So here is the long and short, okay, more long than short. But I will give the conclusion at the outset, with the discussion below. Conclusion: Great for the price, has a lot to offer, so long as the heart rate monitor is not defective. Probably not up to the level of a Garmin 910, but that costs about $150 more and requires a chest strap for the heart rate monitor. In this price range, it seems to be the best complete overall product out there.
Optical Heart Rate: My heart rate monitor has been great; I can even use it while swimming in the pool (in treadmill mode)! It can take between 5-30 seconds to locate my heart rate, but typically within about 10-15 seconds. The key is to make sure it is worn appropriately snug, and above the wrist bone. However, I have read numerous complaints about it malfunctioning, or dropping out when the user sweats too much--you are supposed to sweat when you run! I too can attest to a defective unit. After contacting TomTom about the SWOLF swimming metrics (see swimming section below), and then commenting about the distance inaccuracy, they offered me a replacement watch. Fortunately, I had purchased through Amazon who sent me the replacement first, before I had to return my original. In fact, the replacement heart rate monitor was defective. I had major dropouts from sweat and some wildly inaccurate readings, so I returned the replacement, keeping my original, and making the proper adjustments and modifications to the Swim activity, as noted below. But after just over three weeks of usage, the original unit's heart rate monitor continues to function very well.
GPS: It captures the signal in a reasonable time period. I find while I am getting ready, I turn on the Run or Cycle activity in advance, so the wait time is minimized. I also use it for open water swimming under my swim cap, as recommended by DC Rainmaker. [...] The GPS seems to track reasonably well for my runs, bikes and swim. But on one trail run, it was off course at the beginning, adding a tenth of a mile at the very outset of my run. But for the most part, I am very satisfied with the GPS.
Swim Activity: Good, but with modifications and appropriate expectations. This is for pool swims, and is intended to track, among other things, strokes per length, distance, and SWOLF (combination of strokes and time to measure swimming efficiency). As for strokes, it measures stroke cycles (only one hand is a stroke cycle vs. counting both hands). It seems to be fairly accurate as to the stroke count. As for distance, this needs work. You can set the length of the pool, which theoretically should help the distance accuracy. I swim in a 25 yard pool, and it would consistently overstate the distance (in both my original unit and replacement unit) by around 15%. Instead, I found adjusting the pool distance to 22 yards made for better accuracy. Fortunately, changing the distance did not seem to impact the other swim metrics. But, the SWOLF metrics do not seem accurate, regardless whether or not I adjust the pool length. My score is about 26, with a stroke cycle of 10. This would mean I swim a lap in 16 seconds, which is flattering, but not close to reality of 25-27 seconds. TomTom failed to answer my questions about these metrics; regardless, these metrics seem to be consistent with multiple swims, so I just use these metrics for my own reference, and I rely more on the stroke count and my time. I prefer to do my own lap counting so I can't comment on the lap count accuracy, but other reviewers have commented that it seems to miss laps, even if the swimmer is getting a consistent, crisp push off.
Treadmill: Again theoretically it can track your distance using an internal accelerometer (as it does for the swim), but it is consistently short by 20-25%. And, since the accelerometer tracks your arm movement to approximate distance, the distance is altered every time you look at the watch because your arm swing changes or stops. Yes, you can then calibrate it, but the truth of the matter is, who cares--if you are on a treadmill, the treadmill indicates your distance. The only time this would matter is if you are running in a wooded area, without a GSP signal, and decide to rely upon the Treadmill activity setting.
Software: The weakest link of the entire package (assuming the heart rate monitor works). If you need great detail, you are out of luck. The website [...] is slow. Fortunately, you can get details from third party sites--I use map my fitness, but there are other third party sites which TomTom supports. I get enough detail for me, but for hardcore detail people, the information may be lacking. And, today, for the first time, my swim and run failed to upload.
Overall, so long as the heart rate monitor continues to function, I love my TomTom Multisport Cardio.
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Climate Pledge FriendlyProducts with trusted sustainability certification(s). Learn morePRODUCT CERTIFICATION (1)
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Reviews with images
Bike Mount not reliable
Great watch however the bike mount is not as secure as it should be I went for a ride ( on tar ) and about 45km into the ride the watch popped out of the mount and got smashed on the road by a car behind me. If this product is intended to be used as bike computer this should be looked at.
Top reviews from other countries
Dr. G. S. Mueller
A good all-round exercise watch.
Reviewed in Canada on October 7, 2014
Duffers
Great Watch, packs a lot in & easy to use!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2015Klaas A.
Sehr gute Multisport Uhr mit vielen Funktionen und gutem Preis-/Leistungsverhältnis
Reviewed in Germany on August 2, 2015
