Concept2 Forum

Hi there,

What is a good decent smart watch to use for mainly rowing + hiking + biking.
within price range 200-250 euro's (or dollars)

What parameters do i like?
heartrate
calories
sleep activity
gps-tracking of the hiking/biking routes i did
long battery-life is a ++ (don't like to charge daily)
compatible with ergdata app (or even better: how does dit work)?

I don't use is as a gps device as such (for routing). Or maybe i will - if it is any good.

What about the Polar OH1 (a separate optical wrist or arm-sensor).
Is that any good? Can u i use it with all kinds of app's (i.e. Ergdata) or is that only Polar compatible.
The ++ here is you can use it indepentedly (without connection to smartphone or watch) since it has a memory during workouts.

Many thanks - Jan

I did some search in the forum and found som hints:

Seems there are some watches with optical wrest HR-monitoring:
as an extra feature: the HR-signal can be transmitted to external devices (such as the PM5 ??) so ....
this seems the solution for my question:

Starting the workout with the watch:
1. send HR signal (ANT) tot PM5
2. start workout

Most watches can also be connected with an externa (=better?) HR monitor (e.g. chest)
since there is an ongoing discussion about accuracy of the optical wrest HR monitor
especially when rowing, weight-lifting ....

Given some extra's such as GPS tracking ... and since i like Garming these are the 2 watches that seem to answer the questions:

Garmin Vivoactive 3 (or 3+)
Garmin Instinct

Any extra advice pro - con ??

many thanks - Jan

Regarding compatibility with Ergdata:
I don't know of any watch which has such compatibility. What I do know of:

Some older Garmin watches (610XT and 910XT?) could natively communicate with the PM5, so you could log a rowing session with your Garmin watch, including the data from the PM5.

Some newer Garmin watches (for example my Fenix 3 and probably also my newer Fenix 5X+, but not the Instinct) can have a somewhat similar functionality if you download the ErgIQ app for the watch. The data will be recorded by the watch and shown in the Garmin Connect webpage, but will not be used for any of Garmin's native analysis.

Finally, there is an option of synchronizing Concept2's Online Logbook to your Garmin Connect account, so your Concept2 sessions recorded with ErgData will be visible in Garmin Connect. But they will still not be used for any of Garmin's native analysis. They will not even contribute to your daily calories count.

While not what you're looking for (a single watch solution), for others who might read this thread -- you cmight like the combination of a fitbit charge2, the polar H10 band, and a smartphone. The combo (except the phone) fits the original poster's price range. What other measures are people using to support their healthy lifestyles?

Anyway, my list:

* The H10 strap synchronizes to the polar site, and with their Beats and Flow apps, you can use the Polar analysis on your heart rate. That would also give you distance etc, and you do not have to wear a watch. As a hobbyist climber it's an advantage to avoid things on the wrist that can be scraped This HR monitor doesn't sync with the PM5, which isn't an issue for me. I like the Polar site for analyzing overall workouts and haven't been rowing enough to know what works best for analyzing the rower specifically.


* The fitbit charge 2 gives you pretty accurate sleep analysis. The HR isn't accurate enough for interval training IMO: it doesn't catch my max HR regularly. But it does give you a good general sense of your daily activity


*Ergdata can sync through the phone of course, though am becoming a fan of RowPro.

All of that syncs up with MyFitnessPal. Add a compatible auto-upload scale and you're pretty well set for metrics, probably still under $300.

I bought the Garmin Instinct about a week ago. I will do some testing and try to post the result.
For what i learned till now: heartrate watch is accurate but NOT during rowing activities. Highest beat was 108 which is impossible. My separate chest belt indicates up to 160. I'll keep doing some dubbel readings ..
Suppose a separate chest belt is really necessary which is of course an extra step before starting activity.

For now my configuration is:
Concept2 + Ergdata on smartphone connected to PM5
heartrate chest belt connected to PM5 via Bluetooth
Garmin Instinct watch records 'indoor rowing' during activity
Synchronise watch to Garmin Connect Mobile on smartphone (and Garmin Connect pc)
Synchronise Ergdata to Concept2 logbook
Auto synchronise Ergdata to Strava.

The instinct is otherwise a super watch with a batterytime 14 days. Many configurations, screens, gps, music-control ....

Jan