My Garmin Fenix 5 works great and I have no issues with other Garmin devices either. My only gripe with Garmin is that they are trying to be everything to everyone instead of focusing on their core and pushing it hard. But when they do that folks complain that they are changing too often or too fast.

Yeah unfortunately Garmin don't have any genuine competitors and when that happens companies get lazy. They can afford to sell unreliable products that are years behind in technology. Case in point, Apple. A lot of their products,. especially in the early years, were shit. Ipod 1g take a bow. But other companies took so long to get with the program, Apple had free reign to product low tech crap with clever marketing and decent software. Sony started producing some excellent MP3 players, but were never able to compete with Apple because the software was terrible (something Sony admitted) and their marketing was non-existent. Similarly with Sunnto. No idea what they're doing, but they should be doing a better job of competing with Garmin.

I'm reasonably happy with my Fenix5, but I thought the 910 and 920 to a lesser extent with pretty average.

Garmin; can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em.

Scott

you mean like Apple is patting out two year tech and calling it new now?

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I used the term a bit imprecisely, but in short p-code is "precompiled" code into an intermediate form that is independent of the machine it runs on. Its a binary form similar to a machine language, but not a specific machine.

In reality, the modern usage of the term came from Microsoft, and their language alternatives to Java (notably C#). My usage was a genericized version.

Based on my sample size of N=3, Garmin devices are 100% reliable, so I can only imagine it's user error and you never actually went for that bike ride, you must have dreamed it...

The original post suggests going to DCR to find out in what ways the garmin devices are completely flawed but if anything Ray is pretty much sold on them, as are most other people. At times I actually find him to be too soft on Garmin like with the Fenix 5s and 5 Series where the internal antenna was kinda screwed up and not working with certain sensors and Garmin never really officially acknowleding it.
And theres some other skeletons in Garmins closed. Like the index scale that didn't work for a huge portion of its userbase for months due to some ntp-server-handshake issue that garmin needed about 1 year to acknowledge and then another 6 months to submit a fix thats working for some..

But still theres no denying that many Garmin devices just work (at some point in their lifecycle) for many many people.
For athlethes what Suunto, Polar and Apple have to offer in the wristwatch sector is so bad in some ways that sometimes I wonder why they even bother. Now with the AW its pretty clear its targeted at a different audience but with suunto and polar I really don't know anymore.

Garmin devices are fine until they don't work suddenly... and then work again.

My experience with 7 different Garmin products:

* Edge 500 - was ok until I lost it in a race because of a broken attachment tab

* Edge 510 - the same

* Another 510 - more or less ok. Also broke attachment tab, but fixed this, by buying a replacement backside from Russian Ebay, which has held up fine ever since. Did not want to Bluetooth sync for years until Garmin finally launched the new Connect app. Then it worked for a while, when for a couple of months didn't want to sync again... and then was fine after. Ahh, and it's GPS sucks - constantly reads lower not only when running/skiing but also on a bike. And now finally something happened and it started randomly switching on / off. Seems to be on the path to being written off.

* Fenix5 - no major issues except the well documented ANT+ signal catching difficulties due to the antenna being in a stupid place. The most annoying thing is, that it can read your powermeter fine for 100km, and then suddenly decide it just can't do it anymore, so you're left without data for the final 50kms. Also, the altimeter calibrates itself randomly - you get it being normal, then after a week it resets to like -20m while throwing off barometer readings (because these two are connected) accordingly.

* Vector 3 - ok for several rides then suddenly not ok for a ride (for instance, one pedal seems to be losing connectivity, thus, the overall power gets underreported). This is with the new battery covers already. Eats through batteries significantly faster than expected.

* HR straps (I have two - the original (not Premium) and the tri-strap) have held up fine

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Need more W/CdA.

“I had to stop and reset the 935, which did not fully emerge from hard reset until half an hour later. The 820 lasted to the turnaround point. The Strava app on iPhone crashed, as it often does, when I took a picture from my phone”

None of these things have ever happened to me although I have edge 830. Re Garmin stuff I don’t use Strava Ap like u do

I can only guess that they're channelling Nokia.

Add in Polar. All these great Finnish brands, struggling to keep on the drag curve. It's a shame.

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29 years and counting

I feel your pain.. I switched from multiple Garmin watches to Suunto and honestly, I don't remember complaining or feeling the rage since the switch. My biggest gripe was the inaccurate metrics being recorded in my Garmins. Or the watch breaking soon after the warranty period finished. I haven't had these issues with my Suunto watch.

I can only suggest having a look at other brands like Suunto and Polar.. I'm surprised you have chosen an Apple watch as I've always thought of them as a lifestyle rather than sports watch....

Yeah, this. GPS seems pretty much flawless on my 310.

Once in a blue moon it'll freeze up, or the charging doesn't work right for whatever reason, but I've been able to sort those issues out w/ quick google searches.
And it's my 2nd one - the first died due to water ingress after like 5 years, and Garmin gave me a refurb replacement for it for like $50.

I'm on my 4th 520 - first one was early adopter and had issues right away, replaced free.
2nd one lasted for years without issue, then became a brick because the USB charge port got wonky.
Got a refurb replacement for that for $100.
Which worked flawlessly for about 6 weeks, then inexplicably died.
Was replaced for free, current one working great.

While I'm not thrilled to have needed Garmin's customer service as much as I have, they've always been great.

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float , hammer , and jog

No offense but I stopped reading your reviews except for the comments. They’re a great resource for factual information but they really just don’t help me make purchase decisions because they don’t tell me (not really) whether the device works — the experience of users usually can, and even the subjective assessments are instructive enough. Your readers and commenters are a lot like me, while you are a (or the) professional reviewer with a pretty serious Garmin crush. Note: I would rather you accept the free device then slam it as a complete piece of crap than have to sit through the “like all my reviews, I sent this back” spiel another time as if you aren’t an industry insider joined at the hip with the companies selling this stuff.

There’s another problem with your reviews and it’s that things can change quickly with the products. It became painfully obvious that the first gen Wahoo Kickr was unconscionably inaccurate but your review never reflected that, only the comments did. And a review of the Karoo from February doesn’t reflect the fact that they’ve been pushing updates every two weeks since you issued that review. Is it any good? I don’t know, but I have 45 days to live with the product and find out or get my money back. Based on your review of the 1000, which I also bought and then sold because it sucked, I’m guessing your biggest complaint is the size. That’s a fair complaint, but it’s also totally personal complaint. When things work well those concerns diminish for me.

As for the Apple Watch, my head is here: when I run, I want my Spotify-based music and for that music to be compatible with Bluetooth ear buds. I often want to be reachable by phone and/or email/text, but I don’t want to carry a phone, though that’s what I do more often that not. I drowned another iPod touch recently (somehow) and I’m sick of my 935 disconnecting from the ziplock bagged iPod touch so that I can change the track. Ever tried to get your 935 to forget your iPhone and pick up control of your iPod touch before a run? It’s a 5 minute affair, if it works at all. Is it really that unique of a use case? Is the Strava app on Apple Watch sufficient for my run data, with GPS and LTE? I have two weeks to find out

I don’t think these are outrageous asks in 2018, and they are relatively universal features that are desired by non Luddites / millennials. My girlfriend is a non athletic regular person and I set her up with the Wahoo Bolt for her rides, but she asks me the other day how she can go about listening to Spotify music and recording distance on her runs without carrying her large OnePlus 6 strapped to her small arm. I came up with either Mighty and the simpler low end running Garmin or the Apple Watch, which is way too expensive. She says what about this TomTom for $120, and I said no way that thing works. The Garmin music doesn’t do Spotify — who uses iHeartRadio exactly? — and it’s wildly overpriced. Maybe you have a recommendation but it better be returnable because none of this shit has ever worked well for me.

Anyways, you’re only one man. I suggest the following for your site. Separate from the comments, on your review page, you should have a poll of your readers. For those who have not purchased the device, a 1-5 scale to gauge purchase consideration. How likely are you...? Separately, for those who purchased the product, a simple poll gauging satisfaction with short and sweet (300 word) qual comments. I don’t buy commodity products off Amazon that aren’t ranked 4+ stars by a large sample. This might be a short and sweet way to add a statistically significant and quantifiable consumer assessment.

So, to recap:

A) You didn't read the review but based your purchase off of my apparent like for said product in the review (which I actually panned)
B) You don't read my reviews but apparently do read my reviews because you don't like what's in my reviews
C) You didn't read this review but apparently read the comments in this review and based your purchase decision off of that?
D) Obviously, you didn't do 'C', because anybody that did wouldn't have purchased said device. Seriously, read the comments on that review.
E) You read through the updates list on Karoo's site, but apparently just the dates, since anyone that actually read the update notes would know they've been mostly small fixes/tweaks that should have been there since day 1.
F) You bought an Apple Watch because you use Spotify. Note: There is no Spotify on Apple Watch.
G) Still, really, you bought an Apple Watch to use as a long-course triathlete?
H) Really? Seriously?

I think I summarized it. Cheers.

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My tiny little slice of the internets: dcrainmaker.com

I read your reviews of the Powerbeam Pro in 2012, the Magellan Cyclo 505 in 2013, the OG Kickr in 2014, and I bought those things and they were all terrible. That’s my fault, so I learned to rely on the comments after that for purchase decisions. I also learned to only buy things I can try and return if they suck or as I learn what they can and cannot do.

Aside from all that, I still have a 935. Suspenders and belt when your pants keep falling down to your ankles.

I also read several of the app updates and browsed the Karoo user forums. As far as I can tell it’s in its very early stages but I clearly being project managed by someone who knows a little about process. The Garmin forums reveal no such thing

Where’s your Apple Watch review? Does it really not deserve any attention? You seem
to know a lot about it

Also, I love you. But I wouldn’t use the P1 or the Garmin pedals if you wrapped them in $100 bills and autographed them yourself.

<3

You’re a self-described edge case user. His reviews aren’t meant for that, they’re meant for the 98% of the people that use the device as intended. He does a great job at that.

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--Chris

Yes. But his comments do a better job guiding a purchase that results in satisfaction (for me, and I know for others I talk to). A quant consumer satisfaction rating leveraging his reach would be icing on the cake. I don’t think this is inflammatory.

Apple Watch Series 3 Review: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/...ss-sport-review.html
Apple Watch Series 4 Review: Probably in 2-3 weeks, want more mileage on it first.

The Apple Watch is a fantastic watch (Series 3 or Series 4, heck even earlier units). Without question, the best smartwatch on the market. Leagues ahead of everyone else in UI, display, finesse and whatever other qualities you want to use. But it's not a great sport watch (or even a great fitness/health watch), especially for endurance athletes that need to do 9-10hr events (you'd run out of juice somewhere early in the run, without music).

Note: Hammerhead is well known for deleting non-favorable comments from their forums and Facebook pages. You can read about it from readers in the comments section of my Karoo review.

Cheers.

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My tiny little slice of the internets: dcrainmaker.com

Thanks for the info, that’s helpful. Do you think the new hardware on Series 4 and the Apple OS allows for enough development flexibility for app makers like Strava to become capable enough — at least for running only with battery that lasts through a 6 hour iron walk? I need 4 hours max while in use, but then again I don’t do the 140.6 thing ( I’m not sure why anyone would except that it’s an incredibly powerful social construct to which lemmings flock in the interest of mass conformity).

I’m curious, what’s your beef with the pedals? I know a few people who have used them and they recommend them... but it’s a small sample size.

I just don’t believe they are reliable / accurate / reliably accurate. I think the hub and spider are superior locations for strain gauges to be located to assess single second power. And I think the latest generations of Quarqs are the most reliable and accurate product with the best long term user experience on market. What we now lack in the power meter space is Garmin’s fault too: an additional column in the FIT file produced by the head unit to assess back pedal based “calibration” values. Why that doesn’t exist is beyond me but then again Garmin loves to disenfranchise the competition on its platforms

Thanks for the feedback... I mentioned it earlier, but glad my gravel bike will have a Quarq. I was looking at Power2Max and a buddy said just spend the extra on a Quarq d-zero and never worry again.

So I'm probably not the best person who'd be able to comment on triathlon technology, but I can tell you what's worked for me as a slow tri/marathoner/50k-er for gadgets:

Short sub-2 hour swim/run: Apple Watch 3 by itself. It's been a good workhorse, and is more accurate than I expected next to my trusty 920xt for run distances, tracking and swim lap count. Plus it does HR for the swim part vs needing a heart strap. I can export everything to Strava or Garmin (has to be manually added, however) with HealthFit which was $4 or so. Why? Because it's on my wrist all day.

Trainer: Wahoo cadence/speed/tickr, Zwift on iPad. I'll use the Apple Watch to record the calories for the expenditure of energy on the trainer mainly because I haven't figured out how to dump everything into the Apple ecosystem for calorie/move goals.

Bike rides outside 2+ hours: Wahoo gear on bike, tickr hrm, Edge 520. I like the 520 and has been a reliable riding buddy. I still wear the Apple Watch and record it as an activity. My iPhone is in a back pocket. I've been able to do a century ride and make it home with 35% left. It charges along with my phone in another room at night. I've used the watch while riding to send a quick text or to reply to one while at a stoplight or on the go.

Longer runs: Apple Watch plus phone in Spibelt (along with wallet and beer money, natch.)

Triathlon: The 920xt with tri HRM. There's no Apple Watch app to record a triathlon but I'd give it a try on something up to an international tri just for fun.

I'm a bottom 10% performer, which I'm fine with. And I think that there's a desire to have that one great piece of technology that does everything and it doesn't exist (yet). I think that Garmin is going to run into an issue where they'll suddenly find themselves lapped by Apple of all people in 5+ years and be forced to catch up. If it wasn't for the vast difference in battery life, it would be a no brainer for me (and if Apple would allow third party developers more access to the watch to do apps.)

Similar to any discussion on Lionel Sanders, this is a conversation where your speed doesn't have any bearing on the soundness of your opinion. Except for maybe battery life because you're out there longer. So no need to caveat

Great thoughts though -- I can tell you have it figured out. It makes so much sense to have a 920XT on race day because of how reliable it is except for the altimeter, which is a non issue with elevation correction. My 935 was doing this thing for a month or so where I had to hard reset it any time I needed it to connect to satellites from standby mode, which would be a nonstarter on race day. Likely the corrupt files. But I'll deal with that in training since I have to walk half a mile to get line of sight when I'm in the city anyways. Are these problems really that uncommon? I live in a 40 story building and a lot of people run. LTE-based GPS would fix that.

Anyways, first run with Apple Watch was fine except that there needs to be an easier way to start/stop on Strava app -- so far, that's my only real complaint. Pirated all of Taylor Swift for music through iTunes. Ran with 935 as well on trails where cell service is almost nonexistent. Distances were within 0.1 over 8 miles. Strap-based heart rate on 935 was 161 and EKG Apple Watch heart rate was 165 average. Haven't drilled into the variance but that's better than my optical HR ever did -- that doesn't work for me at all basically unless I cut off circulation in my forearm. Apple Watch didn't give me a SWOLF score or Stryd snake oil watt readings, but it functioned just fine. Lady rode bike while I ran -- used cell phone for activity recording, but she took a picture and her Strava app crashed 1.5 miles in. Go figure.

So far, not bad enough to return or good enough to say I'll keep the watch. $500 could buy a Mighty and a 920XT and a lower end Garmin running watch and an iPod touch with a camera, and no $10 per month LTE bill either. Can make the iPod touch waterproof apparently.

Karoo Hammerhead is just the biggest, most embarrassing thing I've ever put on my bike. But I haven't done a ride with it yet. Setup and UI are clean and intuitive as hell.

I just use the native activity app to record my runs/bikes/swims, and use HealthFit to upload after the activity (you can set it for automatic uploading.) I had to ditch the Strava app on the watch because it just destroyed battery life. Swimming is where I love the watch. The Garmins that I had (735xt, 920xt and the 935) were always off by a few laps, but the Apple Watch is darn near accurate. It does try to guess at the stroke I use (my mechanics aren't the greatest) and will do auto sets. I can use that $4 app to export every workout and send it to my platform of choice to do data analysis (but honestly, I never look at it once I'm done.)

One thing to consider is that you can buy the Apple Watch with LTE and not turn on LTE. For me it's yielded better results for tracking (I did a long ride under foliage and the Garmin just did dead reckoning and the Apple Watch actually used the towers for assistance. And you don't have to buy the data plan for the watch - 911 and emergency numbers will work without a plan. And now Audible works on the watch so I can listen to my books while I run.