Has anyone else used a GPS for Open Water swimming?
I got a ADEO audio GPS and was able to use this to get some good results on our practice swim in this past spring. Here is a link from our team's website www.cmym.us/.../index.cfm. This is a nice GPS for swimmers in that it is audio only and I was able to find a case that fit on my google straps. The real problem with the product is that most of the prompts are for runners so the pace is in miles/hour and not meters/sec or yard/sec. I used this GPS for more a post swim analysis of our swims, as we swim in a groups and wait for the slower members at some marked locations.
This GPS was also nice for skiing where I usually listen to my MP3 player I just routed the cord to the GPS and then my headphones and had a back seat driver all day.
Parents
Former Member
I have a few comments to make. I have seen someone use a Garmin Edge 305 bicycle GPS for swimming and had a good discussion with this person. He mentioned that 305 works great but you can also use the 205 for swimming. The exact altitude, cadence, and heart rate are not needed or don't work for swimming. These things are great for biking so you can save a $100 by getting the 205 if you plan to use the GPS for only swimming. Think about the 305 if you are one of those tri types.
A plastic bag, snack pack zip lock or better, makes sense (The Garmin Edge 205 / 305 are only waterproof to one meter.) and placed under the swim cap in the ponytail position. This keeps the GPS stable, in a good place to get a signal and ovoids water pressure that can force water into the device.
I would add a leash and some floatation if you are swimming where you have waves. In the same spot where I talked to this person about his GSP system I had a wave take off my swim cap when I was coming in from a swim and lost my $6 goggles. I did not loose my cap because it floated but the goggles were gone. I was pissed at loosing my $6 goggles though I think I would be even more pissed at loosing a $400 GPS.
Once you get home you can overlay your recorded GPS on a map and get all the details like distance, route, speed, total time, real time,and date. You can also put in on to Google Earth and share your swim with the world. Great for documenting a swim even if you are the only person there.
Fire Eagle
I have a few comments to make. I have seen someone use a Garmin Edge 305 bicycle GPS for swimming and had a good discussion with this person. He mentioned that 305 works great but you can also use the 205 for swimming. The exact altitude, cadence, and heart rate are not needed or don't work for swimming. These things are great for biking so you can save a $100 by getting the 205 if you plan to use the GPS for only swimming. Think about the 305 if you are one of those tri types.
A plastic bag, snack pack zip lock or better, makes sense (The Garmin Edge 205 / 305 are only waterproof to one meter.) and placed under the swim cap in the ponytail position. This keeps the GPS stable, in a good place to get a signal and ovoids water pressure that can force water into the device.
I would add a leash and some floatation if you are swimming where you have waves. In the same spot where I talked to this person about his GSP system I had a wave take off my swim cap when I was coming in from a swim and lost my $6 goggles. I did not loose my cap because it floated but the goggles were gone. I was pissed at loosing my $6 goggles though I think I would be even more pissed at loosing a $400 GPS.
Once you get home you can overlay your recorded GPS on a map and get all the details like distance, route, speed, total time, real time,and date. You can also put in on to Google Earth and share your swim with the world. Great for documenting a swim even if you are the only person there.
Fire Eagle
