Running watches

Altruista75

I'm just getting into running (training for my 1st half marathon) and am looking for suggestions for a decent running watch. I've read review after review online and can't find one that seems to be an overall "winner" so I've decided to come to the forums to see what people think. I'm truly looking for one that has a decent GPS, measures distance & pace and possibly has a HRM included. Any help would be appreciated!

3dogsrunning

I am a huge Garmin fan. You can get different models in different price ranges, their customer service is great and the product is good.

I am on my 3rd Garmin (the first lost to puppy teeth, the second lost at a race). When I upgrade (I want a waterproof one for swimming too), I'll be going Garmin again.

ZenInTexas

I recently got a Gramin 310xt (can use for swimming, running and biking) and I love it. I got the HRM and foot pod with it. It's awesome.

michellekicks

I have a Garmin 410 and I love it. I also have the HRM and foot pod, but I haven't calibrated the foot pod for distance... I should. Very rarely it can't get a satellite signal and the foot pod would keep the distance for you. But the foot pod is unnecessary IMHO unless you regularly use an indoor track where the Garmin just can't get a signal.

I remember when I was first shopping, that the 110 would have been enough for my needs... speed, distance, time, pace, and HRM, so if cost is a factor you may be able to find a used 110 really reasonably. If not, go for all the bells and whistles.

Socalgal13

I have an Garmin 910xt and I love it...you can wear it for swim, bike and run. It has HR monitor option, cadence monitor option and a foot pod option. I use the Garmin connect website to track all my training sessions. I am a little bit of a geek with numbers, so I like it. I was not sure it was worth the cost, but I have had mine for 6 months now and I would definitely say it is worth it.

If you are not really needing the GPS option, I love my Timex HR monitor watch that I used for years. It has options for split times, lap times. calories burned.

If you have an REI near you they have a flyer that shows all their monitors with their features so you can compare side by side

Good Luck

scookiemonster

I have the Garmin 210 with the heart rate monitor. My husband also has the 210. We both love them - I don't go for a run without it. Easy to use, easy to wear, gives me plenty of information without being overwhelming, and not as expensive as some of the fancier models. Highly recommended.

wolfgate

On top of being great GPS watches, Garmin is an excellent company. Great customer service. They do have policies on warranty, returns, etc. that in writing are pretty strict, but in reality their customer service people are allowed to be reasonable and go outside the policies to help customers in a reasonable fashion. American company as well, if that is important to you.

rwhawkes

I got a Garmin 405cx from Kijiji last October and could not be happier. The plan was to use it to train for a marathon but a bum knee scuttled that plan for now. I have been using it with the heart rate monitor (included) to track my cycling this summer and have logged virtually every ride - over 2300km so far. I believe the calorie burn coming off this device more than the MFP estimates.

GBPack93

Lot of Garmin recommendations. I use Nike+ with my iPod nano. Its nothing special but tracks distance, time, calories, PR's etc. and it will upload runs to a website which breaks down speed by mile. It is something I recommend if you are on a tight budget and maybe need a new iPod as the Nano 7th gen is fairly cheap for an Apple product.

thatjeffsmith

Is there a Garmin (or other brand) of watch that integrates with RunKeeper? And I'm not talking about gps exports of routes, I mean as I run it records directly to RunKeeper?

I'd like to replace my big-*kitten* Android phone with a watch and a mini MP3 player with BT headphone support...unless there's a watch that can run spotify too?

Maybe I needs this new Apple watch that doesn't exist yet?

Altruista75

Lots of Garmin suggestions. I'll do a little more research on those!

nicklippa

I just noticed your question and in case you have not discovered this yet, the garmin gps watches that use ANT+ can sync directly with run keeper. I have the 410 and it works great.

nathalier71

I have the Garmin 210 with the heart rate monitor. My husband also has the 210. We both love them - I don't go for a run without it. Easy to use, easy to wear, gives me plenty of information without being overwhelming, and not as expensive as some of the fancier models. Highly recommended.

I second this post!

heroeslegend

Is there a Garmin (or other brand) of watch that integrates with RunKeeper? And I'm not talking about gps exports of routes, I mean as I run it records directly to RunKeeper?

I'd like to replace my big-*kitten* Android phone with a watch and a mini MP3 player with BT headphone support...unless there's a watch that can run spotify too?

Maybe I needs this new Apple watch that doesn't exist yet?

Nothing integrates directly with runkeeper yet, but theres a bunch that you can download to pc/mac and upload. Bryton, Garmin, Magellan immediately come to mind.

MinimalistShoeAddict

I am a huge Garmin fan. You can get different models in different price ranges, their customer service is great and the product is good.

I am on my 3rd Garmin (the first lost to puppy teeth, the second lost at a race). When I upgrade (I want a waterproof one for swimming too), I'll be going Garmin again.

Garmin is great!

Here is by far my favorite site to compare GPS watches (all the major brands):

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-comparison-calculator

mlogantra76

I have the Garmin 210 with the heart rate monitor. My husband also has the 210. We both love them - I don't go for a run without it. Easy to use, easy to wear, gives me plenty of information without being overwhelming, and not as expensive as some of the fancier models. Highly recommended.

I second this post!

Ditto! My husband(a non-runner) researched Garmin watches and settled on the 210 for me. I love it:)

jayclock

I have 910XT for cycling and triathlons.but just got a Forerunner 10 for everyday usage and it is excellent. Personally I find the HRM of no value, and in any case if I need that I have the 910XT. So the F10 is perfect to keep on all day as watch (5 weeks charge), use as a basic stopwatch when swimming, and now is what I use for running.

I managed to get mine for £70 but that was a special from Garmin for one day.

Only thing to watch out for is the size. It is not very clear but there are two sizes. The brighter colours tend to be the smaller ones. I have a standard man's wrist and the big size is fine, although I think the smaller one would be ok too

nihil_gnome

Stay away from Magellan. I haven't used their newest watch, but the Switch Up was terrible, the distance was off by at least 25 percent when tracking runs (Showed me zig zagging back and forth across the road and through medians/ditches).

You can't go wrong with Garmin... TomTom's new running watch is also excellent, and probably has the most export options. Garman supports a ANT+ heart rate monitor while the TomTom supports Bluetooth Smart. The absolute best resource for comparing running watches is http://dcrainmaker.com. He also offers a coupon for 10% off everything at clevertraining.com, and most orders ship free.

SwindonJogger

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/11/sports-gadgets-recommendations.html

this site will give you al the info you need when in comes to gps watches

eldamiano

Garmin are very good. I have a Garmin Forerunner 205. Doesnt have a HRM but does everything else but there are a number of other Garmins that do have HRM.

Runs4Wine

I know a lot are recommending the all-in-one Garmin... but I run with music anyway, so I have my iPhone which I use the RunKeeper App (free) to track distance and keep data about my runs. It also cues me when I should start/stop for interval training. I then use the Polar FT4 HRM to gauge calories burned.

I find it to be cost effective and acceptable for my needs.

DanielleDavids

I'm a Garmin fan for sure. I have the 305 which isn't made anymore but the newer Garmins are much sleeker and do everything you want. They're an investment but I've had mine for three years, I use it all the time and I've never had a single problem with it. I love them!

I also see lots of people wearing polar fitness watches and I've heard only good things, but I can't personally attest to those although I'd love to try them!

chunkytfg

Obviously all depends on budget.

I had a Garmin forerunner 305 which was fantastic up until I dropped it out of a window 30ft down onto concrete and it stopped the GPS working. Cheap as chips now if a little bulky.

I now have a Garmin FR620 as I am also a numbers and data man so all the running metrics stuff in the HR strap is great if a little bewildering! The FR220 is a fantastic option if you don't want to fork out nearly $400 for a watch though.

The 910xt as recommended is also good but if you want a pure running watch and don't need all the cycling and swimming ability then it is unnecessary.

DCrainmakers site as has been suggested is just about the most in-depth place to go for a decent transparent view on all things sports(well swim/bike/run anyway) technology.

megan1869

Maybe I'm just cheap but I tend to stick to the free Map My Run app... I'm always running with my phone anyway.... plus I put the waterproof case on it so no worries if it rains or whatever.... may have to check out some of these awesome sounding watches though!

BrianSharpe

Another happy Garmin user here (FR610). Check out the reviews by DCRainMaker that SwindonJogger linked to.

ItsMeGee3

I have a Polar (with the foot pod). Love it. Garmins are nice too

nicklippa

Hello Everyone, I have the 410 with the ANT stick and I just noticed that you can sync it directly with Runkeeper. You go to run keeper on your desktop, click on "LOG" then click on "RUNNING" then UPLOAD then "IMPORT FROM GARMIN DEVICE" and it looks for your GPS watch. You totally bypass the Garmin Connected.