Batterylife: wristbased heartrate vs tri-belt?

I'm training for an ultra-trail on which i plan to need up to 12-15 hours: i would like to be on the safe side regarding batterylife and therefore like to know what would be better: wristbased heartrate or rather use the tri-belt from garmin?

Are there any insights regarding this? Thanks!

0 mcalista over 7 years ago

GPS is the biggest power drain, followed by backlight (depending on the BL settings). Wrist HR is only about 3rd in the list of "power hogs". Even with GPS on normal, and wrist HR enabled, you should get 20-24 hours battery life out of a Fenix 5 (the 5S has a shorter battery life). This should be more than enough for your event.

Make the call on HR accuracy versus comfort - battery life shouldn't impact on this. If you are still nervous, look at the power consumption figures on some of your longer training runs.

0 AntonisSp over 7 years ago

Just keep in mind that you might have issues on an ultra trail if it is too hot (perspiration), or too cold, as OHR might be completely useless.

0 meste7 over 7 years ago

or get with you a small battery pack (this is what I did)

0 MADMap82 over 7 years ago

battery pack? please elaborate: does the watch still record while beeing charged (of course then it cannot be on the wrist...)? And regarding the OHR, I rather go with comfort since I will need a packpack and have bad experience with backbag and strap...

0 tmk2 over 7 years ago

The F5 can be charged during activity but there are 2 issues:
1. As you already noticed the charging cable makes it difficult to wear the watch on the wrist.
2. Even if you manage somehow to overcome point 1 above, the OHR is disabled while charging.