You aren't talking about .csv files, are you? Because as far as I understand it, .csv is the best extension for data point files you could have.

To the OP, I say that if you don't think you need any of the apps available only to Garmin, then keep using Polar. Their customer service isn't the best, but it's better than Garmin's, and Polar HR sensors are the best in the market. I have been using Polar HR straps since the early 2000 and I've never had a single problem with them other than having to change the battery occasionally.
Garmin swim metrics are as shitty as the ones you'd get from the V800 - unfortunately, we still don't have a properly accurate swimming watch in the market, and most people have settled for bad quality.
I feel that the trade-off Polar products get for not having the same number of functionalities as Garmin is a simpler design - soft and hardware-wise -, which lends itself to less bugs or crashes.

Doh, you are right. It’s XML. CSV is easy, but the world has moved on to XML for most stuff. CSV is still used because it is easy and simple. But almost nothing is saved natively in CSV anymore.

I prefer YAML :). XML seems to use an incredible amount of space for angle brackets and metadata fields.

I really like what the Golden Cheetah OpenData project has done. They use JSON files for the metadata and store the raw data in CSV. I think that's much more efficient than the "angle bracket soup" of XML. And it's nice because you can run queries on large amounts of data without actually loading all the raw data into memory. E.g. "show me all my FTP tests"

HTML? I'm complaining that they stopped exporting to a raw format that can be analyzed with spreadsheets.

Garmin has pretty much zero market penetration amongst swimmers. There is more advanced stuff out there that's built around team use. A single wrist based device will have limitations vs a dual wrist or head based sensor. Head based like either Phlex or Triton seem to be more accurate.


Still waiting for my PHLEX pre order. Got a DM saying they are almost ready to ship after a lot of delays.

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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

Well, data analysts/scientists working with R usually save their datasets in .csv. It's simpler and basically any stats software will open it. We are keeping it alive and kicking!

I know. I actually work a lot with data scientists, and just last year I designed and led the implementation of a B-2-B data feed for a SAS group that was a CSV file feed. My reply was meant to be a bit tongue-and-cheek with a tiny bit if reality-check bite. CSV is the lowest common denominator. Garmin will freely convert and export our data in three standard formats, and the Garmin platform will automatically send our data to any of a number of platforms. I am not sure any other GPS device ecosystem is as flexible. I am curious if Wahoo, Polar, or Suunto is as open as Garmin. And, I am curious if any of them can send a CSV file of detail data.

Additionally, in Garmin's defense, there is an easy to use fit2csv converter provided in their SDK (https://www.thisisant.com/resources/fit). Not exactly making it hard on us if .csv is your preference.

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Alan Couzens, M.Sc. (Sports Science)
Exercise Physiologist/Coach
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alan_Couzens
Web: https://alancouzens.com