Garmin versus Polar

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evertongirl
evertongirl Posts: 120 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Can anyone give me simple breakdown on the pros and cons of the Garmin (all models) and the Polar (all models) ? Im interested in it for running as I am planning to run a marathon someday and I am slowly increasing speed and distance to get there and want to monitor it.

Any help would be appreaciated.

Replies

  • hungrymarathongirl
    hungrymarathongirl Posts: 444 Member
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    bump....I would like to know what others think as well.
  • stamy6
    stamy6 Posts: 27
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    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.

    If you're ever interested in a wonderful marathon come on down to Jax.FL
    www.breastcancermarathon.com

    It's awesome!!!

    Stacey
  • thisis4me
    thisis4me Posts: 219 Member
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    Bump!
  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
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    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 :-)
  • evertongirl
    evertongirl Posts: 120 Member
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    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.

    If you're ever interested in a wonderful marathon come on down to Jax.FL
    www.breastcancermarathon.com

    It's awesome!!!

    Stacey
  • crissa413
    crissa413 Posts: 67
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    I love my Garmin!! It's an amazing tool. Does Polar have GPS? I would highly recommend a Garmin 405 :)
  • evertongirl
    evertongirl Posts: 120 Member
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    I would love to join your marathon but Im in australia....wish i could come over your way one day:) Thanks for the advice re the Garmin
  • savvystephy
    savvystephy Posts: 4,151 Member
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    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.
  • Mattyc33
    Mattyc33 Posts: 7
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    I've heard nothing but good things about the Polar and love my FT7. The guys at my running store told me the Polar and Garmin are pretty comparable but if you don't NEED the GPS features of the Garmin, it isn't worth the extra money. So if you are street running in an area you are familiar with and/or working out inside, from what I've heard, Polar is the way to go.

    Hope that helps!
  • W0zzie
    W0zzie Posts: 262 Member
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    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
  • DoReMiFaSoLaTiDo
    DoReMiFaSoLaTiDo Posts: 296
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    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 purchased the FT60-G1 which is a bundle pkg of the Polar FT60 and the GPS device...for $180 on sale at Best Buy ( its still on sale)...regular price is like $330
  • TrainerRobin
    TrainerRobin Posts: 509 Member
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    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.
  • jmijaressf
    jmijaressf Posts: 215
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    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 ....).

    Polar has a new watch coming out in June. All of the components are still separate (GPS, stride sensor, etc), but this new model has a dual frequency so that it will actually pick up your heart rate while swimming.

    I've used the Garmin 405cx before. It's a nice gadget, but after about six months the battery wouldn't last for more than three hours and I would charge it overnight and it still wouldn't retain that charge. I mostly stick with my Polar because I like to look at all of my data, from heart rate to distance to cadence to stride length, etc. Also, while running is my main activity, I also do cardio, some strength training, and martial arts.

    I think ultimately you have to ask yourself what you'd be using the watch for. If tracking distance is your thing, then Garmin is the way to go because it's basically an all-in-one unit. But if heart rate-based training is what you're after then Polar appears to be the better choice.

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