I hear the HR monitor is pretty terrible, but then again, I don't think there are any good optical HR monitor
The Garmins seem to do better with rubber seal they use to block out stray light

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http://www.thetrinerd.com

Just one of the options I'm looking at. I'm currently using a very old (like 8 years) forerunner and looking to upgrade. Te thing is litteraly held together by superglue and a zip tie. So looking at the Tom Tom you do make some sacrafices but strapless HR sounds good to me. Also I'm looking at the 910xt and the old 310xt. 310 just because you can get it at basement prices right now with the 920xt being king.

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I still lapped everyone on the couch!

Honestly, I would go for a Garmin Vivoactive and a chest strap. Pretty cheap and does most things a triathlete needs.

The only downsides are no GPS for open water swimming, no bike power meter support and you don't get some of the extra metrics that something like a 920xt gives you


when I race, I don't bother logging open water, this makes it easier to get your wetsuit off (less hassle) I have an edge 520 on my bike set and ready to go and I have my vivocative set and ready to go in T2
all the info I "need" without the bulk of a 910/920

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http://www.thetrinerd.com

Looking at it that looks like a great option I never thought of. Thanks for the advice. How does the smart watch capabilities work?

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I still lapped everyone on the couch!

yeah, it works well with iPhones and the Garmin App
you can pick up calls, control music, reply to txts, emails, calendars. Its a step counter too if thats useful.
One thing I really love is the vibrating alarm, I use it to wake me up without waking my wife!

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http://www.thetrinerd.com

I tried the Tom Tom multisport with the wrist HR and ended up returning it after a week or so. The HR hardly worked unless I was running and had my arm in a perfect position and on several runs the watch just froze and would not work at all. The HR was basically useless in any activity besides running. Luckily I bought it on Amazon and they took it back no questions asked. I've been using the vivoactive since June of last year and love it. It's very thin so makes a good daily watch, has a replaceable band so you can customize the color (if you want), the GPS works great and picks up signal immediately and I've paired it with a Mio wrist HR that I wear on the other wrist so I no longer worry about chest straps.

There were a couple of threads not too long ago about wrist based HR monitors and a poster recommended the Mio Link and attached the link sensor to the Vivoactive band. I haven't tried that because I'm ok with the Link on my other wrist. I'm finding the HR works great with the Link - running, biking, cross training, anything I've tried. It's the first wrist based HR that's been consistent for me.

I have yet to try the tom tom, as I usually stick to garmins, but the gps should work good on it, and according to reviews on it, the heart rate monitor works good on it. Only things I have seen people complain about is data retrieval.

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Jeff Brown - Georgia