Best tri training watch?

x3

I LOVE MY GARMIN!!!  In fact, my wife may be a little jealous of the relationship I have with this watch.

I have tried many watches and for the basics of time, distance, pace, alerts for running and biking I didn't see huge differences.  Some of the bells and whistles, special features I never use.

What set the 910xt apart for me was the open water swimming functions.  Finally, I could do an OWS and have a reasonable measure of my distance.  I used it all last summer at the lake which has buoys set out that I used to validate the consistency of distance measurements.  It was always right on.

X4 for the 910XT.  But a budget has to be considered.  It may not be the best bang for the buck but comes close to doing almost everything.  I've had other Garmin watches and a Timex Ironman and the 910 blows them away. 

I've had my Garmin Forerunner 305 for over three years and I still love it.  And you can get it for about $150 on eBay.  Don't try to swim with it, though.  I also use the Forerunner 210 as a run-only watch and my Timex Ironman watch for swimming (I don't need the stroke analysis stuff).

If money is no problem...definitely the 910xt.

Actually- you can!  Not for pool swimming, but for OWS.  The way you do this is to stick it in your bathing cap.  It will GPS track just fine 'up there' and it's sufficiently waterproof to get a little wet in the process without worry.  Remember to lock the bezel.

I set it to autolap every 1/4 or 1/2 mile, and you can hear the chirp (heck, it's sitting on your head).  So, that way, you know how far you've swum.  Or, you can set it to autolap based on time if you prefer that to distance.  Heck- you can even have it guide you through an interval workout- just based on the chirp sounds (which are really well designed audio cue's).

Five years with my $70 Timex Ironman with HR monitor.  Wear it 24-7. (Not the monitor )  Can't imagine why I would need any more functions.  Tells me HR, beeps if I go low or high, timer tells me when to drink or eat and beyond all of that - it tells me what time and what day it is!

This reminds me of a a friend a couple years ago that got back into running and had some fancy gizmo watch - she would average 8 minute miles.  Well one day I went out running with her and I knew we weren't going more than 10.5 minute miles.  So I ask the pace - yep, 8 minute miles.  So the next mile marker along the route I hit the interval button on the ole Timex.  We hit the next mile marker 10.5 minutes later.  I had a great laugh over that one.

So to the OP, don't discount the Timex.  It has been through a lot of training and triathlons including three Ironmans.  It's takin a lickin and still tickin.

I have had a Polar FT7 for a couple of years, and it has been a fantastic watch...that I can wear all the time. It has been great for tracking my HR (which was the aim, when I was losing weight). I could wear it in the water and still track my HR. The only limitation was the lack of GPS. I have just bought a  Garmin 310xt......and I am getting used to it. It is much more complex and quite massive than my little polar, but so far the GPS works great and I can't wait to use it in an event. I can't use it as a watch, as it looks ridiculous! Almost got the 910xt but it was just a bit too much $.

On the 910XT

You can program in workouts that will do this, but I have never bothered. Their is a pace buddy that will tell you how far or behind him you are (distance and time).

+1 more for the 910, its pretty cool and mostly without bugs.

I keep the Timex on while training in the pool without any problems.  I don't use it for any purpose in the pool because we have a large pace clock.