I'm not a techy guy. I just know I want the usual functions of a stopwatch, and to map my runs, etc. Don't want anything gigantic on my wrist neither! Thinking $200-250 is my budget. Fill me in.... What do you have? What other features might I need to look for, or need? Any brands/models to stay away from? Do they work swimming I presume? What fancy/techy stuff is there on these things nowadays? Any insight would be appreciated!
I"m in the market a bit as well. seems the garmin 220 is one of the better options right now. My wife just got the vivofit and I may get the 220. I mainly wanted the HRM. most don't work well for swimming unless you stick them in your cap. seriously. the only other thing if you really want the heart rate monitor is the MIO setup, which is a non chest strap HRM. some good reviews, some bad ones, looks like the technology needs a bit more work.
Suunto Ambit2 you might be able to find a used unit out there for your price point. I've been wearing one on bike rides, in the pool and for a few hikes to see how reliable and easy the GPS is to use. It's a pretty good watch and can take a beating.
I have a Garmin 910xt. It’s out of your price range new, but you could probably get one used in your budget. The only feature that I think is a must for a GPS watch is a heart rate monitor. If you do lap swimming though, I’d definitely recommend a 910xt. It does a great job at recording intervals, and only misses about 1 turn every week or so (I swim 20-24k yards weekly). When doing long intervals, it's extremely nice having the watch keep track of how far you've gone. It also does a very good job with open water, even when worn on my wrist.
