I,m touring/ recreational racing since januari and wanna take it a bit more serious with training and paddle efficiency to gain more speed.
These combo,s of a heartrate-GPS systems look like the perfect tool to me.Is there anybody has experience with them and wanna share some insights/advice what to look for and to buy and what not?Or is a GPS-watch a stupid idea anyway?

Right now i,m looking at the Suunto Ambit2 or maybe the Ambit 2S if its worth the price difference.

I recently got a Timex Run Trainer. It has all the functions with a customizable readout with up to 4 functions showing at the same time. The model is a couple of years old but it does the job nicely. Check eBay.

Hey Zuesman, can u program multiple intervals? as in say 2m, then 30 seconds repeat 5 then 5 minutes? thanks!

The Garmin 910XT is a great bit of gear but not sure how it stacks up against the Suunto products

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skebstebamal said...
Hey Zuesman, can u program multiple intervals? as in say 2m, then 30 seconds repeat 5 then 5 minutes? thanks!

Yes you can

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Deano72 said..

The Garmin 910XT is a great bit of gear but not sure how it stacks up against the Suunto products

This is what I use. Not for water sports though. I have often wondered about wearing it under my wetsuit as I think it would be dry enough to give me a good idea

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jbshack said..

Deano72 said..

The Garmin 910XT is a great bit of gear but not sure how it stacks up against the Suunto products

This is what I use. Not for water sports though. I have often wondered about wearing it under my wetsuit as I think it would be dry enough to give me a good idea

The Garmin 910XT is fine in the water.....it was designed with tri-athletes in mind (swimming).
The only problem with it is that it loses contact with the heart rate monitor in the water......doesn't matter if you don't fall in when on a SUP
I've programmed mine with several different interval training sessions using heart rate zones.....all done in Garmin Connect online.
It's pretty cool for this type of traininig as an alarm goes off if your heart rate falls below, or goes above, the zone you want to be in.
I've heard of a few people having trouble with the heart rate monitor but I think if you look after it they are fine.

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Deano72 said..



The Garmin 910XT is fine in the water.....it was designed with tri-athletes in mind (swimming).
The only problem with it is that it loses contact with the heart rate monitor in the water.

Oh, thank god for that - I went for a swim the other day and thought I'd died.

@PT: did you start heartmassage?

Thanx for the comments.
I,m gonna check the Garmins as well although im a bit precautious with Garmin as there handheld GPS systems i used for hiking and speedsailing didnt last that long.

I went Polar with a GPS attachment (on your arm) it works ok, water proof i use it for boxing training as well so dont have the bulk of the garmin

Have heard some issues with garmin and the HRS

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Deano72 said..

jbshack said..

Deano72 said..

The Garmin 910XT is a great bit of gear but not sure how it stacks up against the Suunto products

This is what I use. Not for water sports though. I have often wondered about wearing it under my wetsuit as I think it would be dry enough to give me a good idea

The Garmin 910XT is fine in the water.....it was designed with tri-athletes in mind (swimming).
The only problem with it is that it loses contact with the heart rate monitor in the water......doesn't matter if you don't fall in when on a SUP
I've programmed mine with several different interval training sessions using heart rate zones.....all done in Garmin Connect online.
It's pretty cool for this type of traininig as an alarm goes off if your heart rate falls below, or goes above, the zone you want to be in.
I've heard of a few people having trouble with the heart rate monitor but I think if you look after it they are fine.

Sorry i should have clarified it better. I know it is water proof, i was talking about with the HR strap. I think it might be okay under my Xcel wetsuit. Im keen to see a calorie burn for an hours surfing. Thats what i meant as far as in water

I have a Suunto Ambit as well as a Garmin 910XT. I cannot fault the Garmin - its more than you'll ever need. However, as noted on the thread, it looses contact with the HR monitor in the water. I didnt have this issue with the Suunto.

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Zeusman said..

skebstebamal said...
Hey Zuesman, can u program multiple intervals? as in say 2m, then 30 seconds repeat 5 then 5 minutes? thanks!

Yes you can

Hey Skebstebamal,

Have a look on Youtube. There is a heap of instructional vids on the Timex Ironman Runtrainer.

Hi Gyppo,
The Suunto Ambit with HR costs+ the same as thwe Garmin910 with HR.
Wich one do you rate the best?

I found this websites with reviews of gps stuff written by an triathlon enthausiast, extremely compreshensive.
so if anybody is interested in GPS/heartratestuff, this site is da bomb!: www.dcrainmaker.com/

....and got a very good deal o the Suunto Ambit one with HR E350,-That is 60,- more expensive as the Garmin 310 but better for everyday use, more waterproof +stronger build ( and still cheaper as the 910).The Ambit2S is very pretty as well but too expensive for me.

I've used Garmin for years over a number of sports. What I though set them a part was their integrated Garmin Connect site that comes free with every GPS. It logs everything, maps, HR, distance and you can download you own routes and it will guide you on certain models. I've usually just take my iPhone with the Garmin Connect App. You'll need the ANT+ adapter to have it work with your HR strap but by far the best experience I've had with little computers that tell me what I'm doing.

Due a strike by the postalservice My Suunto arrived just yesterday. After a very quick reading (5min) of the manual while charging I took it straight for a paddle (without the Heartrate belt) and love it! The thing really does its own thing and working very intuitive while not bothering me with settings that forces you to study for days to make everything working.

On a strap just in front of me its a great distance and speed meter and the analysing site (movescount) is very userfriendly (i,m a complete noob with computers).

Totally stoked.

Cool extras: They have a SUP setting