RUNNERS! Wrist watch advice?

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Alice_Luther
Alice_Luther Posts: 93 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Runners... I am looking for a running watch to help while i train as my phone is bulky, hard to get out in time and therefore in accurate. I dont want a massively fancy 400 pound one but i would like to know what your running watch does that you love and i can consider. Time and pace are of course musts but i would also like something like garmin to track my runs so it can be uploaded online so i can see the progress of my run and where i slowed and struggled etc. If you guys could let me know what watch you have and what features it has yo make you love it then i would really appreciate it. Alternatively if you have one thats rubbish id like that info as well! Thanks :)

Replies

  • emmaxbon
    emmaxbon Posts: 123 Member
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    I have a garmin fr10, its the most basic model available in a garmin and was under £100. It does everything I need, tracks distance, time, pace, calories. It has a virtual pacer and a run walk interval option. Can be paused and resumed during runs. Can be uploaded to garmin connect (have to use lead on pc though as no bluetooth but only takes a few minutes). Garmin connect then syncs in with MFP.

    Only downside is that is sometimes takes a long time for GPS to kick in although I've realised that its a lot quicker if I stand still rather than try to get it going when I am doing my walk / warm up (doh!)

    I love it, does everything I need at a reasonable price.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Take a look at dcrainmaker.com for very in depth reviews.

    I recently got a Garmin 310XT which seems sound.
  • dazwan
    dazwan Posts: 81 Member
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    +1 for dcrainmaker, lots of good reviews from someone who actually uses the kit in anger.

    Had a few Garmin Forerunners and they're good (still got my 100 that runs on AAA's, my 305 died within less than a year of purchase though, the battery was a real weak point). Even a cheap Polar HRM will be enough if you don't want to stretch to a GARMIN GPS.

    I'm currently using a MOTOACTV, its discontinued now, and what a shame, but also, what a bargain if you can find one still. GPS, HRM, MP3 player, Bluetooth, it even talks to you as you plod along to give you advice.
  • SwindonJogger
    SwindonJogger Posts: 325 Member
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    the new gamin fr220 is awesome, i have had the previous 610 and this is far superior. Gets a signal in a few seconds usually.
    Very light and comfortable, decent vibrating alarm. The only thing i wish it had is wifi as opposed to bluetooth.
    I'd check out TomTom though, as their new watches have built in strapless heart monitoring which sounds tempting.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    Garmin FR 220. 620 is awesome, but double the price, with only a couple extra features that you probably won't use anyway.

    The FR10 lacks heart rate - it's just a GPS tracker. The FR15 adds a HRM, but the feature jump from the 15 to the 220 is worth the price jump. Theres the old 210 and 110, but the 220 blows both out of the water. And they haven't been made for a year+, so they might be hard to find ;)

    TomTom, Timex, Polar all make running watches too, with a variety of success...

    Polar needs a GPS pod ($$$) on top of the watches that cost the same as a FR220.
    Timex has a cool watch coming out, the One GPS. It's got everything, PLUG a 3G chipset, so it's always on the AT&T network in the US (don't know if it's even coming out elsewhere though). Their Run Trainer GPS 2.0 is worth looking at too. Same price as the FR220. Same basic features. Not as popular, but you should be able to find it along side Garmins at a good running store.
    TomTom is cool because they have the aforementioned optical HR in the watch strap itself.

    If people at a race wear a GPS watch, 90%+ of the time its a Garmin.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
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    I have a 210 and I really like it. The new Garmin Connect site is pretty dynamic in the features it offers. My only complaint is I have small wrists and it's a bit bulky. Not in any way that interferes with usability.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
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    Another vote for DC Rainmaker - really great reviews to help you get exactly what you want

    I love my Garmin FR610- I've had it for a few years now. It probably has a bunch of features you don't really need right now though.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Take a look at dcrainmaker.com for very in depth reviews.

    ^^ This

    I have a FR610 (it doubles as a sports watch too) but if you don't need or want that Garmin offer a great selection of less expensive models (the 310Xt right now is less than $200 and is one of their multi-sport models ie swim/bike/run, if the 910 had been out when my old Garmin died I would have bought it)
  • Diantha21
    Diantha21 Posts: 112 Member
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    Thank you all I am reading this thread with interest as I have downloaded Runtastic on to my phone, however I had problems today removing the screen saver continually to read it (guess I could over ride that) but I would love a vibrate to tell me how i'm doing and when I reach my goal which will vary from day to day...I nearly bought a tom tom runner a bargain, as going out of stock, however I don't think it has the vibrate feature.

    I still want that bargain, with vibrate, and GPS any further suggestions would be appreciated from those that have done a full investigation, I am losing the will to live! :smiley:

    Thank
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    I haven't seen the Garmin 225 mentioned but that is a solid option. Built in optical HRM is nice so you don't need a separate strap or anything. Auto-upload via bluetooth to whatever training software you like to use (garmin, training peaks, strava, mfp, etc).

    Personally I use a Garmin 920xt but it is overkill for someone who only runs.
  • twinmom_112002
    twinmom_112002 Posts: 739 Member
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    I love my garmin 230 (the vibration for the interval vs the beep was the biggest selling factor for me among garmin models). I just got my hubby the garmin 25. It counts steps and he can get text messages on it (in addition to the gps running functions).
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    Agree check out reviews by dcrainmaker.

    I have a Garmin forerunner 110. I like it just fine. Had a 305 for a while until eventually the battery started to go. I use a chest strap with mine and I like the extra data from a HRM. I also feel like the watch is a lot more accurate than some cell phone apps (that use only cell towers or steps to estimate distance, other ones that use GPS are probably fine).
  • MGiesta
    MGiesta Posts: 2 Member
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    I agree with checking out dc rainmaker. He has very in depth reviews on anything active. I personally have the garmin 235 and like it very much. I'm a runner and use it for HR training.

    HR wrist monitor is accurate in determining resting HR.

    During every day movement I find the HR monitor isn't inaccurate just not consistent. I'm a big fan of chest HR strap and paired to my garmin.

    Happy running with whatever watch you end up purchasing.
  • fabiola_1
    fabiola_1 Posts: 12 Member
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    Apple Watch!!
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I'm another Garmin user. I want to upgrade to one with the HRM built in. Mine has the chest strap. Chest strap HRMs on girls are just dumb. Especially if you have any boobs at all.
  • mommarnurse
    mommarnurse Posts: 515 Member
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    Alice_Luther wrote: »
    Runners... I am looking for a running watch to help while i train as my phone is bulky, hard to get out in time and therefore in accurate. I dont want a massively fancy 400 pound one but i would like to know what your running watch does that you love and i can consider. Time and pace are of course musts but i would also like something like garmin to track my runs so it can be uploaded online so i can see the progress of my run and where i slowed and struggled etc. If you guys could let me know what watch you have and what features it has yo make you love it then i would really appreciate it. Alternatively if you have one thats rubbish id like that info as well! Thanks :)

    I have had the Garmin Forerunner 220 for 3 months. LOVE IT. and it automatically inputs my calorie burns into MFP.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    glevinso wrote: »
    I haven't seen the Garmin 225 mentioned but that is a solid option.

    Zombie thread, the 235 hadn't been launched when the question was originally asked
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    glevinso wrote: »
    I haven't seen the Garmin 225 mentioned but that is a solid option.

    Zombie thread, the 235 hadn't been launched when the question was originally asked

    How do people find these threads!?
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    Whoops!
    MeanderingMammal wrote: »
    glevinso wrote: »
    I haven't seen the Garmin 225 mentioned but that is a solid option.

    Zombie thread, the 235 hadn't been launched when the question was originally asked

    Oops!

    I should make a habit of checking. Why do people drag up old threads?

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