Best, affordable, fitness tracker/watch for an avid swimmer?

Hey there, I'm looking for something I can wear in the pool for at least 30 minutes of swimming, drills, and main sets for swimming. I know most watches are "waterproof" for 50 meters depth, rather than continuous water exposure for prolong periods of time- I'm trying to see if anyone has good recommendations!

Answers

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,790 Member

    Swimming with Garmin is ok. Unless you're outside and are doing any stroke with hands above water though GPS tracking won't work, like with any other watch. You can set pool length though and it quite reliably (not perfectly) tracks the lengths you swam. Have a look at DCRainmaker for various Garmin watches.

  • rms62003
    rms62003 Posts: 264 Member

    I've worn both a Garmin and a Samsung for 1 to 1 1/2 hr swimming sessions with no problems. And, have done it on multiple occasions.

  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,961 Member

    My mum swims several times a week and she uses a Fitbit. It seems reasonably accurate and gives the data she wants. I used to use a Speedo training watch but I’m not sure they are still on the market.

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 38,328 Community Helper

    Last I knew, as a Garmin user but rarely a swimmer, Garmin had 2 different swim modes: Pool and Open Water.

    Open Water mode used GPS, which is more accurate for some metrics, but doesn't work well indoors.

    Pool mode used accelerometer so estimated from movements, thus would be less accurate for some swim metrics, but more consistent when swimming indoors.

    I think not all Garmin watch models offer both modes. Garmin watches are used by quite a few triathletes, to whom swimming metrics are very important.

    I suspect Garmin would be worth considering for you, but I'd suggest looking into that swim modes question.

    I'd also endorse DCRainmaker as a good information source.

  • abondani
    abondani Posts: 4 Member

    I've got a Garmin Instinct Solar Crossover and have worn it while swimming in a pond. It does a good job, no leaks or anything. I don't worry about how accurate it is for tracking calories or distance, so I can't comment on that. Garmin has a million models, and the prices vary a lot depending on the options. The one thing I'd worry about with pool swimming is how the chlorine might affect the materials. But they do sell replacement bands and such.

  • RebeccaRoehm
    RebeccaRoehm Posts: 2 Member

    coros watches.