When you see the name TomTom, neither sports nor running come to mind. TomTom brings to mind maps, directions and traffic status. Surprisingly they chose to join the fitness wave and create a line of GPS Sports Watches. With all these sports watches and activity trackers on the market that can potentially show you how many breaths you take in a second, it could be confusing to know what’s worth spending your money on. The average sports watch will run you around $200. The TomTom Runner GPS watch comes in just under that at $149.99. What makes TomTom Runner GPS watch different and is it worth the money?
Design
The first thing you notice is that TomTom didn’t spend a lot of time trying to doll the watch up or try and grab your attention by making it bright and shiny. I don’t mean that in a negative way I mean that you can tell it looks pretty straightforward and simple to use. The band feels like it could be made of plastic. Not cheap and flimsy or hard and bulky. If feels very pliable and is full of intentional tiny circles (holes) with raised bumps on the inside. The conclusion you would draw from this is that the holes allow air to better circulate and the raised bumps keep the watch in place on your wrist and won’t slide up and down as you sweat or move around.
The actual “face” of the watch is a one-piece unit that is attached to the control button. It easily pops out of the band for charging or even switching bands. The band is in no way bulky or masculine making it the perfect size and comfortable for my wrist. It almost felt like I wasn’t wearing a sports watch at all. The large graphical display is scratch and impact resistant so regardless of how rugged the terrain you run is the TomTom Runner will stay up to task. It’s also perfect for focusing on the workout at hand by making your stats easier to glance at without having to stop and press any buttons to check progress.
Experience
I’ve mostly stayed with small trackers that I can clip to my clothes, forget about and sync with an app at the end of the day. Admittedly this is the first actual Sports Watch I’ve used and frankly I’ve found others to look too bulky and uncomfortable. The TomTom Runner GPS watch doesn’t just appear to be simple to use. It actually is.
As mentioned before the display is attached to the control button. This single control button is all you will need in order to navigate through all three training modes. The QuickGPSFix Technology helps the watch find your exact location helping you maneuver your course better. Since it tracks indoor and outdoor running, I preferred indoors using the treadmill. It initially estimates your strides using your arm swings. Since everyone’s stride isn’t the same, the TomTom Runner allows you to calibrate your stats with the output from the treadmill. You should only have to calibrate once for it to give you more definite numbers as you use it.
Key Features
- Extra-large display with full-screen graphics lets you see your key running stats at-a-glance; view distance, run time and pace on a high-resolution and high-contrast display
- Navigate easily through menus with the intuitive one-button control
- View your training performance at-a-glance with three training modes: Race, Goal and Zone
- Race mode compares your current run with past performances; Goal mode helps you stay on track to achieve your goals; Zone mode helps you stay in the right training zone
- Note: Zone mode requires optional heart rate monitor accessory (not included)
- Run anytime, anywhere with an indoor/treadmill tracker, all-weather, waterproof construction and up to 10 hours of battery life in GPS mode
- Designed specifically for runners, the TomTom Runner GPS fitness monitor features an ultra-slim design, super-tough display, vibration alerts and QuickGPSFix technology
- Multi-platform compatibility lets you sync, analyze and share your stats on popular running sites or apps; upload information about your runs to track against your goals
Final Thoughts
One of the hardest things about everyone else around you becoming more active while you still refuse to get off the couch. When you start seeing their results either you eat more junk or you get off the couch and decide to start your active lifestyle journey. Where do you start? Running doesn’t even sound fun to say and doesn’t look fun to do, but we all have to begin somewhere. This TomTom Runner GPS Watch has other features to motivate you on your journey such as a race mode so you try to beat your best time. If you’re like me and don’t like your accessories to be too vanilla you can purchase comfort straps in different colors to change it up a little.
The website and app are free and easy to use. At first I had an issue with stats from certain dates showing in triplicate. Some distances were showing 0 once uploaded and the app wouldn’t connect to the watch. The watch has since had several updates since I’ve used it over the past month and I no longer have that issue and the app syncs flawlessly.
How does it stack up to other sports watches? Well, considering my limited experience I found it a no brainer so use. Comparing it to other watches I’ve spent a little bit of time with this one was more to the point, more lightweight and connects to most of third-party health apps that I use. You can purchase the watch in the color of your choice from Amazon for as low as $129, and on the TomTom site for $149.99 and also pick up additional bands for $29.99.
