compensates the poor customizability of the Timex RT in special way for the advanced training program.
What do you believe? What do you suggest me to buy? Enjoy your reviews a lot. Sometimes it slowly creaps down to my normal heart rate but sometimes I just say screw it and go for my run. Do u think it is time already to replace it? Thanks for any insight. I have a brand new FR that has the exact same HRM issue that all of my Garmin GPS platforms have shared… irratic heart rate readings until you get a little sweaty and conduct electricity a little better. I have found that a mild saline solution improves the initial performance.
Also, some of the tech-weaves that shirts are made from now also excite the little device until they are damp. Anonymous, sounds like you just need to replace the heart monitor battery. They are usually good for about a year, so that is probably why you are getting sporadic results. DC, thanks for your reviews on the Although I feel your dislike for the bevel biased your review when it came to suggesting this watch for the casual runner who might want to grow with it into the next level of customization.
Perhaps I am behind the times on these reviews. I have become heavily hooked on running. I just ran my first half in May, my first 5k in April and have several paid for over the summer and am in a marathon run camp now. I am looking for a garmin. I have spoken with my favorite run store in my home town as well as my former run camp buddies- I have heard that the Garmin is the way to go.
Given the the and are out. Is the still the way to go? I have just purchased the and learning how to use its features. One question on the GPS navigation options, how can i enter GPS coordinates on a point and then use the navigation feature to follow these points to a final goal.
I would like to use this for hiking. THank you ver much Pavel. GPS watch. Seeing the Timex had a lot more features, and was a bit less expensive, I almost bought it. The only reason I had put the aside was the Bezel issues people were describing. Used it for 2 weeks now and very happy with it.
That way, we have our specific heart rate zones. Now, I would love to kick the butt of the person who came up with how you close this watch! It takes forever! I love hiking and that would be an super extra in my training watch! It uses a GPS based altimeter.
From my point of view there are 4 secrets how to do: 1 The Bezel is not made to change the settings when you are training…. I think, if you are entering a program mode, the softare needs 1 or 2 seconds to load up. Great write up, and thanks so much for all the thought and time to put it together. Calling this a review is a disservice. Or is it only designed durability for indoors? I got this watch in the end and your review has been very helpful in getting up and running with it.
I have a different take on the bezel to you. Even if they use a capacitive bezel, the angle of the current bezel keeps your finger away from the screen, whereas a flat bezel would allow your finger to again obscure it. As such I think the bezel is a very good way of coping with having many features on a small watch without having a large number of buttons on. Many thanks for your amazingly thorough reviews, which have been very helpful as guidance for which watch I should buy!
However, what remains unclear to me are the navigation capabilities of this and other watches. Then, since over a year I regularly join a Sunday morning running group as every time we go somewhere new, which is a great way to get to know the area! But also meaning, I spend half of my valuable Sunday afternoons tracking those routes on Runmap. Which made me look out for a GPS watch that can point me in the right direction.
IMHO, my 2nd need should be the primary target of GPS, yet it seems that most running watches offer no or very limited navigational features. Anyways, from your and other sites I understood that the FR does allow following a breadcrumb path, but does it simultaneously record the workout?
And how about the bezel-less FR am I right that its virtual racer feature does not offer e. Or can it alert me to e. And will the GPS be accurate enough in the forest in the first place? What other affordable devices of reliable brands offer a suitable navigation feature?
Thanks, I just purchased a and you said that the accuracy is on par with the Are you still finding this to be true.
Is there a way to smooth the pace reading? Would you change any of your opinions on how the performs, apart from the bezel? I have trouble with my FR on the interval side. What is wrong with it? Please help. Many thanks. Debating between the XT and the Mostly for running, some bike and, on the rare occasion, duathlon. I can get the quite a bit cheaper I think. If you leave the bezel out of the equation, is the xt still far superior for my uses than the ?
I am so frustrated with the Garmin selection right now. My wife has the cx, which I generally like, and am looking at getting something for myself. The has all the features I need, and though a bit thick, could still pass for a normal watch. It is also often cheaper than the The only problem is that I know my wife is often frustrated with how long it takes her to acquire satellites and a position, and the uses the same chipset.
Finally, the , the best by far. All the features, smallest size, new GPS etc, but it is way to expensive. Any gouge on the next update to the lineup? Hello There, What a great blog you have! I really like the way you present your review of the nice toys you have a chance to play with. The Timex Run Trainer and the Garmin So the , but my concern was about the Bezel, of course :!!! So my question is, and some anonymous poster seam to have answered it see comment 34 , would it work better with Capacitive Touch Screen Gloves?
Many of the most recent long fingers bike gloves have such capacitive material on some fingers. Thanks for your answer. Thanks for the great review. I just purchased a refurbished fr a couple of weeks ago and have been really enjoying it. The last few runs though, it has shown my start position consistently off by a couple hundred yards it seems like. The track stays pretty far off but slowly comes back to my known course after about the first mile. Many thanks for the detailed reviews.
I think it will. Heart issues preclude exceeding upper limit. Merrily we run and when workout is over all is well except… my route is not being mapped for the workout. Any suggestions? I just purchased the and cant find the countdown time. I only find alarm times….
Great review!!! Very detailed. I really like the summary review and breakdown recommendations. I am a wannabe triathlete. I am a consistent 5k occasional 10k runner and want to train for one marathon. Do you stand by this breakdown recommendation or do you have an updated one. A little birdie told me Santa wants to bring me a watch for Xmas.
Thanks for the review. I was looking at the with HRM. Your review has persuaded me the is the better option. Hi there — I have a question. It seems to take me forever to navigate through all the screens and my T2 times are slow enough as it is. Unfortunately not. I have a question. I am a beginner runner. I wonder how the and as it is warn out of training zone, above or below. It is an alarm, the display blinks, how do I know I left my training zone without looking at the clock?
As the clock warns me? Hi, great review, I am a newbie to this site and I will definitely be using it more often. One thing I cannot seem to do is get an average pace setting — I have reviewed themanuals and asked friends if they can help, but to no avail.
Do you know, or have you worked out if this is possible. I would be very grateful if you know how to do this, you could let me know,. I bought this device based on your review, and will be using it for the first time today. The device is HUGE!!!! I will have to use a thick filler wristband under it, keep it in my pocket, or hang it from a string around my neck. Even if I were to switch to the soft wristband, the rigid molded plastic assembly would still be way too wide. Just to put this comment in perspective, I am average sized, not unusually small or thin.
I just played with it for a few moments, but the touch bezel has its own rules, so I have to follow them — which I am fine with — it actually doesnt seem that bad. I have had this for about a month, and I like it very much.
One day after a workout, the screen just went blank. It seems to be working, ie. Any Ideas? Thanks for the very good review. But, it is a long enough time to annoy me with how difficult it is to upload the data with the clip. I like touch features, but I am a tech nerd. Also, like one of the Anon posters above said very well, you should have your watch setup before you run.
If you are trying to create or modify on the run, while still trying to maintain pace, you are asking for issues. Just remember the 7 Ps: proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance. My watch gets delivered tomorrow, and while this review gave me some initial buyer remorse, I doubt that I will return it for another watch that either does not have all of the features I want or one that is overkill for my needs. Thanks for the great review Ray.
Just an update on the I love it, enormous size and all. To solve the size problem, I cut a section off of the ankle portion of a very thick sock and use it as a wristband under the device. The stored workout info is really useful! Any word on why the Garmin has been discontinued according to the Garmin website? I see no other watches in the series. Perhaps they have thrown in the towel on the bezel? My local running store had a Garmin rep on site last night for their Wednesday run.
However, once I saw the , I started having watch envy. I have the brilliant in many ways but as far as i can see it has one massive flaw , its not water proof at all , i mean even shower or light rain will make it go haywire. I have been caught out by showers on long distance runs such as marathons ,where it may be fine when you set off but only to change halfway round.
When you consider this is a watch for out door pursuits i find this a huge problem. I would have thought the brains at Garmin would have seen this major oversight. But, is it safe to use GPS in plane?
Most airlines allow it. It depends. Some watches, like the FR or FR go under just fine ignoring the waterproofing issues. Whereas the FRXT due to the blockiness of it, less so. How can I store automatically the time spent in a specific heart zone? You could use something like Training Peaks to do that online, as well as Strava and a few others. Thanks Ray, for an excellent and in-depth review of Forerunner I would like to know, if some feature in the instrument needs to be turned on or does it require an additional accessory, for it to record and display the weather information.
It automatically happens for some locations, based on the activity location. Thanks for an excellent review. In fact I decided to buy the forerunner because of your nice work with the review. Part of my research in the university is about Heart Rate Variability, so I wonder if there is a way to extract heart rate data better if raw data from the forerunner May be there exist some software to do that?
I do trained using HR zone …. I have read you review on the new Timex trainner 2. I am looking for a watch that work well for cycling, that has a reliable GPS and for which I can used the HR zone — what would you recommend?
Most apps do show that online, and work with a wide variety of watches. Just wanna say thanks for this incredible review, read thoroughly, followed the amazon link, bought the watch, use the watch, love the watch…..
If I buy this watch today Garmin say it discontinued do you have any idea when it was manufacture? It will be new watch or something years old? As long as you buy it listed as new from Amazon or others, it should be new. You can find watches like the FRXT and others on sale for nearly the same price or cheaper these days. My first one just stopped working at about 11 months. It started with freezing up as I was setting up a run. Both have had identical problems.
If the pattern continues my replacement will be dead in a few weeks. Got the same issue Megan … mine froze after 2 weeks of usage … got it back to Cosco to get a new one … then made a couple run with the GPS on, went back home with no GSP data being recorded ….
Happen twice. All the miles, laps, etc was recorder but not the GSP data. Also, the breezier thing made me crazy … It made the Watch froze a couple time, i had to reset to factory to make it work again…. Finlay, returned the 2nd Watch back to Cosco …. Thank you so much for your super helpful product reviews.
After spending way too long sifting though everything, and comparing prices, I decided I could learn to love the touch bezel and I bought the When I reach a workout duration of , the time counting display stops counting time and the time section freezes. And all of my runs have been uploaded to Garmin Connect. I must admit it is very cool to see a map of each of my runs and the roads I have run on.
Yup, exactly. I finally decided to buy it super promotion. I am very satisfied. I just do not get to set the time at which the power saving mode is activated. Is that possible? If so, how? Which do you recommend? Thanks in advance! The and its bezel control will go the way of the Dodo and not be supported, if Garmin is even supporting them now.
Thank you both! Finally I went for the xt sacrificing the day-to-day watchability for the battery life, ruggedness, etc… Please note that if by accident I become a triathlete or Ironman finisher it will be on your conscience! Cheers, Axel. The is discontinued, so keep that in mind. I am replacing my with a for Christmas because I have outgrown the functionality, but I will keep it because it is a very solid backup.
Has anyone experienced a problem with getting the Forerunner to take a charge. Hi Rainmaker, Great Review!! I only have one question. I have recently purchased a turbo trainer and will be using my forerunner for that. No, unfortunately not. I have had a Forerunner for about two years. I bought it primarily for the HR monitor but it has never worked very well for me, so use of it has been sporadic.
I thought I had a faulty one so I returned my first purchase after a few weeks and bought a second one. Same problems. Lots of spiking and erratic readings that are way off the mark. Tech support seems to feel that a new battery will solve any problem but I have tried that several times with no improvement. Has anyone else experienced this and found a fix? I have tried gel, wetting the whole strap, placing it differently on my body female.
If there is no fix, what other HR monitor would you recommend? Appreciate your in depth reviews and any help you can provide. This: link to dcrainmaker.
Buying the Polar strap fixed the problem for me. I have had this watch for some time. I have always felt like it is shorting my distance. And doing so consistently. I compare to measured courses, other running companions with Garmin devices and I am usually short. On average about. This is getting frustrating. I have updated firmware and have done a hard reset.
Any other suggestions? Updating the firmware and a hard reset is exactly what I would do. I wish I had a better option for you. I have called Garmin. They recommended testing distance at a track for 4 laps. I bought this watch at Costco and could actually still return it.
Costco is currently selling the I kind of thought the same thing. Plus a track is m which is not equal to one mile. So it would be a refund and purchase. I already have everything in the bundle. Feels like a no brainer even if the accuracy is the same. I have had this watch for some time, and I would like to konw if there is any app to connect it to my iphone and trak my workouts?
Not the FR unfortunately. See here for more details: link to dcrainmaker. Hello, I am very disappointed that it is not possible to have more than one training advanced mode sent from Garmin Connect. Thank you for your informative review.
Also, I have set my Virtual Partener time, but cannot change it from km to miles. Can I change this? To change the Virtual Partner, you need to change the overall system settings from Metric to Statute. Grato Beto. Now what to replace it with, something that will last a lot longer I hope, , , ? I mainly run but do commute by bike so could do with a watch for the bike as well, any suggestions? Does Garmin connect permit you to manually enter a run? I occassionally run on a treadmill and would like to enter my run information.
One of the things I am looking for is my total workout time at each km when I am reviewing the workout. I want to be able to look back and see how long it took me to get to 10km but instead all I am seeing is my lap time at that specific km.
No, not really unfortunately. Online at Garmin Connect you could see it via the Player view, but not on the watch itself. Now I want to learn an interval running and would like to set up my device for that. In order to read the data I need to use reading glasses which is highly uncomfortable during the interval training. Does Forerunner have different sound signals for faster-slower-rest segments of interval training?
Could not find that feature. It kept on flashing all through the run. Now on garmin connect site, i see the details of only the 1st Km when the message started flashing , but on the map and player, it shows the complete distance.
Should i go for it? Wondering if anyone has had the same problem as me. I went running with a group the other day and ran just over 6km. My watch read 5. I thought this was quite a big difference. So yesterday I used mapmyrun.
Anyone else having this problem? How do I fix this? Thank you for your indepth review. I bought the forerunner about 3 years ago based on your insight! The prevalence of Global Positioning System technology allows us to put a pin in a map and a geographical context on our activity. While the is still a little on the large side at 4.
The watch is light at 60 grams — 3g less than a G-Shock classic — and the 1. As well as the buttons, Garmin has upgraded the bezel control from the to give it more sensitive multi-touch controls. Two fingers either side of the face turn on the backlight and different areas of the bezel can be pressed to bring up various functions.
Scroll clockwise and anti-clockwise and you can navigate up and down through statistics and menu options. The system is responsive but not over sensitive and in-run operation is smooth and straightforward.
Frustratingly, we found that it navigated deep into random sections of the menu after being activated by a wet sleeve while jogging, and that wiping rain off the face to read the display also activated the backlight or menu options.
Also, the watch keeps recording data while on a run regardless of the menu selection. The has a water resistance rating of IPX7, which means it has been tested to work underwater at a depth of one metre for up to thirty minutes.
Where the excels is the training functionality which will help athletes go further, faster. One example is the Virtual Partner tool, which lets you race alongside — or against — a digital trainer, telling you how far you are ahead or off a set time.
The Courses functionality allows you to store previously completed routes. Once you select a course, the watch displays an arrow to direct you to the starting point with an accuracy of two to three feet. Overstep the location and the watch tells you to take a few steps back. Once you start your course, the watch shows a live countdown of your expected arrival time alongside a countdown of your previous time.
This is an ingenious use of technology which calculates speed over distance while working out the live timing of your pace over the course, while also relaying the time of your saved run. Both Courses and Virtual Partner are among the features that set the apart from lower spec Garmin watches. The also comes with a charging clip and charger with multi-region adapters and two additional fabric wrist straps. Cyclists can opt for a Cadence Sensor which measures pedalling strokes per minute to measure the speed of an indoor trainer.
In the most basic Training mode, the watch proved more accurate than the GPS functionality on an iPhone using the free Adidas miCoach app. Over a distance of 6. Looking at the route afterwards, the accurately showed where we had crossed the road, while miCoach reported a near-suicidal diagonal dash through a crossing. This is the kind of detail which makes a difference to serious runners and one which the Forerunner records extremely well.
We were able to access a wealth of information during the run without being overwhelmed due to the ability to customise how the data is displayed. You can choose how statistics are displayed on up to three screens with as many as three data fields in each and during the run you can switch between the screens or set them to auto-scroll.
Each screen can have one main display area and up to two smaller ones. We found the most informative and clear setting to be time-lapsed in the bigger field, with mile-pace and distance in the smaller two, with heart rate displayed on the second screen. With up to 35 data fields you can track everything from calories burned and elevation to compass heading and GPS accuracy. Runs are stored in the watch so you can review your data by scrolling through the History section. We particularly like the little touches Garmin thought of.
Post run data really comes alive on the Garmin Connect service. After signing up for a myGarmin account, you can view workout details and analysis in a treasure trove of statistics.
View run details on Garmin Connect. You can also relive the run using a player which flies through a map of your journey, feeding out the recorded statistics along the route. We have some criticism of the service, however. Also, we registered a username and when we subsequently tried to sign in, were told that no such user existed.
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