Posted: 5/22/2017 6:18:26 PM EDT
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My son went from couch potato to joining the track team. It was quite sudden and shocking to all of us. He did quite well and absolutely enjoyed it. The season just ended, but he says he wants to continue running until next season. I want to run with him and I think it would be a good father/son activity that will benefit us both.
So, he wants a watch to track his workout. There are a lot of watches out there that sync to your phone and use the phone GPS, etc, but I'm interested in the stand alone watches that don't require a phone or other secondary device (i.e. Fitbit Surge). Does anyone here have any recommendations? They are a bit pricey and I don't want to drop $$$ on something that has poor performance. The ones I've been looking at on Amazon all seem to have more 1 and 2 star reviews than I care for. I was hoping someone here had real world experience and could share some advice. |
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My son went from couch potato to joining the track team. It was quite sudden and shocking to all of us. He did quite well and absolutely enjoyed it. The season just ended, but he says he wants to continue running until next season. I want to run with him and I think it would be a good father/son activity that will benefit us both. So, he wants a watch to track his workout. There are a lot of watches out there that sync to your phone and use the phone GPS, etc, but I'm interested in the stand alone watches that don't require a phone or other secondary device (i.e. Fitbit Surge). Does anyone here have any recommendations? They are a bit pricey and I don't want to drop $$ on something that has poor performance. The ones I've been looking at on Amazon all seem to have more 1 and 2 star reviews than I care for. I was hoping someone here had real world experience and could share some advice. I have a surge. You can use it without it being paired to a phone or computer, but not all of it. You can't set alarms with or see the GPS results without a comp or phone. Ask me anything. |
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I have a surge. You can use it without it being paired to a phone or computer, but not all of it. You can't set alarms with or see the GPS results without a comp or phone. Ask me anything. Thanks 
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Perfect. Yeah, no problem with pairing to a computer to get the data. I was leaning towards the surge. Would you buy again? How long have you had it? Any issues? Thanks Quoted:
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I have a surge. You can use it without it being paired to a phone or computer, but not all of it. You can't set alarms with or see the GPS results without a comp or phone. Ask me anything. Thanks If I were buying I wouldn't buy the surge. Not because of anything negative about the surge, it works fine in it's own right. Number one reason is cost vs features. You can get the series one apple watch for around $50 less and you don't have to connect it to your phone though you could. But if GPS tracking without a phone is the number one feature your looking for then surge and series two apple watch are the choices. I would pay the extra hundred for waterproof apple watch and all the linked phone stuff. |
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I've had it for a few weeks. I inherited it. No issues with really, it seems to work fine. If I were buying I wouldn't buy the surge. Not because of anything negative about the surge, it works fine in it's own right. Number one reason is cost vs features. You can get the series one apple watch for around $50 less and you don't have to connect it to your phone though you could. But if GPS tracking without a phone is the number one feature your looking for then surge and series two apple watch are the choices. I would pay the extra hundred for waterproof apple watch and all the linked phone stuff. |
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My son runs high school track and cross country. I looked at a lot of watches and decided on a Garmin Vivoactive HR.
Pricey, but works well. I wish I could still run with him, but he's way too fast for me. I ride alongside him on a bike now. Great father/son time. |
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Thanks Everything! I was looking at them last night. Do you recommend any particular model? |
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My son runs high school track and cross country. I looked at a lot of watches and decided on a Garmin Vivoactive HR. Pricey, but works well. I wish I could still run with him, but he's way too fast for me. I ride alongside him on a bike now. Great father/son time. I hope to run with him, but I might having to bike also. He's the middle child and definitely fits the middle child stereotype and I'm looking forward to spending more time with him. I'm very happy to support his athletic adventures!
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I've used several Garmin products - the old Forerunner 305, the 910XT, the Edge 500 (cycling). My 910XT gave up the ghost after 6 or 7 years (the "on" button stopped working). I'm not doing triathlon these days, so I picked up a Forerunner 230 for a lot less $ than the 910 replacement product, and have been extremely happy with it. Much lighter and better battery life than the older units. Can synch with computer via cable that comes with the device or via Bluetooth with smartphone. Super easy to program workouts using Garmin Connect (online). It's waterproof to 10M or so. I use mine as much for SUPing as I do for running. |
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I've had the Garmin Fenix 2 and now have the Fenix 3 Sapphire.
The Fenix 3 is leaps and bounds better but the 2 would do everything you need. You could also look for the Fenix 1, as it would do everything you're mentioning. It can sync to a phone, or ipod or any apple/android device but the most tracking and training information is available on Garmin Connect. The Fenix 1 can be bought on eBay all day long for like $80 NIB. For a no frills, cheap and basic GPS watch, I'd look at the Fenix 1 or 2 models. DCRainmaker Fenix 1 Review DCRainmaker Fenix 2 Review I've also owned the Forerunner 225, which was light and cheap and worked great as well. DCRainmaker Review Forerunner 225 What is your price range? |
| For running only I cannot recommend a Garmin Forerunner enough--I purchased my FR220 about 3-4 years ago and it has been fantastic. Since then they've come out with a couple newer models, but you can find some 230/235's on Amazon around $200 which IMO is a great value for a high quality GPS watch. |