The Garmin Forerunner 735xt tested at 400 metres
8.6.2017
Translation: machine translated
Garmin makes sports watches. We on the editorial team test pretty much everything we find interesting. The problem with the Garmin Forerunner 735xt was that none of us are sporty enough to test the watch. That's why we looked for a test subject: Vanessa Zimmermann, a 400 metre runner on her way to the Universiade.
Vanessa Zimmermann is fast. Very fast, in fact. The 26-year-old is a 400-metre runner with the goal of competing at the Universiade, colloquially known as the "Olympics for university students", in Taipei. Her daily routine is therefore tougher than ever: in addition to her work as a fitness trainer, she trains nine times a week. Running, strength training, resistance training; there's hardly anything Vanessa doesn't put herself through. Sometimes she gets injured, pulls a muscle or grazes herself somewhere. But she doesn't think about giving up, even if it often annoys her when a training session has to be cancelled due to her health.
Why?
"Because the feeling of running is indescribably beautiful and it makes me happy," she says with an infectious laugh. Her attitude to sport and her spontaneous nature make her the perfect test subject for the Garmin Forerunner 735xt. Good, that and the fact that she travelled to South Africa for a training camp just a few days after receiving the test watch. After all, where better to test a device like this than in a place that's all about running?
And then we didn't see the clock again for a long time
After the training camp: radio silence. Did Vanessa not like the watch? Did she lose it? I look into it. "Can't I keep the watch?" she asks a little over a month after returning from South Africa. Why?
"Sure, the watch is quite large, but it's one of the few that can be worn comfortably by a woman with a fine wrist," she says. Although large, at 44 grams the device is very light and barely noticeable.
In addition, the watch told her a lot about herself. The Forerunner's heart rate monitor in particular has become an indispensable tool for her. "Whether I'm sleeping or training, the heart rate monitor has been invaluable," she says. After all, her training is all about tenths of a second and analysing her performance on the red track, which means the world to her. Every data record is worth its weight in gold.
"For example, I sometimes felt weakened and knew when training made sense and when it didn't based on my heart rate, among other things," says Vanessa
However, this effect only materialised gradually: "I'm a runner who used to rely on her body feeling," she says. After all, nobody can run faster just by wearing a watch. It doesn't work like that. But the test assignment was clear: put the watch on, don't take it off again, press buttons. "Over time, however, the watch became a faithful companion in my life and I made increasing use of various features."
Is Vanessa not the target group?
Over time, however, Vanessa began to suspect: "Maybe I'm not the target group for this watch, even though I get a lot of benefits when I use it". Because she doesn't like one feature that is absolutely important and indispensable for her: the stopwatch.
"I have to press various buttons to get from the watch face to the stopwatch," she says. She is also concerned with fractions of a second in sport, which of course makes it extremely difficult to stop precisely herself. She thinks for a moment: "Perhaps I would be better served with a classic stopwatch. Or Garmin could install such a watch. That would be great," she says. One press of a button and the time starts running. Another press and the measurement stops.
She therefore assumes that the watch was developed for long-distance runners. "But even as a short-distance runner, I have much more knowledge about myself and my performance". Therefore: No matter how fast or far you run, the Garmin Forerunner will provide you with valuable information, even if the whole package was developed for long-distance runners. However, heart rate and sleep rhythm are interesting for all athletes.
"I was so close to the limit in terms of the watch's usefulness. If you run less than 400 metres, you should perhaps test the watch first." Not because the watch somehow spits out incorrect data, but simply because the variety of features cannot be used. She herself has not utilised all of the watch's features. The GPS, for example, is not directly relevant for 400-metre runners, as the end of the course is usually visible from the start.
A complete smartwatch
The Garmin Forerunner 735xt is not only interesting for athletes, as the manufacturer has built the most important functions of a smartwatch into the watch. Notifications from all well-known messengers are displayed on the watch.
Vanessa has only one word for the notifications: "Top!" She also gives the same verdict for the operation. Despite the fact that the stopwatch is a little difficult to access, she says that it is easy to use.
The Garmin Forerunner is a watch that not only serves her well in sports or supports her athletic career, but is also something she can use in everyday life. "The Forerunner has rarely left my wrist," she says. Sometimes even just to recharge the battery. So quickly overnight. That's why she proudly showed the watch to everyone, but made no effort to give it back. The test? A complete success. The watch? A good everyday companion.
"Oh yes, it also tells the time," she says. And laughs. <p
Header image: Picture: Samuel Mettler
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
1 comment
later