Garmin versus Polar

I love my GARMIN ! I will not run without it. The functionality is wonderful. There are multiple levels so, you'll want to do your research in determining how much you want to spend and what all you would like.

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Stacey

I've never had a polar so I cant speak for that, but I do own a Garmin Forerunner 405cx and absolutely LOVE it. It tracks speed, distance, pace, time, HR, calories, etc. There also is a nifty website that automatically syncs with the garmin to show elevation changes, map, and stats to compare with other runs. The watch fits my very small wrist better than any other model i tried (5 inch around) and has a convenient touch screen bezel that is easy to use during runs. I also use the watch in the gym when I am lifting with no problems.

Customer service at garmin is also awesome :-)

I love my Garmin!! It's an amazing tool. Does Polar have GPS? I would highly recommend a Garmin 405

On the fancier polars, you can get a GPS arm attachment and foot pods - what make them great is because you can turn it off to use the treadmill at the gym or other exercise.

I had a Garmin 205/305 - and I didn't like it. I sold it on Craigslist. I found it to be too bulky for my wrist, that it got in my way. Plus, if I didn't leave it on the charger, it would die overnight. I just didn't really like it.

Hiya EvertonGirl

I checked this out when I was deciding on mine: http://exercise.about.com/od/cardiomachinesresources/tp/HRM.htm

It's a little dated now but it does show the focus of the Garmins on training rather than just fitness. I can't personally vouch though as I was only interested in cal burn accuracy so went for the Polar FT7

Cheers

I'd suggest that you pop over to your local running store (not your general sporting good store but one that specifically caters to only runners) and ask your question. You'll likely get TONS of information from them.

I did that and ultimately bought the Garmin 310XT (well, my hubby bought it for my birthday!). I love it. The downside is that it doesn't last long -- I turn it off right after my runs and it lasts for a month. But if I forget, it's dead by morning. Others consider the large size a downside, but I love that feature. My middle-aged eyes can see everything without squinting AND I choose four different displays for my single screen so the larger size lets me see more data (calories burned, distance, pace, and heart rate zone ... so I know at a glance if I'm at 76% or 91% of my heart rate at a glance).

I love the detailed data that the watch uploads to the Garmin site so I can compare detailed progress, including elevation gains, etc.

I suspect that the Polar company already has (or will soon) something that competes with the Garmin but Garmin's definintely got the GPS watches down. I like how mine uses my heart rate to calculate my calories, too (ask the folks at the running store about this issue ....).

All of that said, if you have an Android phone, the free app "cardiotrainer" will do everything that the garmin (or any other gps) watches do other than base your calories on your heart rate. But it's dang close -- I've run with both my $399 garmin and my free cardiotrainer app, and they were both spot on. So if you have a simple heart rate monitor already, and you have a smart phone (the iphone has a similar product called runkeeper and the blackberry has one called runtastic), you can get the same thing without a lot of extra expenses.

But ... with all of those options, on an everyday basis, I just strap on my Garmin watch and run. That may say something ...

Good luck and have fun with your purchase, whatever it is.