Best Budget GPS Watch

I am currently using my HTC One phone with Map-my-run app which is OK but too fiddly to use and I am now considering buying a GPS watch, but I don't want to spend over £100 if I can help it. Can anyone recommend a decent watch for this kind of money. I can see a Garmin Forerunner 10 for £99.00 on the internet - can anyone advise ? Thanks

Comments

  • I was in the same boat and plumped for the FR10, and I'm very pleased with it. If you're after using a heart rate monitor with it then it's no good, but for a basic GPS watch it's excellent. Picks up GPS quickly, and shows current pace which has made a massive difference to my training. Uploads data quickly to Garmin Connect, which will give you all the features that Map My Run would (I'd imagine- I was using Endomondo rather than Map My Run).

    It also takes out the whole "fiddling with your phone" palaver which was starting to get right on my wick too. Out the door, press a button, wait a minute, press it again and go.

    It's also worth seeing if you can get a discount code for Tesco Direct- they often do £10 off orders over £70. I got my FR10 for £79 in this way.

  • Argos have the fr10 for £80 . I use the fr110 which I would recommend  £99 on amazon ! I agree with Country Jim it does make it easier than phone and it definitely is a good tool to have to improve training runs! 

  • Another nod for the FR10 from me. Great bit of kit.

  • Having fell and landed on my Samsung Galaxy Note whilst running on tarmac, I concluded phones and running aren't good bed fellows.

    Generally very happy with my Garmin FR10, although sometimes it seems to take a minute or two to get a geo lock.

    In terms of functionaility it does everything I want from a gps watch and more.

  • Cheap and cheerful Timex for 50 notes on Amazon. It just does time and distance and you have time to do a warm up while it's looking for a satelite, but it works.

  • Can i ask. The FR10.... current pace is that my current pace ie for the last 5 seconds say or is it over a mile.

    Basically I want something to help me run at 5:10 / k 

  • The FR10 shows actual current pace. It's the main reason I chose it over the 110, which doesn't, AFAIK.

  • Thanks for the advice everyone. Just ordered an FR10 from Amazon. Cant wait trt try it out !

     

     

  • Bought the Fr10 last month from Argos for £80 , my first GPS watch , and i love it, upload your runs onto Garmin Connect , love the bit in the calender that shows distance and how many calories you've burned, would recommend!

  • I also fell and cracked the screen on my phone after slipping on a wet manhole cover. Would be interested to know how you find the FR10, compared with the stats from the phone in terms of reliability and so on.

  • Hi Parkshambler.I have used the FR10 twice now and I am really impressed with it. It picks up GPS signal within 30 seconds, and is so much more convenient than my phone on so many levels. My phone almost fell out it's arm strap on my 10k race, and the Velcro strap came loose several times. It was impossible to view the phone screen during use so I had to rely on voice feedback on set intervals. After my 1st 10K race I took accidently cancelled the recoding of the race so all that data was lost.

    But now I have the ever-reliable FR10 !! Extremely simple to use and the display is clear (2 screens of data wit 2 data fields shown at one time) - I have "Current Pace" / "Distance" and "Time" / "Distance" set-up. Split times are shown on 1mile and watch beeps when data shown (beep is a bit on quiet side but I am a bit deaf).

    Data is uploaded to PC using Garmin Connect and there are loads of stats shown (much more detail than MapmyRun) so over-all I am very pleased with my FR10 and would recommend buying one. It seems much, much more reliable than a phone in terms of practicality of use.

     

  • Hi Parkshambler , i too used to take my phone out with me , hence why i wanted a watch rather than having to wear shorts / jacket with a pocket , sometimes i have to walk a few yards round the block to get a GPS signal , but in all honesty i wish i'd bought this ages ago , i like 'techy' stuff and it motivates me to actually run and record what i'm doing and also monitoring times and whether i'm getting faster or slower at certain courses.

    In the past 5 weeks i've used the Garmin watch on the Isle Of Wight , and also Sherwood Forest , and i love it , its given me a love back for wanting to do a run and also confidence to try out new runs i never would have dreamt of before.

  • Just an after thought I got Ultrasport navrun 500 and love it. Cost 70 quid

  • have heard good things about the Soleus 1 too that can be picked up for under £50

  • Go secondhand and get a Garmin 305 - way more options for serious training, and yet still dead easy to operate if you want simple.

  • For all of you annoyed at having to wait for GPS: I've found putting it in the window and setting it off while getting my shoes on etc. works a treat.

  • Bumping this old thread rather than starting a new one...

    I'm thinking about getting a GPS watch for my Dad for Christmas. Are the suggestions in this thread still relevant? Any new suggestions? It's his birthday he week before so I can get it as a combo present but I'd still like to not spend a fortune.
  • If he wants to also do things like track his steps walked maybe fr15 

  • I don't know if he would really use that kind of function (no harm in it being there though) but he doesn't run with an app of any kind so he always asks me how fast I went and how far we went to guesstimate his own.

  • Sounds like you might as well just stick with the FR10 cheap on amazon and other places image will do just what you want without being to complicated. 

    A possible alternative is http://www.amazon.co.uk/TomTom-Runner-Watch-Heart-Monitor/dp/B00D7LN7M2/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1416774083&sr=8-7&keywords=tom+tom+running+watch

    they seem to get good reviews and have a big clear display. but the Garmin FR10 is cheaper image 

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