After two months of using the Forerunner 955 watch, I am starting to be disappointed by the number of errors and inaccuracies that occur in the watch.
1. You cannot rely on the altimeter. In 9 out of 10 cases, it shows an inaccurate altitude, which has been the same at the top of the mountain for years.
The height of the peak is 1946 meters above sea level, the watch shows 1933 meters above sea level. I stood on the top for 15 minutes, the barometric and gps altitude were both inaccurate.I still use the highest GPS accuracy and calibrate the watch before the start - which I never had to do on my Suunto watch. Suunto have always calibrated themselves using the Fused alti function within 15 minutes.
The same on next peak, 1409 asl, FR955 1400 asl. Both days the weather was nice and stable, the peaks have a view of the sky. This never happened to me with my old Suunto Ambit2, because they use the Fused Alti function that matches the barometric and gps altitude always during the activity. The same on 1477 asl peak - FR955 1470 asl....?!?
How is it possible that at the start both heights are approximately the same and during the ascent to the hill with open skies there are 15-20 meter height differences btw baro ang gps altitude in the middle of the route? this has never happened to me with the Suunto brand.
How can you move in the mountains when basic functions such as barometer and altimeter are inaccurate???
2. Next big problem is with altitude gain - compared to my friends who have the Coros or Suunto brand, I have always more altitude meters gained during my activities which is related to the differences described in point 1. Also, during short activities, I never have the same altitude gain and loss when I start and return to one point , not even with a 5km run.
3. The barometric and altitude graph in the watch is a mess.
The profile is wobbly, and even with small changes in pressure or height, it behaves as storm and sunny weather alternate every 30 minutes. Check out the Forerunners chart and the same chart from my Suuntos. After looking at the graph on the Forerunner, you feel like you're living in Iceland, where the weather changes every 30 minutes. In Garmin graph is 1hpa difference looking like tsunami wave.
4. Yesterday I was climbing on the climbing wall. I set the indoor climbing activity, pressed start. After pressing the X/lap/ button, the activity should switch to rest mode and then back to climbing. However, this happened only 2 times yesterday, then after pressing the X button, the watch goes /reset/ to the basic screen and does not switch from rest to climbing. The activity in the background runs but is still in rest mode - I pressed the top right button and the activity is still running at rest. You can't do anything about it, just stop the activity and start it again.
I will write an article about errors in the garmin application later. That is a special chapter.
I was hoping that after my old Suunto Ambit 2 I would buy a new, modern and above all accurate watch. However, I am disappointed. I basically got nothing for 650e. Touch color display? vital and smart functions? maps? solar? music? better battery life? what's the use if you have an inaccurate watch that you can't rely on in the field and during difficult activities. My first garmin watch, first big disappointment. Sorry Garmin, my next watch will definitely not be Garmin.
