Garmin questions
I have used the Garmin 920XT for the last two seasons. I used it with a heart rate monitor and a foot pod. Following IMMD and the run through the water, the foot pod is broken. Also, I have lost the heart rate monitor. I was going to replace both and realized I could potentially change to the 735XT or the Fenix3. Both of the watches have wrist based heart rate capability. I would love to be able to ditch the heart rate strap. However, I also noticed the watches come with bundles that have the chest strap heart rate monitors.
Do you need a separate heart rate monitor for training?
For those that are using the 735XT or the Fenix3, any issues in using them for triathlon?
Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks.
0
Comments
What I like:
I'm down to only one watch and one charger when I travel! I used to travel with my 910xt and a Scosche optical HR strap and 2 chargers.
I wear the watch as my everyday watch, which is very convenient, especially on swim days.
I like the 24x7 HR tracking, although I don't really do anything with the data.
All of these positive things would apply to either the 735 and/or the Fenix 3 HR.
What I don't like:
The HR tracking is buggy at best. It works well enough for running that I don't bother with an external sensor. However for biking I find it can be highly impacted by wind and/or road noise. I tried to ditch the secondary strap for biking and found that my HR would often be much higher (170+) on a down hill and then would drop to normal (140-150) on the next climb. This happened often enough that I stopped trying to use it for biking at all.
I looked at the 735xt / Fenix 3 HR for triathlon and decided to pass since I figured I would still have to wear some sort of HR strap to get HR on the bike. I'm still using my 910 xt and a chest HR strap for true multisport days and the vivoactive HR for everyday use. I use an edge 520 with a optical (arm or forearm) HR strap on the bike.
Just my experience. Your mileage may vary.
My (potentially old school) perspective is that the HR strap is more accurate/reliable/tested than the wrist based. You can certainly find lots of posts online to support that position, along with an equal number that say wrist based is great/better/way of the future. It seems pretty clear to me that 'smart watches' will replace the sport specific fitness/GPS watches going forward. They already have if your idea of fitness activity is tracking steps or taking a spin class. The question in my mind is are they ready for prime time in triathlon yet or not.
I have a 920XT that I hope to keep until it is replaced with a smart watch that does swim/bike/run well.
I've used the fenix 2 since May 2014, and last month bought the fenix 3, without the on-watch HR sensor. I'll talk about both the general use of the fenix,and why I specifically chose not to get the on-watch HR sensor model.
First, the watch. After wearing the same watch (a $20 Casio calculator watch) for thirty years, i have been wearing the fenix as my everyday/all day watch for the past 2.5 years. I ski, hike, run indoors and out, bike indoors and out, swim indoors and out, and the fenix has algorithms for all these activities, among many others (including golf!). I average 600+ "activities" per year downloaded from the watch. I've worn it in a score or more triathlons, including Ironman. It is certainly my most versatile piece of sports equipment. Without going into any details, suffice it to say that as a power user, one who takes full advantage of many of its capabilities, I can attest that it is well suited to a triathlon lifestyle, especially if you branch out into other outdoor activities in which any of the following sensors would be valuable: compass, GPS, barometer, thermometer, accelerometer, ANT+, Bluetooth. The ability to add third party apps, like watch faces and sport specific data screens, as well as connectivity to smart phone for text messages, are real pluses. One cool feature - fenix 3 uploads automagically to Garmin Connect when finish a run or bike or swim - when it senses my home WiFi network, it uploads the new files with no action on my part. And of course, the file then flies to Strava and TrainingPeaks.com instantly.
I should note that while I use the watch as a back-up "head unit" for biking/power meter, I also use an separate head unit on my handlebars. There have been times when I have used the watch as the sole head unit for biking, and it works just fine for that. But I wouldn't use it as such during a race, although I do race with it. I should also note that I don't have a smart phone (I make do with an iPad), so using an iPhone as a central hub is not possible for me.
When the price came down this fall on the 3, I looked into upgrading. I read some reports, including from DC Rainmaker, about reliability issues with the wrist based HR sensor. I also am aware of other wrist based sensor issues with other wrist computers, including Apple's. The extra heat from the sensor, as well as the slight protrusion, seemed problematic to me, especially considering that I already had a Garmin HR strap with the bells and whistles, so didn't need to buy anything except a watch.
Having used the fenix system for 2.5 years, and having compared in heavy use both the 2&3, I'd be glad to answer questions about either, but, bottom line, I am 100% satisfied with the wrist computer. The only downside has nothing to do with the device, but with the fact that in the past month, TrainingPeaks has killed Device Agent which I used for getting data into WKO4, and TP also seems to have tinkered with its compatibility to some of the files generated by Garmin. What doesn't happen now, just in the past week, is automatic transfer from TP to WKO, which is weird, considering they are both the same company. I'm sure that will be fixed over time.
A year and a half ago I went from using a chest strap HR monitor to a Mio wrist HR monitor. Aside from the huge comfort improvement, I liked not having to wash the strap constantly, and despite results from some folks, I managed to get very accurate and consistent HR readings. The two things I did NOT like were, the short battery life of the MIO (7hrs +/-), and that I was wearing 2 straps on my wrist (Garmin watch and Mio). The battery life normally was a not an issue. It became an issue on race rehearsal days and during a full IM race. During IMMT this past Summer, I actually had a 2nd Mio in my T2 bag...still a pain in the ass IMO.
So, I narrowed down my choices to the Garmin 735xt and the Garmin Fenix 3 HR - both have integrated HR monitors. There are some differences which you can find documented in many places after you do a Google search. I find DC Rainmaker the most comprehensive. Although I liked the "sleekness" of the 735, the battery life again came into question....something like 12-13 hours. The Fenix 3 is bulkier, but has more bells and whistles, and has a superior battery life when you have all things running (GPS, HRM, etc)....something like 17 hours or more.
Ultimately, my wife made the decision easier for me when she surprised me with the Fenix 3 HR for my birthday in November. I have used it for swim, bike, run, plus some other things like hiking. Functionally, it is pretty amazing. In fact, I am still learning about all it does. Regarding the HRM, I am slightly disappointing so far. It has not been as consistent in accuracy as what I saw when using the Mio strap. I wore the Mio fairly high on my wrist and wore it snugly. I find it more difficult to do this with the Garmin, thus I get some strange variations on occasion. I have found that once I settle further into a training session over a longer period of time, the readings become more stable. Maybe this is because I am perspiring more and the watch is not sliding around as much. The bottom line with these wrist monitors is that light is their enemy. You want it to be snug on your wrist to get a good reading.
Overall, I am happy with the Fenix so far, and according to DCR's reports, the functionality of the watch's HRM has actually (and will continue to be) improved though firmware upgrades, so I remain hopeful. I hope this helps a bit more!