My wife has got in to running and wants one for her birthday. To me they seem fiendishly expensive so I can’t work out what she is likely to want/need

Can any of you point me in the direction of a good ‘first’ one?

She runs 2-3 times a week and generally runs 5-10k, but does occasional 10 miles events if that makes any difference

TIA

I use a forerunner 10, it’s great.

No HRM etc, it’s just a basic time and distance affair. The pacer setting is quite handy though.

Forerunner 15 adds hrm functionality to the 10 and comes in some nice colours.

Given the choice I would now go for a Garmin. Depending on what she wants out of it i.e. basic recording and review then FR10 or 15. If she is wanting to follow training programs with more feedback for cadence etc the look at the FR220.
My wife has the 220. Although not a serious runner, the watch has got her more motivated. With the Bluetooth uploads to Garmin Connect via a smartphone she is much more interested in each run and progress to her targets.
Also important is the look (grape colour) and feel of the watch she likes. It’s easy to use. She did struggle for a while with her previous Shuunto T4c

I’ve got the Forerunner 210 and I’d actually like to get rid of it, for a couple of reasons:

– The battery life is terrible: It lasts about two 10km runs and then needs recharging (using HRM). God forbid if I wanted to use it for any really long distance training.
– The charging connection is hit and miss at best: It has this clamp system but you spend about 5 minutes trying to get the contacts in exactly the right place. Just as you think you’ve got it, you move slightly to put the watch down and contact is lost again.

Other than that, it’s actually a decent GPS/HRM.

Using a Garmin Fenix2 at the moment, great watch but just too many options to use so unless you skydive, sky, run, snowboard, ride, go hunting, need to know the tide and go trail running don’t buy!
Go for a Garmin 210 which has just been updated by a new model (the 220), it does the job well and can be bought with a HRM on CRC for a competitive price.

garmin 310 xt here. great thing with good battery life

How does the heart rate monitor work on these? Is it better to get one with an HR monitor built into the watch?

If looks are important forget the 310xt – it gets great reviews (although it’s getting on a bit these days) but it’s fugly… If looks are critical I’d go for a Nike or TomTom watch, otherwise the Garmin 110/210/220 are probably the best and while big are definitely watches and not running computers like the 310.

I had a Garmin 210, mikey74 is exaggerating (but only a bit) about the battery life, I could get more than a couple of 10Ks out of it – I could probably get maybe 6-7 hours. He’s 100% right about the clamp, though, very poor design.

How does the heart rate monitor work on these? Is it better to get one with an HR monitor built into the watch?

Usually via a chest strap – I assume these are fine for women with their obviously different anatomy, although have no personal experience 🙂

I’m not aware of any running watch that uses a built-in HR monitor, my mate has a Samsung Gear which has it, but I don’t think it has a GPS (and would therefore need a phone for running…)

Bide your time for three weeks and get the new Polar M400. See DC Rainmaker’s review:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/09/activity-tracker-review.html

mikey74 – Member
I’ve got the Forerunner 210 ….
– The charging connection is hit and miss at best: It has this clamp system but you spend about 5 minutes trying to get the contacts in exactly the right place. Just as you think you’ve got it, you move slightly to put the watch down and contact is lost again.

Other than that, it’s actually a decent GPS/HRM.

My mrs has a 610, as she wanted to see real time pace – the watch suffers from the same power attachment issue.

Two fixes – a) use a clothes peg to hold it on, forcing the contacts together b) there is gunge in the back of the watch, polluting the springs in the contacts – clean the back of the watch (toothbrush) – and clean the springs using gin. Pour it in the springs, then shiggle the springs until they come up clean. Tonic and lime in the gin for yourself.

Hth

Suunto Ambit

Suunto Ambit

Not ideal if the OP reckons GPS watches are “fiendishly expensive” – I’ve got one, it’s a lovely watch and does exactly what I wanted, but it wasn’t cheap…

I would just pick the cheapest GPS and not worry about HR monitoring. The strap will be taking up space in the sock drawer after a week.
GPS distance and speed monitoring is important and as a serious (although aging) runner I find it useful every day. Dont know anyone that uses HRM monitoring seriously.

FWIW I use the HRM a lot when running, including my last race. Important for me to control effort in the first half and have confidence that I won’t overdo it and fall apart later.

There are non-GPS watches that might fit the bill – a calibrated footpod is better for pace anyway (instantaneous, accurate and no drop-out – plus better battery life). I got a second hand FR60 with HRM strap and footpod for about 40 quid recently. A new footpod is that much by itself.