Garmin / Polar revisited

Has anyone looked into, or used these devices, for speed / distance
for tracking workouts. I think there have been improvements since the
last posts almost a year ago.

Thanks,
Dave

On Dec 19, 10:46 am, dware wrote:
Has anyone looked into, or used these devices, for speed / distance
for tracking workouts. I think there have been improvements since the
last posts almost a year ago.

Thanks,
Dave

I'm looking for feedback too, specifically for the Garmin Forerunner
305 and the Polar RS400. Also interested in anyone with experience on
the software that comes with these two products.

Here's some key points I've heard so far:

Amazon has a huge review of the Garmin:
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerun...860 49&sr=8-1

Good review of Garmin 305 at http://www.heartratemonitor.co.uk/ga...unner-305.html
They did some trail running with various models.

A local shoe store that used to carry the Polar line says they won't
carry it anymore due to customer support problems: Polar looses the
item, takes month to replace a battery, etc.

User can change their own battery with Garmin, Polar have to send in

When I watch world cup biathlon races, they all seem to use polar.
I've seen 1 Garmin

Reviews tend to say that the Garmin has very good tracking even in
tree cover. If inside, can use a foot pod.

The Garmin looks really big! When I'm doing the biathlon I'm afraid
it will snag on my shoulder harness when taking the rifle on and off.

Garmin costs $200 @ Amazon with ability to track using GPS, Polar
RS400 costs $250 without ability to track, need $150 foot pod

It's the software I need some insight into.

If you're satisfied with speed & distance (versus a complete GPS track),
consider also the Suunto T3 Multisport with GPS and PC pods. The wrist
unit is small, and quite wearable for an everyday watch. One feature
that I really like, and haven't seen on other (i.e., Polar) units, is
that it will display both current and average heart rate at the time;
this is what I want to see during a race.

I've found the GPS pod to be fairly unobtrusive when worn on the upper
arm, though it felt a little odd at first. The signal does get
interrupted in thick trees, but I've never seen a GPS that was immune to
this.

Note that you do have to spend the extra bucks to get the PC pod if you
want to download workout data to your computer.

-Peter

I've heard the altimeter on the T3 is not great. I have a friend with
the Forerunner 305 who swears by it and the graphs are good.
Apparently the graphing software corrects for any inaccuracies in speed
and other measurements. Online reviews are real mixed, including from
skiers. There's question whether or not the real-time measurements are
accurate. Also, there's been some DOA and early malfunction and reports
that cust service is terrible. Google the reviews. One site is
http://gpstracklog.typepad.com/gps_t..._forerunn.html.
They had a $50 rebate on this that ended Nov 30. Here's a link to to
current pricing:
http://electronics.pricegrabber.com/...ype=bottomline.
CompareMaster has a 30 day return w/o retocking fee. You can tell I
gave it a lot of thought before sticking with a Polar. Do I really
need speed and distance?

rm

pebo wrote:

If you're satisfied with speed & distance (versus a complete GPS
track), consider also the Suunto T3 Multisport with GPS and PC pods.
The wrist unit is small, and quite wearable for an everyday watch. One
feature that I really like, and haven't seen on other (i.e., Polar)
units, is that it will display both current and average heart rate at
the time; this is what I want to see during a race.

I've found the GPS pod to be fairly unobtrusive when worn on the upper
arm, though it felt a little odd at first. The signal does get
interrupted in thick trees, but I've never seen a GPS that was immune
to this.

Note that you do have to spend the extra bucks to get the PC pod if
you want to download workout data to your computer.

-Peter

I have a forerunner 305 and I love it!

My friend has a polar but he's getting really jealous of all the
features that my gps has.

/o


On 2007-12-19 16:46:56 +0100, dware said:

Has anyone looked into, or used these devices, for speed / distance
for tracking workouts. I think there have been improvements since the
last posts almost a year ago.

Thanks,
Dave