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Garmin makes several waterproofed wearable devices , but only one of them is design specifically for swimmers : the Garmin Swim . This spotter counts laps , mechanically discover the four major swimming strokes ( freestyle , backstroke , breaststroke and butterfly ) and measures your efficiency in the water by calculating your time and the phone number of separatrix per circuit .
you may apply the Garmin Swim the same way you would use a stopwatch to time your workout in the pool . But , unlike with most stopwatches , you may also upload the recorded datum to your computer and look at your stats online or on a wandering equipment via the Garmin Connect app . Yet , even though the Garmin Swim can calculate your total length move andcalories burnedin the pool , as well as help you keep a steady pace throughout your exercise , you ca n’t use it to track natural process — for example , walk or running — on land .
BUY the Garmin Swim watch »>
At $ 150 , Garmin ’s non - GPS swim picket be much less than some of the company ’s transverse - training watch that are GPS - enabled and also track swim prosody . For lesson , the Garmin Forerunner 920XT is aGPS - enable watchthat can track swim in the pond and in open water , as well as running and cycling , but those excess features will be you : TheForerunner 920XTsells for about $ 450 on Amazon . [ Fantasy Fitness Tracker : 8 utterly Must - Have feature ]
I recently tested out the Garmin Swim , to see how well it tracked my workouts in the pool . As a former competitive swimmer who now just swims to remain in shape , I unremarkably just seek to keep track of how many overlap I ’ve completed . But for this review , I also test the Garmin Swim ’s many other feature , not just its power to count overlap . Here ’s what I rule .
Overall Rating: 8.75/10
The Garmin Swim ’s best characteristic include its power to track every part of a swim workout — even drills that do n’t require you to take stroking ( like swimming laps with a kickboard ) . This is something that ca n’t be done with theSwimovate PoolMate Live(which I also tested , and which , at $ 115 plus an additional $ 35 for the component needed to upload information from the watch to a computer , is corresponding in toll to the Garmin Swim ) .
The Garmin Swim vigil is also extremely accurate , recording the right phone number of laps I swam even when my crowd off the wall was less than staring or when I chose not to do a snotty-nosed tour . I also like this swim tracker ’s sleek plan and lightweight feel .
I sometimes had bother get word the typeface of this watch through tinted goggles , and there was no option to increase the contrast of the exhibit . The Garmin Swim also lack a silent alarm that seethe your wrist when you ’ve complete a certain identification number of lap covering or covered a certain distance in the pool . The PoolMate Live does have a silent alarm , and it was one of my favorite feature of speech of that gadget .
This swim watch is lightweight and comfortable enough to wear all day.
Design / Comfort : 9/10
The Garmin Swim is very lightweight and prosperous to wear , both in and out of the urine . I do n’t usually get into a watch , but I found myself go forth this one on long after I ’d left the pool . However , the equipment ’s slim figure does n’t leave room for the internal motor that enables the PoolMate Live ’s commodious buzz warning equipment . I would love to have that lineament on the Garmin Swim , even if it mean deal with a slightly big equipment .
The watchband is made of the same rubbery charge card you ’ll find on most fitness trackers , and the gimmick ’s face is made of the same clear credit card used for most sport watch . While I could see the scout face underwater , it was n’t as easy to read through tint goggles as the PoolMate Live , which has a cerulean typeface and a superclearLCD presentation . However , the buttons on the Garmin Swim are very easy to navigate in the water , and the watch also has a dedicated Swim Mode clitoris , so you do n’t necessitate to scroll through a carte du jour submerged to get going tracking your workout .
The Garmin Swim tracks your laps, strokes, time in the pool and much more.
The sentinel uses a even coin battery that can be easily replaced , so there ’s no motivation to charge the gimmick . I found it simple enough to execute other maintenance labor on the swimming tracker . For model , the ship’s company indicate gargle off the watch with freshwater after every swimming , which is something you should plausibly do with all of your swimming gear anyway . Garmin also recommends storing the lookout man in a location where it wo n’t be subject to extreme temperatures , which can for good damage the equipment . [ How to Clean Your Fitness Tracker ]
User - Friendliness : 9/10
Setting up the Garmin Swim is easy . You need to download the company ’s software and utilise the ANT+ stick that comes with the gimmick to mate the watch with your computer . If you do n’t have a Garmin Connect report already , you must create one online before you may view your information . Once you ’ve complete a workout , you plug the ANT+ reefer back into your electronic computer ’s USB port to transfer data wirelessly from the watch to your estimator . you could then view your stats online via Garmin Connect or see everything on your mobile machine using the Garmin Connect mobile app .
You can connect the Garmin Swim watch to Garmin’s mobile app for iOS or Android.
The Garmin Swim is very elementary to use in the pool , thanks to a surd - to - fille feature : a little aristocratic button with a swim icon on it . You press that push button to start cut through your time , lap and strokes . you may break the timekeeper and then resume it to record every interval of your workout and keep rails of how much ease you ’re getting in between each solidification .
you could even track Mandrillus leucophaeus with the Garmin Swim — a characteristic that ’s missing from the PoolMate Live . The drill - lumber characteristic lets you record how much prison term you expend drilling , as well as how many laps you drown during drills . With the PoolMate Live , you have to pause the watch during practice session , and there ’s no option to sum up those supererogatory laps later on .
The Garmin Swim also let you make up one’s mind which metrics you want to see during your workout . This means that , in addition to seeing entropy about how many laps you ’ve completed or how long you ’ve been in the pool , you’re able to make another screen that depict stats such as your ordinary stroke pace and gait . you’re able to create a custom page on the watch itself by hitting the menu clit and then selecting Swimming . From there , you pick out Custom Page and then prefer the three custom data field that you want to see on the screen door during your swim .
The feature article I dislike the most on the Garmin Swim is the shrill sound the gimmick makes whenever you start or lay off the timekeeper during a workout . I imagine the sound is supposed to reassure you that you did , in fact , press the right push before take off from the bulwark , but for the saki of the somebody I was share a lane with ( and for my own sanity ) , I disabled the alert tone almost now .
Value of Information : 8/10
This lookout provides swimmers with a lot of information . Whether that info is useful really depends on the kind of swimming you do . If you ’re training for a race or if swimming is your preferred method of exercising , then the Garmin Swim will give you all the data point you ask to analyze your time in the water . If you ’re a recreational swimmer or a beginner , this lookout man may just serve as an expensive overlap counter . ( you’re able to buy a manual circle counter that fits around your finger for about $ 30 . )
The ability to view stats from the Garmin Swim online and on a mobile app is very convenient . I prefer to mark out my stats on my laptop , since the screen was bigger and easier to navigate , but the Garmin Connect mobile app also displays information in an well-off - to - read format , complete with charts , graphs and a exercising sum-up .
Through Garmin Connect , you could share your swim stats with friends who also practice Garmin devices . And since Garmin Connect is the same app used to synchronise datum from the company ’s other products — namely , Garmin ’s fitness tracker and GPS watches — you could easily see all of your seaworthiness information in one place .
Like the PoolMate Live , Garmin Connect does n’t do a groovy job of putting the information you see into circumstance , or offering you advice for how to improve . If you ’re looking for a swimming tracker that also generate a few pointers here and there , you may want to check out the Moov , a fitness band that can coach you on swim , run and pugilism . There are also a few waterproof fitness trackers that let you record your time in the pool , including the Misfit Flash and the Jaybird Reign .
truth : 9/10
The Garmin Swim bet your overlap using internal accelerometers . Its accuracy depends , in part , on whether you wear and utilize the gadget properly . You ’ll desire to verify the watch fits snugly on your wrist and that you weary it on your nondominant sleeve . A strong push off the wall and a long slide at the offset of each lap will also help guarantee that the watch enumerate your lap correctly .
I used the watch when swimming freestyle , backstroke and breaststroke , and did not have any problems with the accuracy of my solidus count or lap enumeration . The watch has an robotic stroke - type detection feature of speech , so it can distinguish among the four major strokes . And unlike the PoolMate Live , which can tell among throw type but does n’t label them for you in its software program , the Garmin Swim actually assigns each time interval a stroke case . So , if you like to mix up your strokes , you may easily see which metric hold to which CVA when you ’re review your data later on .
This Garmin swim tracker wo n’t offer accurate data if you ’re swim in a pool that ’s less than 18 yards ( 16.5 meter ) long , agree to Garmin . This is exchangeable to the PoolMate Live , which only tracks laps and strokes in pools measuring 19.7 yards ( 18 m ) or longer . Neither of these watch tracks candid - H2O swim .
