I have searched through previous posts to gather some idea of people’s experience on these accessories but are still uncertain.
Which one is more accurate in terms of distance/pacing?
Is the G3 really that heavy?
Thanks,
Shannon
Which one is more accurate in terms of distance/pacing?
G3
Is the G3 really that heavy?
Yes. It’s about the weight and volume of 3 entire Garmin 305s.
That probably didn’t help.
I am sure the G3 is more accurate. I use the S3 and love it. Plenty accurate and never feel it attached to the shoe.
I prefer the S3 as it show the cadence. Also, the G3 has very bad signal in the forest and burns batteries like crazy.
Hi Shannon
Both devices do the job. I think S3 owners may be more comfortable with calibrating the S3 to really dial in the accuracy. When I switch my S3 from one shoe to another, I do need to tweek the calib factor. The new RS800CX will remember the calib for different shoes. I went out with my K-Swiss(very nice shoe) which I already ran in and had a claib factor. I changed my RS800CX from Adidas to K-Swiss and my AutoLap feature beeped within 2 steps of the mile marker. I would post the same question on this board, 100% Polar owners. Good luck deciding. If you are looking at the new RS800CX, go with the GPS, i twill be more race friendly in switch from MPH to Min/Mile when you exit T2.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Polar-RS_SD_X/
I have been a little unhappy with the GPS sensor and am thinking about getting a stride sensor. Could you explain a little more why the GPS unit would be easier in transition? I dont like the idea of having to use time to put the sensor on compared to the stride sensor which is already attached to my shoe. Thanks.
Great question, they are both easy
Well, if you wanted to race with the G3, you can see MPH on your wrist while riding, and switch to min/mile for the run, so the RS800cx can record the whole race and give speed for both the bike and run. With the S3 pod, the RS800cx will not show speed while cycling and when you come off the bike, you will have to show SEEK SENSOR and have the watch search for the S3 for the run.
The RS800cx will show speed while cycling once you get a CS Wind Speed Sensor.
Hi,
I have a RS800 and the G3, the Battery life has decreased to the point where i cannot get a decent long ride in, the last brand new battery lasted less than 4 hours.
Bear in mind theyre not rechargable so works out expensive.
Also, you can only get 3 fileds of data on the screen at once (Forerunner 305 has 4)
A nice looking bit of kit, but should have included a built in rechargable Li-ion battery.
Nick.
As far as the G3, I have been using the RS800CX since October, and my wife has the RS800G3 since Oct 07. I have no issues with size or weight of it, and have gotten good reception in the woods. I am the geeky kind of guy who actually opens the data file in excel to see how many satellites it stayed locked onto during the run.
As far as the batteries not being rechargeable, I use NiMh rechargeable batteries in the GPS unit. I switched to the ‘pre-charged’ long shelf life recently and have still been getting in plenty of time even with the GPS in full power mode. I have not done a full test lately to see what the actual life is, but I did a half Iron in just over 5 hours last fall (B2B in Wilmington) and still worked out the rest of the recovery week afterwards before changing the battery (not dead but figured I would change it before it died in a run. I’ll start testing the life as I get closer to IM this year, and for that will probably switch to a freshly charged NiMh regular battery since they have a higher capacity than the pre-charged (over 2800mAh now as compared to around 2000 mAh with the pre-charged)
The lack of “waterproofness” of the 305 is my issue. I like being able to see my distance on open water swims. I also could carry a second battery for the GPS on a IM run and change it. Compared to how much I will be walking in the aid stations, the few seconds to remove the battery cover and change the battery as I’m walking won’t make a big difference. That is not an option with the 305.
The watch and HR strap are not rechargeable, but I have bought the cells off ebay for less than $1 a piece and they last a long time, so no problem for me.
Between the G3 and S3, Id take the S3 100%. I live in rural, open area with the roads being flat as pancakes (not that it matters here) and absolutely no tree cover. Clear line of site 100%. When using the G3, the overall distance is always right on, but the pace it displays is all over the place. Itll go from showing 7:00 m/m to 9:00s to low 5:00s all with me not changing pace or RPE at all. Absolutely horrible if youre trying to pace off of it. Its always jumping all over the place. Also, when doing intervals there is about a 10 second lag for it to pick up the increase/decrease in pace.
I use my G3 to calibrate the S3 since the G3 distance is always right on, despite what pace its showing. Thats the only time I use the G3 now.
-Rob
I agree that instantaneously the GPS speed is not steady at all, but over a distance it is accurate. I have not tried the S3 pod, but I had one of the old Fitsense units which used similar accelerometer technology. I am not sure how the algorithms or hardware have improved, but with the Fitsense, I could get the calibration very accurate, but when I did long runs on a measured route, the accuracy would drop off. I am not sure if it was because my form would drop off or what, but I would run a measured mile one direction and get 0.99 to 1.01 miles and then coming back 15-20 miles later I would get .95 - 1.05. Even with the fitsense I never controlled my workout by pace, so when I chose this time, I picked the GPS. Maybe Polar’s algorithms or hardware is better now and that is not the case. I would be interested to see if anyone with the S3 has done a test like this. This change in reported distance also made me wonder about the accuracy of it off road, when my stride and form really varied based on terrain, rocks roots, etc. I tend to train off heart rate, RPE and I check my splits with the autosplit feature every half or whole mile. I’ve considered buying the S3 pod, but at this point don’t think the cost benefit ratio is where I want it.
It also doesn’t really help with the training effects (ok not at all), but I like being able to map out the run afterwards in Google earth or Topo USA.
I decided to go with the S3 because of my anticipated use. I don’t come from a running background so I wanted to be able to verify my speed for the workouts I had planned. A couple times I left the house planning on running x pace on a slow run and was too slow or fast by over a minute/mile. I knew how fast I could run at race pace , but when I wanted to slow down by about 1:30/mile I was basically lost. I also wanted feedback on cadence. For that use I think the S3 is much better because it gives feedback instantaneously instead of only being able to rely on the numbers over mile chunks. I have it calibrated fairly well but I haven’t done any tests as mentioned above. I have biked and used the google maps pedometer to verify route distances.
wvarta - What’s the best way to calibrate the S3 sensor for a race? Should I be running one mile at race pace to calibrate? I ask because I calibrated mine on the track at general aerobic pace, but raced this weekend at about a minute per mile faster than I calibrated. At the end of the race my distance and avg pace were way off. I don’t want to go back to my Garmin cuz Polar kills it as far as heart rate goes. I just want accurate data from one unit.
Not sure where you are located, but since it is only March I am assuming you weren’t racing in Michigan or anywhere else up north. If you were at Parris Island in SC, the course was shorter than 5K.
I am not fond of calibrating at a track, though everyone makes it the default location. You can do some GOOGLE searching to discover it makes a difference which lane you are in, any running coaches out there. I make sure I am wearing the shoes for race day, such as flats or lightweight trainers. I live near a measured mile near a boardwalk which was wheeled. As for pace, just make it steady state, and if wanted to avg race day pace, why not! I think you could calibrate about 1 min/mile off race pace and be fine. You need that accurate 1/2 mile to a mile, my mile is straight, no turns.
Not sure how technically different the s3 is with the s1, but I know there is a very technical paper concerning the s625x and the s1 foot pod. The paper goes into detail about how having the watch taking automatic laps and starting running before you press the red button all subtley effect the final accuracy. The author did all kinds of tests.
Even with those tips I admit to having problems getting the S625x to mesh with my RS400. But I have been able to get get the RS400 very accurate. Usually within .1 or .05 miles on a long run. Ran MV20, garmin guys got 20.0 miles, I got 19.99 with the s1 foot pod. That said I didn’t use autolaps.