OT running watch

anne

I have got to choose myself a "gift" and am quite keen on getting a GPS running watch. Almost every model is beyond a reasonable gift amount, but there is one that just verges into affordable territory. I have been reading reviews and it seems one called the Soleus GPS 1.0, though basic, should be sufficient and affordable.

I know there lots of runners here on YLF. Have any of you got this and could comment on it?

13 years ago

General

9 replies

Latest reply was from cheryle (Dianthus)

Kim

Veteran

Depends on what you want it to do.

I have a Garmin ForeRunner but to be honest I wouldn;'t recommend it at full price (around 400 bucks!) I got mine on Kijiji (like Craigslist) brand new in the box for $150.00 (the guy won it at a raffle and wasn't a runner so he sold it) and I like it "well enough" at that price. It's a bit buggy though, so you can't TOTALLY trust it to keep on running during your long run, so I have a bit of a back up plan I use, but that defeats the purpose of originally buying the watch! It was supposed to be EASY! lol

I don't know anything about the Soleus, but read lots of reviews and decide what you need the watch for? Are you interested in it for tracking your running distance and time?

13 years ago

anne

Veteran

Thanks Kim - yes I basically just want it for tracking distance and time (and pace). Here is the link http://www.soleusrunning.com/p.....s/gps-1-0/

I have read lots of reviews, as you suggest. I just thought I'd ask here at YLF because well I feel like I know you guys a little!

13 years ago

Sylvie

Veteran

I have a Garmin Forerunner 201 (very old and out of date) and I was happy with it when I used it for marathon training.

On mine, you could set it to not interrupt the timer if you slowed down to a walk but keep going. For a training situation, I would let it automatically calculate mile laps. While running a race, since its mile markers would never match up exactly with the race mile markers, I would manually hit the lap button at every mile marker, so I'd know how long each mile was.

I used to export the data to my computer and overlay it onto maps too, which was pretty cool.

13 years ago

anne

Veteran

Thanks Sylvie. I don't think this one exports data, but I am willing to take that for the cheaper price!

13 years ago

banananutmuffin

Active Member

I had a Forerunner, too... know I didn't pay anywhere near $400 for it, so maybe you can find an older version cheaper.

To be honest, these days I use my Droid cell phone, which has all kinds of free apps for tracking running mileage with its GPS. If you're a cell phone user, you may actually want to consider just spending the "watch" money on a smartphone that can do the same thing plus more.

13 years ago

anne

Veteran

So does that mean you have to carry the phone with you? will have to think about that whole idea!

13 years ago

JayS

Veteran

I, too, use my smart phone to track runs. I use an app called Jog Log. Does the job nicely.
Also, I keep my phone in a spibelt..just big enough for a phone and key.

http://tinyurl.com/7veajer

13 years ago

Kim

Veteran

I used to have an app on my iphone (I paid about $5.00 for the full app) called RunKeeper (pro version) It didn't even require that I have a data plan (cause I don't and I'm too cheap for that! LOL) but could track my runs and set intervals, show my pace etc. The only reason I stopped using it was my iphone battery finally started dying and using Runkeeper would kill it every time. My friend uses the same program now, and has NO issues with her battery, (but she has a iphone 4, mine was an original iphone. See, I am cheap! LOL)

It might be just what you are looking for to "try out" the features that a watch would have (and more!)

(And my Garmin is only selling for $150 or so, new, now, as it's a 405 and they are now up to version 905 or better. Technology! LOL)

13 years ago

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I have an older Garmin too. Mine is the 301 and my partner has the 305 with the footpod for indoor running. Even though mine is rather large, I like it because I can have three different pieces of info on it at one. My pace, time, and HR. I considered getting a new running watch and looked at the features of the Soleus on the weekend but decided my garmin was more suited to my needs. I do run/walk cycles and it manages that for me. I also like that it stores my runs and I can compare times and distances. For example, I was comparing my pace now to last year to see how I was doing and I am running at a faster pace than last year.

The 305 and 405 are quite reasonable on amazon and have quite a few more features than the Soleus. I think the newer Soleus is version 3.0.

13 years ago

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