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735XT vs fenix 3

Ok guys here is a comparison in a park I run in often. About half has medium tree cover this time of year.

http://www.mygpsfiles.com/app/#ktW3i8ts

You can see the 735 tracks are much better, even in this environment, where I would not say it is overly difficult. Interesting distance accrual was dead on at all points of the run at every point I check both watches were within 0.01 miles of each other the entire run.

Another interesting point, I had the fenix 3 using footpod instant pace and the 735 on GPS instant pace and on all times I checked they were within 5s of each other and even better, the 735 was very stable and never (when I checked) gave an untoward results.

Unfortunately I forgot my chest strap, but can say HR was within my normal range for this pace and this run at all times.

Elevation plot for 735 does not look as good as fenix 3 unsurprisingly (elevation correction was on for 735 data), but I am not sure this was transmitted to the gPX file I used in mygpsfiles, because in GC the +- elevation was 42 ft gain and 43 ft loss which is higher than f3 result (10 ft Gain 13 ft loss). I suspect better smoothing of GPS elevation will result in better results for this in the future.

0 chimpware over 8 years ago

lol! That thread drives me nuts. I've been roped in a couple of times as well.

I'm tempted to get the 735xt but the fact that it's a Forerunner is holding me back. The 920xt was left stagnant while the F3 gained a ton of refinements and new features. I also wasn't crazy about the GUI of the 920 (ie having to go through an activity to get to watch settings). Has that improved on the 735? Also does the 735 have an alarm? I use the vibration alarm on the F3 which has been invaluable.

I really like the 735. The GUI is definitely different than the f3, but I like it now that I am used to it. I don't have a 920 so cannot compare the interface, but to get to settings top right button as for activities, and moving up in that structure takes you to the activities list and moving down takes you to the watch menu list and to settings. I think it is a decent design. As TimGrose mentioned the 735 has the same alarms as the f3, multiple and tone / vibrate.

For me I like the HR built in for steady state runs and all day use and then I use a strap for harder runs and cycling. The GPS tracking is better than the f3, but distance accrual is identical in my testing. GPS Instant Pace is more stable and accurate, but still not foot pod level so not sure that matters. Also being lighter and smaller I like.

0 Olu.F. over 8 years ago

Yes you can use a 735 to wake you up! It has Tone & Vibration, Vibration or Tone options.

TBH I can't see the 735 getting a ton of refinements and new features as it has a load of features already. So it is the usual story of buying a watch for that it does now and don't what you might want it to do.

And what did the Fenix 3 eventually get that the 920 did not that was REALLY useful for triathletes?

Alarms, that's good to know. In the past I would agree about not expecting new features, but the fact that new features are mostly software means upgrades are possible and in this day and age expected. The fact that the F3 team responds to user requests and post a couple of betas a month lets us know it's possible even in the Garmin world.

As as for features, triathletes do more then just train. Anything that makes life easier makes training better. It's the refinements and additional features that I use multiple times a day that make the F3 a pleasure to live with. (though did the 920 ever get Lactate threshold, pacing from Footpod, or Vo2 max for biking?)

0 timgrose over 8 years ago

Footpod yes, VO2 biking yes (thought it always had that), LT no
735 has all these though already.

Sounds like then that the only reason for you to get a 735 over a Fenix 3 is if you prefer a smaller and lighter watch and want OHR (assuming you don't have the Fenix 3 HR).

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Sounds like then that the only reason for you to get a 735 over a Fenix 3 is if you prefer a smaller and lighter watch and want OHR (assuming you don't have the Fenix 3 HR).

I know you are happy with the F3 GPS Olu, but my experience so far is that the 735 GPS accuracy and reliability is superior to the F3. Have seen only one person complaining about it in the 735 forum.
edit: the bluetooth connection to my phone is also more stable with the 735. although things had improved with recent firmware updates of the F3 so maybe they are on par now.

While we are discussing alarms, I have auto lap set on. Can I set the lap alert to tone +vibration somewhere? I don't see anything in the Laps menu. Thanks

0 chimpware over 8 years ago

Don't think you can set this for just the Lap Alert, but you can turn Vibration and Alert Tone on and off at System level in Settings --> System --> Sounds.

0 timgrose over 8 years ago

Yes as Chimpware says.

0 chimpware over 8 years ago

Footpod yes, VO2 biking yes (thought it always had that), LT no
735 has all these though already.

Sounds like then that the only reason for you to get a 735 over a Fenix 3 is if you prefer a smaller and lighter watch and want OHR (assuming you don't have the Fenix 3 HR).

The one thing I would highlight is that the 735XT has no barometric altimeter. This doesn't matter for me, but does for some.

0 Olu.F. over 8 years ago

Footpod yes, VO2 biking yes (thought it always had that), LT no
735 has all these though already.

Sounds like then that the only reason for you to get a 735 over a Fenix 3 is if you prefer a smaller and lighter watch and want OHR (assuming you don't have the Fenix 3 HR).

So the F3 did actually get at least 1 feature that could help with training that the 920 didn't. If the OHR worked (i've had issues with most OHR due to my skin color), then this would be a great feature. I would still use my chest strap for workouts but wouldn't mind seeing data on my HR throughout the day.

I know you are happy with the F3 GPS Olu, but my experience so far is that the 735 GPS accuracy and reliability is superior to the F3. Have seen only one person complaining about it in the 735 forum.
edit: the bluetooth connection to my phone is also more stable with the 735. although things had improved with recent firmware updates of the F3 so maybe they are on par now.

While we are discussing alarms, I have auto lap set on. Can I set the lap alert to tone +vibration somewhere? I don't see anything in the Laps menu. Thanks

Fenix GPS performance? Happy...No. Tolerate it...yes. Like I've said on the GPS accuracy forums, GPS performance is adequate and rarely impacts my training as pacing and distance are within 1% error. However if the 735 is better (which it sounds like it is), I'd prefer a smaller lighter option that does everything the F3 does. The altimeter doesn't bother me for training, however I've been doing stairs more recently. Can the 735 calculate fights of steps climbed?

0 timgrose over 8 years ago

> So the F3 did actually get at least 1 feature that could help with training that the 920 didn't.
Yes true. Having used it though on a 630 and a 735 it really just tells me what I largely already knew - namely that the effort level is between 10K and HM pace - so sort of "comfortably hard"...

> Can the 735 calculate fights of steps climbed?
No I understand you need to have a device with a barometric altimeter for that to be enabled (or at least have a hope of working)

0 Former Member over 8 years ago

Don't think you can set this for just the Lap Alert, but you can turn Vibration and Alert Tone on and off at System level in Settings --> System --> Sounds.

I had both of these set to 'on' but my 735 only did the sound alerts. Restarted the watch before my run today and got both as expected. Not sure what was wrong there. I thought I got both in the beginning before I started playing around with the settings but wasn't 100% sure...