GPS watch accuracy

denny_menter

Does anyone use the Nike+ GPS watch? I needed to replace my Garmin earlier this year and went the cheaper and cooler-looking route of buying the Nike. I'm really starting to doubt its accuracy, especially with the immediate pace.

The most important measurement to me is the pace of the current mile that I'm running. The closest the Nike can come is to give you an indication of the pace you're running RIGHT NOW. I watched this number for an entire mile and I never went slower than 9:00. When the mile ended it gave me a 9:15 lap time. I don't know if I just never noticed before or if something has changed recently. I'm in the final weeks of marathon training and now I'm doubting the pace of every run that I've done this year. Sucks.

I'm going to wear my wife's Garmin too tonight and see if the two watches agree.

TriLifter

Oooohhh....let me know how this goes! I've been wearing a Nike+ watch for the last year and I've noticed the same thing. I haven't been too concerned about it, however, because in races my final pace and the watch final pace are always on par.

denny_menter

I ran five miles tonight wearing my old Garmin and the Nike. The watches reported the overall distance as the same and the pace per mile as the same. But the immediate pace was WAY off.

I repeated my experiments from the other day, only this time I ran slower. I purposely ran about 9:30. I thought that the slower I run that maybe there would be more room for error. My Garmin told me exactly what I was doing for the mile. Great! The Nike immediate pace was 8:45. No kidding. That fits in perfectly with how I have been disappointed many times at the end of each lap (mile). Before this experiment, I would have expected my mile was going to be 8:45 when I was really running 45 seconds slower!

Maybe it's the GPS signal in my area for this watch. Maybe Garmin and Nike use different satellites. I dont know. The pace reading is worthless to me, but at least I understand it now.

It felt so good to use my old watch and know exactly what I was doing. The Nike's going on Craig's list tomorrow. It works fine if you don't care about that particular measurement. If all you care about is your time at the end of the mile and how far you've gone - this watch is great. It even looks good enough to wear when you're not running.

CarsonRuns

Current Pace even socks on the Garmin. Too bad the Nike doesn't do Current Lap Pace. I guess you get what you pay for.

II would ditch that thing and use the old Garmin.

TriLifter

Thanks for the update! At least I know this distance is right. Ugh, I guess I'm asking Santa for a Garmin for Xmas...

DavidMartinez2

Thanks for the update! At least I know this distance is right. Ugh, I guess I'm asking Santa for a Garmin for Xmas...

Now you have to figure out which one:
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-comparison-calculator

TriLifter

Thanks for the update! At least I know this distance is right. Ugh, I guess I'm asking Santa for a Garmin for Xmas...

Now you have to figure out which one:
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-comparison-calculator

Easy: Garmin Forerunner 310XT -- designed for triathlons :happy:

divaindy

Love my Garmin Forerunner

timeasterday

Easy: Garmin Forerunner 310XT -- designed for triathlons :happy:

That's what my wife & I have. We don't do triathlons but it's been pretty good for running and indoor workouts. They can be a little flaky sometimes - locking up right at the end of a run, taking forever sometimes to acquire satellites or find the HR sensor, not wanting to upload/download from the Garmin Connect site. And my wife had a horrible time with the HR readings but they sent a new strap which is a new design and so far so good. Given the flakiness I still love my Garmin 310XT and wouldn't hesitate to buy another or a newer model.

TriLifter

Update on the Nike+ current pace issue....I ran a 10K on Saturday and used the average pace feature instead. Loved it, and it was a more reliable indicator of how I was doing. My goal was to finish sub 50, so I wanted to keep my pace at/below 8:00. Worked like a charm. Kept pace at 7:49 and finished in 48:32.