The start/lap button on my 50 lap Timex Ironman watch (the silver/black/orange one) has become impossible to press. Therefore, I’m in the market for a new watch I can wear all the time and use for interval sets on the track and in the pool on a whim. What are people using these days? I’m looking for the following:
Waterproof
Easy to read through goggles
Buttons easy to press, but not to the point where I’m accidentally starting / stopping it all of the time
Not overly huge (I’m 5’7" 131 lbs with small wrists)
Durable
30+ lap memory (more would be nice)
Don’t care about HR at all. I’m tempted to upgrade to a FR310XT from my 205 but not sure I’d really gain anything, especially since I don’t use HR or ANT+. I mainly use my 205 for “road runs”. I typically don’t race with the 205 either (I’m a sprint/oly guy).
I use a Polar rs100, has 99 lap memory and I use it swimming/running timing and HR. Buttons are easy to press, it has a function that allows you to lock the buttons so they don’t get accidentally pressed, and looks nice enough for every day wear in my opinion. I had a Timex prior to this for a few years and nothing wrong with that either.
I also have rather small wrists. What ive been doing for a while now is getting the Timex sleek watches but getting the womens version in black… its more than big enough for me to see since the middle numbers are bigger, and it does not look like im wearing a sundial. I am on my 2rd one now. If you want to use it for swimming in a pool i would not suggest getting the Vixen version as the side elastics will pop off after some time. This dosent effect its ability to stay on… its just annoying. So i bought another one that has a solid band for swimming.
my favorite is a timex basic ( ironman, i think) 8 lap watch i purchased in a wal-mart. it’s what i wear for my races—for the very reasons you listed. when it dies i’ll go back and get another one, just like it (i hope). it was somewhere around $22.
peggy
I also have rather small wrists. What ive been doing for a while now is getting the Timex sleek watches but getting the womens version in black… its more than big enough for me to see since the middle numbers are bigger, and it does not look like im wearing a sundial. I am on my 2rd one now. If you want to use it for swimming in a pool i would not suggest getting the Vixen version as the side elastics will pop off after some time. This dosent effect its ability to stay on… its just annoying. So i bought another one that has a solid band for swimming.
That watch is the bomb!
I’ve had that very one (women’s, sleek, black, 50-lap) for four years. I wear it day and night. Abuse it like crazy. Batteries have never been replaced.