My wife wants a GPS watch for tracking both offroad running and boot camp style training sessions. She can’t get along with the chest straps so was after a watch with an integral heart rate monitor.

It also has to be fully waterproof to a swimming level.

Any suggestions as to where I should be looking.

TomTom Cardio watches do this. Not sure how good they are. My running partner had the normal tomtom watch and recently flogged it for the Garmin FR range, but then he likes to change gadgets regularly 🙂

I’ve got the Mio Link HRM wrist strap working with my Garmin. Uses the same technology as the TomTom. When running, the connection between the two drops sometimes when on opposite wrists, so need to have the strap a bit further up the same arm as the watch.

Looks like the TomTom Cardio solves all this by being integrated. I would have bought this if it had been available a year ago.

She can’t get along with the chest straps so was after a watch with an integral heart rate monitor.

Chest straps vary quite a bit, has she tried a fully fabric one with a clip on monitor?

The problem with the chest strap was more the fight for space between breasts and hrm strap do they pick up your pulse further down your chest.

The DC rainmaker site has the best reviews on GPS watches. He’s a triathlete so does usually test them for swimming use.

Salomon make a bra with internal chest strap for Suunto sensors