I would appreciate any feedback as to swimming pool and open water swim accuracy as of current updates to the Fenix 5 Plus. We are considering a family move which will make daily outdoor lap pool swimming and occasional open water beachfront swimming a reality. I already use STRYD for running so I am not concerned with GPS running accuracy. With this device on sale it seems like a solid buy if swimming results justify it.
I can't speak much for the open water swimming (only used a few times for very short distances) but for lap swimming I have not had any issues. I occasionally get an extra lap but this usually only happens when I hit the dividing ropes. Good luck with the move!
I've only swam a couple of times in pool and open water with mine (5S+) and it worked without any problems. Open water swim tracks can be challenging as the track is a 'guesstimate' based on the occasional glimpses the device gets when the arm comes out of the water - you need to be doing freestyle to get anything anywhere near sensible in open water swimming.
I've had a few swims now with the F5+, but this morning almost left me speechless. We have a buoy line with 250m between each buoy on a 1km out and back course. I have an alarm set for every 500m. This went off within cooee of each 500m mark. Even allowing for my 'wonky' swimming and allowing for some inaccuracy in buoy placement, this was impressive. The device recorded 2095m which is pretty good really as the start point will vary depending on the tide. Here's the track - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3218805957
I've had a few swims now with the F5+, but this morning almost left me speechless. We have a buoy line with 250m between each buoy on a 1km out and back course. I have an alarm set for every 500m. This went off within cooee of each 500m mark. Even allowing for my 'wonky' swimming and allowing for some inaccuracy in buoy placement, this was impressive. The device recorded 2095m which is pretty good really as the start point will vary depending on the tide. Here's the track - https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3218805957
That is indeed pretty decent - although more or less in line with the huge pile of open water swims I recorded with my trusty 735XT. I upgraded to the F5+ Titanium after the open water season, hoping that Garmin would be able to patch things up till next spring...
I've seriously thought about carrying the F5+ under my swim cap during races. This would solve two problems:
(1) nice GPS track (2) no problems with the watch in T1 when I take off my wetsuit
I am just a bit scared about some chaos/confusion during the swim that'll end in a lost swim cap (no biggy) and a lost F5+ (nooooooooo).
Having the device under the swim cap has been much discussed even as far back as the 305. However, having lost a couple of swim caps in events with heaps of people, I've run shy of doing that. In the past I've had tri-specific devices that had had quick release systems. This made it much easier to mess around getting wetsuits off. Of course the Fenix series has never had a quick release system - and no plans AFAIK to have one - it requires a bit more manoeuvring to accomodate the watch. Anyhow, given what I'm seeing with the F5+ swim recording, I'm not inclined to put the device under the hat. It's nice to have a good track. However, I'm more concerned that the distance is correct. Having now had a number of swims, I'm happy that it appears to be recording distance pretty well.
Note though that swim tracks recorded using 'swimrun' will shot a 'wonkier' track. Apparently data points are logged less frequently.
