Runners watches - preferences

[Woolfie]

I am looking for a combined multi-function stop wactg / heart monitor; suunto; garmin? Or just look to a timex but i dont think they do Heart Rate as well.

I tend to do single training runs and sometimes some reps; would be good to keep previous training sessions stored for comparison or targets for next session. Needs to be simple as well as "gadgety"

I would be interested in people's views on what they have / recommend.

[dimsumkid]

You don't need that st you lazy swine, just get off your lard arse and RUN

[Woolfie]

sorry mr dimsumkid,was i asking to be insulted? ..no, just asking about watches. So if you havent a response then find another thread to have a laugh on. cheers

[Seb d]

Lol, well, probably not quite what you're after, but I've got a £13 JML Fitness Watch... Heart rate monitor, calorie counter, clock, alarm, lap timer, stopwatch, comes with a bicycle bar grip AND it's water resistant to 20m... Can't really knock it for the money though I have a feeling you were probably after something more high-tech, but thought I'd mention it anyway

[digger_R]

I've got a Suunto T4 at the moment (a birthday present from my gf), I've used polar and beuer HR monitors in the past. It's the best in terms of functionality of all those I've used though the Polar and the Beuer were both entry/lower end models. I use mine for cycling as oppose to running but it ticks all my boxes in terms of functionality. I feel I don't use half it's features as I'm largely using it in the same way I used the entry level watches in the past so I'm not actually seeing a huge improvement in terms of functionality

just my 2 pence worth

[BigAlinEmbra]

Nike used to do a nice range, although don't know if they still do.

[RumbleTumble]

I can recommend the Polar 625. Has a Heart Rate monitor, and with the foot pod also give speed and distance, and you can download the data to your PC.

[Woolfie]

hi rt..yes as just reading about the polar..looks good; its between the polar models and the garmin forerunners i reckon. I suppose it will be how easy they are to use the common functions.

[RumbleTumble]

It’s fairly easy to use. Let me know if you want a PDF copy of the manual - I'll email it to you.

Also check out the yahoo group http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Polar-RS_SD_X... - bit 'anoraky' but lots of useful info from other users.

[Fourmotion]

I've had Forerunner 205 for years, and think it's brilliant. Probably a bit simple by todays standards, the new 405 is much smaller and the battery lasts longer, but my 205 is still going strong (except for moisture issue below).

The GPS seems to be accurate, based against the races I've done with it (assuming they were accurately measured themselves!). There are a group of us that run with them, and they all seem distance similarly. You can customise the display screen to show what you want, I tend to run with my average min/mile, with distance and elevation underneath.

I've never run with a Suunto, but thought the ones I tried on were hard to read at a glance. I'm sure it would just take getting used to it, and I imagine they're great watches, but they are more expensive than Garmin.

Garmin also replaced my watch out of warranty for a brand new one when it got condensation in it. They were fantastic about it, and it only took them a week to send out the new one.

The GPS bread crumb map function can be handy if you get lost in the Lake District and fog sets in. I wouldn't recommend testing that though!

HTH

[Woolfie]

thankyou very much to all; I shall read through the manual of the polar and check out the latest forerunner. I am getting back into running after a 15+ year break and have been training for most of this year. I had a small break for achilles tendonitis. Planning on running up in aviemore for the half marathon later on in october.

As its sensible now that i am over 50 to make sure i stay within healthy boundaries and keep my motivation going, i think a combined heartmonitor / stop watch with all the functions is going to make sense. An easy to read face sounds a good idea as well.

I am trying to see how much time i have lost since my last half marathon (18 years ago..1hr 21mins); aiming for 2hrs 10mins; but I keep on pretending i can go faster; i need the training times to make sure I don't try and run beyond my age.