Which GPS watches do you guys recommend?
When I'm swimming in open water, I want to know the straight-line distance of the course. I'm not nearly as interested in how much extra I ended up swimming by veering off course. That's an interesting data point, but I don't get credit for the extra distance in a race, so I don't count it in training either.
Because of that, I don't care too much about the swim correction feature. I'm fine if the data ends up with a bunch of zig-zags. As long as I can hit lap to pinpoint landmarks on the course, I can figure out the straight-line distance in Google Earth.
I do care about how quickly it can get a signal.
A lot of my triathlete buddies have the Garmin 310XT. That seems to have a bunch of features I don't need. Plus, I think it's really ugly. I truly hate the idea of spending that much money on a humongous gray and orange watch.
The reviews I read on Timex and Polaris GPS watches don't look that great--I see a lot of complaints about them being slow to connect and the software being a pain to use. Have any of you had good experiences with them? What about lower-end Garmin models?
If I did break down and get the 310XT, would I ever even be wearing it on my wrist, or would I have to wear it under my cap?
Hmm. I've never had any of the issues you describe - but I've never used the lap function, and I've never used it in a pool. It's awkward to fumble with it while it's under my cap, so I just press the start/stop button once when I start and once when I stop. If I need to calculate lap times I just go into the 'Player' function in Garmin Connect (the online service, not the Training Center software) and re-create them manually. See attached screenshot of a recent swim I did in Santa Barbara.
As geog said, make sure the unit is facing up, and try to position it near the top of your head.
Hmm. I've never had any of the issues you describe - but I've never used the lap function, and I've never used it in a pool. It's awkward to fumble with it while it's under my cap, so I just press the start/stop button once when I start and once when I stop. If I need to calculate lap times I just go into the 'Player' function in Garmin Connect (the online service, not the Training Center software) and re-create them manually. See attached screenshot of a recent swim I did in Santa Barbara.
As geog said, make sure the unit is facing up, and try to position it near the top of your head.
