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Forerunner 735XT

Kit and Tech Reviews Triathlon Try-Athlete

Garmin Forerunner 735XT Multisport Watch Review

This summer, I headed off to Australia with a spring in my step and a new Garmin Forerunner 735XT on my wrist. It had been a winter of discontent , disappointment and disconnection, but I had decided that by autumn, I would branch out into new sports and activities and leave my troubles and negative thoughts behind.

Armed with the Garmin Forerunner 735XT, I was equipped to track several new activities in addition to the staples of outdoor and indoor running, cycling and swimming which are more than adequately tracked by almost every other Garmin Forerunner watch.

These included Rowing, Stand Up Paddle (SUP) boarding and Hiking. All activities that I hoped to undertake while on my Australian travels.

There is also the option of adding other activity profiles, such as Strength and Cardio, but these basically operate like a stopwatch with heart rate based calorie burn, which don’t, in my opinion, add much value, although you can download HIIT training apps, which could be fun (please note that perceptions of what constitutes fun may vary).

The watch itself is smaller than the Forerunner 620 and similar in shape and size to the Forerunner 235. This makes for a comfortable fit and more likely to be “borrowed” by my training partner and partner in life, Teresa. It is quite light and given my knack for falling off of bikes, I have concerns about how durable the plastic casing and screen are. My first 620 (it was stolen during a burglary) suffered a few scrapes and some might prefer a more rugged watch, such as the new Suunto Spartan Ultra, but I do like how light it is and the fact that I can customise it and wear it as an everyday watch (more on that later) at work.

It also lacks the touch screen ability of the Forerunner 620, but I have a confession. While I loved my 620, I prefer using buttons. More reliable, especially in wet conditions (I do live in Glasgow) and a slightly faster and more accurate response than the touch screen , although that might be down to my fat fingers.

Outdoor Swimming with the Garmin 735XT

While in Oz, I went swimming in oceans, lakes, creeks and even under a waterfall and can attest to it being waterproof (and shockproof seemingly). The optical heart rate monitor doesn’t work in water, but Garmin do provide a chest strap for swimmers and another for triathletes with the Tri Bundle. I never tested these as I had left them at home, but when I start my swimming lessons (pool and sea), I will use this to measure my performance and progress.

Garmin probably didn’t have swimming in waterfalls in mind when designing the 735XT

Currently, I am more of a try-athlete than a triathlete, so the Forerunner 735XT is probably a tad advanced for my needs, but the Ironman within me is eager to test it in triathlons and I did manage to test while hiking through a few rainforests and on a kayak in the Whitsunday Islands

Kayaking with the Forerunner 735XT

I went “get in the sea” with this pic, as I was about to get in the sea

The activity profile on the Forerunner 735XT is actually for rowing and I am not sure just how universal stroke speed and distance are, but on reviewing my performance back on land and comparing it against average kayaking metrics, the numbers seemed about right. For someone not very good at kayaking, that is.

Seemingly this is at the low end of average.

And here is my main issue with the all singing (only activity it doesn’t measure) and all dancing Forerunner 735XT.

Post kayak or row, I love looking at the stats, charts and maps on both the Forerunner 735XT and the Garmin Connect App on my mobile phone and reflecting on my performance. While running, I can lift my arm and see how I am performing in real time, and make adjustments, but just try that while kayaking (and even swimming). You are dependent on two arms and monitoring your performance is impossible, using only the watch (feel free to correct me) without interrupting your flow.

However, the GPS does certainly work well enough, even at sea. It is very quick at acquiring satellites and much faster than my old Forerunner 620. I especially like the Garmin Connect maps.

My Garmin Map of Shute Harbour using my Forerunner 735XT

Hiking with the Forerunner 735XT

In Hiking mode, it also adds elevation and as we climbed Mt Ngungun in the Glasshouse Mountains (read my post about it) and Mt Cannibal (given the Australian tradition of naming every place literally such as “To The Beach Road”, I was relieved to find it was clear of cannibals ), my boys were elated to hear at regular intervals how high we were climbing. One caveat worth noting is that the Forerunner 735XT relies on GPS. For some reason, known only to Garmin, it doesn’t have a barometric altimeter that you can find in the likes of the Vivoactive HR .

Elevation (both in altitude and heart rate)

In addition to measuring our elevation, it also measures distance, pace, calories burned and of course heart rate, which seemed to elevate in pace with our ascent of Dunk Island. The dips were undoubtedly selfie and scenery stops. Not rests. Honest.

And that brings us neatly to the wrist based optical heart rate monitor (hrm). For me, chest straps found on sports watches are a pain. Literally. They are often too tight and I have often found it difficult to keep them in place. The addition of an optical hrm attracted me to both the Forerunner 235 and 735XT and there is something addictive about checking your heart rate while walking to work, climbing stairs, watching television and even while sitting on the loo. Possibly too much information, but I was only doing so for research purposes. Honest.

But the optical monitors are not without their detractors. Fitbit are currently battling a class action lawsuit for the inaccuracy of their optical heart rate monitor watches and I do have some reservations about the Garmin Elevate system. It is a proprietary technology and over the courses of several updates, Garmin claim that it has become more accurate and for the majority of time, it does seem to be. I have a very low resting heart rate and recover relatively quickly from exertion (it must be all the yoga and meditating) and the Forerunner 735XT seems to be unable to react accurately to sudden changes in heart rate, although it does eventually respond and for my purposes , the readings are accurate enough. While wearing it 24/7, I really like how it uses my heart rate to determine my daily basal metabolic rate. I.E. how many calories I burn each day (otherwise referred to as how much food I can eat in a day).

You become addicted to checking if your heart is still beating

I also quite like the customisable watch faces via Garmin IQ (their App centre) and the smart notifications that show me weather forecasts, social media updates, and even text messages and incoming calls (handy at work). However, these are also available on the Forerunners 235 and 635, and on their own, they are not a reason to upgrade to the Forerunner 735XT. However, the watch does come into its own with some key and rather exciting features.

Just call me Universal Biker

The Forerunner 735XT is the only Garmin watch order viagra
that supports the Garmin Varia range and having picked up the Vision In-Sight display headset, I can confirm that they pair together quickly. As I train for triathlons and get out on my bikes more, I will fully test the Vision and report back.

The Forerunner 735XT also improves upon the 235 by adding a function that would please my Chi Running coach (see my review of Chi Running).

A Metronome.

I am guilty of a long stride (even with my short legs) and a low cadence and the Metronome tool is set to pulse at the recommended 180 steps per minute, although this can be tailored to each runner. This helps you run at a more efficient pace.

For the sports scientists among you, the Forerunner 735XT is equipped with all manner of performance indicators. From the standard training tools, race predictor, VO2 max (premium Forerunners) and recovery adviser to more advanced Lactate Threshold (requires the chest strap) and Functional Threshold Power readings. I will be honest, these mean little to me at the moment, but I intend on finding out.

You might think that all of these functions and the constant use of GPS, heart rate and bluetooth might be battery intensive and in comparison to the seemingly never ending battery of the Garmin Vivofit, it is. While away for four weeks, and using the heart rate and GPS, I have charged it three times with a very quick charge time. I should point out that Garmin state that it will last 14hrs in full race mode, so any budding Ironmen might want to consider their expected finishing times and an alternative watch, such as the Fenix 3.

However, the Garmin Forerunner 735XT is a stunning sports watch that combines many of the best features of Garmin’s Forerunner and Fenix ranges and it equally works well as a physical activity tracker (like other models, it reminds you to move) and smart watch.

All of this doesn’t come cheap (Garmin Forerunner 735XT Tri Bundle costs £435 at Wiggle , but you can pick up the Run Bundle for £335 at Millets) and for the average runner or cyclist, I might recommend the less expensive options of the Forerunner 235 or Vivoactive HR, but then, who wants to be average and who would much rather be an Ironman (or at least a half Ironman)?

The Garmin Forerunner 735XT is a watch for Triathletes and Try-Athletes. It is the watch for me.

Disclaimer. Garmin provided a Forerunner 735XT for this review, but I loved it so much, I bought one for myself.

August 24, 2016 2 comments

Australia Travel Try-Athlete

Salty Dog Sea Kayaking in the Whitsundays

written by Stephen Morrison

Airlie Beach, Queensland. Gateway to the Whitsunday Islands and renowned for its Main Street drinking and dancing institutions. Here, 21 years ago I made many friends and even hooked up a 3 week sail along the coast while partying each night.

Magnums. Where I spent many a night.

However, this time I was not partying in Magnums or sailing off into the sunset . Instead I was looking forward to another mode of sea faring.

For I had booked an afternoon of Whitsunday Sea Kayaking with Salty Dog Sea Kayaking, a respected and experienced tour operator, based out of Shute Harbour . I had originally hoped to book a place on their full day excursion to South Molle Island , but I had instead learned a valuable lesson. In Queensland and especially during Victoria and New South Wales school holidays, it pays to book accommodation, tours and excursions well in advance.

Thankfully, there was space on their afternoon kayak to White Rock and I was looking forward to getting out to the sea and to testing some of the features of the fabulous new Garmin Forerunner 735XT, which Garmin had kindly given me for my Australian travels (look out for a full review on Man V Fat).

In addition to the usual Forerunner tracked activities of running, cycling and swimming, the 735XT also allows me to track stand up paddle boarding, hiking (more of that in my next blog) and rowing and enables me to create this wonderful route map.

My Garmin Map using my Forerunner 735XT

Now, I am no expert, but while they might differ greatly, rowing and kayaking both involve sticking a stick into water while sitting in a floaty mcfloatyface.

Hopefully I will soon understand and respect the finer details of rowing, when I try the sport on the banks of Glasgow’s River Clyde, but after being picked up and taken to Airlie Beach’s Shute Harbour I was given a succinct safety talk and introduction to kayaking by Salty Dog instructor Lion, who had found his way to Australia from Germany via an outdoor sports degree in New Zealand.

He explained some of the basic but key points of kayaking and requested that we respect and accept his instructions while we were out at sea. This was especially important as the wind was picking up and the water was becoming gnarly (Lion’s word). The route of our afternoon’s kayak would be determined by Lion’s reading of the weather and the sea. Given my inexperience and Lion’s local knowledge, I was more than happy to defer to his judgement.

I was also more than happy to share a kayak with Elise, a English teacher from the Northern Territories, who also happened to have some experience in kayaking while studying sports at University. I kept my own experience to myself, as busting my nose and mouth open on Tully River rapids might not have instilled confidence in my abilities.

Suitably instructed and paired, we launched our kayak into the water and set off for the agreed marshalling point. The sheltered waters of Shute Harbour were relatively calm and Elise and I quickly settled into a comfortable pace.

Too comfortable it seemed, as we were soon way beyond our group and had to be called back by Lion, who was keen that we should stay as a group.

Yes, boss, we’ll stay close. ..honest

Throughout the afternoon, Lion provided some history of the region and kept us aware of vital information such as the location of boating channels and advice on what to do if a big boat is heading in our direction. Which was basically stop or change direction as never in the history of kayak vs boat collisions has a kayak came out the winner.

As we ventured further out, Lion unfortunately but understandably advised us that we would not be going to White Rock, as the wind and the waters were both livening up. The sky might have been gloriously blue and the waters clear and relatively warm, but we were not foolish enough to disrespect the sea or Lion’s instructions. Elise and I both felt confident on the water and we were happy to race ahead of the group at times, but never ventured too far away.

While it was disappointing not to be heading to White Rock, I was really enjoying battling against the wind and swells of the sea. There is something both calming and exciting about skimming across the water and with each wave that we broke, we increased our speed. I was enjoying the workout so much, that I encouraged Elise to take a break and film our approach to the beach, where we would stop for a some snorkeling, walking and some food.

Salty Dog Sea Kayaking had provided us with Stinger suits, snorkeling gear and lunch, which were all stored in the holds of our kayaks. The kayaks used by Salty Dog Sea Kayaking seemed to be well equipped and even came with pedals that made changing direction easier for our navigator, Elise.

Once beached, we noticed that visibility in the water was not great and, as a group, we decided to go for a wee hike along the beach and a climb over the rocks, before retiring to an old beach hunt for our energy replenishing lunch of fruit, nuts and juice.

A wee stroll amongst the rocks

After that, it was a race back to base. O.K. It wasn’t a race, but both Elise and I had both enjoyed our battle with the swell so much, that we pushed on, ploughing through the waves, only to slow down every so often to await our team. It was exhilarating and I might need to look up my fellow Amazing Loser Chris Oliver, who is an avid sea kayaker, once home in Scotland as most of our coastline is stunning and it would be wonderful to test myself in Scottish waters.

But back to Airlie Beach it is for this post and our kayaking adventure.

Our day ended with some manual labour, as we assisted the Salty Dog team in the storing of the kayaks. This final act reinforced the idea that we were a team and as we piled onto the bus and regaled with our interpretations of the day’s adventure, I was struck with a tinge of regret.

The success of all of these trips often rely upon the group dynamic and as the afternoon had progressed, we all had become more and more familiar and friendly. Elise and I had become a good team

Elise and I became paddle pals.

It would have been a pleasure to have spent the full day with this crew and as I was being dropped off at my hotel, I promised that I would share this blog on the Salty Dog Facebook page, from where I “borrowed “ a few of the pictures in this post.

So, if you are reading this on the Salty Dog Sea Kayaking page, with a view of booking a day or half day kayaking, don’t hesitate. You’ll visit empty beaches, learn about the local area and will fall in love with kayaking in the Whitsunday waters. The Salty Dog Sea Kayaking excursion was one of my favourite Australia 2016 activities and I have no hesitation for recommending them or their tours.

Or, if you are one of my pals reading this because I pestered you to, then let’s get you (you read this far) out to sea, or on a loch or even river for some kayaking fun.

It was also nice of Lion to share his verdict on my sea kayaking skills

July 26, 2016 4 comments