UKH

Hello,

I am after a gps running watch, currently looking at either garmin forerunner 15 or polar m400. Budget of up to £100. Which would you go for, or are there any others I should consider?

Primarily I'm looking for it to track my runs to upload to strava. Optional extras would be pace/speed and heart rate (i already have a heart rate monitor strap for my cycling garmin, not that I actually use the monitor much!).

Any advice, suggestions, recommendations welcome.

Thanks
Dave

In reply to DaveR:

I have a forerunner 15 and it does the job but is very basic. I didn't want to spend a huge amount of money when I got mine and I'm happy enough with it. You can use it to upload to strava or import into mapping software and it has HR and pace. Some things that I don't like about mine include: you can't customise the display - it has a number of pre-set displays, but I'd quite like it to show HR and time on the same screen; the button's don't lock, so if you put your hand down in a particular way or wear gloves it can switch itself off while running, or you can find that if you put it in a bag it switches itself on and the battery drains; also, the battery doesn't last particularly long, so if you're thinking of doing long fell runs you might find that a problem. Generally, I think I got what I paid for though and it seems pretty reliable and is lightweight and easy to operate.

In reply to cathsullivan:

Thanks, really helpful

In reply to DaveR:

I just ordered a TomTom Runner as it was a lot cheaper than most of the other running watches but still seemed to get decent reviews. It's also smaller than the Garmin ones, which is good because when I've borrowed my boyfriend's Forerunner 220 it's so big it hurts my wrist (that may just be my stupid skinny wrists though). Should turn up this week so I can report back when I try it out if you like.

I got mine for £60 from Wiggle. It was available a bit cheaper from Sports Direct but I couldn't bring myself to buy it from there and Wiggle had better colours anyway.

In reply to climbingpixie:

Interesting, not heard of that one so shall check it out, thanks. And yep, a report back will appreciated

In reply to DaveR:

The Garmin 200 (e.g.210) series are all good although slightly out of your price range. My main annoyance with older and cheaper devices has been the time to acquire the GPS satellites, but you get around that by putting the watch on the doorstep or window sill for a few minutes before you leave – which you soon learn to do. We have opted for more expensive watches now, mainly for battery life (e're very slow runners). If you are doing long days, none of the Garmin Forerunners can be charged whilst recording which is a right pain and other watches may be better in that respect.

HTH SS

In reply to DaveR: I picked up a suunto ambit 2s for not much more than your budget, as it has been superseded. I've been very pleased with it, easy to use and download, and with the gps refresh set to longer intervals (8 or 10 seconds, iirc) battery lasts 24 hours.

In reply to SouthernSteve:

The latest Garmins record and charge at the same time.

In reply to DaveR:

I've got the cheapest Garmin Forerunner 10 and it's great. Doesn't do heart rate though. You can link Garmin Connect to Strava.

In reply to DancingOnRock:

Are you sure? on https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/shop-by-accessories/batteries/external-powe...

¹External power pack cannot charge Forerunner® devices during a recorded activity.

It would be great if it was wrong

Steve

In reply to climbingpixie:

Hi, I'd be interested to hear how you get on as I'm going to buy a basic watch for my sister's birthday. I'd be most interested in how well it syncs with Strava.

In reply to DaveR and Stig:

Hoping to give it a try this weekend (assuming it's arrived by then and legs have recovered from my last run) so I'll report back afterwards.

In reply to SouthernSteve:

Yes. Scroll down to the photo of the guys arm in a checked shirt next to a lap top.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/11/garmin-fr230-fr235-review.html

In reply to DaveR:

I had the basic Garmin 10 and it just worked and worked. Never faulted (unlike pricier Garmins).
It synced with Strava perfectly. I only sold it so I could justify a Fenxi 3 (which I wanted for the mountains too).

In reply to DaveR & Stig:
My Tomtom Runner watch arrived on Wednesday afternoon. Initial thoughts were that it's a little bigger than I thought as the solid part extends around the wrist a bit but it's comfy enough to wear while running. I got it set up fairly easily and did the usual updates etc, then took it into the garden where it found a GPS signal fairly quickly.

I went out for a run locally last night and it picked up a signal almost instantly while I was still faffing around with my shoes and stuff. The display is big but only shows limited information on a single screen - the initial screen was the time (big) plus distance and duration I'd been out (small). You can cycle through the screens if you want to change the main display. It had all the usual info - time, distance, current pace, average pace and calories. It didn't buzz at me as I went through the miles like the Garmins do though.

When I got back and plugged it into my computer it brought the Tomtom runner site up immediately and exported my information automatically. It's not as sophisticated as the Garmin site but has all the basics. You can export the data into various formats (GPX etc) to be able to upload onto other sites - I don't do Strava so I haven't checked how easy it is. It didn't give me total moving time/pace though, unlike my partner's Garmin, so if that's important to you you'd need to manually stop it when you stopped.

Overall I'm pretty happy with it. I was after something cheap and cheerful and this fits the bill for £60.

ETA: Apparently it will upload automatically to Strava but I'm too lazy to test it...

In reply to climbingpixie:

Thanks for that! I am going to order one for my sister. They are currently £55 at Sweatshop (but you probably didnt want to know that).

I find that the only important items on the display while running are lap pace (ie mile pace); duration and distance. Time is useful if you're running late but you can usually cycle through the display.

And yes re Strava you can link Strava to all the main watch software (e.g. Garmin connect). Doesnt always seem to work flawlessly though. My sister's not on Strava either though so she might not be bothered about that.

Cheers.

In reply to Stig:

Sweatshop is now part of the Ashley empire, so reservations about SportsDirect apply equally.

In reply to The New NickB:

Thanks, I didn't know that. Yuk.

In reply to DaveR:

I have used Garmin 310XT for years. They can be had for under 100 pounds on Amazon. It's a bit dated, but considering the price you get a lot of functionality for little money.

In reply to DaveR:

You can get reconditioned ones pretty cheap.

The forerunner 10 is a great watch, very basic but user friendly with a nice interface, no HR though..

I have the 410 which is fine.

In reply to Stig:

It's fine, I chose to pay slightly more for mine because I wanted it in a better colour (and it adds towards my Wiggle Platinum customer status...)! Mine has a lime green and dark blue strap instead!!

Anyway, having used the watch a bit more I'm definitely very happy with it. It's super fast to pick up a signal - at Kentmere yesterday my watch had a GPS fix in about 30 seconds while we had to wait a couple of minutes for my partner's Forerunner 220. I've also set laps up on it so that it buzzes at me when I've done each mile.

I struggled initially to get it to sync with my computer when I plugged it in but apparently that's a Windows 7 issue. I've recently upgraded from Windows 7 to 10 and now my laptop picks my watch up immediately and downloads all the new runs. A good bit of kit for the price!