After jumping on the band wagon and trying the Garmin 310xt…
I missed my Polar 625x. Yeah, the navigation sucked until you got use to the watch and read the manual 50 times. But, the battery never went dead… it lasted a full season or more. It was small. I never had to wait for the GPS to load (I had th foot pod), and it was waterproof with a comfortable heart rate strap.
I now got the new RCX5. The first time I turned it on… a new navigation display over the older 625X! YES! I don’t need to read the manual. It is small and comfortable on the wrist. No waiting for GPS, turn on and go! The foot pod finds speed in about 2 seconds from a stand still to a run. NICE! The display is customizable 4 lines and 5 differnet page views. WOW!
Can’t wait to try it more and see what else it can do…
I think the Garmin 310XT will be in the Classified section soon.
I just received my RCX5 in the mailbox yesterday. I upgraded from a SD200. I purchased the S3 stride pod and calibrated on the TM last night. Will see if it holds up outside this weekend. I was thinking of the G5 GPS device to place in my swim cap for open water swimming; anyone try that and if so, successfully?
Have used mine for about 2 months. Nice piece of equipment that offers a lot of options to show you minimal, just enough or fair too much data. GPS receiver seems to lock on to a signal pretty quickly. The watch looks fairly nice so you won’t get crazy stares if you wear it when not working out. A few software complaints that Polar will hopefully address with updates: (1) you can’t just see your heart rate without having to be in an exercise/data collection mode, and (2) your workout numbers, e.g. total time, distance, pace, etc. are only available after you hit the ‘stop’ button if you access the data file. When I wrote to Polar customer service to inquire if these features were available and I just had not found them they wrote back that I was not the first person to inquire. Otherwise, I have always been a Polar fan since the HR strap works with CompuTrainer and most treadmills that pick up HR and this unit has not disappointed.
But, then I thought… No need to hit stop during a workout to still see heart rate, just hit the lap button. The elapsed time will keep running, but then you are actually counting your rest too. You could view the rests as well as the intervals on the laps.
As far as monitoring heart rate without recording… I guess I don’t see that as a big deal… but, I know what you mean.
No issues that I would think should result in scratching this model off the list of wants and nothing that Polar does not seem willing to consider in future software updates. In terms of GPS, the RCX5 replaces an old Garmin Forerunner and I couldn’t be happier with it.
I love my polar rcx5. Battery life seems to last forever andi am able to get a gps signal wherever I go. I have not tried it in any big cities yet. But I do have the foot pod as a back up just in case :0) I also still use my Rs800sd every now and then both are great watches and I can’t wait for the US release of the power pedals as I use the cs600 bike computer also. And I have gotten many a “nice watch” from guys who are wearing 10,000 + watches !!! On both the rs series and rcx5. Definitely a quality product. I am not just saying that because of my involvement with Polar. I have long been a fan of Polar for their good looks, customer service and reliability way before I was lucky enough to be involved with Polar. Good luck on your Polar purchases I am sure you will not be disappointed
I have tried the G5 under the swim cap yet but have it on the list of things to do. I know Polar says its waterproof, but the flap covering the USB port doesn’t look too water tight to me has me a bit nervous to try.
I raced IM FL with the RCX5. I wrapped the GPS unit in two plastic bags and taped it up. I put it in the top of swim cap and it worked great. My biggest fear was forgetting it was there and losing it when I took off my cap.
well i made a jump originally from Polar to Garmin…and well now I am back to Polar.
I have nothing bad to say about Garmin, except the fact that i had to charge it nightly, other than that, Garmin is an excellent device.
I made the jump and picked up an RCX5. Even after having the Garmin 910 xt for 3 days…it just didnt do it for me. I am glad i was able to take it back and get my money.
my RCX5 arrives on Friday, i cannot wait to try it on!
well i made a jump originally from Polar to Garmin…and well now I am back to Polar.
I have nothing bad to say about Garmin, except the fact that i had to charge it nightly, other than that, Garmin is an excellent device.
I made the jump and picked up an RCX5. Even after having the Garmin 910 xt for 3 days…it just didnt do it for me. I am glad i was able to take it back and get my money.
my RCX5 arrives on Friday, i cannot wait to try it on!
Customized my view for running and found out it has cadence. SWEET!
Garmin doesn’t do that.
I ran on the treadmill and compared various paces. I adjusted the run calibration a bit and it can lock on within a few seconds of the treadmill for pace.
Just so I am on the same page, the RCx5 is built in with the GPS? Looking on Polar’s website I am seeing that you have to buy the GPS Sensor.
If you are using the foot pod with the GPS on the RCx5. What does it give you that the standalone GPS doesn’t? If it is to measure the speed / pace, shouldn’t the GPS give you that? I have the Garmin forerunner 305 that I use and I am able to get speed / pace without a foot pod
I am not saying that the foot pod is a bad thing. Its just I don’t understand the need for the foot pod. It was my understanding that the foot pod (Garmin and Polar) is only needed when running on the treadmill and you are wanting to download the results. But I could be wrong.
Have you had a chance to use the RCx5 while biking?
I am torn between getting a Polar RCx5 or the Garmin 910xt.
Maybe out Polar guy can chime in also to explain the GPS Sensor and the s3+ stride sensor and how this all relates to the RCx5 models of (Run, Bike and GPS).
With the footpod, you get cadence. At least on the Garmin. I am sure it is the same on the Polar. I think that the footpod may pick up when the GPS is lost. But I don’t do much running in tunnels or Manhattan. So I am not sure about that last part.
How are you using the RCX5 for interval woprkouts and heart rate zone training with the limit of 4 phases? I’m considering this and the Garmin 910XT but am seeing lots of unhappiness on the Polar forum about this and the zone limitations.
mine seems to be waterproof. I say seems to be. it survived a spin cycle in my washing machine this morning!! took it out and used it straight away when i realized where it was. no issues here
Just so I am on the same page, the RCx5 is built in with the GPS? Looking on Polar’s website I am seeing that you have to buy the GPS Sensor.
If you are using the foot pod with the GPS on the RCx5. What does it give you that the standalone GPS doesn’t? If it is to measure the speed / pace, shouldn’t the GPS give you that? I have the Garmin forerunner 305 that I use and I am able to get speed / pace without a foot pod
I am not saying that the foot pod is a bad thing. Its just I don’t understand the need for the foot pod. It was my understanding that the foot pod (Garmin and Polar) is only needed when running on the treadmill and you are wanting to download the results. But I could be wrong.
Have you had a chance to use the RCx5 while biking?
I am torn between getting a Polar RCx5 or the Garmin 910xt.
Maybe out Polar guy can chime in also to explain the GPS Sensor and the s3+ stride sensor and how this all relates to the RCx5 models of (Run, Bike and GPS).
Thanks for helping me out.
*Just so I am on the same page, the RCx5 is built in with the GPS? Looking on Polar’s website I am seeing that you have to buy the GPS Sensor.
It is not a built in GPS , it is separate.
Have you had a chance to use the RCx5 while biking?
yes it works flawlessly with the gps and cadence sensor. Gets signal in about 30 seconds. At least around my house. You can also get a speed sensor that the watch would read.the GPS is about as big as a wrigley gum package and the foot pod a lil larger then a quarter.
If you lose gps signal it will pick the foot pod up. In NYC And other cities there is a lot of interference. I have not tried the gps in NYC, but have had a older watch with GPS separate that could not get a signal in NYC.
The pace is instant but the footpod also gives you your stride length and cadence. Which during training I really like as it helps me to lengthen my stride or at least make me more mindful to do and now is habit forming. I am not really the best runner and cadence seems mostly constant even when I open my stride but I get faster when I open my stride and it is a great tool for that.
Ok, so I’ve had the polar now for 2 days…the rcx5 is a great watch. Is smaller than the 910, and I really like that. It’s got a big screen and that’s cool as well.
I’ve owned a polar before, I believe it was the rs400, I also owned the garmin 305, the edge 705 and the 910xt. I had forgotten how easy this watch was to use. i mounted my sensors onto the bike and it was immediately responsive, as was the 910.
i have not ran yet with my watch on, or swam, but one of the things that i did not like about the 910 was the inaccuracy of my readings (during my run workout) i know that there are glitches on the new products but maybe i should have waited a few more days on the 910 before making an abrupt move…
regardless this watch seems to be comfortable, not as bulky for one and the large screen is nice as well.
