This discussion has been locked.

You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

swimming with wetsuit

I just ordered a Garmin Swim 2 watch.

side note: I was using a Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 until it died a couple of weeks ago. Not to disparage a Garmin competitor, but... it was a nice watch until it stopped working. The Samsung Active2 worked flawlessly in a pool. I only had the problem after wearing it under a wetsuit. Hopefully, Garmin has a better warranty policy because after doing an open water swim with my Active2 it didn't respond to button presses or anything. The screen went blank. I contacted Samsung, they verified it was under warranty and emailed me a shipping label and instructions for returning the watch for repair. About 1-1/2 weeks later I received an email telling me it wasn't covered under warranty because of water damage. I was swimming with a 5 ATM watch, which they actively promote for both lap and open water swimming.

Does anyone know if it is better to wear the Garmin Swim 2 under or over your wetsuit during open water swimming?

I don't really need to monitor my stats during my swims but I am worried that the pressure of the suit could cause problems. Besides the wetsuit covering the watch so you can't monitor your progress during a swim, does it interfere with the GPS? Obviously, you can't wear it over the wetsuit if you want the watch to track your heart rate. So by over wetsuit, I mean peeling back my wetsuit so it isn't covering the watch. I'm still in the trial period of my blueseventy wetsuit, so until I'm sure I want to keep it, I can't cut the sleeve to shorten it for the watch.

0 PG over 3 years ago

You should not be worried about the pressure from the wetsuit. Only water pressure matters. If you cover the watch with wet neoprene, received GPS signal strength will be weaker.

You do not need to damage the wetsuit by cutting down on the arm. It is better just to pull the suit arm a bit higher.

Also I would beat Samsung a bit more, as a watch advertised to be capable for swimming should be waterproof enough, and water damage should be covered under warranty.

0 GreggP over 3 years ago in reply to PG

Yeah, I agree with regard to criticizing Samsung. They've done a pretty good job of hiding the details of their warranty from prospective customers. The warranty text isn't included with any of the printed documentation that ships with their watches. So I asked Samsung customer service to provide a link to it online. They couldn't even provide a link to the warranty specific to the Active2. Eventually, I found one and they use the same text for all their mobile products - watches and smartphone. So a watch that doesn't have a 5 ATM rating and the Active2 (and their Galaxy phones) all have the same clause regarding water damage.

I've written on their community forums complaining and warning people about this only to see my messages deleted by the moderators. I bought the watch at Best Buy, so I tried to write a review on their site. You currently can't write reviews on Bestbuy.com. I ended up leaving a review on Amazon

I don't think Samsung is too fazed by criticism of their customer service or their warranty. It's all about the money.