I've been on the fence for a simple optical HRM watch to track my daily activities (bike commutes, steps, HR) instead of the beefy 920XT which only gives me HR during proper workouts. At the same time my HRM Tri is falling to shreds so was looking to replace that as well. Given the steep price drop on the 735XT Tri bundle, am I better off getting that instead of a regular 'fitness' watch? How is it as a daily watch? Would it still be best to use the 920XT with HRM Tri for workouts, or can the 735XT completely replace it with decent accuracy?
Please note that the optical sensor of the FR735XT can have limited accuracy during intensive workouts. For best results you'd still need a chest strap, although if you do not plan on using a hr strap during swimming, I'd get the FR735XT and a cheap hr strap, and not the relatively more expensive tri bundle.
As a daily watch it's ok, I guess, athough it's not as reliable a time keeper as a normal watch.
You can use the 735XT for all workouts, unless you need the longer battery life of the 920XT.
Yes, the chest strap will be used for more focused training either way, just that I may swap to 920xt as well when doing so. For some reason, I cannot find the watch alone cheaper than the highly discounted Tri Bundle here in UK. So why pay a cheap HR strap instead of getting the included hrm-tri and hrm-swim for ''free''?
I like my 735xt as a optical HRM watch to track my daily activities. Agreed about accuracy at high intensity, but it is a perfect size/weight, looks nice and has smart watch features if I want. As a timekeeper, occasionally during syncing it gets thrown off, but if you have the automatic time setting turned on, it corrects any small offsets every time you do an activity using the GPS. But yes, take the free HRM straps if available.
