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Massive Black Friday Sports Tech Deals Guide! - DC Rainmaker

Here's your complete guide to sports tech deals, sorted by category and updated constantly throughout the day, often hourly with new deals. Also, if you follow on Twitter, you’ll be the first to know of any super-hot short-lived deals (sometimes

Here’s your complete guide to sports tech deals, sorted by category and updated constantly throughout the day, often hourly with new deals. Also, if you follow on Twitter, youll be the first to know of any super-hot short-lived deals (sometimes lasting only minutes, like the recent Tacx NEO 2T for $999 deal a few days ago (its normally $1,400). In general a few quick notes:

• US folks: Most of the best deals we’ll see are live at this point (because pricing is largely controlled by manufacturers in the US). For sports tech deals, we *rarely* see it get better after Friday…Cyber Monday has lost its mojo the last few years. About the only time a lower price happens is if Amazon’s algorithms get drunk and chase an oddball price somewhere for a few mins/hours. It happens, and Twitter is the best place I’ll broadcast when Uncle Amazon is drunk.
• European folks: Typically Friday is the best day as well for sports tech deals, though I think we’re seeing things a bit more uniform this year, with some deals I don’t imagine we’ll see being beat (like 30% off the Fenix 6 Pro series). Meaning, European deals are still the wild west, but not as wild as years past (sports tech manufactures are maturing here a bit).
• Overall: My guidance for finding the best deal is simple – it’s always better to buy it when you spot it, and then either cancel or in a worst case scenario, return it, later. Most orders won’t ship till Monday anyway. So you can place your order (bet) now and then if you find a hotter date later, go forth!

Garmin Instinct Esports Edition with Special Software: An Explainer of Sorts - DC Rainmaker

File this one under ‘Things you didn’t have on your 2020 Bingo Card’, Garmin has launched a new version of the Instinct lineup focused on esports, which will transmit via Bluetooth Smart live your heart rate, stress, and Body Battery

File this one under Things you didnt have on your 2020 Bingo Card, Garmin has launched a new version of the Instinct lineup focused on esports, which will transmit via Bluetooth Smart live your heart rate, stress, and Body Battery metrics (three common metrics on Garmin wearables). Those three live data feeds can then be picked up by a new piece of Garmin software on your PC called STR3AMUP!, which in turn can be used by Streaming apps like OBS or XSplit to be overlaid atop your existing stream. While it might sound complex, from an esports streaming standpoint – it’s all fairly straightforward. At its core, this is simply a Garmin Instinct watch with an extra sports activity profile. One that in theory Garmin could probably easily port to other watches, just as they ported the Virtual Running activity profile to numerous watches since launching that earlier this year. Whether or not they do that remains to be seen. The new Esports edition costs $299, essentially the same official retail price of a non-Solar Instinct watch. Though, the non-Solar Instinct versions have mostly been floating between $199 and $249 for the last year. So well have to see if the Instinct Esports variants end up the same. In any case, lets just run through some quick tech spec basics, and then a look at the new streaming software. The Basics: As noted earlier, the Instinct Esports edition is simply an existing Garmin Instinct watch with an extra sport profile. But more specifically it’s a first gen Instinct watch rather than the Solar edition. Sure, the Solar editions havewellsolar, but they also have an updated heart rate sensor package that includes PulseOx (SpO2 readings) as well as underwater heart rate measurements. This has neither, thus, its a first gen unit. Which is fine, for the most part theres minimal differences otherwise aside from some power management related aspects (and thus, battery life tweaks). In any case, the core specs here are: – 14 day smartwatch battery life– 16 hours in GPS-on mode for outdoor workouts– 80 hours in Esports streaming mode– Nifty game controller icon on watch face– 24×7 activity tracking with steps/sleep/heart rate/stress– Included optical HR sensor, barometer, altimeter– Bluetooth Smart notifications– MIL-STD 810 durability specification compliant For regular readers of this site, youll notice its all the usual stuff found on any other Garmin Instinct, except the new Esports mode and nifty icon. There is no music storage on the watch, so youll need to play that back from your phone or computer like normal. And again the newish Solar version (that this isn’t) has different internals, notably different GPS (Sony instead of MediaTek), added PulseOx sensor along with new optical HR sensor package, different battery drain profiles (and far longer battery life), plus of course the solar panels. Whats mildly of interest to readers here is that you may have noticed last week Garmin added Bluetooth heart rate broadcasting to the original Instinct via firmware update,  which layers atop the ANT+ broadcasting that already existed. That semi-quietly set the stage for what Garmin did here in terms of Bluetooth broadcasting of other metrics using their new streaming focused software (it doesnt stream itself, but supports streaming software). Here, let me explain. STR3AMPUP! Software: Theres officially never been a piece of software thats tried harder to sound like it wasnt made in Kansas, than STR3AMUP! and yes, the ! is actually part of the name. Clearly, STR3AMUP! is just a play on the word StreamUp, albeit spelled as if you smashed your keyboard in anger repeatedly trying to spell it correctly. Its horrific to type, or even try and remember. And sure perhaps Im not the core target audience for spelling in leet, but, I also cant think of any popular streaming tools or apps that spell things like a 12-year-old. Which 12-year-old’s are buying a $299 smartwatch that looks like a Casio? I mean, just asking for clarity. To be clear, the vast majority of streamers are not 12 years old, and also have real money to spend on things. In any case, my issue with having to correctly type STR3AMUP! aside, heres how it should work. I say should, as I dont quite have a unit yet. But essentially, you first install the STR3AMUP! app. At which point itll start scanning via Bluetooth for the Garmin Instinct Esports edition watch. Youll notice though it says it needs to be in the Esports activity mode, which is simply another activity mode akin to Running or Cycling, but more similar to the Virtual Run profile where it does ancillary Bluetooth broadcasting of data. In this case, its broadcasting those metrics for the app to receive. Once paired with your computer itll transit three core metrics over Bluetooth Smart: 1) Heart rate (BPM)2) Stress Level (scale 1-100)3) Body Battery Level (scale 1-100) Heart rate is pretty straightforward, and will by default leverage the optical HR sensor within the watch. This is essentially the same thing that Garmin does for the other Virtual Run activity profile. Whereas Stress & Body Battery are calculated metrics, based on FirstBeat algorithms. Garmin has been using both those metrics for years, and I find that for the most part they tend to do a good job of being in the ballpark. The stress metric will change fairly quickly in response to situations. You can see for example my stress levels here on a few different random days/points throughout the day.   Generally speaking though, Garmin is unable to measure stress using the optical HR sensor in high-intensity moving activities (like running). So the fact that theyre doing it here is likely a testament to the fact that youre goingnowhere. Theres less motion artifacts to deal with in terms of pounding the surface with running, or vibrations with cycling. Next, heres Body Battery. To use the most apt comparison possible, this is basically the Street Fighter style power level of your body. It goes up when you sleep (or, relax enough), and goes down as you do more activities. The more intense the activity, the faster it depletes. Heres an example over a few random days for me and Body Battery:   I find that for the most part, after a week or two of stabilization, Body Battery tends to work fairly well in terms of matching my perceived energy state. Where I see it fall off that boat a bit, is when Im at the extreme lower levels and its basically like Look, you needed sleep two days ago, Im giving up on you now. Still, it actually might be a fascinating metric from a gamer standpoint to see how it compares to skill/agility levels through a longer stream (which as a starting point would be 3-5 hours, but longer streams are quite common). In any case, you can see these metrics down below overlaid atop a game: This presentation of course looks a heck of a lot like it uses fundamentals from the seemingly now abandoned Garmin VIRB Action Camera software, VIRB Edit. Over time that app become by FAR the most powerful app out there for overlaying data from sensors onto video files, including 360 videos once Garmin launched that camera too. The new STR3AMUP! app itself also looks a heck of a lot like VIRB Edit from a styling standpoint. Once youve got a watch paired up to the app, youll see the stats available, and the ability to define the thresholds. You can customize some elements of it, including styling and coloring, and then save the overlay. From there the STR3AMUP! software creates a window that would be pulled in via OBS/Streamlabs/XSplit using the window capture option. Youd simply choose to chroma key out the background, and then overlay it on whatever you wanted using the formatting you determined. Heres another screenshot of that: Everything at that point is pretty much just standard streaming stuff. While there isnt a Mac version at this point, I suspect that wont be a stopper forwell..many people. The vast majority of streamers use PCs, so its logical to start there. I suppose if theres interest in this product line Garmin could expand it (STR3AMUP!) to support Mac as well. And of course, for all the normal watch functions you can use Garmin Express on a Mac (and PC), or use Garmin Connect Mobile on iOS or Android. Wrap Up: In some ways, we should have seen this coming. After all, turns out Garmin actually wrote a blog post this past summer about it even specifying the exact metrics they found most useful in esports. Which, are the exact same metrics you can now stream (except sleep, becausewellthatd be pretty boring). Now, whether or not this has any uptick I dont know. Probably though. If theres one thing Ive learned about the Garmin Instinct watch is that its way more popular than Id ever have expected. My original YouTube video about it is closing in on a million views. Related: I froze my ass off shooting that video. And a herd of elk walked across the street nearby. The other thing I learned in the two years since then? The main buyer for Instinct isnt a hardcore athlete. Or even a software athlete. Theyre someone that wants a watch that looks like a Casio but isnt, and can do sporty things if they feel like it. And lasts more than a day battery-wise. Also, that its reasonably priced. If theres anything that Garmin is the master of, its re-using hardware across product divisions. A piece of Garmin Fenix watch hardware becomes a Delta series watch for aviation, and a Tactix series watch for military, and a Quatix series watch for boating, and so on. They do the same with Forerunners for golf. And even a Forerunner 35 watch becomes an Approach S10 watchbut then gets a new shell and becomes a G10 handheld golfing unit. Garmin is the king of re-using hardware with cosmetic tweaks to appeal to a different audience, theyve been doing it for a decade now. And the same is true of software. The new Esports mode is simply a tweak to the Virtual Run mode. And the STR3AMUP! at least visually (if not under the covers), seems to lean on past work Garmin has done with VIRB Edit. So the cost to Garmin of spinning off an Instinct variant with just slight differences is super minimal, and worth a flyer. If it fails, the cost is negligible, but if succeeds it might pull in people to the Garmin brand that otherwise not bother. Of course some people wont want an Instinct style watch. Which is why Id love to see this profile available on other units. For example, why cant a Fenix 6 or even MARQ series watch have this profile available? Just another sport profile like any other. Garmin says at this point the STR3AMUP! software doesnt work with any non-esports sport versions. But Im waiting for clarity on whether or not well see that profile expand anywhere else. Id hope so, since thats an area that tends to frustrate Garmin consumers, when the company releases new features to watches that cost a fraction of higher-end watches. In any event, once I get one in hand, Ill toy with it a bit more from the streaming side, which will probably end up on YouTube more than here. Or, my super-secret Twitch channel. So, if you havent subscribed to my YouTube channel, swing over to that. Till then, thanks for reading!

Polar Vantage V2 In-Depth Review - DC Rainmaker

Today Polar has announced the Vantage V2, a touch bit over two years since they announced the initial Polar Vantage V & M series watches. Since that time those units have gotten numerous firmware updates (and even a Titanium version).

Today Polar has announced the Vantage V2, a touch bit over two years since they announced the initial Polar Vantage V & M series watches. Since that time those units have gotten numerous firmware updates (and even a Titanium version). However, earlier this year Polar signaled that it was the end of the line for the original Vantage V & M units in terms of new features. That played out with the Polar Grit X watch this past April, essentially taking a Vantage series watch and adding more hiking/outdoors related features, as well as new nutrition and energy source related metrics. Thus, brings us to the Vantage V2, which essentially takes all those new Grit X and adds a couple more related to  performance testing. Also, music controls and new watch faces. It is by all definitions a modest update, both in terms of software but also hardware, with only slight changes to the watchs exterior design albeit a significant reduction of weight. Ive been using it for a bit now, and Ive got a pretty good idea on how well it works. Also, it helps that its virtually identical to the Polar Grit X in terms of underlying hardware and software a watch I often throw into comparison lineups (such as over most of my workouts in the last few months). Once Im done with this media loaner Vantage V2 Ill get it sent back to Polar, like all the previous ones. Just the way I roll. If you found this review useful, you can hit up the links at the end to help support the site, or you can become a DCR Supporter! Whats New: First things first, unlike last time Polar announced the original Vantage series, theres not two versions at this point. Last time there was the higher end Vantage V, and then the mid-range Vantage M (with less features, lesser materials). This time, its just the Vantage V2 at the higher price point. The slightly less expensive Polar Grit X doesnt (in my opinion) really replace the much cheaper Vantage M. But more on that later. To begin, lets talk about whats changed between the Vantage V and the new Vantage V2: Added Running Performance Test: Determines your VO2Max using an increasing RAMP-test variant for runningAdded Cycling FTP Test: Standard 20/30/40 minute cycling FTP test addedAdded Leg Recovery Test: Designed to determine whether or not your legs are recoveredAdded New Test Hub in Polar Flow: Consolidates test results onlineAdded New New Dashboard View to show weekly training totalsAdded Ability to customize which dashboard views you see (dashboard views are the watch widgets)Added Music Controls for Phone: Controls music on your phone (theres no music storage on Vantage V2)Added Hill Splitter: Counts your hill ascents/descents automatically mid-workout and in app afterwardsAdded FuelWise: Gives nutrition alerts mid-workout for carbs and hydration (separately)Added Energy Sources: Shows breakdown of carbs/fats/protein usage post-workout on watch/appAdded Weather: This is a widget of sorts that shows current weather on the watchAdded 100-hour GPS tracking mode: This power-saving mode reduces track points to increase activity lengthAdded Komoot route integration: Officially turn by turn navigation, though the definition of that is a bit looseIncreased waterproof spec from 50m to 100m, to match the Grit XChanged the optical HR sensor: Notably changing the colored LED types it uses, matches Grit X Phew, got all that? Good. Now, Polar did say the following are coming before the end of the year: – Power based training workouts on Polar Flow (to transfer to the watch)– Zone Pointer for power/speed zone based workouts Ok, now, lets start using it. The Basics: While youre likely buying the Vantage V2 for its sports prowess, well start off here with some of the basics of the watch. Things like activity tracking, sleep tracking, the new music control, as well as other usage bits. The watch has both a touchscreen and five dedicated buttons. The buttons on this follow the same elongated look as the original Vantage series, which is a bit of a bummer as I really preferred the better grip texturing on the edges of the Grit X. In any event, theres also a slight vibration each time you press a button.   In addition to navigating with the buttons, you can also use the touchscreen to move around the menus. I find the touchscreen acceptable, but hardly the pinnacle of touch screen technology on a wearable. It does often decide to go and set alarms and airplane mode when Im in the shower, but I havent had issues beyond that (despite the never-ending rain here in the Netherlands). Perhaps my shower is just more shower-power-full. The Vantage V2 uses a propriety strap design, which unfortunately means that unlike the Polar Grit X, you cant just swap it out for any old strap you want (the Grit X uses standard 22mm straps). While Polar is offering a few replacement colors with the Vantage V2 series, its a bit peculiar to not just switch to the same standardized design as the Grit X. On the backside of the Vantage V2 youll find the new optical HR sensor. This arrangement is identical to that of the Grit X, and is seen as an evolution of the original Vantage V Precision Prime sensor arrangement. With the original Vantage V there were 9 LEDs (5 green, 4 red, + 1 unused yellow). But in the Grit X theres now 10 LEDs used (5 red, 4 orange/yellow, 1 green). Typically speaking, the different color LEDs handle different skin colors better. Also, some colors tend to go deeper than others which are better at more shallow depths. Polar has long toyed with different LEDs to try and increase accuracy, slightly more so than most companies do. Unfortunately as well see later on, Ive seen a regression in accuracy with both the Vantage V2 and Grit X sensors compared to past Polar sensors. Meanwhile, the Vantage V2 introduces tweakable dashboard pages. These pages are often called widgets by other companies, but basically allow you to get consolidated information in other areas such as sleep, steps, or workout history. And Polar has introduced a few new pages here, as well as the aforementioned ability to select which pages you actually want displayed. Starting in no particular order, heres the heart rate one: This will show the time, as well as your current heart rate. You can then tap it to get more details about your heart rate for the day: Your heart rate is recorded 24×7 as well to Polar Flow, so you can dive into a given day and look at the stats there: Theres then the sleep one. Which apparently thinks my sleep was compromised. Kinda odd since I slept mostly OK, and then doubled down on that by going back to sleep with a nap for three hours after I got the kids to school. Again, you can tap to get more details there: And again, you can dive into sleep metrics from within the Polar Flow app as well:   Generally with the exception of today, I do find Polars sleep data pretty consistent with how Im feeling on any given day, as well as consistent with the actual times I went to sleep and woke up. Unfortunately, like Garmin, Fitbit, and others, Polar does not support tracking of naps (and today being the ultra-rare occasion I managed to get one). Next theres FitSpark, which basically offers you daily suggested workouts to keep your current fitness level. Theres different types of workouts such as strength, cardio, and supportive (typically flexibility-focused). And its smart enough to generally first offer a cardio or strength workout, and then after youve done that, itll give you a supportive workout. But more on this later in the Sports section. Next theres the weather page, which consistently tells me how terrible the weather is in Amsterdam. Today was no exception: After that weve got the new weekly training summary page, which specifies training time per HR zone. In this case you can see it towards the end of my week: Or here, at the beginning of the next week: You can tap this to then get more details on the zones, distances, calories, and activities, allowing you to see each activity that contributed to that weekly total. Next weve got steps. This is pretty straight forward, and shows your steps against the daily goal, as well as once you dive into it, your active time for the day. Then finally, theres the training status page. During new watch release season (as it is right now), this stays pegged on Overreaching. Once things settle down itll slide back to productive or some other less-appealing status. You can tap to open it and get more on the strain and and tolerance aspects (which Ill also talk about later in the sports section). Now, shifting back out of the widgets, if you press the bottom left button it takes you to a menu to go through starting a new workout, Serene (breathing exercises), Fueling, Timers, Watch Face Views, Tests, and Settings. Starting backwards, settings is where we can tweak things like pairing of sensors, the changing from Nightly Recharge to Recovery Pro (more on that in sports section), as well as a slew of general watch settings.   One of the new Vantage V2 options is the ability to choose your dashboards (or, watch face views as its called here). This allows you to deselect items you dont care about. Then theres the Serene guided breathing functionality, which gives you permission to sit on the couch and do nothing. This should realistically be my most favored feature of the watch. Youll configure the overall duration as well as the inhale/exhale lengths, and itll walk you through each step. Rounding towards home in the basics section is smartphone notifications. These non-interactive alerts will be sent from your iOS/Android phone whenever apps that youve configured on your phone send a notification. They could be Strava, Twitter, Facebook, Tinder.anything. You cant reply though to them, so its just one-way in nature. Last but not least is the new music control feature. This allows you to control music on your phone. Youll access this by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Youll nee to have a music app open on your phone for this to work. The Vantage V2 does *NOT* have any music storage on it. So its *ONLY* controlling music already on your phone. Somewhat neat though is that it does pull the correct icon for the app its controlling, so you can see the Spotify icon shown there a nice touch. I can skip/rewind/pause/play on the main screen, as well as tap the volume icon to increase volume: Theres no other options beyond that, such as selecting songs or such. Its just iterating through what you have pretty similar to what buttons on a pair of headphones would do. Finally, just for the sake of clarity, theres no NFC payments on the Polar Vantage V2 currently. I say currently, because somewhat interestingly thats the very specific wording that Polars PR team used when discussing it specifically saying (an exact quote) No, there are currently no payment solutions included in Polar Vantage V2., whereas on other music storage related questions, it was a much more definitive No. Still, itd be incredibly difficult for them to implement contactless payments without having a partner of some sort doing the leg work, and Im not aware of any mainstream/widespread partners that arent already tied up in exclusivity agreements with other wearable companies. Sports Features: When it comes to the sports and workout aspects of the watch, the Vantage V2 is the culmination of everything in the original Vantage V series, combined with the new features of the Polar Grit X. That means youre gaining previously Grit X only features like Hill Splitter & Fuelwise, but youll retain the Vantage V series specific features like Recovery Pro, which arent in the Grit X. For this section Im going to focus mainly on the core workout/training load/recovery tracking features. Whereas for the new performance testing type features, thats in the next section. Meanwhile, for the features that were introduced with the Grit X, Ill briefly cover them here, but I dive into things like FuelWise & Hill Splitter in far more detail in the Grit X post. Nothing has changed with the Vantage V2 in that respect. To begin a workout youll either single-press the lower left button, or long-hold the middle right button. No matter your route, youll eventually get yourself to this page that shows one of many sport modes (and the current sensor/satellite status). The Polar Vantage V2 can store up to 20 sport profiles in it, each with its own set of customizations things like your data pages or The customization of sports covers everything from the exact data fields and pages you want shown, or the frequency of update rates. You can also change zone limits for pace, power, and heart rate. As well as automatic laps and more. These can be changed on both Polar Flow online, or via your smartphone app: For example, its in here that you can tweak the data field shown on my watch, or following that the GPS & Altitude settings. These changes are synced to your watch anytime you sync your watch, which can be done via Bluetooth Smart to your phone, or cable to your computer. Usually the sync process takes about 20-40 seconds via computer, or about 30-60 seconds via Bluetooth Smart. It does tend to take longer though if you havent synced in a while and it needs to sync GPS cache information, firmware updates, or Haribo stockage levels. Back on the watch, once youve selected a sport mode, itll go off and find GPS (if an outdoor sport), as well as lock optical HR (if using the optical HR sensor). The Polar Vantage V2 supports the same sensor types as the Vantage series. These are: Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate StrapsBluetooth Smart Cycling Power MetersBluetooth Smart Cycling Cadence & Speed SensorsBluetooth Smart Running FootpodsBluetooth Smart Running Power Meters (it also includes a built-in one) From a power meter standpoint, I tested a few different ones. I had (mostly) success with both a Quarq DZero power meter & Elite Tuo trainer, but oddly was unable to pair to a PowerTap P2 pedal set. A Tacx NEO 2 was fiddly, and it wouldn’t find a Wahoo KICKR 2018. Polar has a list of guaranteed power meters, but realistically that list is far less extensive than their competitors. Theres no support for ANT+. You can however pair multiple types of sensors to the watch easily via the sensors menu. So you can effectively save multiple bikes sensor configurations, or multiple heart rate straps, etc If you press the upper-right button while on the sport screen youll get a mini-settings menu of sorts. This is where you can select routes, do back to start navigation, add countdown/interval timers, or load structured workouts. Its also where you can configure power-saving settings to get the longer 100 hours of GPS battery life. Back at the main sport menu though youve got the sensor status menus, which will turn to green when it locks optical heart rate and satellite, as well as any paired sensors will also change color too (such as a paired HR strap or power meters). Above the time itll show how much GPS time is remaining on the current battery charge and settings. To begin recording, tap the center right button. At this juncture you can now iterate through your data fields to see various metrics from whatever workout it is youre doing. So if youre outside youll see things like speed/pace, distance, etc More or less all the usual goodness youd expect from a GPS watch.    Now with the Vantage V2 youll get running power natively from the wrist, just as with the original Vantage V series (and the Grit X). It uses the accelerometer in the watch on your wrist to make those calculations. That has its pros and cons as Ive outlined previously. So thatll show up automatically as a data field, as well as later in your workout data files (shown as wattage below 522w in one of my track workout intervals): Now if on a run where theres hills involved, you can use Hill Splitter to track each rep of the hills. The way Hill Splitter works is that it automatically detects when youre ascending or descending a hill and will give you the time ascending/descending, as well as length of the climb/descent. Itll also count each ascent/descent. Youll see that on the screen each time you go up/down, as well as summarized afterwards on the watch and then on the app. If youre on flat ground (as I am for 99.99% of my runs here), this is what it looks like: This page is non-customizable, but can be added to your watch. As you start going up a climb, once you hit around the 8-10m of elevation gain marker, itll trigger an ascent, and the screen changes to the below screen which shows how far youve run/ridden/hiked up that climb as well as the duration. And of course you see which number hill this is (e.g. 1st ascent). Note that Hill Splitter does NOT reference any saved course/route data. Its purely off the cuff style hill counting. That has its pros and cons. Its great for impromptu weeknight training sessions where you just pick a hill and start doing repeats without creating/loading a course. Inversely, its not terribly useful in the Alps or something where youve got massive climbs and want to know how much ascent is left it wont tell you that. Now, I dive into all the pros and cons and nuances of Hill Splitter here in my Polar Grit X review with an entire dedicated section to it. Speaking of routes however, you can transfer routes into the Polar Vantage V2. These can be created on Polar Flow itself, or, via Komoot. Though do note with Komoot youll need to have that region activated in Komoot (the point where the route starts), which might involve paying Komoot depending on if youve activated any other regions already. Assuming you sort all that out, heres what the routes look like in Polar Flow using the sync option, you can see the Komoot ones with the icons in the middle, and then on the right which ones are synced to my watch: Note: The Strava icon you see above is for Strava Live Segments, and regrettably not Strava Routes. Though, if you scroll down, you can see those Segments synced: In total you can sync 100 things to the Vantage V2. That could be a combination of Segments, Routes, or Workouts. To access Routes or Workouts (called Favorites in the Polar watch menus), youll crack open a sport mode, and then hit the settings icon: Youll then see the listing above of Routes (or Favorites), and can choose one. After selected, itll show up on the left side of the sport mode screen: For routes, they show up as breadcrumb trail data. Theres no mapping, or terrain data shown within the Polar Vantage V2 for routes, just the line of your track. As you approach a turn youll get an arrow indicating that a turn is coming up, and the direction of the turn. And if you go off trail youll get a notice of that too. Now, once youre done with all your heavy breathing and finish your workout youll get a summary screen of data, and in the case of this particular running workout that includes running power too from the wrist: Youll also note the new Energy bits that came in from the Polar Grit X, which show the breakdown of energy consumption during this workout:   If you then work backwards into things, you can use the Fueling functions (also added from the Polar Grit X) that give you either smart or manual carb alerts, as well as drink reminders:   For example, with Smart Carb alerts you’ll specify the duration of the workout, and the gel packet details, and itll figure out and remind you how often you should be taking it: I dive into the FuelWise & Energy sources in far more detail here in this post section. In any case, all of the workout data is loaded to Polar Flow online (both smartphone and online website): Further, itll automatically be synced to various Polar Flow partners, like Strava or TrainingPeaks, depending on how youve got your account configured. Next, lets say you cant decide what workout you want to do Polars got FitSpark for that. Basically, the idea behind this is to keep you doing something. First itll skew towards Cardio or Strength workouts, and then after that itll finish up with a Supportive workout (which is core/stretching typically). Youll see this on your home watch face dashboards: And when you open it up itll give you different options to suffer through. Now, these arent tied to any specific training plan. Its just a variant of Workout of the Day, with the singular goal to keep you moving, but ideally doing so in a way that doesnt get you injured. Depending on the type of workout you choose it’ll give you the specific steps and guidance in the watch itself. There are cardio-focused running workouts with different intensities. And then there are core type workouts too, and for those, itll give you the specific moves to do, along with animations and text for each one:   Again, keep in mind the goal of this function isnt to be an endurance trail running coach. Itll suck at that. Instead, the goal is actually more applicable to date: To keep you fit and push you slightly with mostly varied workouts across disciplines (such as flexibility and strength). However, if we want endurance side of things youll want to look at the training load bits. Youll remember earlier on we saw the new weekly training summary, right? Well, atop that theres the Polar Training Load Pro. Theres basically three components to this: Training Load, Cardio Load, and Muscle Load. Starting with Cardio Load Status, which shows you whether youve got too much or too little load. You can see this from the watch face, and then dive into it to get more details:   Strain is a metric showing the average daily load from the past 7 days. Whereas Tolerance shows your average daily load from the past 28 days. So basically you can look at those two values and see the ratio as part of the number above it, such that it keeps things in check. Go too high, and youre prone to injury. Too low, and youre not going to make gains. In the middle, and life is grand. You can also view this on the Polar Flow app:   Now, when it comes to Recovery Tracking, youve got a binary choice between using Nightly Recharge, which is mostly focused on sleep tracking, or using Recovery Pro. You have to select one. By default its Nightly Recharge, but you can change it in the settings: However, selecting Recovery Pro means that youll need to break out that chest strap at least three mornings per week and do the Orthostatic test. The chest strap is required for more accurate HRV related data thats used for making the recovery determinations. Somewhat handily, you can even specify exactly which mornings itll prompt you to do this: In my case, I just used the Nightly Recharge function though that too will require at least three days of activity before it starts giving you results. So just keep that mind. I showed those bits up in the basics section. Ok with all of the core sports functionality covered, lets talk about the new performance related tests. With the Vantage V2, there are three new performance tests included, and one new platform to consolidate all the tests Polar offers. The new tests are: – Running Performance Test– Cycling Performance Test– Leg Recovery Test This is in addition to the previously existing tests of: – Orthostatic Test– Fitness Test Well just dive right into them, with the Running Performance Test. This test technically has two components to it, but both are geared towards determining more accurately your VO2Max. While previously (and still currently), Polar has the Running Index score it gives you after each run, this is apparently a bit more accurate. To begin the test youll want a flat place thats ideally without any obstacles/obstructions/stoplights/etc In other words, you dont want to stop, and, as I noticed during my test you really want to avoid any sharp angles, as itll impact GPS accuracy a bit which in turn could cause issues in the test. To select the test youll open the Test menu, and then choose the Running Performance test   The test begins with a 10 minute warm-up. While Polar specifies Zone 1-3 on the screen, in reality the app is only programmed to work for Zone 1, so it alerts you constantly that youre annoyingly out of zone during the warm-up because youre not still in Zone 1. Then, youll start the main portion of the test, where basically it ever so slowly makes you go faster and faster. This section should last about 10-20 minutes, but needs to last a minimum of 6 minutes. You can adjust the starting pace for this portion of the test, otherwise it starts you off pretty slow (16:00/mile basically a fast walk). On the upper portion of the screen youll see the current target pace, below that your current actual pace, and your heart rate in the lower left. In the lower right are the current sub-maximal and Max HR targets. The thing simply keeps marching faster and faster until you break. Remember, its less about the pace (or that point in time pace), but about your heart rate for that pace, and the build into that pace. So while my test yesterday ended at 5:48/mile, thats because at that point Id been running at an ever-increasing pace for 12 minutes. You can see the warm-up (WU) and test portions below, with the cool-down after that and the build into it. Afterwards itll give your running VO2Max score: And some additional data related to that:    Now, a few things notable here. First, on my other runs last week using the Running Index scoring system I scored 63 for my VO2Max scores:   So, thats quite a drop (way more than would normally be seen). Of course, 63 is higher than my highest ever actual lab tested value. Meanwhile, at the same time as I ran the VO2Max test with the Polar Vantage V2 (score 58), I also had a Garmin FR745 tracking my run. And it gave me a score of 57, without having to do any fancy test. Thats pretty consistent with what it gives me each workout (sometimes 58). Id say both values are in-line with my current fitness levels, maybe 1 or 2 below how Id do on a well rested day (which, as you saw earlier in this post, this day was apparently not well rested according to the Vantage V2). Next, theres the Cycling Performance Test. Which, is basically an FTP test, and requires a power meter. In this case you can pick your poison of 20/30/40/60 minutes for the core test portion. Like any other FTP test, if you select a lower time, itll use an algorithm to extrapolate that to the full 1-hour timeframe. And like the running test, it starts off with a warm-up period, although this one is 20 minutes. And also like the running test, while it says in the descriptive text you should build intensity and do some sprints, it never actually gives you any guidance for that. Eventually youll get to the core of the test the part that matters. Note that with both the running and cycling test, this wont automatically start until you press to begin this section. Thats handy if youre trying to get to a clean spot sans traffic lights or distractions. Once ready, you begin: Itll give your current power, as well as the average power for the time. And unfortunately, this is as much as I can show you. Ive now taken the FTP twice in the last few days, and both times it failed. It, not me. The first time I paired it to a Tacx NEO 2 trainer, and as I started the main portion of the test dropouts occurred via Bluetooth Smart, and eventually it ended the test due to lack of data. Other units I was using werent seeing dropouts (via ANT+). So on Monday I tried the test again. This time at the office (as opposed to home, in case wireless issues were a problem), and with a different bike on a different trainer. This time I paired it to the Quarq DZero power meter (which is on the approved list), and began. I completed the warm-up and began the main chunk of the test without issue: Then, some 13 minutes into the painful part of the test, the connection dropped out, and the test also forcibly failed. This sucked, because FTP tests are no fun and further, youve set aside time for doing it, time away from a normally scheduled workout (including the lead-up to it). Maybe this was a one-off, I dont know. Polar says they havent had any reports of this happening elsewhere, and theyre digging into it. So, for the purposes of discussion lets just set that aside. Lets say its a me problem. Ok. But heres the thing: In 2020, both for this and the running test, most platforms are moving away from doing frequent one-off testing. Most platforms are moving towards leveraging your actual workout/training data to do that analytics for you, so you dont need to take off time in your schedule for a test. Weve seen Xert doing that, Todays Plan doing that, and Polars watch/bike computer competitors just giving you those values in real-time as you complete workouts. Sure, others like TrainerRoad do include a monthly test scheduled within most of their plans but even that is a RAMP test, which is far more common these days than setting aside 60 minutes as per the Polar routine (20 mins warm-up, 20 mins core test, 20 mins cool-down). The RAMP test is over in 20 minutes total. The other somewhat silly challenge I realized here is that I still need *another* non-Polar device to actually do the test on a trainer (which, is what Polar and everyone else recommends for FTP tests). Thats because the Polar Vantage V2 wont control your trainers resistance. So in my case I had to use a Garmin Edge device to control the trainer and set the target wattages. And that gets even more complex if your using your trainer as your power meter for the Polar device, since all but the Wahoo KICKR only allow for a single concurrent Bluetooth Smart connection (and the Vantage V2 doesnt connect via ANT+). In any case, moving onto the last item, the new Leg Recovery Test. This test is designed to help you determine if your legs are fatigued, by performing three standing jumps in a row.    These three jumps are then measured to centimeter accuracy by the unit and compared against a rolling baseline for the last 28 days. If the deviation is more than 7% lower, its determined that your legs arent full recovered. Interestingly, that data is actually fed into FitSpark, for deciding on which workouts will be given. So thats a good example of using the data to drive decisions. Finally, Polar has started rolling out a new Test Dashboard on Polar Flow, which consolidates all your tests into one spot: Youll see all the testing types, as well as drop-down filters for each type. Now, given this feature has only rolled out, and Ive only got a few jump tests and a successful running test (my failed cycling tests interestingly dont show up here), the data is kinda slim. Still, long term I like the dashboard look: Ok, wrapping things up as I said earlier, I think the tests are useful to some, but in general its not the direction the industry is trending. Also, for cycling, Id really have preferred theyd included a RAMP test in there. But hey, I suppose theres always room for improvement. For the jump tests related to leg recovery, those are indeed quick and easy tests to do that take a few seconds and can easily be done each day without impacting your normal training load/recovery, so those actually make quite a bit of tests. GPS & HR Accuracy: Theres likely no topic that stirs as much discussion and passion as GPS accuracy.  A watch could fall apart and give you dire electrical shocks while doing so, but if it shows you on the wrong side of the road?  Oh hell no, bring on the fury of the internet! GPS accuracy can be looked at in a number of different ways, but I prefer to look at it using a number of devices in real-world scenarios across a vast number of activities.  I use 2-6 other devices at once, trying to get a clear picture of how a given set of devices handles conditions on a certain day.  Conditions include everything from tree/building cover to weather. Over the years, Ive continued to tweak my GPS testing methodology.  For example, I dont place two units next to each other on my wrists, as that can impact signal. If I do so, Ill put a thin fabric spacer of about 1/3cm between them (I didnt do that on any of my Polar Vantage V2 activities however, all workouts only had a single device per wrist).  But often Ill simply carry other units by the straps, or attach them to the shoulder straps of my hydration backpack.  Plus, wearing multiple watches on the same wrist is well known to impact optical HR accuracy. Meanwhile, for HR accuracy testing Im typically wearing a chest strap (usually the Garmin HRM-DUAL or newer HRM-PRO, but also the Polar H10, but or Polar H9) as well as another optical HR sensor watch on the bicep (lately the Whoop band and/or Polar OH1 Plus). Note that the numbers you see in the upper right corner are *not* the averages, but rather just the exact point my mouse is sitting over.  Note all this data is analyzed using the DCR Analyzer, details here. To begin, were actually going to go with my Running Performance Test from yesterday, taking a look at both HR accuracy and GPS accuracy. For GPS accuracy, the test started off mostly in the trees for the warm-up, since GPS accuracy was less important at that point in the test. This is compared against a Garmin FR745 and a Fitbit Versa 3. Heres that data: At a high level we see some slight differences. So zooming into a few spots during the warm-up we see some slight variances from all three. In general the FR745 is on the path the most, with the Vantage V2 close behind, and the Fitbit Versa 3 a bit more variable. As we hit the straightaway (but under tree cover), the Polar and Garmin are pretty much a wash, whereas the Fitbit is generally off deeper in the trees picking mushrooms or something. Making a 90* turn, the Polar nailed this one, with the Garmin & Fitbit devices undercutting the turn. Interestingly however, despite taking this turn at speed (and that it then goes downhill slightly), the actual pace displayed on the Vantage V2 did noticeably drop, which was of particular note given it was in the middle of the VO2Max test and started giving behind pace type alerts. However, after that point in the wide open bike path with nothing on either side, the Polar was off by quite a bit more than a two-lane roadway away, the Garmin spot-on, and the Fitbit just very slightly off: Meanwhile, taking a look at the HR accuracy during that run tells an oddly similar story. Heres the Polar Vantage V2 vs Polar OH1 Plus (optical arm band) vs Fitbit Versa 3, and then the HRM-RUN chest strap. As you can see, the HRM-PRO had the most correct and gradual build-up of data at the beginning, but the optical HR sensors were too far behind. The Polar Vantage V2 stuttered at the 2-minute marker for a bit. The slight stutter from purple line of the HRM-PRO was simply me adjusting it at the 3-minute marker. Its been interesting to see how much more visible the adjustments of the strap is on the HRM-PRO than other chest straps. We see that for the most part for the first 10 minutes the units are fairly close, though around the 8-9 minute marker during one of the sprints I did as part of the warm-up that it caused the Fitbit to struggle, and then slightly caught the Polar Vantage V2 off-guard. The Polar OH1 and HRM-PRO were basically identical there. While the Fitbit is mostly a mess as the intensity gets higher, the Polar Vantage V2 isnt perfect either. In fact, you can see numerous spikes throughout, something Ive consistently seen on the Polar Grit X since launch (I frequently use it in testing): And just before the VO2Max test ends, we see the biggest difference here, with the Vantage V2 overestimating m at 194bpm, versus the chest strap at 182 and the OH1 at 187. Meanwhile, the Fitbit Versa 3 is at 169. So overall on that one, its not terribly good, in particular at the height of the VO2Max test, which might impact my results for that test actually. While the HR got back into line just as the test ended, did that incorrect spike impact things? I dont know. Next, lets look at a track workout. Cause everyone likes a track workout for both GPS testing. This time against the Apple Watch Series 6, Garmin FR745, and Fitbit Versa 3. In this case, I was using the Vantage V2 with the Polar OH1 Plus for the heart rate portion, so we wont be evaluating that aspect as part of this set. As the test began, all units correctly managed to mostly plot the route down the middle of the tree lined path: And they all kinda-sorta made it out of the massive pile of bridges/tunnels/overpasses without any massive incidents. Not perfect by any means, but the Apple Watch was definitely the winner here. Meanwhile, over at the track things were actually pretty good. Youll see a single red line across the infield thats my fault. After one of the intervals I hit the pause instead of lap button, and then realized it about a 100m later. But everyone actually stayed roughly in the track, which is good. The FR745 was in running track mode, so its even scarier how close it is. It only shows the exists/entrances, as I was curious if I could start it off-track (the answer is yes, but you just cant quite get too close to the track on the arrival, or it snaps in like it does below). But overall, the Polar Vantage V2 did pretty good here no complaints. Also, for fun, while I wasnt using the Vantage V2s optical HR sensor, I was using the Polar OH1 Plus sensor paired to it. No drop-outs or such. And just in case there was any doubt on accuracy (or, lack thereof in one units case): Moving along again, this time to an easier run. I dont really need to re-hash all the details on this one, its pretty obvious that the units are fairly close, except the Vantage V2 does suffer briefly around the 3 minute marker. While the Fitbit Versa 3 spikes a few times around the 21 and 26 minute markers, both times after stopping at lights/etc and resuming running again. From a GPS accuracy standpoint, all units were actually pretty good on this city run. With only the Fitbit Vera 3 struggling occasionally (although, not hugely): They all correctly managed to plot their way through the Rijksmuseum building underpass, though the Fitbit and and Polar units did hose up slightly a turn shortly thereafter back into the park both of them going off into the water and buildings. Changing scenery again, what about an outdoors ride? Well, thats a hot mess. So, I made the Polar Vantage V2 hot pink to illustrate that. Note the sections between the two lines are when I realized I had a conference call, so I stopped to take it on the side of the road. I could analyze all these sections, but you can see pretty clearly its bad. Really bad. Which, is basically what I saw with the Polar Grit X as well. On the right side, GPS accuracy was perfectly fine: For this route I was over at an outdoor cycling track, that loops around and around. So its a good test of repeatability, and things were spot-on then. Finally, as for an indoor cycling workout heart-rate wise that handled much better: Ok, with that wrapping things up a bit, Id say that HR accuracy was basically what we saw with the Grit X, which makes sense as its the same sensor there, though, unfortunately that means I dont get as good of accuracy as the original Polar Vantage series sensor. For GPS accuracy, things are pretty much par for the course with what I see from most GPS watches these days, no major outliers (good or bad) in any of the data sets, nor in any of my daily commutes I recorded here and there either (mostly through the city). So all good and acceptable there. (Note: All of the charts in these accuracy sections were created using the DCR Analyzer tool.  It allows you to compare power meters/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed/pace, GPS tracks and plenty more. You can use it as well for your own gadget comparisons, more details here.) Overall, the Polar Vantage V2 is a modest upgrade to the original Vantage V unit, incorporating the largely software-driven updates of the Grit X from this past spring, with weight reductions and changes to the optical HR sensor. The new performance testing features may be useful to those that are looking to chart more specifically their progress in cycling or running, or perhaps figure out if their legs are recovered in the gym. I think the Vantage V2 may be challenged in that it doesnt really have a ton of features that are going to draw existing Vantage V owners to it. Sure, some will especially those that may have held out on buying the Grit X, despite wanting those new features. So for that crowd, this helps basically gives people what they want in terms of the extra training/recovery focused elements. But, I dont know if those new testing components are enough to draw away new sales from competitor thats a much tougher pitch, especially when compared against both what COROS has at a substantially lower price point, or Garmin has at the exact same price point. It puts Polar in a bit of a tough bind with this offerings. Still, Polar has at committed to more firmware updates throughout the remainder of the year, and then perhaps well see additional feature upgrades beyond that, just as we did with the Vantage Series for the first 18 months or so. With that thanks for reading!

Garmin Fenix 6/6S Pro Solar Review: What’s new & different - DC Rainmaker

Today Garmin has extended the solar option on the Fenix 6 series to include the Fenix 6S Pro and Fenix 6 Pro units, completing the family that started last year with the Fenix 6X Pro Solar. Now all three Pro

Today Garmin has extended the solar option on the Fenix 6 series to include the Fenix 6S Pro and Fenix 6 Pro units, completing the family that started last year with the Fenix 6X Pro Solar. Now all three Pro units offer a solar-equipped option. In addition, Garmin also announced a new Garmin Instinct Solar lineup too. Beyond adding in solar panel tech, the watches also get some new features such as Indoor Climbing and Bouldering, as well as a new surfing integration with Surfline sessions. Now, for this review, Im truncating it to focus on the aspects that are new or different. While Ive been using these units for about a month now, the reality is that almost no aspects of them are different than the existing Fenix 6 Pro seriesexcept the solar panel pieces. In addition to the new software bits that have largely been available in beta on the existing Fenix 6 series watches for the past month (such as the new sleep tracking and heart rate broadcasting bits). Point being, while I could re-write an entire review talking about basics like step tracking and how to configure sport data pages, or how to sync to Spotify Ive already done that. And nothing has changed in those areas. Thats all the same. And in using these watches on my wrist 24×7 since then I can confirm no differences between a non-Solar Fenix 6 Pro and a Solar Fenix 6 Pro in those areas. In fact, even the GPS & HR accuracy aspects havent really changed but I love some accuracy charts so youll get those down below for fun. With that, lets dive into it! Whats new: Now, theres actually more to the Fenix 6 Pro Solar units than just a touch bit of solar panel. Theres also some new software features. But fear not, these non-solar specific features are also being added to all Fenix 6 series units. But, to recap everything thats new theres: – Added under-glass solar panel to Fenix 6S Pro & Fenix 6 Pro– Added around the edge solar panel to Fenix 6S Pro & Fenix 6 Pro– Added Mountain Bike Grit & Flow metrics (previously launched on Edge 530/830)– Added Indoor Climb activity profile: Tracks indoor climbing metrics (more on this in a second)– Added Bouldering activity profile (indoors): Tracks – Added new Surfing activity profile with Surfline Sessions to create videos with data overlays Oh and just in case you missed it above: Yes, all those new software features are coming to the Fenix 6 series in the next firmware update. Doing a quick lap around through each of the new non-solar aspects (since the entire next section is solar focused), first up is mountain bike Grit and Flow. For those that put on their Garmin Edge cap, youll remember they came out last spring with the Edge 530 and Edge 830. The Edge 1030 got them in a firmware update, then the Edge 1030 Plus and even Edge 130 Plus a few weeks back. On the watch, youll select the mountain bike profile (its not enabled by default, so youll want to add it from the sports menu). Then, youll need to go and add these fields to your data fields. Thats kinda weird, since on a Garmin Edge device it adds these automatically. In any case, youll find them under the Other bucket: Theres Grit, Lap Grit, Flow, and Lap Flow. Heres what they look like added to a single page: Then, go out and ride. I havent had any good mountain bike chances as of late. But, heres what the data will look like after the fact: Next, down below in the charts section they show up there too, also color coded: Note however, that theres a slight difference to the Garmin Edge units notably that they dont include jump counting in the Fenix metrics. I suspect thats because with your hands potentially flapping around thatd dork up the accelerometer/gyro data (whereas an Edge is mounted to your bike and ideally not flapping its wings mid-flight). Next theres the new Indoor Climbing and Bouldering profiles. In case youre wondering what the difference is, essentially Indoor Climbing you use ropes to get to the top, whereas Bouldering is typically tops out at lower heights (max 3-4 meters), so youd do it without ropes. You can read this to understand the nuances. Indoor Climbing Activity Profile: When you first begin an Indoor Climb workout, itll ask whether youd like to track the route stats. Again, this is all indoors, so its not using GPS. When you choose yes, youll then select which grading system to use. In total theres YDS, UIAA, French, British Adj., British Tech, Ewbank, Brazilian, and Saxon. You can change this mid-activity as well within the Climbing Profile settings. Once youve selected a grading system, youll then select the difficulty: At this point the watch is ready to begin (after you press start). Itll track time, total ascent, and heart rate on one screen (plus showing you the difficulty at the top). Theres also then a page for Last route: As well as a page for total routes: Once youve completed the route youll hit the lap key to mark it as complete. After which itll ask if youve had any falls. From there itll go into a rest screen and wait for your next climb to begin (when you hit the lap marker). In that sense its kinda like the indoor pool swimming with sets. Afterwards on Garmin Connect itll show you a breakdown of the details. And of course itll sync that off to 3rd party apps/platforms like Strava/etcthough, those dont support all these metrics, so ultimately itll be pretty limited in what you see on 3rd party sites. Bouldering Activity Profile: Next, the Bouldering activity profile is pretty similar to that of the Indoor climbing one. First you’ll select the grading system, in this case it supports V-Scale, Font, and Dankyu: Next, youll select the difficulty of the problem youre about to climb. The exact min/max levels it supports will vary based on which grading system youre using: Once ready to climb itll show you the problem difficulty at the top, the time, and youre heart rate: After youve finished climbing the route youll press the lap key just like with indoor climbing. This will then give you three options: Mark route as completed, mark as attempted, or discard the whole chicken. Like with indoor climbing you can see both the last route and total route data:   Im not exactly a climber, however, DesFit did get the chance to try this part out so if thats your cup of tea, hit up his video on it. That said, ironically, by pure coincidence I stumbled upon a brand new facility that just opened up a mere 3 minute pedal from me. So far Ive just been a stalker and looked through the windows but maybe Ill give it a poke. Surfing profile with Surfline integration: Finally, theres the new surfing profile data metrics with Surfline integration. You may have seen the surfing metrics added as part of the more recent Garmin Fenix 6 betas, in fact, they were actually looking for people to beta test it (which, by the looks of it was pretty limited in finding people). In any case, the way it works is that youll first open the surf activity profile, and then itll track the waves surfed, maximum speed reached, and distance travelled within the profile.   Whats really interesting here though is Garmin is integrating with Surfline for data overlays with video integration. Surfline is a surfing site that you can lookup tons of data about nearby spots. Wave conditions and such. However, in addition to that theyve got some 400 cameras pointed at waves that are recording to the cloud. Currently they have an Apple Watch app that allows you to record your sessions on the watch, and then later on the site will find the exact video clips of you by cross-referencing the time stamps and GPS data. So, with the Fenix integration thats all supposed to work in the same manner. However, theres no Surfline cameras anywhere near me (or even remotely near me). The nearest appears to be on the other side of the English channel. Butat least it looks pretty there: In any case, Im definitely the wrong person to test this bit out. But it does show Garmins ever-expanding sport profiles, and specifically having actual data for those profiles. While some runners or cyclists may be like Thats a useless featureto me, the thing Garmin has figured out that most other companies havent is that one persons useless feature is another persons most important feature. Theres currently surf watches in the market already, so clearly theres demand there. From Garmins perspective its relatively trivial to take an existing piece of hardware and add a few extra metrics. Whereas the lift for a new company to create a new smartwatch in 2020 is almost impossibly hard to get enough demand to make it work. In any case, if youve got a Fenix 6 series watch, you can test this feature out today via the beta. Or, simply wait for it to hit production probably any day now. Solar & Battery Details: When it comes to the Solar aspects added to the Fenix 6 & 6S, theyre basically identical to that of the Fenix 6X Solar that was launched last summer. Whereas if you looked at the new Garmin Instinct Solar units, those have a different panel arrangement than the Fenix series. Now, as you may remember from my review last year, Garmin often sees the X variant of the Fenix as a place to trial out new technologies before introducing them elsewhere. Last year, that was solar with the Fenix 6X Solar, whereas this year thats being added to multiple units. The solar pieces all comes from an acquisition of technologies from French company SunPartner Technologies. Garmin actually quietly made that acquisition back when the company filed for insolvency, a long time before they announced it in the Fenix 6X Solar last year. On all of the solar-enabled Fenix 6 units youll notice a very thin 1mm wide strip just on the inside of the bezel. This is the first of two solar pieces. This thin strip has 100% photovoltaic levels, meaning, its receiving 100% of the suns goodness and turning that into solar power. Its also clearly visible in bright light, though youd just assume it was a bezel design element. Inside without bright light, this strip almost disappears and blends into the bezel. However, theres a second solar panel you cant see despite being the entire display face. Under the display is another solar panel that has a 10% photovoltaic level. This panel is of course far larger than that of the thin bezel strip, but is also getting 10% of the suns rays, due to the display blocking much of it. Importantly though, both panels are fully under a single sheet of Gorilla Glass (specifically Corning Gorilla Glass 3 with DX Coating). Meaning, you wont accidentally scratch the bezel solar panel anymore than youd normally scratch your watch face. Speaking of that watch face, youll notice that theres a little sun atop the default watch face. That sun is actually showing you the current intensity level. Around the edge of the little sun are 10 pieces, each indicating 10% of full intensity. So if you look at the below picture youll see the sun is coming in at 0% intensity as Im in the shade: Next, another phone out in some broken clouds conditions and you can see its at about 70%: And heres another at 100% intensity, with all lines lit up as well as the sun itself: You can also see this in the Widget Glances too: And then a plot over the last 6 hours of activity as well: In addition, you can look back at any day of history you want to via Garmin Connect Mobile:   The goal of the solar here isnt to fully power the watch, under GPS or otherwise. Instead, its to provide incremental battery life (more on my testing on this in a second). Garmin notes this in their super-detailed battery life chart. Note specifically the assumption of 3 hours per day of solar light at a pretty high intensity (full sun basically). That goes both ways though. If youre mid-summer and spending the day at the beach (or workout side), then youll way overachieve here. Versus if its mid-winter and youre indoorsthen not so much. *Assumes all-day wear with 3 hours per day in 50,000 lux conditions**Assumes use in 50,000 lux conditions Wait, so whats 50,000 lux you ask? Its a pretty sunny day, though, not living in Arizona in summer kinda sunny. Heres what Wikipedia says about it: Now Garmin doesnt ever show lux levels in the solar widgets. Instead, they show a relative intensity in terms of solar power. On a pure sunny day here in July in the Netherlands, I easily can get the full sun widget to illuminate. But, I can also do that too even on a high light overcast day (meaning, a super high thin cloud layer). Even with a handful of clouds meandering around. Meanwhile, for a portion of my hike when it was raining I was getting anywhere between 20-50% solar intensity levels, depending on the specific cloud passing by. Point is, its not as drastic as youd think. Heres the basic main takeaways though: A) If youre spending 3+ hours outdoors (non-workout mode) you might be able to pull off something close to battery neutral in a pared down configuration (not much notifications/etc).B) While outdoors on longer hikes in significant sun, solar will definitely extend your battery life, potentially a lot. Or potentially not at all. In order to test this, I went out for a longer hike/walk thing yesterday. For this test I compared a Fenix 6 Pro with a Fenix 6 Pro Solar, identically configured with every possible setting I could find. The theory was to wander for about 3 hours in the sun in reasonably wide open areas (dunes mostly), but of course, the weather dorked with my plans, so it starts off sunny and then eventually got a bit rainy. Heres the battery burn charts for the meander: As you can see, its basically impossible to tell the difference between the two Fenix units, even after 3 hours. Im sure brighter sun would have helped the Fenix, though in looking at some other 1-2 hour activities it hasnt varied a ton either. The nuance between the burn rates at that point is really challenging. In talking with Garmin about battery burn rates recorded to files, that in general youll get more concrete results with longer activities than shorter ones. Also, because of the frequency in which the battery value is updated, a few seconds one way or the other when were talking 0.08% difference can result in a big swing (since its only recorded at whole numbers).  Thats fair, and is pretty common for any battery technology that if you really want to get a good idea of the battery burn rates that you need to measure longer periods of time. And if we look at a longer hike I did last summer with the Fenix 6X Solar and Fenix 6 non-solar side by side, you can see the impact of the battery burn rate once I hit the sun coming out of the tree line. When Im below the tree-line in the trees (up till about 1hr 30mins), you can see battery burn rate is about equal, but once I clear the tree-line (around 1hr 30 marker), and am back into the sun, battery life burn on the 6X Solar slows. Pretty cool. Note that in that case we want to ignore the slope of the non-Solar unit, since it has a smaller battery, but instead not the significant difference between those out once out of the sun. By the way, those battery charts are with the DCR Analyzer. We plot battery life for devices that support writing it to the files, including Garmin, Wahoo, and Stages. Now, its important to note that this wont actually power up the watch any from dead, at least not in any meaningful way. Last summer I tried this when I left a Fenix 6X Solar atop an RV out in a field for 12 hours. It was totally dead when I placed it out there 0% battery. When I returned after a day of strong bluebird sky sun without a single cloud, it was still powered off. However, upon powering it back on it found itself 4% battery. Its also at this juncture that I realized I apparently never edited that video that I shot for it. Huh. Similarly, today in the morning while it was nice and sunny without clouds I stuck a watch on a tree branch with no branches above it. This time it was powered on, with full sun. When I returned about 65 minutes later, the battery hadnt increased at all still 16%.   Of course, thats likely not long enough especially when balanced out by notifications coming in (but no GPS on). Certainly you can get a small increase in battery life from a number of hours outside as Garmin indicates. People have seen it. But my point here is expect it to be somewhat minimal. Compare this with something like the Casio GBD-H1000 GPS, which can easily power up from dead to not dead using just solar panel in a relatively short amount of time (couple hours at most), and actually get sustainable solar power from the panels. Not enough to last forever doing GPS activities, but certainly plenty to meaningfully help when hanging outside on a sunny day not recording. Of course, thats a different beast of a watch, and the more I use it, the more I realize theres really not much real-world overlap with either the Fenix 6 or Instinct. After all, it only has a single sport mode: Outdoor run, and no method to set any other mode. Plus, its clear that Casio isnt trying to hide the solar panels, rather it becomes part of the aesthetic. Whereas Garmin seems to aim to make it such that youd never notice the panels if you didnt explicitly know they were there, and where they were. Different strokes for different folks. But, at the same time, Im hoping well see more gains from Garmin in the future. They did note that the Fenix 6/6S/6X Solar and Instinct Solar would all be considered from the same solar panel technology generation. GPS Accuracy: Theres likely no topic that stirs as much discussion and passion as GPS accuracy.  A watch could fall apart and give you dire electrical shocks while doing so, but if it shows you on the wrong side of the road?  Oh hell no, bring on the fury of the internet! GPS accuracy can be looked at in a number of different ways, but I prefer to look at it using a number of devices in real-world scenarios across a vast number of activities.  I use 2-6 other devices at once, trying to get a clear picture of how a given set of devices handles conditions on a certain day.  Conditions include everything from tree/building cover to weather. Over the years, Ive continued to tweak my GPS testing methodology.  For example, I try to not place two units next to each other on my wrists, as that can impact signal. If I do so, Ill put a thin fabric spacer of about 1/3cm between them (I didnt do that on any of my Instinct activities however, all workouts only had a single device per wrist).  But often Ill simply carry other units by the straps, or attach them to the shoulder straps of my hydration backpack.  Plus, wearing multiple watches on the same wrist is well known to impact optical HR accuracy. Next, as noted, I use just my daily training routes.  Using a single route over and over again isnt really indicative of real-world conditions, its just indicative of one trail.  The workouts you see here are just my normal daily workouts. First up well start with something relatively easy, my 10-mile hike yesterday. The goal of this was mostly to stay in open-air areas to get more solar power. Still, there was a wooded section the last mile or so. Heres that data set. This set included a Polar Grit X, Garmin Instinct, Instinct Solar, Fenix 6 Pro, and Fenix 6 Pro Solar. For the first couple kilometers, all the units were basically identical. Again, theres basically nothing out here to obstruct the GPS view: Then, I got to the beach area. Along the waterfront there are actually tall apartment/hotel buildings that I came relatively close too. But there was no meaningful impact to GPS accuracy on any of the units: Then it was off into the dunes for a bit. And again, all super boring here: As I got into the trees, I started seeing a tiny bit of variation between the units. But were basically talking 2-3 meters difference offset from the path. And it varied which units were most accurate. In general the two Instinct units seemed nearest the track most times. All units were configured with the same GPS+GLONASS.   However, I do want to briefly note that with about 100m to go, the Instinct Solar restarted randomly. It didnt lose any GPS track data, and allowed me to resume. But it oddly added nearly about a mile (~1.5km) to the summary distance with no reason. It also added 15 minutes. Neither of these make any sense, and Garmin is looking into it. It didnt impact the GPS track, but just the total value shown on the unit and  in Garmin Connect. So ultimately, while GPS accuracy was pretty good, the restart gave me extra credit for no reason. Next weve got a more city-focused run, including going through some buildings. For this one I had with my a Instinct Solar, Casio GBD-1000, Polar Grit X, Fenix 6 Pro Solar, and Forerunner 935. Heres that data set: The Casio oddly had GPS lock, showed GPS, started with GPS lockbut then decided against recording the first mile or so of GPS data to the file. Im not sure why it was upset. You see it start mid-way through the run, above, in the middle of a pond. In any event, zooming into the park portion first (which is mostly under tree cover this time of year), youll see that the Instinct Solar and Grit X were probably closest to the path on the southern side (but was a bit more wobbly on the northern side straightaway). The Fenix 6 Pro Solar was pretty darn smooth on both sides. The Casio seemed a bit drunk on the turns, but was mostly fine for the straightaways. Next, are some buildings. This included running down a street with 5-6 story buildings on both sides (shown at left below). The Garmin/Polar units nailed this, spot on. The Casiowent shopping. Also, for those curious the Casio was on my right wrist, and the Instinct Solar on my left wrist. The other units were all on the handlebar of the running stroller. Also of note above is that I went through the Rijksmuseum, and most of the watches were pretty good at that. Its probably 100-125m long of no GPS signal under a massive building. The Instinct Solar slightly cut the corner towards the end, but otherwise it was reasonably clean. This next section I ran twice, so it looks a bit crowded, but its good to see how similar each unit was since I ran in the same spot each time. You see the Casio and FR935 are more variable, whereas the Fenix 6 Pro Solar, Polar Grit X, and Instinct Solar tended to be less variable. Finally, for summary stats, you can see those below. Note that the Casio doesnt write the summary data to a filebecause it actually doesnt write any files. Instead, you have to download a file from Strava, and that file doesnt include the summary data properly written (because Casio doesnt send it). Ive done piles more workouts with the Fenix 6 Pro Solar since early June. In fact, almost every workout you see on Strava since then has been with the Fenix 6 Pro Solar. Rides, runs, hikes, stand-up paddle boarding both in the forest and city all that unit. For example, heres a paddle with it around Amsterdam. Youll see one spot where the two lines separate on the northern western edge. In that case, its because I had my board atop my wrist as I was portaging across a non-connecting canal. Whereas the Fenix 6 Pro (non-Solar) could see the sky, so the track there is more accurate. But thats pretty reasonable. In any case, I just dont see any meaningful difference between the Solar variant of the Fenix 6 Pro and the non-Solar variant. Which is to say that for most people in most situations GPS accuracy will be just fine. Like with other watches, youll still see variations. Given all Garmin/Suunto/Polar/COROS units are using the same GPS chipset series from Sony, the accuracy tends to be pretty similar. Wrap-Up: After releasing the Fenix 6X Solar last summer, demand exceeded supply. And perhaps more challenging for Garmin, supply didnt meet expectations. The company struggled through a fair chunk of Fall 2019 with yield related to the solar panel technologies. After all, it was their first watch incorporating the tech, and they needed to sort out the manufacturing side of things. But now, nearly a year later theyve clearly done that. Supply is ample for the Fenix 6X Solar, and since then theyve rolled out a Quatix edition watch with Solar, and now nearly a dozen Instinct Solar variants and a wide swath of Fenix 6S Pro and 6 Pro solar variants. Clearly, theyve found their groove on this solar thing. However, with the Fenix 6/6S/6X Pro Solar editions specifically, its hard to really see the benefit of solar in day to day situations. Sure, on bright sunny summer days with 8-10 hours of strong sunlight outdoor time youll definitely see a benefit. But, for the rest of the year, you probably wont benefit much. And thats somewhat to do with the fact that the Garmin Fenix series mostly tries to hide the solar panel. Compare that to the new Instinct Solar which is uses vastly more solar panel within the display to get nearly a 30% bump in GPS on-time, and an Unlimited Power type mode in a battery-saving watch mode. Id really like to see Garmin push the boundaries a bit more with the Fenix series. Still if you want the solar tech in a 6 or 6S form factor its here now, and ready to roll. And, for everyone else that already has a Fenix 6 series, then youll benefit from all the new surf/sleep/climbing/bouldering features. So, seems to be win-win for now. With that thanks for reading!

Garmin Instinct Solar Review: What’s New & Different - DC Rainmaker

Today Garmin announced the Instinct Solar lineup. At first glance this might just look like an existing Instinct with a solar panel slapped atop it. But in reality, this Instinct is totally different on the inside. Also, it’s the first

Today Garmin announced the Instinct Solar lineup. At first glance this might just look like an existing Instinct with a solar panel slapped atop it. But in reality, this Instinct is totally different on the inside. Also, its the first watch Garmin has ever made that offers the theoretical promise of Unlimited battery. Albeit, its a promise youll never leverage unless youre trapped like Tom Hanks on an island with a volleyball. But hey, its there. The Garmin Instinct series is essentially a Fenix lite. Its got most of the core sport/navigation/hiking focused features, but at roughly 1/3rd the price tag. It lacks things like color maps, music, or advanced sensor support. But you can do everything from an openwater swim, to pairing speed/cadence cycling sensors, and LiveTracking (with connected phone). Internally the new Instincts got not just solar charging but an entirely different power management architecture that gets vastly more battery life, largely helped by the switch to the Sony GPS chipsets we saw in other Garmin watches in 2019. Additionally, it swaps out for the newer Garmin ELEVATE optical HR sensor, adding in PulseOX. Again, that too helps battery life. And finally, theres the entire solar panel thing, which comes in two parts and thus provides substantially more power reserves than its Fenix counterpart. Note that like my Fenix 6 Solar Review I posted, I focused explicitly on the changed aspects, which include the solar pieces, power management pieces, and GPS/HR components. Beyond those elements, everything else is identical in the watch to the original Instinct. I dont have the Surf or Tactical versions, which have a handful of extra aspects, so I cant review those features. That said, I probably will append this review with some of the Basics sections over the following days, to conform more to my normal reviews. I havent seen any issues in those aspects while using the watch, else Id cover them here. With that, lets dive into it! Whats new: As I mostly spoiled in the intro section, the Instinct Solar is substantially changed under the covers, with some of those features being visible. Again, at first glance youre like Shrug, looks like an Instinct. And that was my impression initially too. And then the deeper I dug, its like Woah, this is entirely different if I care about long battery activities. Here, lets bulletize the main differences: – Added solar charging tech to watch (more on that later)– Added newer optical HR sensor suite– Added PulseOx and Swimming Heart Rate– Added power management/customization options– Added Expedition Mode, up to 68 days GPS battery life– Added Power Saver mode– Changed GPS chipset to Sony– Significantly increased GPS battery life from 16 hours to Up to 38 hours with solar Note that I asked about adding any of these features to the existing Instinct, and all depend on the newer hardware bits. For example, the power management components depend on both the Sony GPS chipset and a different underlying power management architecture. Same goes for expedition mode and battery saver mode. And the PulseOx and Swimming HR tracking all depend on the newer Garmin Elevate optical HR sensor (which is why we also only see it on other Garmin watches with that same HR sensors). In addition to the basics on the baseline Instinct Solar model, theres two additional models Surf and Tactical. Technically theres also Camo, but thats just a different color variant of the baseline model and doesnt have the Tactical features. For the Surf and Tactical features theres these new features: Surf Solar Edition: Added Tide Data showing ocean conditionsSurf Solar Edition: Added Surf Activity, which records waves surfed, distance traveled, and maximum speed reachedSurf Solar Edition: Added integration with Surfline, including Surfline Sessions for video overlaysTactical Solar Edition: Includes Night Vision Compatibility (was in previous Instinct Tactical Edition)Tactical Solar Edition: Includes Stealth Mode, which disables wireless connectivity and disables storing/sharing of GPS dataTactical Solar Edition: Includes Dual-Position Format, which shows both UTM and MGRS on the same screenTactical Solar Edition: Includes Jumpmaster mode for jumping out of perfectly good airplanes In essence, none of the Tactical Solar features are new but the solar panel is new to Tactical. The Surf edition is fully new. So, all in the units are priced as such: Garmin Instinct (non-Solar): $299Garmin Instinct Solar: $399Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical: $449Garmin Instinct Solar Camo: $449Garmin Instinct Solar Surf: $449 Out of curiosity, I asked why the Camo was $50 more, despite having no additional features. Garmin says the cost is due to the added cost of the hydrographic application. I do think its slightly odd that the Instinct Tactical isnt offered in the Camo colors. But hey, Im not the on who has to decide which 11 colors make the cut. Speaking of which, heres a Garmin image showing all the colors: Oh, and all these are available immediately, from today. With that lets talk Solar details specifically. Solar & Battery Details: When it comes to the solar aspects added to the Instinct Solar, theyre technologically the same as we see on the Fenix 6 series. However, theyre quite a bit different in terms of the size of the implementation. The Instinct has vastly more solar panel surface (relative to screen size) than the Fenix 6 series, and also vastly more solar panel power as a result. For example, on the Fenix 6 series you get about a 10% bump in total power life in most GPS sport modes (way more in Expedition/Battery Saver Mode). Whereas on the on the Instinct Solar you more than double (200%) your daily watch life, and increase by 30% your GPS sport modes. Part of that is because the Instinct simply has a less power-hungry screen that does less. Theres no colors, no animations, or really anything else. Its also smaller. But the other part is that when it comes to that panel, it simply covers more surface area. Now, as you may remember the solar pieces all comes from an acquisition of technologies from French company SunPartner Technologies. Garmin actually quietly made that acquisition back when the company filed for insolvency, a long time before they announced it in the Fenix 6X Solar last year. On all Garmin Solar watches the solar panel basically divided up into two pieces: A) Visible solar panels (usually on the edging of the display), this has 100% photovoltaic levelB) Solar panels under the display/screen, these have a 10% photovoltaic level So, the more visible panel contributes substantially more than the one under the display. However, on watches like the Fenix 6 series, theres far greater surface area under the display than the thin 1mm strip around the edge. But, on the Instinct Solar, Garmin has added much more solar panel. You can see the slight difference in reflection, which is around much of the interior edge of the display. Everything in red there: This area above has 100% photovoltaic levels, meaning, its receiving 100% of the suns goodness and turning that into solar power. Its also clearly visible in bright light, though youd just assume it was a bezel design element. Inside without bright light (like inside), this strip almost disappears and blends into the bezel. However, theres a second solar panel you cant see despite being the entire display face. Under the display is another solar panel that has a 10% photovoltaic level. This panel is of course larger than that of the visible edge pieces, but is also getting 10% of the suns rays, due to the display blocking much of it. Importantly though, both panels are below the top glass so its not like you feel the solar areas or can scratch it. When it comes to seeing solar levels, on the default watch face theres a sun icon, and next to it the last 6 hours of solar intensity levels. If you press down once, youll move to the next widget, which shows the same intensity graph, but also shows a sun in the upper right corner. That sun is actually showing you the current intensity level. Around the edge of the little sun etched into the glass are 10 markers (indicating 10 pieces), each indicating 10% of full intensity. So if you look at the below picture youll see the sun is coming in at 50% intensity: And heres another at 100% intensity, with all lines lit up as well as the sun itself lit up: There isnt a way to see this directly in a data field mid-activity, however, its simply one button away. Just press the lower right button (set), and itll take you from sport mode back to the widgets, and you can check the solar levels live. In addition, you can look back at any day of history you want to via Garmin Connect Mobile:   The goal of the solar here isnt to fully power the watch, under GPS or otherwise. Instead, its to provide incremental battery life (more on my testing on this in a second). Garmin notes this in their super-detailed battery life chart. Note specifically the assumption of 3 hours per day of solar light at a pretty high intensity (full sun basically). That goes both ways though. If youre mid-summer and spending the day at the beach (or workout side), then youll way overachieve here. Versus if its mid-winter and youre indoorsthen not so much. *Assumes all-day wear with 3 hours per day in 50,000 lux conditions**Assumes use in 50,000 lux conditions Wait, so whats 50,000 lux you ask? Its a pretty sunny day, though, not living in Arizona in summer kinda sunny. Heres what Wikipedia says about it: Now Garmin doesnt ever show lux levels in the solar widgets. Instead, they show a relative intensity in terms of solar power. On a pure sunny day here in July in the Netherlands, I easily can get the full sun widget to illuminate. But, I can also do that too even on a high light overcast day (meaning, a super high thin cloud layer). Even with a handful of clouds meandering around. But wait a second, lets go back there was a line-item for Battery Saver mode being Unlimited. What the heck is that? Well, that comes from the new Power Manage functionality. This was introduced on the Fenix 6 last year, and allows you to basically customize ala carte style the different Instinct features you want to get a desired number of hours of battery life. So if youre half-way through and a hike and realized you forgot to fully charge your watch, you can tweak the battery profiles to get enough juice to make it back. To access this go into Settings > Power Manager: Within this theres two options. First is Battery Saver, the other is Power Modes. Well come back to Battery Saver in a second. So well select Power Modes and youve got a few different default ones. For example the Max Battery option is basically the older-named UltraTrac which reduces the GPS tracking points to roughly every 1-2 minutes (fine for hiking slowly with few switchbacks, sucky for running in the city). It also turns off the optical HR sensor and phone communications. Up in the corner youll see how many hours youll get based on your current battery level: Then theres jacket mode. Thats when the watch is outside your jacket (like in the winter). Youll see that shuts off the optical HR sensor (but you can still pair to a chest sensor). But retains Bluetooth phone connectivity. And then you can freestyle it with your own battery settings, first by giving it a name:   Then youve got all the settings to change: GPS, Phone, Wrist Heart Rate, Pulse Ox, Breadcrumb Map, Display, Backlight, and Accessories (sensors):   Each of these that you toggle on/off will result in different total battery life estimates. In the case of GPS that also means changing things like GPS+GLONASS, GPS+Galileo and UltraTrac. Its super powerful if you really need the battery juice. But lastly, we need to go back to the nuclear option: Battery Saver. This is the one that gets us the supposed Unlimited battery life. In this mode the watch will show you time and date, as well as track steps and distance walked. However, itll disable phone and sensor connectivity, as well as PulseOx and the optical HR sensor. It does still however track Solar Intensity. In this mode without any solar juice youre going to get about 60 days of battery life. But, once you add in the required 3 hours per day of sunlight, then Garmin says you can go forever. Of course, if you get more than 3 hours of sunlight per day, then you get Forever Plus. Which is basically what the year 2020 feels like. Now, in order to try demonstrate some of the Instinct Solar aspects compared to the regular Instinct, I went out for a longer meander yesterday. For this test I compared a Instinct Solar with Instinct, as well as Fenix 6 Pro Solar with non-Solar.  All identically configured with every possible setting I could find. The theory was to wander for about 3 hours in the sun in reasonably wide open areas (dunes mostly), but of course, the weather dorked with my plans, so it starts off sunny and then eventually got a bit rainy. Heres the battery burn charts for the meander: Now, theres a dramatic difference between the Instinct and Instinct Solar. However, the vast majority of that has nothing to do with Solar. Rather, its simply the reality of the lower battery burn profile of the Instinct Solars updated internals. Even without Solar power its going to burn 50% as much power. Then we layer the Solar pieces on for whats effectively a 30% bump in juice. And ironically, those numbers get super close up above 3.75%/hour for the Instinct Solar, compared to 8.62%/hour for the regular Instinct. Note that both units had a course loaded and were following said course. Both also had phone connectivity enabled. In talking with Garmin about battery burn rates recorded to files, that in general youll get more concrete results with longer activities than shorter ones. Also, because of the frequency in which the battery value is updated, a few seconds one way or the other when were talking 0.08% difference can result in a big swing (since its only recorded at whole numbers).  Thats fair, and is pretty common for any battery technology that if you really want to get a good idea of the battery burn rates that you need to measure longer periods of time. By the way, those battery charts are with the DCR Analyzer. We plot battery life for devices that support writing it to the files, including Garmin, Wahoo, and Stages. Finally, note that the Instinct Solar and Fenix 6/6S/6X Solar would all be considered from the same solar panel technology generation. Of course, as noted earlier, the Instinct Solar simply has a greater surface area of 100% paneling, plus also having a lower baseline battery requirement for powering its monochrome display. GPS Accuracy: Theres likely no topic that stirs as much discussion and passion as GPS accuracy.  A watch could fall apart and give you dire electrical shocks while doing so, but if it shows you on the wrong side of the road?  Oh hell no, bring on the fury of the internet! GPS accuracy can be looked at in a number of different ways, but I prefer to look at it using a number of devices in real-world scenarios across a vast number of activities.  I use 2-6 other devices at once, trying to get a clear picture of how a given set of devices handles conditions on a certain day.  Conditions include everything from tree/building cover to weather. Over the years, Ive continued to tweak my GPS testing methodology.  For example, I try to not place two units next to each other on my wrists, as that can impact signal. If I do so, Ill put a thin fabric spacer of about 1/3cm between them (I didnt do that on any of my Instinct activities however, all workouts only had a single device per wrist).  But often Ill simply carry other units by the straps, or attach them to the shoulder straps of my hydration backpack.  Plus, wearing multiple watches on the same wrist is well known to impact optical HR accuracy. Next, as noted, I use just my daily training routes.  Using a single route over and over again isnt really indicative of real-world conditions, its just indicative of one trail.  The workouts you see here are just my normal daily workouts. First up well start with something relatively easy, my 10-mile hike yesterday. The goal of this was mostly to stay in open-air areas to get more solar power. Still, there was a wooded section the last mile or so. Heres that data set. This set included a Polar Grit X, Garmin Instinct, Instinct Solar, Fenix 6 Pro, and Fenix 6 Pro Solar. For the first couple kilometers, all the units were basically identical. Again, theres basically nothing out here to obstruct the GPS view: Then, I got to the beach area. Along the waterfront there are actually tall apartment/hotel buildings that I came relatively close too. But there was no meaningful impact to GPS accuracy on any of the units: Then it was off into the dunes for a bit. And again, all super boring here: As I got into the trees, I started seeing a tiny bit of variation between the units. But were basically talking 2-3 meters difference offset from the path. And it varied which units were most accurate. In general the two Instinct units seemed nearest the track most times. All units were configured with the same GPS+GLONASS.   However, I do want to briefly note that with about 100m to go, the Instinct Solar restarted randomly. It didnt lose any GPS track data, and allowed me to resume. But it oddly added nearly about a mile (~1.5km) to the summary distance with no reason. It also added 15 minutes. Neither of these make any sense, and Garmin is looking into it. It didnt impact the GPS track, but just the total value shown on the unit and  in Garmin Connect. So ultimately, while GPS accuracy was pretty good, the restart gave me extra credit for no reason. Next weve got a more city-focused run, including going through some buildings. For this one I had with my a Instinct Solar, Casio GBD-H1000, Polar Grit X, Fenix 6 Pro Solar, and Forerunner 935. Heres that data set: The Casio oddly had GPS lock, showed GPS, started with GPS lockbut then decided against recording the first mile or so of GPS data to the file. Im not sure why it was upset. You see it start mid-way through the run, above, in the middle of a pond. In any event, zooming into the park portion first (which is mostly under tree cover this time of year), youll see that the Instinct Solar and Grit X were probably closest to the path on the southern side (but was a bit more wobbly on the northern side straightaway). The Fenix 6 Pro Solar was pretty darn smooth on both sides. The Casio seemed a bit drunk on the turns, but was mostly fine for the straightaways. Next, are some buildings. This included running down a street with 5-6 story buildings on both sides (shown at left below). The Garmin/Polar units nailed this, spot on. The Casiowent shopping. Also, for those curious the Casio was on my right wrist, and the Instinct Solar on my left wrist. The other units were all on the handlebar of the running stroller. Also of note above is that I went through the Rijksmuseum, and most of the watches were pretty good at that. Its probably 100-125m long of no GPS signal under a massive building. The Instinct Solar slightly cut the corner towards the end, but otherwise it was reasonably clean. This next section I ran twice, so it looks a bit crowded, but its good to see how similar each unit was since I ran in the same spot each time. You see the Casio and FR935 are more variable, whereas the Fenix 6 Pro Solar, Polar Grit X, and Instinct Solar tended to be less variable. Finally, for summary stats, you can see those below. Note that the Casio doesnt write the summary data to a filebecause it actually doesnt write any files. Instead, you have to download a file from Strava, and that file doesnt include the summary data properly written (because Casio doesnt send it). In addition to specific comparisons against other units, Ive used the Instinct Solar quite a bit for just random rides sans-comparisons. Still, in this case I can easily see whether or not a track is accurate simply by knowing exactly which path Im on: And even under things like gigantic train station ceiling overhangs or going below half a dozen rail lines, it has no issues nailing a perfect track: In the case of the Instinct Solar, Ive actually seen a slight increase in accuracy compared to my original Instinct. I was using that quite a bit in April & May for comparisons, and it struggled more than I liked in scenarios where other watches didnt. It was on an older GPS chipset which while it did well in general, I didnt see that as much recently. Whereas the Instinct Solar will likely for most people in most situations GPS accuracy will be just fine. Like with other watches, youll still see variations. Given all Garmin/Suunto/Polar/COROS units are using the same GPS chipset series from Sony, the accuracy tends to be pretty similar. (Note: All of the charts in these accuracy sections were created using the DCR Analyzer tool.  It allows you to compare power meters/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed/pace, GPS tracks and plenty more. You can use it as well for your own gadget comparisons, more details here.) Heart Rate Accuracy: Next up weve got heart rate accuracy, as the Instinct Solar includes the newer optical HR sensor found in Garmins Fenix 6 series, Forerunner 245/945, and other watches. When looking at HR accuracy, this roughly falls into two buckets: 24×7 HR, and workout HR.  As is usually the case with most devices these days, I see no tangible issues with 24×7 HR.  It works well across both normal daily routines as well as things like sleep.  Speaking of which, I talk about RHR values and 24×7 monitoring here and why its interesting. Before we move on to the test results, note that optical HR sensor accuracy is rather varied from individual to individual.  Aspects such as skin color, hair density, and position can impact accuracy.  Position, and how the band is worn, are *the most important* pieces.  A unit with an optical HR sensor should be snug.  It doesnt need to leave marks, but you shouldnt be able to slide a finger under the band (at least during workouts).  You can wear it a tiny bit looser the rest of the day. Ok, so in my testing, I simply use the watch throughout my normal workouts.  Those workouts include a wide variety of intensities and conditions, making them great for accuracy testing.  Ive got steady runs, interval workouts on both bike and running, as well as tempo runs and rides and even running up and down a mountain. Typically Id wear a chest strap (usually the Garmin HRM-DUAL or Polar H9 and the Wahoo TICKR X) as well as another optical HR sensor watch on the other wrist or bicep (lately the Whoop band, Polar OH1 Plus, as well as the Mio Pod). Note that the numbers you see in the upper right corner are *not* the averages, but rather just the exact point my mouse is sitting over.  Note all this data is analyzed using the DCR Analyzer, details here. First up is a run from this past weekend a relatively tame 10KM loop. Some minor increases in effort here and there, but theoretically a fairly easy workout to deal with heart-rate-wise. Heres that data set: Theres a lot going on there sensor-wise, but basically Im comparing the Instinct Solar to a Polar OH1 Plus, a Garmin HRM-DUAL chest strap, and to the Casio GBD-H1000. In the case of the Casio, its performance may be *slightly* impacted by having to push the stroller (I used my right wrist for this run, the same as the Casio), though realistically it didnt massively impact it. Looking at the start, we see a bit of a delay on the Garmin Instinct Solar in terms of reaching my actual HR level. Not substantial about 35 seconds during that warm-up phase. This isnt super unusual, especially since I had been standing in the cold windy rain for 5-7 minutes waiting for the Casio to find GPS signal. Of course, despite starting the Casio after GPS-lock and it saying it was started, it waited another mile before it started recording data. So we dont have any HR or GPS data the first mile for it. You can see above at the 2:35 & 5:00 minute markers the Instinct Solar & Polar OH1 Plus being slightly delayed to catch shifts in HR intensity compared to the HRM-DUAL. In this scenario its easy to see that optical HR lag, though thats not always the case. Still, dont let the scale trick your mind too much for the vast majority of this run the difference was a mere 0-2BPM between the units. Basically nothing. The most substantial moment came at the 13 minute marker when I stopped to take a photo. Youll see here that the chest strap and Polar OH1 Plus very quickly saw that stop in effort. But the Instinct and Casio were delayed about 30-40 seconds. Which in the realm of intervals, is a long time however. After that moment, they both resumed fairly quickly, matching the chest strap and OH1 Plus. The remainder of the run is mostly pretty boring, with all units being within 1BPM, except the Casio, which stayed high the entire time. While one might attribute that to pushing the stroller, I kinda doubt it. Its exceptionally rate for a optical HR sensor to read high consistently for an entire run. And by exceptionally rare, I mean it doesnt happen. Thats not how optical HR sensors fail. Which makes me believe something else is at work there. More on that in my full in-depth review next week. Ok, moving to a different workout, this one far more painful an indoor FTP RAMP test I did yesterday. For this one, its all about intensity, though, measured building intensity. Albeit, all the intensity. Heres that data set: As you can see, the Instinct got off to another wobbly start for the first minute or two. One could argue that it was because I was preparing things on my bike during that minute or two using my wrists, but honestly, that seems like a bit of a push. After all, it didnt impact the Fenix 6 Pro Solar on the other wrist. In any case, for the most part things stabilize by all parties around the 5 minute marker, and were pretty stable until the 15 minute marker. At that point, the intensity of the FTP test started to settle in, and with it, things got hairy. But not for the Instinct, it tracked no issues here. Unfortunately, the same cant be said for the Whoop strap. It totally lost the plot numerous times, as it often does with high intensity exercise: Then for the remainder, the Whoop strap led the way on the cool-down (probably not in the correct way, but hey, I cant really argue with ending the workout as quickly as possible). Theres was no meaningful difference when it came to the Instinct and all the other sensors: Finally, lets add in another indoor workout this time a 90-minute long trainer ride. The Instinct Solar started the adventure about 5 minutes late, my fault, not its. Heres the full data set: At a high level above, things look fairly similar, but lets zoom in on some random chunks: What you see is a bit of a blocky look to it. Thats what happens when you forget to turn off Smart Recording and it records supposedly Smartly. In reality, its not smart. And even more so indoors, because theres no other data to use to trigger a new recording point. So as such you get way more time between recording points. Thankfully the Instinct offers a 1-second recording mode, but its not set for default. And in this case I didnt remember to change it till later. In any event, most of those blocks appear to be caused by the recording rate and spiking. However, the one at 41 minutes is a bit odd. While the others meant the HR was off by 2-3BPM, this one was off by 10BPM: It lasted about 15-20 seconds, for no apparent reason. Im not sure if perhaps I had changed the video on the TV at that point using the remote, and that action triggered it, or what. Its not ideal, but over the course of a 90-minute workout, its unlikely that one dip for a dozen or so seconds is going to matter to most people. Ok, so whats the deal on the optical HR bits? Overall its basically the same as the FR945, Fenix 6, and other watches Ive tested with this same sensor. Its clearly different than the original Instinct, both in terms of physical hardware and accuracy. Ive got an interval workout scheduled tomorrow, so Ill throw that into the mix as well after I suffer through it. Wrap-Up: In some ways Garmin probably could have tried to pass off the Instinct Solar as an Instinct 2. After all, its got entirely new internals, 2-3x the battery life, a far more capable heart rate sensor, and even new surf stuffs. But that might have been a tough push, given that it lacks substantial other new unique software features that say explain Second Edition. Still, it is a big upgrade. And interestingly, its probably an upgrade targeted directly at Casio with the GBD-H1000. At least in some circles. Ultimately, if youre a Casio person youre probably still gonna buy a Casio. But, if youre on the fence for a Casio-ish looking watch, then youre considering the Instinct. With pricing pretty similar, Garmin basically makes the case that If you care about sports, theres no competition. And heres the thing: Its kinda true. While the Casio has a bigger display and arguably better solar power capabilities, Id argue practically those wont matter for most with the Instinct Solars increased battery life. Plus, as Ill detail in a full Casio GBD-H1000 review next week the sport aspects of the Casio are incredibly limited. It has massive potential, but as of today its simply a very clear Gen 1 watch with respect to sports/fitness. Which isnt to say the Instinct Solar is perfect. After all, mine rebooted on a workout yesterday. Its plausible that had to do with some debug software on there, but its also plausible it wasnt the cause. No data was lost though. And of course theres the reality that the look of the Instinct certainly isnt for everyone. Just like it wasnt with the original Instinct. Still tons of people do like it (more than I ever expected). So, if you were considering an original Instinct, Id argue this is probably a pretty strong alternative. Though, whether its worth some $200 more is a much more challenging question (since the Instinct seems oft on sale for $199). But hey, at least youve got options now, right? With that thanks for reading! Found this review useful? Or just want a good deal? Here’s how: Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, Im an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so its a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments and theres quite a bit of detail in there as well. Ive partnered with Clever Training to offer all DC Rainmaker readers exclusive benefits on all products purchased.  By joining the Clever Training VIP Program, you will earn 10% points on this item and 10% off (instantly) on thousands of other fitness products and accessories.  Points can be used on your very next purchase at Clever Training for anything site-wide.  You can read more about the details here.  By joining, you not only support the site (and all the work I do here) but you also get to enjoy the significant partnership benefits that are just for DC Rainmaker readers.  And, since this item is more than $99, you get free 3-day (or less) US shipping as well. Garmin Instinct Solar (select drop-down for colors/models)Garmin Instinct Solar Surf (select drop-down for colors/models)Garmin Instinct Solar Tactical (select drop-down for colors/models) For European/Australian/New Zealand readers, you can also pick up the unit via Wiggle at the links below, which helps support the site too! Garmin Instinct Solar (EU/UK/AU/NZ Wiggle) And finally, here’s a handy list of some of my favorite Garmin-specific accessories for the Garmin watches. Of course, being ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart compatible, you don’t have to limit things to just Garmin.

Wahoo’s New 2020 TICKR & TICKR X: In-Depth Review - DC Rainmaker

Wahoo has just announced a set of new TICKR & TICKR X heart rate straps that include some modest feature updates, most notably running dynamics support in the TICKR-X, as well as multiple concurrent Bluetooth Smart connections so you can

Wahoo has just announced a set of new TICKR & TICKR X heart rate straps that include some modest feature updates, most notably running dynamics support in the TICKR-X, as well as multiple concurrent Bluetooth Smart connections so you can pair to apps like Zwift at the same time as other wearables or bike computers. Theyve also increased the battery life, added more storage to the TICKR X, made the pods slightly slimmer, and a handful of other tweaks. Oh, and theres multiple colors of the base TICKR unit now. The new straps maintain the same retail pricing as the previous straps ($49 for the TICKR and $79 for the TICKR X), though both of those straps could often be found for less over the past year or two. The older TICKR RUN edition is not being continued, since those features are basically rolled into the new TICKR X. Ive been using both straps for the last few months so plenty of time to dig into them with boatloads of data. Now, if youd like that delivered in witty video form, then look no further than the red play button below: Else, continue using that swipe/scroll option to move your way through the rest of the article. Oh, and as usual, these are just media loaners from Wahoo. Ill send them back in a disinfected paper bag or something down the line. After which Ill go out and get my own. If you found this review useful, then feel free to use some of the links at the sidebar, or, sign-up for a DCR Supporter membership, which helps support the site! Thanks! Unboxing: There are three different boxed versions of the Wahoo TICKR: The TICKR X, The TICKR (White), and the TICKR (Stealth). The two regular TICKRs are the same, just different colors. Spoiler: From an unboxing standpoint, all three boxes are identical. Heres the back of the TICKR vs TICKR X: If we slide open the side of the box, youll find the pod sitting atop the strap: Meanwhile, removing all the inside stuff weve got the strap, pod, some legal paperwork, and then a quick-start guide:   Heres a closer look at the still-plastic-on pod: Then the strap: Then the manual youll pretend to read. You neednt read it after this, it basically says wet your strap and put it around your chest. Andthats it! The CR2032 battery is already inside. As far as thinness goes, Wahoo advertises the 2020 TICKR in their PR materials as 10% thinner than the previous TICKR. Except, in my scientific testing thats clearly not the case. Its actually thicker than their past strap: I never really had a thick/thinness issue on the previous one, so Ill just assume this makes me faster somehow. Also it’s worth noting that Wahoo claims (in their PR materials) the following: “A new, slimmer shape and integrated strap design make the latest TICKR and TICKR X the lightest heart rate monitors available at only 48g/1.7oz(pod and strap together).” Except, this isn’t true either. I measured the previous Wahoo TICKR and it came to 44-45g (pod and strap, depending on which TICKR I used). There are boatloads of straps in the 47g ballpark, and the lighest strap I could find was a Timex Bluetooth Smart strap at 39g. Still in production is the Suunto strap at 43g. I demonstrate both of these in the video up above. The Basics: I get it, its just a heart rate strap. And try as I might to reduce the word count here, I probably wont succeed. Still, Ill try. For example, heres a simple bulleted version of the new features for each unit: Wahoo TICKR & TICKR X New Features: – Made pod 10% slimmer– Allows three concurrent Bluetooth Smart devices, unlimited ANT+ connections– Shifted LEDs to top of strap– Increased battery life from 350 hours to 500 hours (still CR2032 coin cell)– Changed strap design to be flush with pod (which typically reduces chaffing for runners)– Offered in white or grey Wahoo TICKR X Only New features: – Added ANT+ Running Dynamics (cadence, vertical oscillation, and ground contact time via official ANT+ HR-RD standard)– Increased memory from 16 hours to 50 hours(This is in addition to other TICKR-X only features like indoor cycling cadence, treadmill pace/distance, etc) Realistically, the only new things you probably actually care about here are the multiple concurrent Bluetooth Smart connections and ANT+ Running Dynamics if youve got a Garmin watch. The others are all niceties, but hardly game changers if you already own a TICKR (or any other strap for that matter). For this post, Ill use the straps mostly interchangeably to show them, largely based on which one looks the prettiest since the others have two months of usage already and arent as crispy anymore. I discuss the TICKR X-only features specifically in the next section. Starting with the strap/pods, youll notice that its now streamlined. In the below photo, the upper strap is the older design, the lower strap is the sleeker aero-like flush design. Obviously, its not aero. Or, maybe it is. Inside the pod is a single CR2032 coin cell battery. The company says itll last 500 hours. Seems reasonable. The pod attaches to the strap using dual poles. Once you attach both sides itll complete the connection and light up. You can ensure it shuts off by detaching one side of the strap for storage, though you dont have to do so, itll eventually go to sleep either way. The inside of the strap where the electrode sensors are looks like basically every other strap nothing special here. While you dont need to set up the base TICKR strap using the Wahoo App, you can if you want. And you can use that to update the firmware when that occasionally happens. Setting it up is pretty easy. You just crack open the app and choose to add a Wahoo sensor:    After it finds it, itll give you the 3-second (one-page) tutorial:    Once connected in the app you can see signal strength, the exact name of the TICKR (this is how it will show in apps too), and firmware version.    The Workout Profiles you see in the app above are purely for the Wahoo app if recording a workout in that app theres no standalone functionality for the TICKR X that has different workout profiles or anything like some optical HR straps have. Theres no configuration options for the base TICKR strap or anything else. What you see is what you get (and honestly, thats simplistically great). The TICKR & TICKR X have two LEDs at the top of them, one each red and blue: These lights are as follows: Slow Blue Flashing: TICKR is on and searchingFast 4x Blue Flashing: A device/app has been foundFast Blue Flashing: A device/app is now connected to itRed: Each time a heart beat is detected (youre still alive) The LED will stop flashing though after 30 seconds. So only if you die in the first 30 seconds will the TICKR visually tell you. The more you know! If you go to pair the strap youll see it listed in two different ways, depending on the exact device/app youre using, and whether its ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart. For example, on a Garmin Edge bike computer youll see it as via ANT+ first: Whereas a Wahoo ELEMNT/ROAM/BOLT bike computer will leverage Bluetooth Smart first: Theres pros and cons to either preference. I typically use ANT+ because that means I can connect unlimited devices. Whereas Bluetooth can sometimes (but definitely not always) be slightly less prone to connectivity interference. Also, for me personally, with ANT+ I can enumerate the ANT+ IDs in saved fitness files from most devices, acting as a way to double-check which sensor I recorded something with. Again, thats a me problem and very unlikely to be a you problem. If youre on Zwift with Apple TV, then youll see the Bluetooth Smart connection: And now, for the real party trick leveraging the new multiple connection option, Im concurrently on TrainerRoad on an iPad with Bluetooth Smart to the same strap: But wait, theres more! Now Ill take my phone and connect to it as well using The Sufferfest App: Im not done yet! And heres the Edge 530 via ANT+. See mind blown! Orsomething: Point being, youve now got that flexibility for multiple connections. Its something that Wahoo added to the KICKR/CORE lineup last fall, and prior to that we see Polar add it to their H10 strap, followed by Garmin to their HRM-DUAL strap. Beyond that, youll do your workout as normal, and itll transmit your heart rate as normal. In addition to baseline heart rate (BPM), its also transmitting HRV data. And, if youre using a newer Garmin device, youll even get respiration rate as well. For example, heres my ride the other day with the TICKR X and the Fenix 6 Pro: But mostly, youre likely to just use it connected to any app/device you can think of. Given it follows all the ANT+ & Bluetooth Smart standards, it works with everything released in the last decade or so. TICKR X Only Features: Next, weve got the TICKR X. This is Wahoos higher-end strap and includes additional features that the baseline TICKR doesnt. Specially, heres whats different: – [New] Added ANT+ Running Dynamics Support (previously Wahoo did non-standardized running efficiency metrics)– [New] Expanded storage from 16 hours to 50 hours of memory for workout saving/storage– Measures indoor cycling cadence– Measures treadmill pace/distance– Shows running efficiency metrics in app– Can set laps via tapping– Can control the Wahoo app, even your music (when paired with phone and Wahoo app)– Can upload completed workouts to various 3rd party platforms To pair up the TICKR X, its identical to the TICKR pairing process:    Once paired though, youll see a ton of new menu options:    On the upper portion of the page youll see current heart rate, as well as running speed/cadence/steps per minute. Realistically its unlikely youll be looking at this page on your phone while using the strap normally, but its a good quick check of things. Then down lower theres three options. The first is Double Tap. This sets up what happens in a given sport, based on when you double-tap the strap. Each of them basically controls starting/stopping, lap, or music track changes. The music bits is tied to using the app/phone of course.    After that, theres device-free workouts. This is where the TICKR X will automatically record a copy of every workout you do. Its pretty handy, and much better than the Polar H10 implementation (which is a mess to use in reality). The workouts will simply download when you open this page up. The workouts are stored on the strap until it needs space for a new one.   Then from there, if you back out into the history, you’ll see the downloaded workouts.  Note that it basically records from when you put on the strap until you took it off. So sometimes that captures more than the legit workout itself (such as time afterwards till you get to the shower/etc).    Note that as you can see above though, it will *not* store any running dynamics, cycling cadence, or anything else in offline mode. Its purely recording heart rate. You can trim the files if you want to get rid of the non-workout bits. Simply tap the pencil icon, and then use the sliders to trim to the actual start/end points. Super-duper easy.    From there you can export out the .FIT file, as well as share/upload it to numerous platforms.    So, lets look at the next TICKR-X feature: ANT+ Running Dynamics This feature is only available with devices that support the ANT+ Running Dynamics standard, which only Garmin officially supports. COROS kinda went down that road with their pod, and Stryd kinda went down that road, as did RunScribe. But none really finished their journeys. I suppose in this context, given Garmin owns the vast majority of the higher end/endurance running market, thats just fine. So, to see these youll need a compatible Garmin watch. Theres a boatload of Garmin watches that have supported Running Dynamics since 2015. So, in theory, any of these watches will support it: – Garmin Fenix 2/2SE/3/5/6 Series– Garmin Forerunner 245/245M/620/630/635/645/645M Series– Garmin Forerunner 920XT/935/945 Series– Garmin Epix (yup, seriously)– Plus other watches Im invariably forgetting All youll need to do is add it as a normal heart rate monitor: Itll automatically detect the running dynamics data as part of the HR-RD profile, and you can validate that by seeing the Running Dynamics data page show up (if it doesnt automatically show up, you can quickly add it via your activity settings):   With that, you go off for a run and youll get the following data throughout the run: – Ground Contact Time (GCT)– Cadence– Vertical Ratio– Stride Length– Vertical Oscillation Note: The Wahoo TICKR X does NOT however transmit GCT Balance, whereas Garmin does. Also as a reminder, the running dynamics profile *DOES NOT* transmit pace or distance (not even on a Garmin device). However, the TICKR-X can be paired as a running footpod instead, since it transmits that running pace data there instead: In addition to using a Garmin watch to view the Running Dynamics data, you can also use the Wahoo app. Once the TICKR X is paired up, simply start a run, and itll show and record your running efficiency metrics there live:   Note that the running dynamics metrics are only recorded to the app if you use the app to start and record the entire time, the workout. You cant use the device-free function to get anything other than heart rate. The bigger question: How does it compare to Garmins data? So, I took out the HRM-TRI and ran side by side with the new TICKR-X. Well, I suppose they were atop/bottom. Either way, they were about 1 apart on my chest, and thus recorded the exact same run. Since these specific metrics are more about up/down/bounce/etc they should be identical no matter the exact location on my chest. I recorded the TICKR-X data to a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro, and the HRM-TRI data to a Garmin FR945 (the HRM-TRI delivers the exact same Running Dynamics data as the HRM-RUN, its just the first strap I found). I took this photo while running along. The differences in display brightness are purely due to the super-bright sun and me trying to get them on precisely the same angle/plane while not stopping running. They look identical in real-life. Also, the slight differences in transmission/reception rate causes differences in the exact data shown. Still, I think this basically demonstrates things nicely. And with that, heres the data overlaid atop each other via the DCR Analyzer (you didnt know it does Running Dynamics too?!?): You can see the three sets of lines (theres a third set near the very bottom, the scale of the other two messes with it more on that in a second. Each of those two sets are basically showing the Garmin metrics next to the Wahoo metrics and the results are very close. There are some moments where the two diverge, but its hard to know which one exactly is right. I mean, in order to do that Id need at least a third source. Oh, right, let me enable the Stryd data I recorded too: UmmOk, I guess. Look, Im still waiting for someone anyone (but really Garmin) to actually put in writing in more than a single marketing-speak paragraph how to use any of these metrics for training and racing. So, until that happens Im not going to fuss about minor differences of a few percent between them. But, if you want to have at it! The full data set with all of them is here. And, on your Garmin Connect account, youll see all those stats too: In addition to Running Dynamics, you can use the TICKR X as a simple ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart footpod, including cadence. This means you’ll get pace shown from it, as well as heart rate and cadence. This is super useful in Zwift running, because it’s an all in one solution. Here you can see the single strap performing triple-duty: Ok, so what about cycling cadence? Hows that? Ask and you shall receive. In my case, I decided to do a simple cadence step test to see where it might work or not work. In short it was spot on with a pair of Vector 3 power meter pedals. Heres that simple data set: The only places it dropped out was below about 47RPM, and above about 142RPM. Between those two points, no issues at all whether on the handlebars, or seated vigorously scrolling through Instagram. I dont know why it momentarily dropped out earlier on, but everything else was otherwise fine. One slight oddity though is that something like this would be *PERFECT* for someone going to a hotel gym, or using an app like the Peloton app, which allows you to connect to both Bluetooth Smart heart rate sensors and cadence sensors. Except, it didnt work. While I could see the sensor and pair to it, it just showed nothing for cadence despite pedaling away: Not sure if thats a Wahoo problem or a Peloton problem, but Im confident its technically an easy problem to fix. If either side decides to fix it. And with that, weve covered just about everything there is to know about the new TICKR X. Given the similarity in data between the TICKR X and the Garmin HR straps, theres virtually no reason to go out and buy an HRM-RUN strap these days since it lacks Bluetooth Smart connectivity (somehow, still). The HRM-TRI however is a trickier duck. Thats because that strap has storage for offloading your swim segment to your Garmin watch. Wahoo doesnt play there with offloading to a watch, so you cant offload that data from the TICKR-X to a Garmin watch (or a Polar watch, or a Suunto watch, or any watch). You can only download/save data to the Wahoo app and then sync that to various sites. As such, for triathletes, the HRM-TRI is still grudgingly the only option if you want chest HR data on your Garmin. Maybe Wahoo can have their TICKR-X show-up correctly to a Garmin watch and wed all be happy. Or Garmin could just update the HRM-TRI/RUN with Bluetooth and join 2016. Either way makes me happy. Heart Rate Accuracy: Next well look at heart rate accuracy. While its easy to assume chest straps are always correct, I can easily demonstrate that isnt the case in any given week. The primary reason a chest strap will have issues is around connectivity, usually when the skin contact area is too dry to get good readings. This typically happens more frequently in fall and spring when the weather is right on the edge and youre wearing lighter clothes but in cooler conditions (so you end up having less moisture/sweat). Whereas in winter with multiple layers the sweat tends to stick around and form a nice connectivity layer. And of course in summer youre likely sweating like a water fountain. Still, its easy for me to show places that connectivity is the issue. You can solve that via licking the strap at the beginning of the workout (to add moisture), by wetting the strap before you head outside, or by using heart rate strap gel. In my testing, Im comparing it against multiple sensors and straps. In the case of another chest strap, I basically situated one strap a bit higher and one a bit lower. Both snug, and neither touching. In doing this for a decade, Ive never seen any issues with that (as people often vary the exact placement based on comfort). For secondary sensors, Im wearing one optical sensor device per wrist (such as a watch), and then sometimes another one (like a Polar OH1, TICKR FIT, or Whoop strap) up higher on the arm far enough that it doesnt impact the first sensor. Got all that? Good! Lets dive into it. First up is a run I just completed. Nothing crazy here, a few sprints tossed in. For this run, here was the arrangement: A) Wahoo TICKR X (lower chest)B) Garmin HRM-TRI (upper chest)C) Garmin FR245 (hand-held, paired to Garmin HRM-TRI)D) Polar Grit X (left wrist)E) Garmin Fenix 6 (right wrist, paired to Garmin TICKR X)F) Whoop band (upper right arm but data not collected here in usable format) So in other words, nothing was near anything else. Anyway, heres that data: Soyeah. Its almost identicalexcept the first 60 seconds. Thats where we see the TICKR X takes a bit longer to lock. Whereas the Garmin HRM-DUAL rises pretty normally over that time period. I wouldnt expect that 45 seconds into a run Id only be at 110BPM. So the higher value seems more likely. But at 59 seconds in, everything snaps into place. I do know that I had both straps rather wet, because I did so right before pressing startpulling up my shirt and licking them as a woman and her baby in a stroller with a child on a scooter rolled past. I got less than desirable looks. HeyI did it for science! In any case, after that 60-second marker, theres no difference between them, save the Polar Grit Xs spikes. Next, well switch to an interval workout indoors on a trainer. This too will be hideously boring from an analysis standpoint, see, heres the data: Well, crap, thats easy. The only errors here are from the Whoop strap early on, and some bumbles during recovery sections. The Polar Grit X bumps around a bit here and there too (though, fairly minor for it). This is actually a reasonably good showing from the Whoop for a higher intensity workout. It tends to do better with longer periods of time and slower builds. It doesnt do well with short high-intensity bits. Ok, so lets go outside instead. Surely thatll produce some TICKR failures that we can grind into? Look its even got gravel on the route! Heres that data. This time a Garmin HRM-DUAL strap, a Wahoo TICKR X strap, and a Polar Grit X watch. The Garmin and Wahoo straps are as identical as can possibly be. Even when they differ its just a single beat (BPM) for a second or so, which is completely normal and expected given the transmission/recording rates. The Polar Grit X doesnt have its best showing here. So, I guess weve gotta find another workout to break the TICKR. Fine, how about another ride, with even more off-roading? More length, and more chances for vibrations to hose things up! Heres the data. This ride technically only has three sets the Wahoo TICKR, the Polar OH1 Plus, and the Polar Grit X watch: As usual, the Polar OH1 is near perfectly aligned to the Wahoo TICKR. Thats expected, because, its virtually always that good. Though, it (the Polar OH1 Plus) did struggle slightly in the first minute to gain lock. Kinda odd for it. Beyond that, youll see the Polar Grit X GPS watch wobbles a bit in certain sections missing some power surges. Thats normal for it, but it should be noted that in general for a wrist-based optical HR sensor the above is actually a really darn good set. Considering its two hours in length and the misses are mostly confined to the first 10ish minutes and some minor mistakes in the last 5-8 mins. In any case, the TICKR X appears perfect here. Well crap. It keeps working. I know, Ill put it on a Peloton bike! Surely some sort of competitive something or other will cause it to break, right? Heres the data: Oh snap! Thats what Im talking about baby look at thatfailures! Finally. All it took was a bit of Peloton magic and boom, down goes the strap! However, one cant exactly blame Peloton for this onesinceummI wasnt recording it on a Peloton bike. In fact, I was recording it on a Zwift session next to it, as well as on a Garmin Fenix 6. So yeah, definitely was the Wahoo TICKR here. My guess is this looks like prime not-wet-enough data. Which, is plausible, though not super common indoors. You can see at the 9-minute marker I noticed and probably gave it another lick or three, and it snapped back into action. The flat-line data is a good indicator of that. One could blame user error here if they wanted, but at the same time it also shows the benefit in some cases of optical HR sensors. After that point the sensors are all the same, except Whoop of course. Its off marching to its own drum. But put it back on a Zwift ride and its like Mac and Cheese made for each other! This time versus the Whoop strap, and the optical HR sensors of the Polar Grit X and Garmin Fenix 6 Pro. Heres that data set: The only errors here are those little spikes we see in the Polar Grit X (the norm for it) and a slightly rough start for the Fenix 6 Pro. But hey, in a rare show of correctness the Whoop strap nailed it. See, sometimes it happens. I could literally do this all day long. Theres nothing wrong with the strap. The only time you see issues is just like any other heart rate strap when its not quite wet enough at the beginning of a workout. Simple as that. I know, its just another heart rate strap. But I dont really think thats the case. I think that with these very minor additions, primarily in the TICKR X range, Wahoo has stepped up the bar and options for runners specifically. And even more specifically, for runners with Garmin watches. Realistically, Id struggle to find a reason youd get the Garmin HRM-RUN strap these days. In the app-driven world, its antiquated without Bluetooth Smart connectivity. Meanwhile, Wahoo lets you connect three Bluetooth Smart apps at once and unlimited ANT+ connections. I mean, I suppose if you *really* wanted Ground Contact Time Balance (that specific metric), then sure. But I suspect theres no reason why Wahoo cant add that. And I also suspect youve never used that metric anyway. Its frankly hard to find much fault in either the TICKR or TICKR X. Its been six years since the last refresh, and the heart rate strap product line has been around nearly a decade in total. At this point, its a well oiled functional beast. These modest upgrades are mostly more mechanical/electronics/protocols in nature rather than pure new features. They took their existing running efficiency metrics that already mirrored what Garmin had (before Garmin had it), and just retransmitted it according to the standard. They then took the updated chipsets used for their other products and put it in here to support multiple concurrent connections. And in the process things thinned out a bit. One might argue that Wahoo could have added more capabilities akin to the 4iiii Viiiiva, to the $79 TICKR X such as ANT+ to Bluetooth Smart pass-through/conversion, but I think in 2020 thats becoming less and less of an issue. Most sensors made in the last 4-6 years are dual anyway. Older non-dual sensor tech is being phased out. Thus, if youre looking for a dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart strap, the base $49 TICKR is probably the best all-around option right now. No strap has more connections, and its $10-$20 cheaper than the Garmin HRM-DUAL (which has two Bluetooth connections) and cheaper yet still compared to Polars multi-connection straps. Seems a no-brainer to me. Found this review useful? Or just wanna save a bundle? Here’s how: Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, Im an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so its a fair bit of work (a labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take the time to answer all the questions posted in the comments and theres quite a bit of detail in there as well. 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