Most accurate non-Stryd footpod?

So by it seems pretty well established that compared to the 935 the fenix 5X is unfortunately not great in the pace/distance accuracy department. I love the mapping and looks of the 5X, but on its own it simply is not good enough for my marathon training. By contrast, the 935 (without a footpod) will probably be good enough for my training. I know several people on these forums have the Stryd, but I can't justify the $400 difference between the 935 without a footpod and the 5X with a Stryd. So that leads me to this question: What is the best non-Stryd footpod?

I know Fellrnr includes some pods in his GPS Accuracy Chart. He includes the Milestone, but that doesn't sync to a 5X, as far as I can tell. Is the Garmin Footpod the best cheap, non-Stryd option? Does anyone have a sense of how big the difference in accuracy is between the Stryd and the Garmin footpod?

0 kaz911 over 8 years ago

Thanks WG. So I should not rely on the footpod before I am able to run a 10k straight without walking sequences as the difference of paces would mess up the data.

I will start using it anyway outdoor for a rough calibration so I can experience it on a treadmill later.

no - the foot pod calibration stops automatically when you go below the threshold speed - so don't worry about it. Just put it on and go running or walking and forget it is there. Then it will slowly calibrate and eventually be reasonable. As you become a better runner - it will continue to show differences in calibration factor.

Stryd does not have the above issues apart from it stops giving correct speed at low speeds like garmin. But calibration is not needed for most things.

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Except for short sprints when the watch will use calibration factor for the slower pace and will not have time to adjust it (100,200,400 meters intervals). The data is a mess but only in this specific case. The rest works like kaz911 descibed. Install, run a track to calibrate, use it :-)

BR,
Wojciech

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Thanks for your advice.

I started using the footpod but leaving the settings for speed and distance to indoor only. In this case, is there a way to see the data produced by the pod after an outdoor workout? I didn't see anything in Garmin Connect or in the phone app.

Does the pod produce other data than distance, pace and speed?

0 Bit over 8 years ago

I was wondering how you were able to pair the milestone pod?

I have now the beta-fw but when scanning for 'external sensors' it will not find it...

Correcion: I wrote this:

You can't pair the Milestone pod with any watch, it is based on an iBeacon device and it has custom programming on board. It does not send realtime data and does not behave as a BLE foot pod. To get the data from the Milestone pod it syncs with an app, after a run. Perhaps this will change one day and realtime data will be provided, but if that would adhere to a BLE-footpod protocol/known format, I have no idea if they have plans in that direction.

but that isn't true - Milestone has a beta program that allows you to upgrade the firmware in the pod to use it as a BLE footpod. Of course this is a beta - so use at your own risk. I plan to do a test run shortly.

BTW the Milestone pod is intended for use with 1 pair of shoes (i.e. one Milestone pod per pair of shoes). I have a few of them and after a while they are perfectly calibrated for the shoe they are attached to. But if you use one pod on multiple shoes, they are much less accurate, and it is a bit of a hassle to reset them every time.

NB: the Milestone app does not work offline at all, the app needs internet, otherwise it doesn't even start. You can export and remove your data very easily from within the app. The metrics overlap Garmin's HRM-Run data in some respects (pace, stride length, ground contact time), others are new: leg swing, rate of impact, foot strike, "runficiency". The pods will work without a phone; they store run data in on-board memory.

0 chunkywizard over 8 years ago

Actually I have a milestone Pod connected to my 935 acting as a footpod. You need to ask them to go on the beta program and then the new firmware will allow you to connect.

CW

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Footpod auto cal refres rate?

Hi,
does anybody here know how often the Garmin footpod re-calibrates when auto cal is on? Is it every 1 km, every Mi or post run?

Thanks,
-A

0 Bit over 8 years ago

Actually I have a milestone Pod connected to my 935 acting as a footpod. You need to ask them to go on the beta program and then the new firmware will allow you to connect.

CW

Thanks CW, great news, I will do that!

Edit: uhm, I have a Fenix 3 - but it will still be great to connect the Milestone to the IPBike phone app as a foot pod.

Edit #2: IPBike reports the pod as an Unknown type, but with the Wahoo Fitness Tracker it works just fine!

0 chunkywizard over 8 years ago

You need a watch supporting BLE sensors i.e. F5 or the 935

CW

0 FlipStone over 8 years ago

How should it work, simply:

Menu --> Settings --> Sensors and accessories --> Add new ?

(I tried that with 'Search all' and 'Footpod' specific earlier but without luck, am in the beta program with beta firmware so that shouldn't be the issue).

Perhaps I need to reset/disconnect it from my phone/app first...

0 gjmachete over 8 years ago

How should it work, simply:

Menu --> Settings --> Sensors and accessories --> Add new ?

(I tried that with 'Search all' and 'Footpod' specific earlier but without luck, am in the beta program with beta firmware so that shouldn't be the issue).

Perhaps I need to reset/disconnect it from my phone/app first...

If I recall correctly, I think that I had to add the milestone through the Bluetooth settings (on the 5x) first and then it showed up under the sensors and accessories. You may need to shake the pod (until the green light comes on) before it will show up under the Bluetooth settings. I did not have to disconnect the pod from the Bluetooth connection on my phone.