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Have been thinking about getting a GPS watch for a while after being sick of inaccurate tracking from phones.
Was wondering what others experiences were with watches like the Suunto Ambit 2/3 and Garmin Fenix. I was looking at watches that combine GPS and Barometric pressure as they see to have better battery life overall and their accurancy is greater! Just wanting experiences/thoughts/recommendations?
I use a garmin 310xt. Pretty basic but superb battery life. Got a quick release strap so can wear it in the wrist for running but also fits a standard garmin handlebar mount on the bike too.
Tres cheap these days too
I'm not sure the GPS watches will be any more accurate than a phone.
With a lot it is a software setting to alter the sample rate/accuracy.
Xt310 here too Tilly. All my friends have them too and although they sometimes fail (steam up or corrupt) Garmin are ace at sorting them out. Quite bulky but 20hrs battery life.
Sam's got the basic 110 which has only about 5-6 hrs life and no HRM, etc. It still works well but defaults to running and is really set up for run data.
This .
somouk - Member
I'm not sure the GPS watches will be any more accurate than a phone.
With a lot it is a software setting to alter the sample rate/accuracy.
I've gone from an Ambit to an Ambit2 and now have the Ambit3. Really cracking watch and is my do-it-all watch if I'm not wearing my Submariner. Tough as nails and has more functionality than you know what to do with!
GPS accuracy is great, although the best I have is a Garmin Glo Bluetooth GPS unit which has a 10Hz sampling rate. You can use that with your phone to preserve battery life and gain accuracy. The Ambit is limited to 1Hz, but the baro will no doubt be handy.
Waiting for the Fenix 3 here.
i've got the Suunto Ambit and used it for climbing, mountaineering, running and riding! Works well and easy to use and easy display to read. Battery life is pretty good and can charge it up via mains / USB. Movescount software is easy to use and links in with Strava etc.
I like mine!
Got a fenix 3. Really nice piece of kit. Used it to navigate a route at the weekend. Very impressed . Looks nice too and wireless upload is lush
Waiting for the Fenix 3 here.
+1
I've got a Polar M400.
Its much, much more accurate than both my phones. On strava it perfectly tracks roads and fire tracks that the phone used to just wobble around vaguely close to.
Oooh, that Fenix 3 looks nice!
Big problem with the Fenix 3 is when o when is the bloody thing going to be released in the UK????
Big problem with the Fenix 3 is when o when is the bloody thing going to be released in the UK????
I think some folk have them - there is a bundle listed on Expansys too due in in 9 days.
http://www.expansys.com/garmin-fenix-3-grey-performer-bundle-273859/
Really wishing I'd never seen the Fenix3....
Need to talk myself out of it now....
I can whole heatedly recommend the polar v800. I only went for that over the 400 as the 800 has a vibra alert and as I'm half deaf I never hear beeps from my wrist.
Battery life is, I think great, use it as a normal watch every day and run bike twice a week with it on gps and charge it every two or three weeks. It charges when you upload your training so that probably helps but I've been very impressed with the lack of charging I've HAD to do.
Fenix 3 user here. Very happy with it. Got it from Cotswold, if you're a BMC member you get a decent discount.
Love my ambit 2. Only problem is that it requires drivers for either Windows or Mac, so no joy if you run ChromeOS, Linux etc.
TomTom Multi-Sport Cardio watch here. Works very well so far, had it since Christmas. Replacing a Garmin Edge 200. I think the TomTom GPS trace is smoother looking too.
Got it for the convenience of a built in HR monitor and I can jump on any bike without having to faff about with a bike mount. It does come with a bike mount too, though.
The strap is not going to be to everyone's tastes but you can replace them if you have a crash and don't destroy the screen.
It syncs to a phone by bluetooth (quite slow to sync but better than using a wire) and then auto uploads to MySports and you can set it to sync to all the other online achievement giving services too.
I use it to count Pool Swimming lengths (heart rate doesn't work in water, though).
Battery is meant to last up to 8-10 hours of GPS use which is more than I ever need in a day.
Have a Garmin 110, haven't noticed it being any less accurate than a good smartphone and it is really set up for running rather than riding. The battery life is OK but will die if you plan to be out for more than 4 hours of riding.
I would go for a fenix if you can afford one.
I'm trying to stop myself buying a [url= https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-trail/wrist-worn/epix-/prod146065.html ]Garmin Epix![/url]
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