Wrist Computers: Garmin or Suunto

[Bobonli]

I'm in search of a training / outdoors wrist computer for hiking, cycling (to be used as adjunct to my bar mounted Garmin) and a little running. I want to track time, distance and heart rate; altitude/elevation changes would be nice too. I have the aforementioned Garmin and a heart rate strap for it (an ANT+ device).

The field narrows quickly to either a Garmin device or one made by Suunto. Each does some things better than the other (Suunto reportedly gets GPS lock quicker. The Garmin works with my existing items). The one area that seems a complete minefield is the "applications" that the two companies force on you to work the watch. Suunto requires using a web app to configure the watch screens and download data, which means you have to have access to the internet. The Garmin relies on Training Center, Connect and Basecamp, all of which have shortcomings. And Garmin has a reputation of not really fixing anything.

Does anyone here have any experience in this area, with these two companies and their wrist devices? Please share.

The common thinking on the Garmin message boards is to buy both, trial them for 10 days and return the one you don't like but that seems like a crappy thing to do to a merchant.

[big boom]

I'm going through the same decision process right now. I am trying to decide between the 920xt and then Ambit 3 and I think the 920xt is going to be the winner. One of the biggest reasons that I am leaning towards the 920xt is that the Suunto doesn't support Ant+, with both my power meters and current garmin 800 setup I need it to be Ant+ compatible.

If the Suunto was Ant+ compatible I would go with that in a heartbeat. I like the features on it better and the watch itself feels better built along with better colours.

[Will Neide]

A good friend of mine has the 920xt and he loves it. It's a pretty cool little gadget. I was surprised at it's capabilities. Pretty cool that you can control a Virb too, if you had one, from your watch. It has me looking extra hard at getting one for myself.

I think he's going to get the quick release mount for it as well so you can use your basic garmin bike mounts instead of wearing it as a watch. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/shop...rod144469.html

[BShow]

Soleus also makes a running watch that uses GPS, and its pretty inexpensive. The downside is that I dont think they're using ant+, which means you need to keep track of different heart straps for different activities. Soleus used to make running watches for Nike and they still resemble the old nike watches.

That said, I have one of the soleus bike computers that I got on super clearance. Its on my wife's bike, because I dont like it. Maybe Im just used to my garmin 500, but the controls/interface seem clunky and redundant to me.

You have garmin products and you're going to continue using garmin products, I'd get a garmin watch. You can use the heart rate strap with both, you're familiar with the general controls and layout within user interfaces, and the new garmin watches look pretty good in my opinion. I personally would only consider something else if I had a hankering to just try something different.

[sk_tle]

I'm going through the same decision process right now. I am trying to decide between the 920xt and then Ambit 3 and I think the 920xt is going to be the winner. One of the biggest reasons that I am leaning towards the 920xt is that the Suunto doesn't support Ant+, with both my power meters and current garmin 800 setup I need it to be Ant+ compatible.

If the Suunto was Ant+ compatible I would go with that in a heartbeat. I like the features on it better and the watch itself feels better built along with better colours.

The Ambit 2 is still sold and is Ant+ compatible. A friend of mine recently sold his ambit for an ambit 3. He seems happy with it. He also own a garmin edge 500 but almost never uses it, only if he do some marathon event and want a backup device in case the battery died.

[jmgorman]

I have a Suunto Ambit 2 and love it. It looks good off the bike, picks up my hr and power stuff and gps quickly and without messing. The customizable displays are great. The online tool isn't awesome, but I honestly don't even bother with it. I set the displays that I wanted and configured it to auto-update strava, so I don't ever really have to use it. The only time I do is when I put a route in there to follow, which works really well. No maps, but a great breadcrumb visualization with good wayfinding and reference points (I'm able to see when I've missed a corner within a dozen meters or so). I really recommend the watch. The only thing it has trouble with is comprehending a trainer session, but I don't need to record those anyway. I mostly just use HR in real time for that.

[Bobonli]

Yes, for interoperability purposes it makes sense to stick with Garmin. However, I've read that the Fenix and other wrist gizmos are prone to crashing or locking up while on a route. No such complaints about the Ambit, but it's users complain about loss of ANT functionality (apparently there's a strap that transmits both ANT and BT) and having to go to the computer to make adjustments to the screens and track data.

To paraphrase what my research has found " Garmin is good at introducing lots of features but never perfects them, while Suunto makes sure they work but not the way you want them to!" Nikon v Canon I suppose. Of course the stuff I'm finding on the web is probably suspect because people spend a lot more time complaining about stuff than praising it. Garmin sure doesn't have a good track record at addressing bugs, though.

[Bobqzz]

I have a 910XT (going on 4 years now) and it has been pretty much flawless in daily use. Wouldn't get anything without ANT+. DC Rainmaker gives the low down on virtually all sports fitness electronics

[quickag]

So this is one of the few times I get to brag about what I do...

My last survey trip to the PI was pretty gnarly. Involved lots of shady boat rides, a few helo trips and lots of hiking. I took a Fenix 2 and it was ace.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?m...0.k82Epn3OBdHQ

[TMB]

This may be exactly what you do not want, but .....

I no longer have a GPS/computer on the bars of my bike. I have decided that my phone is capable of all of the info gathering I want.

Bluetooth HRM
Bluetooth cadence sensor
GPS on the phone

Use it with Endomondo, Runtastic, Strava, whatever.

For wrist use I know Casio makes a watch that mirrors the information from the phone - speed, distance, HRM, etc.

Seems simple and easy and you don't have charge the stupid thing every day.

BTW I can easily get 12 hours on GPS use with the iPhone.

[Bobonli]

New Garmin products coming in March including a new Fenix, according to a CES report I saw. So I suppose I'll sit tight for now and just strap my cycling computer to my head.

[Shoogs]

I don't know if you have a 500 or not... I use this with mine. similar to what Will posted only it has the straps already

Amazon.com: GARMIN 010-10615-00 Quick-Release Mounting Kit: GPS & Navigation

[Bobonli]

I don't know if you have a 500 or not... I use this with mine. similar to what Will posted only it has the straps already

Amazon.com: GARMIN 010-10615-00 Quick-Release Mounting Kit: GPS & Navigation

Thanks. I have the 800. I had my sights set on the Fenix or Ambit so I can use for hiking, running etc. The new Fenix looks nicer -as does a new square shaped watch with color screen- so I'll wait for it.

[hidayanra]

I have been using Suunto gear for a few years, after using Garmin watches for running/hiking - The Suunto seems to drop data less and have fewer firmware issues - the Garmins I had never seemed to string together 6 months without something happening.

Then again, I've moved from a Saris little yellow computer for a Powertap, to a Garmin for years, to an SRM PC5/PC7 - and I've been delighted with the move away from Garmin on that front too - things seem to just work more smoothly - no niggles or odd device issues.

[Bobonli]

I have been using Suunto gear for a few years, after using Garmin watches for running/hiking - The Suunto seems to drop data less and have fewer firmware issues - the Garmins I had never seemed to string together 6 months without something happening.

Then again, I've moved from a Saris little yellow computer for a Powertap, to a Garmin for years, to an SRM PC5/PC7 - and I've been delighted with the move away from Garmin on that front too - things seem to just work more smoothly - no niggles or odd device issues.

This is the issue. The Garmin products are just wonky enough that I swore after I bought the 800 that I'd never give them another dollar. Software updates that brick the device, devices that stop navigating or stop delivering turn by turn at random, mediocre or no customer support, updates that add new features that don't work right, multiple interfaces to transfer data (Basecamp, Training Center, Connect sometimes you have to use two to import a route). They never fail to disappoint.

But OTOH they make feature rich devices with a large user following and at least with the Fenix they didn't abandon ANT+ like Suunto did.

How big of a hassle is it to use the Suunto web interface to keep track of data.?

[jmgorman]

How big of a hassle is it to use the Suunto web interface to keep track of data.?

It's not the greatest, but you don't even have to hassle with it. You can set it to auto export to any of a dozen or more services, or straight data to your desktop. I literally never look at their tool, all the data goes automagically to Strava. Set it how you like it. Here are the third party apps it can connect to.

[TMB]

This is the issue. The Garmin products are just wonky enough that I swore after I bought the 800 that I'd never give them another dollar. Software updates that brick the device, devices that stop navigating or stop delivering turn by turn at random, mediocre or no customer support, updates that add new features that don't work right, multiple interfaces to transfer data (Basecamp, Training Center, Connect sometimes you have to use two to import a route). They never fail to disappoint.

But OTOH they make feature rich devices with a large user following and at least with the Fenix they didn't abandon ANT+ like Suunto did.

How big of a hassle is it to use the Suunto web interface to keep track of data.?

All of this is a big part of the reason I hav decided that my iPhone in the back pocket is simply the best possible device, with the greatest range of features.

After the 3rd Edge 500 customer service swap out, I decided it was just too much.

[Chris]

I have a 920xt. It's great. I still use my 500 on the bike but I use the 920 to record and download because it does it via bluetooth and I don't have to plug it into anything. I like the training effect number it provides as part of it's analysis. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but it's interesting to compare workouts. I tried the iphone/tickr strap and found that there were times when it would eat up juice pretty quickly.

[sk_tle]

All of this is a big part of the reason I hav decided that my iPhone in the back pocket is simply the best possible device, with the greatest range of features.

I do it too but on the other hand I hate how far from reality are the elevation data with an iphone (or any other smartphone in general). When looking at the strava results I can get as much as one third more elevation than someone using a dedicated gps device.

[funcrusher]

i have an ambit2. i'm usually one to upgrade, but i didn't like some of the changes they made with the ambit3. i am waiting for the fenix 3.