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Is the Garmin Swim 2 the ideal swimming watch?

I mean, the model is obviously built for swimmers, but does it function properly? I've come across some bad viewpoints. I'm not a pro, but because I swim... Is it worthwhile to purchase this device rather than another Garmin model? Is it also capable of recognising different swimming styles?

  • I'm a master swimmer and I had other devices in the past (Swimmo, Poolmate, Garmin Swim 1). This is really the best I had: very precise in counting and recognizing the style. Very good also in open waters. I reccomend it

  • I see other people say the swim2 has problems detecting the stroke.   I have a garmin 935 and it also has a problem confusing breaststroke with backstroke.   Garmin tech denies that anyone else has this problem. I told them to google it.    I can understand confusing any stroke with any other stroke, except back stroke.   I am considering getting a swim 2, because I don't like swimming with a chest strap, and I want to get the heart rate readings even if not completely accurate.  But until I hear from Garin tech that the stroke detection issue has been resolved or until I can change it manually, I don't really want to spend the money or encourage them.

  • I never had problems with stroke detection; when it shows a wrong stroke, means that I am tired (i.e butterfly) and my stroke is not correct. Also heart readings are quite accurate: you have to wear it rather tight to avoid bad readings

  • Stroke detection is ok more or less. It really depends on your technique. Another tip, if stroke detection is terrible, try with the other wrist. For me, on left wrist, everything is detected as breaststroke, on the right everything is perfect.

    In my opinion, from Garmin point of view the stroke detection is good. Note, that they should guess from the arm movement, and they do not see a full path but only some accelerations and decelerations.

  • No, it's absolutely awful in openwater. There are many threads on this topic in the forum, just look

  • This watch has a technological drawback: I have been swimming regularly for over 15 years and have been using the Swimm 2 for 8 months swimming in the 25m pool, 1000-2000m freestyle and 100-200 breaststroke. Once in 10 workouts, the Swimm 2 watch will tell you the correct distance, and most often it "loses" from 1 to 3 or even 4 pools! Besides, it has problems with the correct recognition of the swimming style: classic and freestyle mixes with backstroke! Sometimes Swimm 2 will add additional pools - I have had one additional pool added two or three times. Garmin's technical support has been saying for 8 months that my swimming style is a problem, that I make uncontrolled and uncoordinated movements, that I swim at an uneven pace, that my stroke cadence is too low, that I have a wrong turn, etc. They advise me to wear Swimm 2 on the second wrist to set the correct pool length and the appropriate units / meters not different / - for 8 months they have been treating me like an imbecile giving such advice! I have already had two exchanges of this Swimm 2 product and the third watch shows the same disadvantages: it mostly leaves 1 to 4 pools at 40-60 swims and that's the first 200 meters! He usually reports the rest of the distance correctly. Its other activity and fitness tracking functions work fine, although sometimes the GPS does not record your bike or running route very accurately: the path may run a few meters alongside! Apart from these swimming disadvantages, it's OK - but it's a smartwatch for swimmers! It is Absurd!

  • I think that Garmin technical support is correct; I'm using Swim2 since one year and half and it is very precise; the only mistakes happen when you did not a good turn or when you change style in the middle of the pool. But swimming and turning correctly, it is working perfectly, much more better than Poolmate or Swimmo I had before

  • Do you think 1 to 4 pools are wrong with my style and turn, and the other 54 to 59 are correct? :) And so with every training for 8 months? :) I never change the style and pace in the middle of the track! Such allegations, comments from Garmin support are nonsense!

  • I you do not push well from the wall it misses the pool count. It's possible that when you do 60 pools you miss them. Even with 120/140 pools I do not get any mistake

  • I push off the wall a lot and slide at least 5 meters. The arm with the watch starts to move second, only somewhere at 6 meters. Also, if I had a weak wall push, it would be weaker with distance, not at the beginning of the distance / and Swimm 2 counting and jamming errors always occur in the first to eight pools! / Wall push off is not a problem! The problem is the technology in this model!