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Re: Multisport watch shopping [TriBri00] [ In reply to ]
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You might like the Suunto Ambit 2S. It actually makes a pretty good watch. Not too large, barely uses any battery when used as a watch, and works great in the pool. It has its own quirks (Movescount, for example) but I am beginning to think all these watches have some trade offs.
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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2wheels wrote:
You might like the Suunto Ambit 2S. It actually makes a pretty good watch. Not too large, barely uses any battery when used as a watch, and works great in the pool. It has its own quirks (Movescount, for example) but I am beginning to think all these watches have some trade offs.

Isn't the 920XT, the follow on to the Garmin 910XT, fourth quarter?

Janyne
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [jmkizer] [ In reply to ]
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I've heard growing rumblings about a follow on watch to the 910xt. Based on what has been hitting the market in the last year it would make sense for them to have a follow up product. That being said I have not seen anything other than rumors.
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [njtriguy] [ In reply to ]
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I have THIS for sale right now: Polar V800 w H7 HR Strap.
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [f_ahsile04] [ In reply to ]
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I had 4 Bia watches before I retired mine. It just never worked that great. Most of the features say coming soon. Although you can pair a HR monitor with the watch it doesn't store HR data. No cadence on bike either. After my workouts they would often fail to upload and you can not go back to revisit your workouts on your watch it doesn't store the results. It was completely useless.
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [2wheels] [ In reply to ]
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2wheels wrote:
You might like the Suunto Ambit 2S. It actually makes a pretty good watch. Not too large, barely uses any battery when used as a watch, and works great in the pool. It has its own quirks (Movescount, for example) but I am beginning to think all these watches have some trade offs.

x2
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [sdbanker] [ In reply to ]
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sdbanker wrote:
2wheels wrote:
You might like the Suunto Ambit 2S. It actually makes a pretty good watch. Not too large, barely uses any battery when used as a watch, and works great in the pool. It has its own quirks (Movescount, for example) but I am beginning to think all these watches have some trade offs.


x2

/2 Is that a thing? I mean that if somebody votes up the Suunto products I would vote them down by an equal margin.

Suunto's customer service was extremely lousy for me. I will never buy another of their products. I got an X6HR with the primary goal to use the heart rate and elevation functions. My struggles with this product are documented in other threads here so I won't get into it again. Customer service could not have dropped the ball any worse.
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [njtriguy] [ In reply to ]
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910xt has been solid for me.
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [d2xccoach] [ In reply to ]
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I have no experience with their customer service because my watch has worked since day 1 going on nearly a year now. It is paired with a gsc10, the new garmin speed/cadence pods on a different bike, and 2 HRMs and it just works. Swim metrics work as well since the firmware update in April/may. It can be worn as an every day watch like a Fenix2. Oh and it is now $199 since the Ambit3 released.

My only complaint is the lack of loading data directly to training peaks but now that strava has that capability I am hoping other third party companies will follow. I suppose if you want to use it as a bike computer and have a quick release it won't work, but I use a garmin 500 for that so not an issue for me.
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [d2xccoach] [ In reply to ]
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I would also cast my vote for the Suunto Ambit S2. Especially if you want to use the watch for activities outside of SBR. It's my go to watch for everything from Swim/Bike/Run to paddling to treks off the beaten path.

No experience with Customer Service side of the house yet, but the product has served me incredibly well the last six months. Incredible amount of customization available and spectacular battery life. I'll be using it for IM Wisc in two weeks.
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [sdbanker] [ In reply to ]
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sdbanker wrote:
I have no experience with their customer service because my watch has worked since day 1 going on nearly a year now. It is paired with a gsc10, the new garmin speed/cadence pods on a different bike, and 2 HRMs and it just works. Swim metrics work as well since the firmware update in April/may. It can be worn as an every day watch like a Fenix2. Oh and it is now $199 since the Ambit3 released.

My only complaint is the lack of loading data directly to training peaks but now that strava has that capability I am hoping other third party companies will follow. I suppose if you want to use it as a bike computer and have a quick release it won't work, but I use a garmin 500 for that so not an issue for me.

Where is it $199? I see $219 everywhere; I keep waiting for it to drop under $200 since I'm frustrated with my 610.

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [Toby] [ In reply to ]
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Yep it must have been a short term deal at $199 and I see that $219 is the current price. You might be able to get the extra 10% DC Rainmaker discount through clever training which will brig it back down under $200. Either way it's a lot of watch for that price!
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [sdbanker] [ In reply to ]
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The 10% additional doesn't apply to the $219US price, though, you do get free shipping.

I don't expect to see it at $199 though anytime soon to be honest. Mostly because retailers know it's selling quite well at $219 and will happily pocket the $20.


-
My tiny little slice of the internets: dcrainmaker.com
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Re: Multisport watch shopping [njtriguy] [ In reply to ]
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I've owned all three of the latest multisport watches and here's my opinions:

Garmin 910xt:
Pros
  • Quick release
  • Sync over ANT+
  • Multisport mode works really well

Cons
  • The screen
  • Unit's bulkiness especially with the QR on it
  • You can't really use it as a watch
  • Altimeter is flaky and once it goes out you gotta send it back to Garmin for a replacement
  • Slow GPS acquisition

Suunto Ambit 2s:
Pros
  • Look of the unit
  • Battery Life
  • Works great as an "everyday" watch
  • Can give you cadence after your runs without a foot pod (not sure how useful that really is though)
  • Quick GPS acquisition
Cons
  • Only 3 data metrics on the screen
  • No quick release
  • Can only sync over a cabled connection
  • MovesCount is odd to navigate and using the "apps" is sort of a pain
  • Lots of drop outs on power and cadence when using it with a PowerTap (this is why I stopped using the unit) I believe it has to do with the distance between the watch and the hub
  • No vibrate feature

Polar V800
Pros
  • The look and feel of the watch
  • The screen
  • Battery Life
  • You can use it as an "everyday" watch
  • Gives you a more holistic view of fitness/activity/sleep
  • Quick GPS acquisition
  • Does HR while swimming
  • BTLE sync with phone

Cons
  • No quick release
  • BTLE only! No ANT + supported sensors
  • 3/4 of a product (stuff that it "should" have is below)
  • No native export to Strava/TrainingPeaks from Flow at the moment (there is a 3rd party export site that works just fine though)
  • No swimming metrics at the moment
  • Swimming with GPS on causes drop outs on the HR
  • No power meter support at the moment (this is the biggest issue for me)
  • Cadence/stride sensor turns off GPS for distance (for run)
  • Speed/Cadence sensor for bike also turns off GPS for distance (for bike)


Even without power meter support I've been happiest with the V800. My stop gap solution is to use the PowerTap app on my iPhone and a Wahoo RFLKT as the bike computer. It's not optimal by any means and I won't race with it but it works for training. I check every day to see if a new firmware has been released so I'll have power data all in one spot, until then I'll just keep up using the iPhone/RFLKT combo.
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