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935 owners - how are you finding GPS?

chatlow
over 7 years ago
On the verge of swapping out my Fenix 5 for a FR935 mostly due to GPS accuracy. My issues could be somewhat rectified with a footpod but no good if I'm constantly changing pace and stride types for intervals.

Please can you let me know if the GPS seems mostly accurate - I'm especially keen to hear from those who have come from a F5 too.

Thanks,
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    Qualitatively, GPS accuracy is good enough for me. Quantitatively (okay, still mostly qualitative...), it has about the same performance and behavior as my previous Fenix 3. That's a little disappointing on the one hand, since the antenna in the mostly-plastic 935 could/should be better than the F3, but it's mostly fine since the F3, after a few firmware updates to refine it, had accuracy plenty good enough for everyone who wasn't picking on it.

    One thing I HAVE noticed is very odd behavior on my home ski mountain, Mammoth. If I take the same lift multiple times, I'll get dead-straight lines on the map, but very often in different spots. That is, the lift line is not only different from the map, but also different from run to run. And often shifted in either position, angle, or both. I suspect this is specific to the ski activity, though, and normal acceptable behavior.
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    My issues could be somewhat rectified with a footpod but no good if I'm constantly changing pace and stride types for intervals.

    How do you know that it would be no good?
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    How do you know that it would be no good?


    Just what I have seen with both Garmin and Milestone. It would be okay for current pace assuming I try and keep the same leg swing/cadence for a known pace it's been calibrated on. I have found that various changes in these can cause the footpod to report unrealistic figures. For example it may report me running 8:30/mile with a low leg swing/cadence recovery run but if I continue at the same speed but with a higher leg swing then it think's I've sped up and reports 7:30/mile.
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    Not really thought about GPS accuracy with a 935 for some while. So, for me, "it just works".

    Suggest use lap pace in combination with current pace if you want a fairly good idea of your pace in intervals. Outside it is very difficult to run exactly even pace anyway. If you are using a foot pod and it is all over the place then ditch it and just use on a treadmill which is what I do.
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    Thanks Tim, yeah I will likely use average or lap only pace in future - I just wanted to compare the GPS accuracy against my Fenix 5 as I many other initially thought it was worse on the F5 (mine used to be 300-500m out) - some blaming the metal bezel.

    However, my test last night wearing both the 935 and F5 showed they were bang on for average pace and total distance at my 4 mile mark, only .1 off my android phone. Conditions were not great and there was quite a lot of tree coverage too, so I'm pretty happy with that.
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    Just what I have seen with both Garmin and Milestone. It would be okay for current pace assuming I try and keep the same leg swing/cadence for a known pace it's been calibrated on. I have found that various changes in these can cause the footpod to report unrealistic figures. For example it may report me running 8:30/mile with a low leg swing/cadence recovery run but if I continue at the same speed but with a higher leg swing then it think's I've sped up and reports 7:30/mile.


    What are the experiences with the Stryd pod under the same circumstances? Some Stryd users report that the measurement is so accurate that they can change running pace without recalibration, but I don't know if that also covers changing running style.
  • 0 over 7 years ago


    I can't say that I've drastically altered my running style at a given pace (not sure why one would want to do that), but I will say that I've found Stryd to be significantly more accurate at a variety of training paces, and with a variety of shoes, than any foot pod I've ever used.

    Is it perfect? No, but nothing is.

    I use it exclusively for pace and distance, and have been extremely happy with it. For me, it has largely solved the problems I've had with older foot pods.

    I've never understood why anyone would want to use satellites that are many miles away to measure pace. Quite simply, it is not precise at all. That's why you have to smooth it out over a long distance (i.e. lap-average pace) to get useable pace target. I have always gravitated towards foot pods due to their more stable instantaneous pace, and Stryd is by far the best I've used.
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    I can't say that I've drastically altered my running style at a given pace (not sure why one would want to do that),

    Well, that is what chatlow says he does. So apparenlty someone would want to do that.

  • 0 over 7 years ago
    I don't know that I have ever used GPS with the 935. I transferred my Stryd footpod to the 935 (had been using it with the 920) and have never looked back. I get better accuracy than I have ever gotten with any Garmin products.
  • 0 over 7 years ago
    I don't know that I have ever used GPS with the 935. I transferred my Stryd footpod to the 935 (had been using it with the 920) and have never looked back. I get better accuracy than I have ever gotten with any Garmin products.


    As an example, this morning I did an interval run with 8 intervals bookended by slow recoveries and a slow warm-up/cool-down.

    In spite of drastically changing pace, every interval was spot-on. I have no reason to ever go back to GPS pacing. In a 30 second repetition, lap-average GPS pace is not good enough IMO. The party is over by the time GPS pace has stabilized.