Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsSwimming heart rate monitor problematic
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2018
I was really looking forward to this watch, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to do all that it should. I am a recreational triathlete with a strong swimming background. I typically place in female overall category. Here are the issues with the watch:
1). The swimming heart rate monitor RARELY synchs. I have tried two garmin swimming monitors. The first one synched only half the time. I just went ahead and purchased a new one. The first day it synched and then it never synched again. Very disappointing since my main work outs are swimming.
2). The wrist heart rate is rarely correct. I can understand perhaps it being off for interval type training, but I can hop on a treadmill at the gym and get a reading with the hand sensors that is much higher and accurate. When I get off the treadmill, I take my pulse old school with fingers on my neck and count. So, the watch says I am at 60 and I am easily at 130 BPM. I have tried tightening it and positioning it differently on my arm but that doesn't seem to make a difference.
3). Because my pulse is always reading lower, it has ridiculously fast race predictor times for running.
4). The calorie count is definitely odd. I swam a 4000 yard workout with a good portion of it being butterfly. After each rep of the main set, I was winded enough to not be able to speak. The whole workout was an 1 hour and 20 minutes with the main set taking 30 minutes. The watch said I burned 362 calories. The next day I ride a trainer bike for one hour while watching TV at a moderate pace. It says I burned 661 calories. I suspect it's because the swimming heart rate monitor doesn't work, but the swim workout definitely was more intense and longer than the bike ride.
One good thing - the GPS works really well. The running pace and biking speed on the watch is spot on. However, for the price of this watch I would expect to have more accurate heart rate data, especially in the pool. I will be reaching out to garmin and will update this review if there is a way this can be worked out.
