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GPS Watch training aid


Hi,



Been looking at these and dying to get one!!



been looking at the polar range and also at the garmin 405 (not water proof)



Does anyone have one and how useful are they? I was thinking the polar (water proof) ones would be good way to measure distance when open water training,

on that subject anyone got any good alternative methods of measuring open water swims??



They are expensive especially the polar range 300-500!! but look ace and the range of functions is impressive!!



just trying to justify the purchase to myself, may be better to save up for a set of carbon wheels instead!!!



cheers



any input appreciated!

Comments

  • MGMG Posts: 470
    Dont get a 405, get a 305, just as good (bit bulkier, not that you REALLY notice) and LOADS cheaper!! Excellent functions piece of cake to use and plenty of software around to keep even the most geeky billy-no-mates nerd happy [8D]



    If you really must have open water GPS, be honest, how many OW swims do you actually do, if its loads then its justifiable, if its a couple then a stop watch will do.



    The Polar range are very good, but also very pricey. If it was my money I'd get a Garmin 305 cadence package. Its a quality tool and gives you good accurate (altitude can be a bit iffy) data, and you can race yourself over routes youve covered. Only thing is it aint water proof, but I do 99% of my swim training in a pool so I dont need GPS for swim data.
  • For the bike I have a garmin edge 705 which came with road maps, caedence and HRM. Got it for £260.



    For the run i use a nike sportsband which cost me £30 or so and i got a foot sensor pouch so i didnt have to spend money on the nike+ shoes. Its about 90% accurate but does the job.



    For the swim i do pool swimming but use a waterproof watch with a count down timer and train a set time rather then a distance.



    All are good for getting you out there training, you can monitor progress as you go along. But none of them in anyway make me faster! [:(]

  • I put my Garmin 305 in a plastic sandwich bag and tied it up, popped that under the swimming cap and did an open water swim.



    No problems......It tracked the distance and time.



    the only thing is you don't get HR data.
  • bathtubbathtub Posts: 280
    Garmin 305 = A fantastic piece of kit, add to it the GSC10 speed and cadence sensor for the bike = even better. can be bought for about £130 from Amazon or Halfords, could be cheaper if you google.

    Cant see the need to want to measure open water swims myself, could be done approx off pace time.
  • It's not a GPS butu I use the SUUNTO T6. With the various pods you can get with it I find it really versatile and it is just a normal watch for the rest of the time so you get to use it all the time. You can download the info to pc and analyse your workout and it is really easy to see how well your training is going. They do have a GPS pod you can get for it. I don't use it as I have the others specific pods for bike and run, but it should do the same as any of the others. The other benefit is the HRM. They make a memory belt which you can get as an upgrade and this will store your heart rate during your swims too to give you a full picture of how all your training is going. It may be worth a look before getting one of the others?? One other benefit is that unlike the garmins etc the battery will last long enough to do an ironman. Unless your much better than me the 12 hours the 405 will last is a little too close to the limit to risk missing some of the info. Admittedly not very often that'll be the case, but I find not having to charge it so much easier than having to do something with the watch after pretty much every training event. My wife has a garmin so I am aware of how they work and I wouldn't swap mine. Horses for courses so good luck with the search.
  • Brilliant comment ‘penguin’, 305 in a plastic bag…under your swim cap…...marvellous!!

    Anyway, in response to ‘trisurfer’, I own a Garmin 305 and it is the dogs nuts, loads of features and facilities to assist with your training and if you need to measure an open water swim you can take the advice of ‘penguin’!!



  • Cheers everyone



    awesome input,



    the overall msg is stay away from the 405!! loving the sandwich bag and swim cap idea!



    going to look more at the 305 and make up my mind, can't wait for all the training info to analyse!!



    after my 1st sprint triathlon I must have spent an hour looking at the result spreadsheet wondering where I could save time and push up the rankings!!



    once again cheers for the input



    Neil
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