I currently have a Fenix5 that is about 3 years old. It has been my least favorite watch because my Tickr nor my power meters are able to connect to it, the elevation data is always wrong, the optical HR on the run can at times be inaccurate and the pace on run fluctuates quite a bit even with consistent pacing. The only thing it does well is swim. I’ve been happy with it in the pool and OWS as well as it’s a nice everyday watch with sleep and resting HR metrics. In my recent HIM, the battery level went from 100% to 23% in a bit over 5 hours so battery is getting old too and it definitely won’t last the duration of an IM.
I’ve been disappointed with the F5+ and 945 and was gonna wait for the next F Line but I need a solution sooner and I think the problem with Fenix series is that it tries to do too much and accommodate too many activities so it does a poor job in most of them. I have a Edge 530 that I love. So my thought was to use this watch for every day use and the swim portion of the tri’s and put on a different watch for the run in T2. I am not married to the Garmin ecosystem for the run. So I want to know which watch is the most accurate watch for the run?
DCRainmaker gave the Suunto GPS high praise and I’ve had no problems with my Suunto 9 accuracy while running. On top of that the battery life is insane, it would easily last a full ironman. The only downside of the watch for me is its pool swim tracking. It often misses laps and the data reporting is just signficantly worse than Garmin’s. I still use my 920xt for pool swims but the Suunto 9 for literally everything else.
So I want to know which watch is the most accurate watch for the run? What specifically do you dislike about the 945? I went from a 735XT to a 945, and I love my 945. The 735XT was fantastic also, but that battery probably won’t cover you for a full IM.
What key things are you are looking for in a multisport watch when you say “accurate?”
None of the wrist-based optical HRMs are likely to be accurate during running or cycling. Running they are vulnerable to cadence lock, and cycling the just lose readings because of the clinched grip. But, everything pairs to external HRMs, so that is easy to mitigate.
As for altitude accuracy, you are at the mercy of either GPS altitude, which is so-so or barometric, which may not last forever.
Regarding GPS position accuracy, IMHO, all of the watches are really good now. My last 3 Garmin watches have all had a standard deviation of 0.02 miles over a 5.07 mile run for more than a decade. That is laser precise. As far as trueness, as best as I can measure, it is stinkin’ close.
I’ve been disappointed with the F5+ and 945…
Regarding GPS position accuracy, IMHO, all of the watches are really good now. My last 3 Garmin watches have all had a standard deviation of 0.02 miles over a 5.07 mile run for more than a decade. That is laser precise. As far as trueness, as best as I can measure, it is stinkin’ close.
It was the chart here that pushed me to start using a footpod with my Garmin Forerunner 935Yeah, a few folks were suckered by that study. His protocol is designed to exaggerate absolute errors in GPS and diminish variable errors in pods. If you are running shorter distances, he proved that pods may be better. If you are running longer distances, then GPS is probably better. His protocol is built around shorter distances and double-counts GPS absolute error.
It was the chart here that pushed me to start using a footpod with my Garmin Forerunner 935Yeah, a few folks were suckered by that study. His protocol is designed to exaggerate absolute errors in GPS and diminish variable errors in pods. If you are running shorter distances, he proved that pods may be better. If you are running longer distances, then GPS is probably better. His protocol is built around shorter distances and double-counts GPS absolute error.
Yeah, I don’t buy what that guy is selling. I scoff at the idea that foot pods are more accurate than GPS. I’ve got a lot of miles with a lot of different GPS watches and foot pods, and I have found that, for me at least, foot pods seem to be pretty flaky. Even on the treadmill, my fairly new Garmin foot pod tends to wander over time, requiring a new calibration factor. Not to mention the fact that while it might be relatively accurate at one speed, it grows less accurate as you speed up (at least for me).
I find DC Rainmaker’s GPS tests far more compelling and more real worldish.