triathlon watches advice

Just wondering (since I signed up for one), what happens as far as watches/Garmins and full IM? Will anything hold a charge the whole way? As in 12-ish hours? Or do you just use a bike computer (will it last 6-7 hours) then pick up your running watch in T2 and then turn it on?

Garmin 920 XT would be my choice (and it is).DC Rainmaker has a great section on all the pluses and minuses of everything electronic related to enduarnce sports.www.dcrainmaker.com

If there are any Garmin 920XT's out there still for sale I'd go for one of those. That's what I use, it held a charge with a few hours to spare in my first Ironman (I finished in 11:52 or thereabouts). Great watch for training as it holds a charge including workouts for a week or so. Garmin has a newer one, forgot the model but DC Rainmaker's website is the place to go to get the skinny on these watches.

I've got my 920XT set up so that it uploads to my smartphone and from there Garmin Connect, Strava, Mapmyrun and my BT log gets automatically uploaded.

Another vote for Garmin 920. Great battery life.

Thanks all I am
Going to CHeck out the 920!

Yuppers......910XT for sure. I actually raced a couple of Olys in my Vivoactive HR, but really my 920XT is great.

Thanks--will check out that and the 920. Would like to use the same watch for the whole thing.

If you want a slightly cheaper option you should officially get 14 hours out of the battery (in gps mode) on a Garmin 735xt. Ive done over 7hours with mine and it hadn't used half the battery.

I think the watch face is a bit smaller on the 735 which might be helpful for you Karen.

Yep--I have kid-sized wrists--even the "women's" watches are on the big size with some brands.

Fenix 3
Fenix 5
935
735 XT

I have a Fenix 3 that I only used a few months before I hopped on a F5 at a great deal. Been meaning to sell it. PM me if interested.

Save your money and get a used 910. It’ll do anything you want and more, and will save you cash that you can spend on your new bike or latex tubes lol.

I had a 910 and a Garmin bike computer for a 16:53:07 IM (this was back in 2013). Turned the watch off while on the bike. At the end had to turn off the light because it wasn't going to last so I just turned off the light once in a while to see how I was progressing on the run.

Another here for the Garmin 920XT.

It has more than enough battery life to see you through a full IM.

And they have been out for a bit so you can find them cheap refurbished or second hand. I traded in my Garmin Forerunner 210 for the 920XT on the recommendation of people on this forum and couldn't have been happier.

Look for them on sites like kijiji or craigslist, etc. Lots of people buy them...use them a couple times...and never again and want to get rid of them.

Good luck!

I upgraded to the 920 from the 310. awhile back.

It took me 13.5 hours to finish mine. I had more than enough battery life. I left the hotel with it fully charged and powered down. Didn't turn it on until I was a few minutes from getting in the water...and still plenty of time to get a GPS signal. Sometimes at my house (trees/hills/house) it takes up to a minute or two. Most places, like 5 seconds. And I didn't have it autoscrolling through a bunch of screens or anything. I'm happy with the standard display.

I had turned off Bluetooth, wifi, and everything else I didn't need. Made sure the Russian GPS signaling was turned off (forget what's it's called). The backlight timer was still set to the default of like 5 seconds. I left the audible alerts on, but not the vibration. There's websites that will go through power saving recommendations. Wore a heart monitor on the ride. I don't use a lot of the bells and whistles, beyond a beep or two.

I'm guessing I still had about 4-6 hours of juice left in it. Mine wasn't a refurb. Bought it when the LBS was able to have a 40% off sale to match online prices. Man, Garmin screws their brick and mortars.

Size-wise.....yeah...it's biggish. But NOTHING like the 310. And I had the quick release on the 310. I did not want to add it to the 920. The 920 is wearable as a "watch" for me. "Slightly" larger than the average watch. Smaller/less bulky than a blingy Rolex type. The 310 is not small. It's a boat anchor. Is it a bit of a pain to twist my arm a tad to look at it on the bike? No...not really. But, to be fair, I sometimes (and did so on the day) drop my 310 into the mount on my aerobar bottle cage on the bike so I could stare at it if I wanted. I mean, I had it...and I had the mount. Why not?




Edited by jhaack39 2018-05-23 11:13 AM

Garmin 920XL - I have brought 2nd generation model (black colour) which comes with a kit to remove watch from strap and attach a clip-on to the strap, meaning you can swim, then remove the watch from your strap with one turn, put the watch on a Garmin bike mount, finish the bike, remove from bike, click onto wrist strap for your run, brilliant invention from Garmin! Love it! Though I'm yet to do an Ironman (in 4 weeks time!) I will turn off Wifi, Bluetooth etc to reserve battery power.

I should also say that in training in open water I've had other swimmers hit my watch with feet, arms. Watch is very secure with the clip-in, I've also swam in the ocean once with reasonably big waves 4-10 feet, no issues.

If you order make sure it comes with removable kit.