Garmin 910XT


I was looking at getting a new training gadget in the form of a swimming watch. There are a couple that I’ve been looking at such as the Swimovate PoolMate PRO Computer Sports Watch and the Finis Adult Swimsense. Something to add to my birthday and Christmas wish list maybe?

Both contain an accelerometer than can count the number of lengths you do in the pool and even the number of strokes you do per length. Not essential I know, but gadgets are a good way to keep me motivated and training hard and they do allow you to analyse certain aspects of your performance too. Reports seem to be good and they seem to be accurate. I thought it was a shame however that they didn’t also have a GPS to allow for accurate open water swim analysis as well as analysis in the pool.

I’ve now just had an email in my inbox about a new product from Garmin, the new Forerunner 910XT which as they say is a

“revolutionary GPS sports watch that is as good in the water as it is on land. It will give you the comprehensive data you need to swim faster and more efficiently, helping you save time and energy for the bike and run. Making this the world’s most complete training watch ever.”

I’ve had a quick check and it does look nice. Smaller than the Forerunner 305 that I currently own and love, waterproof like the Forerunner 310XT and with the addition of a swim stroke counter.

This would seem to make it just what I’m looking for. They aren’t available in the UK yet, but when they are I’d love to try one. It will be interesting to see how well it performs, especially as far as the GPS performance whilst swimming.

I’ve tried swimming with my Forerunner 305 on my wrist before and it just doesn’t work. If I want to use it in the water I have to attach it to my goggle strap on the back of my head. It’ll be interesting to see if they’ve managed to build some software into it that ‘knows’ you are swimming and therefore compensates for things such as the movement of your arms and the loss of GPS signal whilst your arm is under the water. I hope so.

It won’t be cheap but it does look good and I think I want one!

4 Responses

  1. Avatar forComment Author Nia says:

    Great minds… I realised at tri training last night that it was high time for me to invest in a swimming watch – we were doing timed swims and I’m sure everyone else but me had one. Much more basic than what you’re after, for now anyway. All I need is a timer that will work well in the pool and in open water, ideally with a length and stroke counter as well. And something accurate! Seeing as you’ve obviously done your research, have you got any recommendations?

    I’m assuming that this watch is already on your Christmas list!

    • Avatar forComment Author Alan says:

      The ones that I’ve seen with stroke conters are fairly expensive. The swimovate mentioned above seems like the best value, although amazon did have the finis swim sense cheaper last week. The advantage of the swim sense is that it will record your strokes per length for every length of a session, whereas the swimovate will only give you an average ‘strokes per length’ for the entire session.

      I haven’t used any of the yet though and just use a trusty old stopwatch on my watch.

      You can get much less expensive lap counters, but they don’t count your strokes.

      Yes, the Garmin 910XT is on my Xmas list – I can live in hope!

      Al.

  2. Avatar forComment Author Alan says:

    Amazon have not got the Garmin Forerunner 910XT GPS Watch available on pre-order… Ready for release in April 2012

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Alan Cole

Alan is a Freelance Website Designer, Sports & Exercise Science Lab Technician and full time Dad & husband with far too many hobbies: Triathlete, Swimming, Cycling, Running, MTBing, Surfing, Windsurfing, SUPing, Gardening, Photography.... The list goes on.

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