8,153
edits
Changes
From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
no edit summary
{{DISPLAYTITLE:TomTom Cardio Runner Review}}
[[File:TomTomCardioRunner.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The TomTom cardio runner, showing the green LEDs that provide optical heart rate monitoring.]]
The key feature of the {{TomTom Cardio Runner}} is its optical measurement of heart rate, rather than requiring a separate chest strap. Other than that, the TomTom is a does not inspire, though with the latest firmware it's fairly mediocre device, respectable and youeasy to use. You're paying a premium over some of the better watches, especially as the optical HRM does not work well. I think that the TomTom is only worth considering if you really want the built in optical heart rate monitoring, otherwise look elsewhere. For a simple evaluation of a GPS watch, I look at how well it can answer some basic questions:* '''How far did I run?''' This is the most basic question, and the TomTom now has reasonable [[GPS Accuracy]] (see below for details.) * '''How fast am I running?''' Knowing how fast you're running can be a nice to know, or it can be vital for your training or race performance. Because of the nature of GPS, watches that rely on GPS signal alone tend to have serious problems with current pace. Without the ability to display current [[Pace from a Footpod]] while getting all other data from GPS, the TomTom can't answer this question. * '''Where am I? '''The TomTom has no navigation features. (This does seem ironic from a company that specializes in GPS navigation devices.) * '''What's my cadence? '''[[Cadence]]''' '''is one of the most critical and often overlooked aspects of running. If you get your Cadence right, many other things naturally fall into place. The TomTom has no support for Cadence.The TomTom is not a good choice for ultrarunners, as its battery life is too short. See [[Shoes#Watches for Ultrarunning| Watches for Ultrarunning]] for more details.
=TomTom Cardio Runner Pros=
* The optical heart rate monitoring works reasonably well most of the time, but there are enough problems to limit its viability. Optical heart rate monitoring is a technique that has been around for decades, but it's only recently that the technology has been viable for use during exercise. The TomTom uses two green LEDs and a detector to determine Heart Rate based on the blood filling the capillaries under the skin.
* You can chose two metrics to display at the top of the screen, but these are shown in a tiny font that is hard to read in poor light.
* The main display will scroll through a number of metrics, but there is little configuration of what to display. (The histogram of heart rate display is rather cool.)
* The [[GPS Accuracy]] is mediocre. It could be a lot worse, as Garmin has shownbetter with the later firmware, but it could also be a lot betterlooks like there is still room for improvement.
* I've found no way of displaying cadence on the TomTom, which I think is a major shortfall. (There is support for a bike cadence sensor in the multisport version of this watch, but that doesn't help runners.)
{| class="wikitable"
|[[File:AccuracyTomTom Cardio Runner (1.8.5).jpg|none|thumb|x300px| The earlier firmware has tracks that are not significantly different from the newer firmware in shape, but you see rather more red lines and while the lap markers are tightly clustered, you see two groups, one from each direction.(This diagram has tracks color coded with green indicating good accuracy through to read indicating poor accuracy, and the lap markers as blue dots.)]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:ZigZagTomTom Cardio Runner (1.8.42).jpg|none|thumb|x300px| here Here you can see the tom-tom TomTom displaying the typical GPS behavior with the tracks that have the green lines shifted slightly down and to the left, blue up and to the right. You can see the lap markers similarly shifted. (This image has the tracks color-coded for direction, with green coming from the right, blue from the left.)]]
|[[File:ZigZagTomTom Cardio Runner (1.8.5).jpg|none|thumb|x300px| The earlier version of the firmware exhibits similar behavior, though the lap markers are a little more tightly clustered, but the two clusters are further apart. (This image has the tracks color-coded for direction, with green coming from the right, blue from the left.)]]
|}
{{BuyAmazon|AZID=B00JD4TFD2|AZN=TomTom Cardio Runner}}
=Visual Comparison=
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:TomTom Cardio Runner-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|TomTom Cardio Runner top]]
|[[File:TomTom Cardio Runner-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|TomTom Cardio Runner side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Polar M400-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar M400 top]]
|[[File:Polar M400-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar M400 side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Polar V800-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar V800 top]]
|[[File:Polar V800-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar V800 side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Suunto Ambit3-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit3 top]]
|[[File:Suunto Ambit3-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit3 side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Suunto Ambit2-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit2 top]]
|[[File:Suunto Ambit2-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit2 side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Garmin Epix-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin Epix top]]
|[[File:Garmin Epix-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin Epix side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Garmin 920XT-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 920XT top]]
|[[File:Garmin 920XT-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 920XT side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Garmin 620-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 620 top]]
|[[File:Garmin 620-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 620 side]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Leikr 1-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Leikr 1 top]]
|[[File:Leikr 1-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Leikr 1 side]]
|}
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
