Just got my new Polar RC3 GPS watch, and after my first run, I’m pretty impressed. My goal was to get a GPS watch that could be both a day to day watch, and a training tool for use while traveling (which I’m doing a fair bit of these days). I had first tried the Timex Run Trainer, which was pretty decent, but it was so tall that my dress shirts wouldn’t fit over it, and it went tits up on me after about 4 months of use (thanks Road Runner Sports for taking it back!!)…it locked up in “searching for heart rate” mode, and although I was able to get it out of that, it entered this weird mode where the GPS was on, but it didn’t act like it, and I couldn’t turn the GPS on or off (figured the GPS was on because the battery drained completely in one day, normally lasts for weeks). So, when I saw that the RC3 was being released, I ordered one and got it pretty quick from RR Sports. So, herewith are my general observations after wearing it for a few days and one run:
Amazingly light, and doesn’t look too bad as a day to day watch…far, far better than the Timex
Charges completely fairly quickly
No discernible battery depletion after two full days of wearing as a watch…11 days of wear plus training use seems reasonable for battery life
Instantaneous pace seems very accurate, and is quite stable…much different from my Garmin 310XT or FR305. Actually useable.
Average pace, though, seems a bit wonky…while the Garmin would update fairly quickly, and in 1 second increments, it seems like the Polar waits a bit before updating. At the end of my run today, while I had upped the pace, it went from an 8:49 avg pace (coming back from a knee injury, so cut me some slack!) to 8:42 in one jump. Stayed at 8:42 for remainder of run, but when I downloaded the data, it said avg pace was 8:39. Weird.
GPS spot on…I hit my one mile marker in exactly the same place as my Garmin 310XT, and every subsequent marker
Locks on relatively quickly
No way to check GPS solution accuracy, though (can check your Garmin against a known waypoint before running)
Lots of data fields across 7 different views
Data fields or order of views not configurable
3 lines max (4 would probably be too much, though…the numbers would have to be pretty tiny)
Polar web training site seems much more in depth than Garmin Connect
Lap alert barely audible…missed 3 mile auto lap alerts in a 5.5 mile run…really liked the vibrating alert on the 310XT, although doubt you could get such functionality in the RC3 form factor
Watch “disappears” on your wrist while running, unlike the Garmin which is so huge you always know its there
Can’t use for swimming (IPX7 waterproof standard)
HRM is very comfy
Anyway, I really like it, and really dig the Polar web site. Seems like a winner for an every day watch plus travel training tool…it might even replace the 310XT for day to day running duties when not traveling because it’s so nice and light. For a far, far more in-depth review, and lots of cool pics, go to www.dcrainmaker.com , whose reviews I find very helpful when looking for new gadgets, and are very objective. You can find the RC3 review on the list of equipment on the right side of the page.
Update…Ran with the RC3 under some fairly heavy tree cover in New Hampshire. The instantaneous pace got pretty wonky…I went from a 8:40ish pace to 10:20 - 10:30, and although I am slow, I am not that slow. After I broke out into the (relative) clear, my pace jumped to 6:50ish something…obviously the watch was trying to catch up. This happened on and off for a 6 mile run. Afterwards, I checked the distance the watch had for the intial outbound leg of the run (3.23 miles) against Mapmyrun, and it came up with 3.21. So, although it appears that the cover affected lock on the sats somewhat, the watch was able to recover enough to have a fairly accurate distance (assuming Mapmyrun is close). Haven’t downloaded the run yet to see how it maps, but I was a little surprised it was that close considering how often the pace was off under the trees, and how curvy the trail was that I was running on.
Hi there, do you happen to have any pictures while wearing the watch? Any idea of the circumference of your wrist as well? I too am looking for something that I could wear as an everyday watch… unfortunately, I have little girly wrists and the 910 is a wee bit too bulky (not to mention my current Timex GPS and 305). Obviously it may not fit all that well under a dress shirt, but just as long as it doesn’t look like I have a minifridge strapped to my arm, I’m interested. Thanks!
If you go www.dcrainmaker.com , he’s got more pics that are very helpful. You can see the RC3 compared to other watches on a standard rolling pin, and on dcrainmaker’s own wrist. It is definitely smaller than every other integrated GPS I’ve ever seen, and looks pretty decent as a normal watch.
I had one for two weeks. I wore it on my wrist all week 24/7. I could not tell the difference from a ordinary watch. Which quite is extrordinary co sidering it has GPS :0)
Hello, i have timex run trainer and i´m thinking to sell it to buy polar rc3. is polar rc3 better than timex run trainer? what has it than timex hasn´t?? Thanks
