Garmin Swim Watch

I have used both the Swimsense and the Garmin. The Swimsense is more precise; the Garmin sometimes misses laps when I am sprinting, or believes I am swimming butterfly. The Swimsense rarely misses, but also because its firmware is more mature. I am expecting this to improve on the Garmin as the product matures. For simple swimming and regular sets they are both 100% precise counting laps, computing average pace etc. The Swimsense is also better at timing each lap of a set; the Garmin sometimes drifts too much from one lap's time to the next. None of the two are perfect in this regard, though. The Swimsense has an experimental mode where you don't need to press any buttons to start and end a repeat, it will detect when you arrive and when you start again. It kind of works, but I ended up disabling it because sometimes it didn't work well and was getting a bit distracting. Another advantage of the Swimsense is it is more configurable, with several pages of custom data available, vs. only one for the Garmin. For pace-clock like use, the Garmin is easier, as it has a very easy white-on-black mode where it tells you the amount of time you have been resting and also since you started your previous repeat. The Garmin is easier to connect to the computer (wireless), and uses a regular watch battery which lasts around one year. The Swimsense needs to be charged about every two weeks, and connects to the computer via USB, with some problems after a while (contacts get rusty and need to be cleaned often). I could give you a lot more details, but for a very good comparison, pictures etc: www.dcrainmaker.com/.../garmin-swim-watch-in-depth-review.html In general, I would buy the Garmin mainly because the Swimsense is no longer well supported. The guys behind it moved on. Right now, the Swimsense is a better product overall, but the Garmin has better potential through future updates. If you have any particular questions, feel free to ask.

... I am swimming at a pool in Germany now with no lane lines and the pace clock is rarely turned on ... If you are missing a pace clock, would you consider getting ... a pace clock? I got one of these last March, and I confess, I like it. I use it every workout. It's eminently portable, and submersible as well, so you can use it a little differently depending on what set you're doing. It's no more expensive than one of the specialized watches. It does not record detailed interval information as the watches do, but you can use it with a friend, should you be lucky enough to find one. It attracts attention! 3615

Have you used the Garmin swim watch? Yes. What do you think? I am swimming at a pool in Germany now with no lane lines and the pace clock is rarely turned on so wondering if this might be a good new "toy" to add to my attempted workouts.It’s fine for open water. But if you are looking for a watch for a pace clock, don’t waste your money. You can get much better deals on a Casio or Timex. Also the Garmin is way too clunky for everyday pool use.

If you are missing a pace clock, would you consider getting ... a pace clock? I got one of these last March, and I confess, I like it. I use it every workout. It's eminently portable, and submersible as well, so you can use it a little differently depending on what set you're doing. It's no more expensive than one of the specialized watches. It does not record detailed interval information as the watches do, but you can use it with a friend, should you be lucky enough to find one. It attracts attention! 3615 I have one of these and they're great.

I have one of these and they're great. They look awesome, I just ordered one. Especially handy if you like to use a snorkel, which makes looking at the wall clock pretty darn difficult during a swim. I wonder if these are legal to use in (say) a 3000/6000 yard postal swim? I know you are not allowed to *wear* a device that aids in pacing, but that wouldn't seem to apply here. After all, you aren't prevented from looking at splits on a scoreboard during a race.

Chris, I found it very difficult to get a split from a submerged PacePal. The "window of visibility" is but a fraction of a second, and it happens right when you're supposed to be sighting your turn. I cracked my heels baaaaad one time, but once was enough. Now, when I want a split, I put the clock on the deck and do an open turn. For a 3000/6000, if you put the clock on the deck, how can it be illegal? It's perfectly legal to do an open turn, say, every 500. That's the way I'd do it. By the way, the guy who makes the PacePal, Larry Day, is an excellent swimmer (UMich '69-'73), current WR holder in M60-64 LCM 200 fly, former WR holder in M60-64 LCM 400 IM, and an all around super dude.

Yes. It’s fine for open water. But if you are looking for a watch for a pace clock, don’t waste your money. You can get much better deals on a Casio or Timex. Also the Garmin is way too clunky for everyday pool use. IrishPolarBear, which Garmin product are you referring to? I suspect you are referring to the Forerunner 910XT, which is a multi-sport device that can be used to count swim strokes but can also be used for biking and running. It retails for $399.99. I think that Amy is referring to the new GarminSwim, which is designed for pool use. In addition to counting your strokes, it can also count the number of laps you swim. It also "knows" which stroke you are swimming and counts your strokes accordingly. It retails for $149.99. Amy, we are testing these devices for upcoming issues of SWIMMER magazine. Send me a PM and I can give you some more information.

On using a tymex: If you want to do 10x100 on 1:30, set the time on 1:30, repeat mode. Press start, wait 10 seconds, and start the set. When the timer goes off, you have 10 seconds to get until you start the next set. On a distance set you can set the repeat at half the interval to help you keep count. I find the tymex to be more useful than a paceclock.

I have both the Finis Swimsense and the Garmin Swim. I'm training for some long open water swims so will crank out multiple miles in a pool, and find either watch invaluable for counting laps to see how far though my workout I am. For pace though you are much better off using a timex ironman watch and just set a repeating interval with an alarm. Finis have a history of quality control problems (e.g. my swimsense will no longer upload data), but is definitely the more mature product. I prefer the fit and finish on the Garmin unit, and the fact that I don't have to charge the battery and carry the dock unit (I travel weekly).