Amazon are selling the watch along for £157 and most retailers around that price margin.
But when you go for the watch + HRM bundle you get it for £150 in Amazon.
This is the cheapest I could find for this product.
- Tracks heart rate, VO2 Max estimate and recovery advisor when used with a compatible Garmin heart rate monitor
- Connected features: automatic uploads to Garmin Connect, live tracking, audio prompts, smart notifications, social media sharing and music control
- Customised training plans from Garmin Connect on your watch for real-time coaching
- Tracks time, steps, distance, pace, cadence and calories burned indoors and out
- Activity tracking counts steps, distance, calories and sleep
All comments (41)
vassy4u
30 Nov 16#1
gavsim
30 Nov 161#2
Good price. I'm after the 235 - Amazon had them at £199.99 earlier this week but have gone back up!
loother to gavsim
30 Nov 16#6
I'm also after the 235. Millets and Blacks have it for £200, but I'd still like to get it cheaper - it's been down near £160ish in the past.
sradmad
30 Nov 161#3
Heat added, have a great day vassy, heat added :smiley:
vassy4u to sradmad
30 Nov 16#4
Thanks Sradmad :smiley:
kbmxclub
30 Nov 16#5
That's a great price, I paid £155 from wiggle in the summer (with £10 new customer offer) and that was the best price I could find, no HR strap either
True.. :smiley: Did the background work prior to posting :smiley:
McSteve
30 Nov 16#9
After the 235 as well :disappointed:
splodgebob
30 Nov 16#10
Can you upload run / cycling routes to this? (i.e. for it to provide directions / navigation)
If not is there another model that does?
Balb0wa to splodgebob
30 Nov 16#11
no you cant
tight to splodgebob
30 Nov 161#14
You can install the third party dwMap widget.
warriorsq to splodgebob
30 Nov 162#18
You can with some models and it works well on both of mine. Check out DC Rainmaker site he reviews all models and it'll say there if they do
darklight
30 Nov 16#12
I kinda prefer oblong shape watches , the Spark , Polar M series Gear Fit 2
now if only that Polar M600 was near this price !! hmmmm
Balb0wa
30 Nov 161#13
Had the 230 since June, brilliant watch,i run about 20-30 miles a week.
Garmin do running watches well, everything works as it should, seamless bluetooth syncing, uploads to strava easily. 1 second gps recording. Great battery life.
The thing i like the most is the phone notificiations showing up , whats app etc.
GlanzaV
30 Nov 16#15
When it has a "Garmin" HR monitor this isn't the old ANT+ tech is it? I have (had) the vivosmart band and HR strap but it didn't integrate with Starava etc because it was ANT+
sparklehedgehog
30 Nov 161#16
Excellent deal if you're after one of these!
Merlin3000
30 Nov 161#17
I have the 630 and use it every day. It's awesome and the software is great too. Just check online and make sure it has all the features you want.
Many people don't like the chest strap. I don't mind it.
The optical sensor versions (235) aren't as accurate and if you use it to take your stats all day long the battery only lasts a couple of days. I didn't need that feature and was more interested in accurate heart rates during training so went for the one with the strap.
moneyfornothing
30 Nov 16#19
I've got the 235,and wear it all the time. It's a real good watch and fine for most sport activities but if you do activities that increase & decrease your HR quite quickly (like interval training) it'll lag and will annoy you. So the chest band will be more accurate and faster.
Just my 2 pence
Raseo7
30 Nov 16#20
isnt this expensive?!
Onlyjim
30 Nov 16#21
After holding off until Monday night I finally took the plunge for £150 from Amazon without the hr strap and now they do this...ha
vassy4u to Onlyjim
30 Nov 16#22
You can return it and order this.. Amazon are good at returns.
skisop
30 Nov 16#23
Great deal...really don't like wearing the chest strap though especially for long runs so am also looking for a wrist based monitor - slightly less accurate but worth it for comfort. Still hot!!
SpamJavelin
30 Nov 16#24
Nice price and a good watch. HR straps much more accurate than optical, although they tend to do well for outdoor runs which is precisely what this is aimed at. Wouldn't have optical HR on a multisport watch though.
emilyjayne17
30 Nov 16#25
Hi, I'm just wanting people's opinions if they think this is better then the Garmin Vivo Avtive Hr smart watch? I am about to start half marathon training and would like to upgrade my old garmin. Thanks.
sim11 to emilyjayne17
30 Nov 161#27
The heart strap is supposed to be a lot more accurate than the built in ones , but then it depends how you are planning to train for the half ,I find my ht strap invaluable just to get me into the correct training zones ,if this was inaccurate then I theory you'd be training incorrectly.
vassy4u to emilyjayne17
30 Nov 16#28
Heart strap s alot more accurate..
Gravesy166
30 Nov 16#26
I've had my 920XT for a year now and superb bit of kit. Also have the Garmin Scales which are also superb. Garmin just make the best fitness tech imo.
darklight
30 Nov 162#29
to the point my son!!
I believe the best location for measuring HR is at the chest ..optical devices might be convenient but as soon as you start darting about like I do ( agility ladder / bouldering / MTB trials /Ropejumping to mention a few) and the armpump kicks in the optical readings go haywire not to mention sweat ( "transparent") collecting between the watch's optical sensor window and skin. Yeah optical sensors ( and yes I've tried a few) might be great for " static sports" but as soon as you get really active reliability drops off.
Chest straps for me all the way!! or if the strap's uncomfy then get a smart top as I do and use with a compatible HR module plugged in.
( the decathlon Kiprun shirts start from about 10£+ ( sleeveless -> short sleeve->full sleeve compression)
Also their Geonaute HRM modules support dual rate ( ANT+ and BTooth 4 ) so can connect simultaneously to a phone or smart watch and an ANT bike computer or Old School ANT watch
both cheap esp that dual rate ( ANT/BT) HRM for 14**£
slacker
30 Nov 161#30
Optical HRM in this generation of watches is absolutely pointless IMHO. In my experience of the 235 it isn't just a little less accurate, it's not even remotely close. Just as well not using it.
sim11
30 Nov 16#31
Good post , very well explained .
kentos1978
30 Nov 16#32
If you don't like a chest strap you could also try the scosche rhythm. Goes on your arm/wrist. Not got one but as recommended by dcrainmaker so can't be bad.
vclaw to kentos1978
30 Nov 16#35
Or the Mio Link and Mio Fuse are similar things.
It does have some advantages over a watch with optical heart rate. eg you can wear it underneath a jacket, or long sleeved shirt. Plus you can try different positions on your arm to see what is most accurate.
darklight to kentos1978
30 Nov 16#36
..hmm I got the first iteration of the scosche (upper forearm band ..the yellow coloured one with the 3 black buttons ..one for myself & kid bro ) .. diabolical performance. Scosche to their credit offered an RMA even though they were bought in the UK so I mailed them to the US and got replacements which weren't any better. The newer gen ( greybody) Scosche might be better I haven' t tried so cannot say. I then moved on to the Spree forehead monitor ( got two of those- one for me and one for my kid bro's twin sis) .. the sprees' were always losing BT connec and the readings were all over the place , Spree sent out an update but was never able to get either forehead pods to update. The concept was good though. Anyway tried to RMA but by then the company had folded up . Sent them back to Amazon USA , still waiting for my refund. Following that I delved into Mio. Got both the Mio Link (no display) & also Mio Fuse ( with display). Neither was/is particularly reliable compared to my Viiiiiva strap or my Geonaute or my adidas Micoach XCell or even a Coospo H6 ( off Aliexpress). I've had a Tomtom cardiomusic spark since the beginning of the year and use it mostly connected to a chest module for running ( dont wanna carry a weighty phone for 8km ) or when riding unicycle trials ( might fall on phone and break it ) and listening to music from the watch .. The TT Spark optical Hr still leaves a lot to be desired and I never use it during metrics aggregation as I prefer to use the previously mentioned chest straps . By the way my TTSpark strap's cracked so I phoned TT Netherlands earlier today and am now being sent two free straps of my preferred colour choice by the really nice lady I spoke !!.
The Viiiiva and Adidas can actually store data onboard without a phone nearby and be synced to a phone afterwards. I spoke to Victoria Brilz ( Viiiiva) once and she mentioned possibly loading up the powercal feature found in the Powertap strap on to their device Viiiiva device to allow it to spit out a wattage output at the end of a workout. Again powermetrics from a HRM is soso as basically the HR doesn't rise sharply instantly on exertion where as a powermeter connected to a bike's drive train immed registers the effort and also the instant you stop pedaling With HR based power calculation , because your heart rate ( used to work out how much power is being laid down) doesn't immediately return to resting levels your app would still show power/wattage even when you've stopped pedaling and are coasting or when you've stopped running
Anyway t he Adidas has two modes , basic HR mode OR with the built in accelerometer can be used to assess quickness , reaction , jump heights a bit like the running economy score the better garmin chest straps can assess . The Adidas also has a physical on/off button , so no forgetting to unclip from the strap and thus draining the battery. The Wahoo TickrX I'd like too. Got the Tickr Run for my kid bro and he loves it . Just cant justify the expense of the TickrX for myself when I already have these other ones..Team Sky used the Tickrs in this years tour
rolo28
30 Nov 16#33
I am still using my "ancient" forerunner 205........but still works like a dream and I love it, shows me my actual and average pace, miles covered and elapsed time all on one screen. Its been with me through hell and high water and never missed a beat. Garmin know how to make running GPS watches of that there is no doubt.
Citizen K
30 Nov 16#34
Price gone up?
swfarrington
30 Nov 161#37
A lot of it really depends on what you actually want the kit for.
I've got the 630 and Garmin HRM Run2 chest strap. It's as accurate as any other and I use the data in my run analysis, so I want it to be right. 630 has a whole load of other metrics, but their value in terms of what you are going to use them for is open to question (DCR has made this point a number of times). One thing that a chest strap monitor can do is HR variability, which optical is unable to do at this time. Now, it's down to you whether or not you need this or not.
Optical, to me, still feels a bit gimmicky. I'm sure there will come a time when it's so accurate that nobody bothers with a chest strap, but we're not there yet. When it's working well, it's good, but it can still easily be messed up; cold days with it on the wrist the circulation may not be as good, it can easily get confused with cadence and if you're one of those people (I'm not) who in winter goes out with their watch over the sleeve, then you're not going to get a reading either.
If you're more a hobbyist, doing a bit of running here and there and generally wondering what your HR is doing at other times of the day, then optical is fine for you.
If you're in that less-interested-in-data group (nothing wrong with that), then it comes down to cost; I got the 630 at a great price at the time which wasn't dissimilar to the 235, so it was a no brainer for me. I think if you can get the 230 +HR strap for £150, that's a no brainer too. Just be aware of what it's limitations are versus the 630 (DCR has all the comparisons) and see what works for you the best.
GPS watches aren't cheap, so you want to get the one which delivers to you the info you want. A cheap watch that doesn't do that for you will seem like an expensive mistake!!! :man:
darklight
1 Dec 161#38
true that ..your observation above are on point swfarrington!!!
Most people don't care about accurate metrics hence the greater abundance of simple and cheaper activity monitors ( that chime on reaching 10.000 steps) than dedicated fitness devices that provide further insight into ones efforts .For me and likely you we want as much aggregation of all potentially available metrics ( thus time , dist , heart rate , power , acceleration , running form ).. Admittedly it can begin to take over ones life .. hell I even have a Smart scale and while it's not 100% accurate gives me some idea of variance /deviation from the "normal" body parameters.. While not paying particular attention to the BMI I keep my eye on the 20% upper limit for body fat and begin to have kittens If I stray past that. I'm quite large but very agile. I love street sports and usually do my drills in the evenings. I've never been a fan of the indoor gyms ( never had a protein shake or lifted a BBell either ) and prefer to use "equipment" in my immediate environs - box jumps , utilising bike stands in the street for calisthenics , spiderman crawls , bouldering , skorpionz , birdogs , plankwalk.., fartleks ..my bulgarian bags etc etc. )
Usually one sacrifices strength for quickness ( weights vs aero/anaero drills) or vice versa.
It's not easy maintaining strength ( gained with bulk) and also quickness together ( Bruce Lee does seem to have achieved both quite well).
At my age , super strength is not important to me but being still quick and agile is . I try not to let that get in the way of strength maintenance though .
trevtaylor1
1 Dec 161#39
It's gone up to £185 now
letterboxfortom to trevtaylor1
1 Dec 16#40
;(
swfarrington
1 Dec 16#41
DCR has put together a big list on his site of the deals on at the moment. Admittedly many might have just been the weekend but might be worth a look to see if anything takes your fancy. The TomTom cardio watches have been reduced. A load of my runners use them and seem to like them a lot.
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Opening post
But when you go for the watch + HRM bundle you get it for £150 in Amazon.
This is the cheapest I could find for this product.
- Tracks heart rate, VO2 Max estimate and recovery advisor when used with a compatible Garmin heart rate monitor
- Connected features: automatic uploads to Garmin Connect, live tracking, audio prompts, smart notifications, social media sharing and music control
- Customised training plans from Garmin Connect on your watch for real-time coaching
- Tracks time, steps, distance, pace, cadence and calories burned indoors and out
- Activity tracking counts steps, distance, calories and sleep
All comments (41)
http://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/Garmin-Forerunner-Running-Smartwatch-Monitor/product/B016V1ZLBE
If not is there another model that does?
now if only that Polar M600 was near this price !! hmmmm
Garmin do running watches well, everything works as it should, seamless bluetooth syncing, uploads to strava easily. 1 second gps recording. Great battery life.
The thing i like the most is the phone notificiations showing up , whats app etc.
Many people don't like the chest strap. I don't mind it.
The optical sensor versions (235) aren't as accurate and if you use it to take your stats all day long the battery only lasts a couple of days. I didn't need that feature and was more interested in accurate heart rates during training so went for the one with the strap.
Just my 2 pence
I believe the best location for measuring HR is at the chest ..optical devices might be convenient but as soon as you start darting about like I do ( agility ladder / bouldering / MTB trials /Ropejumping to mention a few) and the armpump kicks in the optical readings go haywire not to mention sweat ( "transparent") collecting between the watch's optical sensor window and skin. Yeah optical sensors ( and yes I've tried a few) might be great for " static sports" but as soon as you get really active reliability drops off.
Chest straps for me all the way!! or if the strap's uncomfy then get a smart top as I do and use with a compatible HR module plugged in.
( the decathlon Kiprun shirts start from about 10£+ ( sleeveless -> short sleeve->full sleeve compression)
Also their Geonaute HRM modules support dual rate ( ANT+ and BTooth 4 ) so can connect simultaneously to a phone or smart watch and an ANT bike computer or Old School ANT watch
both cheap esp that dual rate ( ANT/BT) HRM for 14**£
It does have some advantages over a watch with optical heart rate. eg you can wear it underneath a jacket, or long sleeved shirt. Plus you can try different positions on your arm to see what is most accurate.
The Viiiiva and Adidas can actually store data onboard without a phone nearby and be synced to a phone afterwards. I spoke to Victoria Brilz ( Viiiiva) once and she mentioned possibly loading up the powercal feature found in the Powertap strap on to their device Viiiiva device to allow it to spit out a wattage output at the end of a workout. Again powermetrics from a HRM is soso as basically the HR doesn't rise sharply instantly on exertion where as a powermeter connected to a bike's drive train immed registers the effort and also the instant you stop pedaling With HR based power calculation , because your heart rate ( used to work out how much power is being laid down) doesn't immediately return to resting levels your app would still show power/wattage even when you've stopped pedaling and are coasting or when you've stopped running
Anyway t he Adidas has two modes , basic HR mode OR with the built in accelerometer can be used to assess quickness , reaction , jump heights a bit like the running economy score the better garmin chest straps can assess . The Adidas also has a physical on/off button , so no forgetting to unclip from the strap and thus draining the battery. The Wahoo TickrX I'd like too. Got the Tickr Run for my kid bro and he loves it . Just cant justify the expense of the TickrX for myself when I already have these other ones..Team Sky used the Tickrs in this years tour
I've got the 630 and Garmin HRM Run2 chest strap. It's as accurate as any other and I use the data in my run analysis, so I want it to be right. 630 has a whole load of other metrics, but their value in terms of what you are going to use them for is open to question (DCR has made this point a number of times). One thing that a chest strap monitor can do is HR variability, which optical is unable to do at this time. Now, it's down to you whether or not you need this or not.
Optical, to me, still feels a bit gimmicky. I'm sure there will come a time when it's so accurate that nobody bothers with a chest strap, but we're not there yet. When it's working well, it's good, but it can still easily be messed up; cold days with it on the wrist the circulation may not be as good, it can easily get confused with cadence and if you're one of those people (I'm not) who in winter goes out with their watch over the sleeve, then you're not going to get a reading either.
If you're more a hobbyist, doing a bit of running here and there and generally wondering what your HR is doing at other times of the day, then optical is fine for you.
If you're in that less-interested-in-data group (nothing wrong with that), then it comes down to cost; I got the 630 at a great price at the time which wasn't dissimilar to the 235, so it was a no brainer for me. I think if you can get the 230 +HR strap for £150, that's a no brainer too. Just be aware of what it's limitations are versus the 630 (DCR has all the comparisons) and see what works for you the best.
GPS watches aren't cheap, so you want to get the one which delivers to you the info you want. A cheap watch that doesn't do that for you will seem like an expensive mistake!!! :man:
Most people don't care about accurate metrics hence the greater abundance of simple and cheaper activity monitors ( that chime on reaching 10.000 steps) than dedicated fitness devices that provide further insight into ones efforts .For me and likely you we want as much aggregation of all potentially available metrics ( thus time , dist , heart rate , power , acceleration , running form ).. Admittedly it can begin to take over ones life .. hell I even have a Smart scale and while it's not 100% accurate gives me some idea of variance /deviation from the "normal" body parameters.. While not paying particular attention to the BMI I keep my eye on the 20% upper limit for body fat and begin to have kittens If I stray past that. I'm quite large but very agile. I love street sports and usually do my drills in the evenings. I've never been a fan of the indoor gyms ( never had a protein shake or lifted a BBell either ) and prefer to use "equipment" in my immediate environs - box jumps , utilising bike stands in the street for calisthenics , spiderman crawls , bouldering , skorpionz , birdogs , plankwalk.., fartleks ..my bulgarian bags etc etc. )
Usually one sacrifices strength for quickness ( weights vs aero/anaero drills) or vice versa.
It's not easy maintaining strength ( gained with bulk) and also quickness together ( Bruce Lee does seem to have achieved both quite well).
At my age , super strength is not important to me but being still quick and agile is . I try not to let that get in the way of strength maintenance though .