There are probably many more in-depth reviews on this watch, but I am going to cover in this first post the unboxing, setup (on a Mac), and my initial workouts with the watch.
Unboxing
I purchased the TomTom Multi-Sport + HRM + Cadence/Speed/Altimeter. It arrived stylishly boxed and compact; following in Apple and Ikea's footsteps for packaging.
In the box were manuals (multi-language) which are not very helpful past the most basic setup and use; although, setup was fairly straight-forward and easy, so that's not really a big deal. Also in the box was a heart rate strap, TomTom heart rate monitor, handlebar watch mount, cadence sensor with cords to attach to bike, the watch, watch band, and USB sync/charger.
I recently went to the dark side and left the PC world and got a MacBook Pro. Not going to get into likes and dislikes vs. Windows-PC vs. Linux (Linux is the best IMO). Anyway, I went to the website in the instruction manual to download the software. The website automatically detected I was on a Mac and the download button was for the Mac version of the software. I downloaded and installed the software quickly. I did have to signup for a TomTom MySports Connect account. This sign-up process was quick as well.
With everything setup, I synced my watch to the computer. It detected the watch and synced immediately. I want to disclose something VERY important, as this information is NOT noted anywhere except the forums.
IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE USING YOUR WATCH
If you want detailed stats, you need to enable ALL export options. Granted, if you don't plan on using MapMyRun or RunKeeper, you can ignore those. But for all file exports, enable them ALL. The watch will NOT create the files for older workouts, so you if you did a few workouts before enabling the exports, you can't get the extra detail (this happened to me). Fortunately it was only 3 workouts, so not a big deal...I at least got my overall stats. For Windows computers, the work-around for this is to double-click on the <
My First Run
Upon putting on the heart rate monitor, the watch detected it immediately with no issues. I want to note that I do not like the new HR straps, as they chafe badly. You can solve this with BodyGlide or something similar. I like my Polar HR straps a lot more, plus they are machine washable. Either way, most HR straps fit the TomTom HR monitor. I did not try using my other bluetooth HR monitor and will have to report on that another time.
I went outside and noticed that the watch already had GPS signal, which is nice, because GPS on my phone is bad until I get a little away from my house. I had an interval run planned, so I went to Run\Settings\Training\Laps\Manual. To track each lap I just tap on the right side of the watch face; easiest thing ever. The only issue I have with this is that the backlight is operated the same way, so I can only see the running info when I select a new lap. I am hoping TomTom will fix this in a later firmware release. Otherwise, for my other runs I have done at night, I tap that spot and the backlight comes on and is extremely easy to read in the dark.
The running training options, if you want to use them at all, are:
- Goals
- Distance
- Time
- Calories
- Laps
- Time
- Distance
- Manual
- Zones
- Pace
- Heart
- Race
- 3 miles
- 5k
- 6 miles
- 10k
- 13.1 miles
I am hoping they allow for custom or more distance options for races in the future. But it will suit me fine for now. For the other options, like Distance, you can go up to 99.9 miles.
Battery Life
I want to take a moment to say the battery life is awesome so far. It gets up to 10 hours, but that is from constant use with HRM and GPS going. I haven't had any workout or event remotely that long yet. I did have a 14 miles long run, and the battery didn't make much of a dent. I also have tried using this as a regular watch and didn't charge for 4 days and had 2 workouts...when I checked the battery, it was still well over 50%. I am impressed with the low power consumption when not working out.
My First Swim
I have not done an open water swim, but I don't see an option for it anyway. I guess you could use the running tracker, but for anyone not aware, GPS signal doesn't work under water, so the Garmin 910xt for example, although it can track open water swims, it loses signal every time the watch goes under, and then tries to regain each time the watch goes out of the water. So, open water tracking isn't that big of a deal. Anyway, my first swim was in a 25m pool, and it was easy to set the distance in the watch. The laps were 100% accurate and it was really nice seeing the stats:
- Time
- Distance
- Calories
- SWOLF (Swimming Golf: SPL + length time)
- SPL (strokes per length)
Training options are:
- Goals
- Distance
- Time
- Calories
- Laps
- Time
- Distance
Also to note, you can set which wrist you will have the watch on and customize some of the stats you see on the display. Had a good swim and tracking was great.
My First Bike
I was hoping to add to this when I wrote up the blog, but I still haven't gone on a bike ride yet...haven't even hooked up the sensors to my bike. I have done some spinning, but I got my trainer and hope to, at the very least, get an indoor session if not an outdoor session. I'll keep you posted.
My First Treadmill
This will have to be added at another time, as I try and avoid treadmills like the plague...just a personal preference. I still run on them a lot more than I would like, but I haven't had a treadmill run since I got this watch. The one concern and complaint I already know about is that there is no foot pod, and even if there was one, the watch is terrible at tracking anything other than consistent speed on the treadmill...so forget if you change your speed or try intervals. However, most devices and watches are bad at this too, even with foot pods.
