I'm thinking of investing in the foreruner 235. I'm torn between the tom-tom spark and forerunner 235. What's your experiences with the forerunner 235? is it worth the extra dollars over for example a tomtom spark cardio + music?
I have no faith in this watch. I JUST returned from a 3.5 mile run, and the HR was nowhere near accurate. In on the latest firmware 3.2 (4efa83). During my cool down, just after completion, I looked at my HR and it said 115. Suspecting inaccuracy, I did a manual HR check and came up with 180. The sampling is way...way slow, and I just have no confidence in this product. Returning to Clever for something better, as this watch is no bueno.
You can also read my tests (see my signature). I like the watch and fin it accurate enough for running (not so for things like weights, crossfit, and less for tennis...
Then read trhrough some of the posts that have a lot of replies.
Generally I'd say most people seem to like the watch and fin HR accurate enough for running. However there are quite some bugs and wishes. And some people don't fin it accurate at all.
Main concerns so far
- battery life (vs 24/7 HR sampling rate)
- spikyness of HR Readings
- Bugs like HR stuck on 66
...
I'd say get one and see for yourself. can always return it. but be aware the software is still "in development"
My honest opinion is that it is buggy at the moment but software can be buggy.
I am sure this will all be fixed in the near future.
It is a new product and as always there needs to be some work done after it has been released.
Had my first run with the new FR235 – my previous one got stuck on 66bpm before I had chance to get a run into it.
I wore the FR235 on the left arm and on the right arm the FR225 and FR610 with strap. First thing was to make sure the FR235 was not using the strap as it automatically pairs so I went in to settings to turn it off.
Did a 4.6 mile run and all three devices were more or less within 1 or 2 bpm of each other all the way around. I would probably say the FR235 was closer to the heart rate strap than the FR225 but there was never much in it.
I had tested the FR225 with the strap when I got that in the summer and I am one of the lucky ones where these optical heart rate monitors seem to work really well.
The GPS tracked the run within 0.01 miles of each other on the 235 and 225. The 610 seems to log it about 0.08 longer. I had GPS and Glonass put on the 235.
The only minor thing which may be software related is that after I finished the FR235 took longer to drop when heart rate was recovering compared to the FR225 and the strap.
This is the data for the FR235 run link to fetcheveryone.com and the data for the FR225 link to fetcheveryone.com. You will see more or less identical.
