TECH SPECS
Display: 205 x 148 pixels
Water resistance: 50m
Heart-rate monitor: Garmin HRM-Run chest strap
Weight: 61g (watch only)
RATING
Features 5/5
Design 3/5
Performance 4/5
Value for money 3/5
Overall 4/5
You can save the money on buying a
fitness of physical shape if you obtain the
Garmin Forerunner 920XT.
It is a watch of GPS of multi-sport which also detects your daily physical-activities, such as measures taken and burned calories. It adjusts even the daily target of the measures taken, according to your representation.
The 920XT is the only watch in this gathering with a color screen. Posting is rather large, thus it is easy to read during external training sessions out of luminous sun or the night.
There are two buttons on each side of the display. The ones on the
right are for scrolling up and down. The top one on the left is the
power/light button; and the other is the unlock/switch button.
And there are another two buttons - back and enter - just under the
display. It takes a while to get the hang of navigating the interface
using all these buttons.
With so many buttons and its big display, the 920XT looks like a
mini-computer strapped to your wrist. It certainly is not a party piece.
The chest strap of Garmin's HRM-Run heart-rate monitor is quite
comfortable as long as you adjust it properly. But it will not work
when you go swimming with the 920XT.
Charge the 920XT using the bundled USB connector with the big
cradle. Download the Garmin Express software on your computer to sync
it with the Garmin Connect Web service, where you will be able to see
all your workout stats.
You can also connect the 920XT via Bluetooth via the Garmin Connect
app (Android and iOS). Once paired, the watch will display
notifications of your incoming e-mail and other messages.
Back to running. Press the unlock/switch button to enter your
workout options. Use the up/down buttons to toggle through "run", open
water and triathlon options.
Select the workout - "run" (in our case). The 920XT will then try to connect to the HRM-Run and get a GPS lock.
In an HDB neighbourhood, 920XT took 5sec to connect to the HRM-Run,
and another 5sec to get a GPS lock. On a stadium track, it was all done
in 5sec.
This was the second fastest - just behind the Suunto Ambit3 Peak.
The 920XT heart-rate readings are in line with the rest of the running watches here, except for the TomTom Runner + MultiSport.
During a run, you can switch to see a heart-rate panel that displays
your current heart rate and the zone you are in. It would have been
even better if the panel also showed the distance travelled and time
taken.
I found the GPS tracking slightly erratic. The margin of error for
both the HDB route and stadium route hovers around 4.5 per cent. While
these readings are within the 5 per cent margin generally considered
acceptable, I had expected the 920XT to be more accurate, given
Garmin's GPS pedigree.
The Garmin Connect website's interface needs improvement. It does
not allow you to overlay the stats, such as pace and heart rate, on the
same chart.
The Garmin Forerunner 920XT is rather expensive and looks
slightly clunky. But it does everything you want and more for a GPS
watch, especially if you are aiming to progress towards a triathlon.
