Pebble watch - Is it worth buying to count my laps?

[mbruse]

Hi -

I use a poolmate watch consistently now when I swim. It counts my laps and tell me total distance, has a swim golf feature, etc.

I saw an advertisement for the pebble watch. I was wondering if anyone here has used it and could tell me if it's worth it getting?

Thanks,

Mike

[sclim]

Originally Posted by mbruse

Hi -

I use a poolmate watch consistently now when I swim. It counts my laps and tell me total distance, has a swim golf feature, etc.

I saw an advertisement for the pebble watch. I was wondering if anyone here has used it and could tell me if it's worth it getting?

Thanks,

Mike

Had a quick look at the Pebble site. What feature of the watch did you think would be an improvement over the poolmate? I can't see anything on the website that seems relevant to swimming and lap timing.

[sojomojo]

I don't have one, but I've read reviews and it seems to be "buggy." It could be a user-issue or it might be new technology that hasn't been fully vetted before being marketed. If it would work as advertised, it would be a great swim tool.

http://youtu.be/gzBt-omy5tI

[Talvi]

Looks cheap and cheerfull, and more of a social networking tool than a swim tool. Seems to record "distances" and times, and lets you see what your competitors performances are for comparison, assuming they have the same watch.

[sclim]

Originally Posted by sojomojo

I don't have one, but I've read reviews and it seems to be "buggy." It could be a user-issue or it might be new technology that hasn't been fully vetted before being marketed. If it would work as advertised, it would be a great swim tool.

http://youtu.be/gzBt-omy5tI

Yeah, without any specific knowledge, I have to agree with Talvi. You know the Poolmate may be old technology, but it was built specifically for swimmers, and the hardware and software is optimised for this one purpose, so you may find that it would be hard to find a multipurpose networking tool that does the job as well.

[CoachDavidShen]

Originally Posted by mbruse

Hi -

I use a poolmate watch consistently now when I swim. It counts my laps and tell me total distance, has a swim golf feature, etc.

I saw an advertisement for the pebble watch. I was wondering if anyone here has used it and could tell me if it's worth it getting?

Thanks,

Mike

my favorite swim watch is the Garmin Swim. it does a pretty good job at swim metrics and is the least expensive out of the swim tracking lineup from Garmin. the 910XT and 920XT also track swimming metrics, but they are bulkier and more expensive. but still the GPS results in the 910XT is pretty darn cool to look at and does pretty well for tracking OW swims.

[mbruse]

First off, thanks everyone for the quick input. It's definitely put some drag on my energy towards buying this.

I was skeptical too that's why I came here to see if anyone has actually used it. It does not sound like anyone has tried it so maybe I'll wait for the next iteration.

The feature about wirelessly uploading my workouts sounds good but you never know what you are buying until you have it. I'm not too keen on getting text messages while I am swimming; however, this might come in handy if I was paged by work and it was truly an emergency. I'm on-call for a hospital imaging Department so I have to keep an ear open to my pager beeping outside the pool.

I like the looks and features of the Garmin swim watch but I still have buyers remorse over the 405 Garmin I bought for running which went haywire after about 10 uses and never worked again. It's brand new and stares at me every as a problem never solved and $300 down the drain.

Anways, maybe as more people get this watch we'll see some more feedback from swimmers on it.

[sclim]

Originally Posted by mbruse

...however, this might come in handy if I was paged by work and it was truly an emergency. I'm on-call for a hospital imaging Department so I have to keep an ear open to my pager beeping outside the pool.

I like the looks and features of the Garmin swim watch but I still have buyers remorse over the 405 Garmin I bought for running which went haywire after about 10 uses and never worked again. It's brand new and stares at me every as a problem never solved and $300 down the drain.

If you get it for a different reason alone such as being available for emergency paging while swimming, that might make sense. Just don't expect that it will be a more easily workable lap counter than your specialised Swimsense.

Regarding the Garmin, if it's still under warranty (1 year?) you should be able to get a refund.

BTW I have a Garmin 910XT which is excellent for running and biking, but my swimming is so atypical (bad) that it consistently miscounted my laps, misinterpreted variations in speed halfway through the length as ending of the laps, mis-identified my stroke type, and (as expected) is useless for tracking drills where my left hand was not moving. So I have not been using this for swimming, until my stroke improves somewhat, anyway.

[Talvi]

Originally Posted by sclim

...BTW I have a Garmin 910XT which is excellent for running and biking, but my swimming is so atypical (bad) that it consistently miscounted my laps, misinterpreted variations in speed halfway through the length as ending of the laps, mis-identified my stroke type, and (as expected) is useless for tracking drills where my left hand was not moving. So I have not been using this for swimming, until my stroke improves somewhat, anyway.

Sclim, did you update the firmware to v.3.0? If not then you MUST do that. I, like many many others, had the same problems and it was driving me mad. After much ranting on the Garmin forum ver.3.0 came out and solved them.

True about tracking drills, not a problem form me as I don't do many laps of them.

It still sometimes misidentifies my stroke but only for a lap here or there, and I know what I'm swimming so again not a problem for me. It tends to happen when I am really experimenting with my style.

As wih all big corporations Garmin don't seem to care very much about user experience as the business plan is pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap, combined with relentless smoke 'n mirrors advertising. The technology is undeniably awesome but the software, as always, is p**s poor, but that's the world we live in.

[sclim]

Originally Posted by Talvi

Sclim, did you update the firmware to v.3.0? If not then you MUST do that. I, like many many others, had the same problems and it was driving me mad. After much ranting on the Garmin forum ver.3.0 came out and solved them.

True about tracking drills, not a problem form me as I don't do many laps of them.

It still sometimes misidentifies my stroke but only for a lap here or there, and I know what I'm swimming so again not a problem for me. It tends to happen when I am really experimenting with my style.

As wih all big corporations Garmin don't seem to care very much about user experience as the business plan is pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap, combined with relentless smoke 'n mirrors advertising. The technology is undeniably awesome but the software, as always, is p**s poor, but that's the world we live in.

Yeah, I did upgrade to v3.0. The length tracking did improve slightly, actually, but was still bad, likely because at the time I was swimming at TT 1.40 sec, and my technique was still pretty bad.

It's entirely possible that I might have improved to the point where the 910XT less often confuses my spontaneous speed variation and actually stopping at the far end (sadly, I guess that's what was happening, lol), but it's less of a hassle not to try it again, for now, unless there's a particular convenience or advantage to be tried for.

Actually, right now I'm mentally counting SPL all the time. I find it's convenient to keep track of this in real time from length to length so that I can get insight and instant feedback as to the effect on SPL of my stroke modifications -- extra force, less force, more gradual merging of catch into pull, faster recovery, more pronounced hip drive, etc.

Even if SPL was accurately recorded to be retrieved later, I would like to know what SPL was now at the end of every lap. Hmm, I think you could get that (SPL for lap just competed) to display on the 910XT. But I think it takes several seconds to compute, which means you have to be waiting there at the wall, squinting at your watch, which would really disrupt the flow of your practice. Better to keep count yourself in your head.

BTW: "Can I be the only one who likes burnt porridge?" I don't know what your comment is in reference too, but in this past year I have discovered steel cut oats, particularly an organic variety grown just south of Calgary (Highwood Crossing Farm). After years of tolerating instant varieties of rolled oats, the slightly chewy, nutty flavour is a real treat, making the slightly longer preparation time worth while. My time saving method is thus: 1 cup of dry steel cut oats roasted gently in a heavy pot with a small knob of butter. The oats and butter toast nicely, releasing a really peasant nutty aroma. Not "burnt porridge" I guess, but a small step in that direction. Once I reach the point just short of the burnt smell, I gradually add enough water and salt, bring it to a rolling boil for 10 minutes, then put a tight fitting lid on it, and turn the heat off. The heat retained in the contents of the pot, especially if it is a cast iron one is enough to complete the cooking process, sitting overnight. Makes about 4 portions. In the morning I spoon out a portion, add soya milk, raisins, apple, banana, cinnamon or whatever, and microwave to warm up. Remainder sits in the fridge nicely, or keeps in a cool kitchen temperature for a day in a pinch. Not related to Pebble Watch thread -- Mea Culpa!