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Swim Bag: Swim Gadgets

Lap CountersThe three lap counting devices

we tested share some features: All will calculate total time swum, to-tal distance swum, pace, number of strokes, and efficiency. Efficien-cy is determined by the number of strokes it takes to swim a specific distance; the lower the stroke count—while keeping the same speed—the more efficient the stroke. Since a lower score is con-sidered better, just as in golf, sets or drills that test this factor are often referred to as “swim golf” or SWOLF. These lap counters are ideal for practicing SWOLF and allow for detailed analysis of a swimmer’s efficiencies.

All three devices also allow users to view their workout his-tories on the watch face, and to upload the data to a computer for further analysis. (The PoolMate does not have this function, but the PoolMate Pro does.) Finis and Garmin provide online solu-tions for viewing and sharing your workouts. PoolMate Pro’s software is a desktop-only in-terface, although workouts can

be exported. All three allow for adding workouts manually to the training logs.

All three devices require a fair amount of setup. Basic user infor-mation needs to be entered, such as age, weight (for calorie calcula-tions), pool length, and which wrist the watch will be worn on. It is worth spending some extra time on dry land learning about the features before you hit the pool. Our middle-aged testers discovered that with goggles on and reading glasses nowhere to be found, the screens were hard to read. It was easier to memorize the button functions than to try to read the labels and prompts between sets.Important notes for all three brands

All support both Mac •and PC.All testers experienced •minor glitches with all three devices, either in: installing software, uploading workouts, errors in stroke recognition, missing

laps, etc. These devices are not perfect, but if you like gadgets and you understand that they are just tools to assist you in your training, you can overlook the glitches. The technology is evolving and all three manufacturers appear to be eager to continue to improve their devices.Although the data •transmission methods are different for each manufacturer, all three require a USB port. If you have USB ports on your computer that get heavy use, these devices may not be recognized every time, or even at all. Be sure to use a port that does not get regular use.These devices depend on •accelerometers to sense the stopping and starting when swimming back and forth in a pool (both flip turns and open turns are fine), so they will

not work for open water swimming. They also sense arm movements, so they need to be placed in pause mode when doing drills or kick sets.

1. Swimovate Poolmate and Poolmate Pro

($95-$170) swimovate usa.com

The Pool-Mate and its computer-ready twin, the PoolMate Pro, were the smallest of the lap coun-ters, and either can easily be worn as a wristwatch. The PoolMate Pro has the added bonus of supporting multiple users (three), and it can store 100 workout sessions. Both PoolMates have internal bat-teries that can be replaced as in a regular watch. The data is transmitted from the PoolMate Pro to the desktop software via infrared: the watch is placed in an IR pod, which is connected to a USB port.

Gadgets Gadgets Gadgets!

Swimming can be the ultimate low-tech sport—you don’t really need anything but the wa-

ter. But gear and gadgets can break monotony, be fun, and improve your swimming. Ad-

vances in custom integrated circuit design have resulted in some pretty cool gadgets that

many swimmers are using to enhance their training regimens.

Whether you’re swimming for fitness and just want to count calories or laps, looking to maxi-

mize heart rate training for an important competition, or just trying to keep track of your mile-

age when you venture into the open water, there’s a device for you.

We looked at three different types of products: lap counters, GPS devices, and heart rate

monitors. There is overlap in some cases. For example, the Magellan Switch and Switch Up are

both GPS devices and heart rate monitors.

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» » » TestedFOR Masters Swimmers BY Masters Swimmers

Testers liked the simplicity of the Swimovate products. Once the easy setup process is com-plete, just jump in the pool and press the start button. Press that same button when you complete a repetition to pause, then press it again to start a new rep. (A “P” shows up on the screen to let you know it is in pause mode.)

Simplicity does come with a price, as there are fewer func-tions and data collected by the PoolMates. The main two: 1) Per lap stroke count. The PoolMate counts strokes per interval or set (time between pauses of the button). The av-erage stroke per lap is shown, but not each lap’s actual total. 2) The inability to sense what stroke is being swum. Com-bined, this means that little valuable data can be obtained in a set of, say, 100 IMs.

PoolMate cannot tell the difference between freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, and it didn’t register anything for breaststroke—just a big bunch of zeros when data was uploaded.

However, if you keep track of which strokes you swam, you can select them for your training log in drop-down menus next to each set. Other edits can be made, but the software handled this a bit inelegantly. In the breaststroke example, rather than edit the row of zeros, you have to insert a new set and delete the old one.

The PoolMates were fairly accurate, although some testers found that they inexplicably dropped a lap now and again, usually during stroke or IM sets. The watch must be worn tightly on the wrist to accu-rately record data, and one tester mentioned that when he tightened the band to improve accuracy (which worked) he

experienced some discomfort.

Testers also found that it was easy to inadvertently delete their workouts when trying to view them on the watch, and advised that it is safer to wait until they are uploaded.

Once you’ve uploaded your workout data to PoolMate Pro’s desktop application, there are a lot of options for keeping track of your daily or monthly progress with simple bar charts and line graphs that track dis-tance, calories, efficiency, and stroke length, just to name a few. Testers also liked being able to make edits to their workouts, although the Mac users found the interface some-what clumsy.

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2. FiniS SwimSenSe ($170) finisinc.com

The Swimsense is the bulkiest of the three brands tested. Although it would not make a great wrist-watch for many people, it has a larger screen with

more data configurations than the PoolMates.Finis’s online interface, Swimsense Bridge, allows for easy up-

grades. When the unit is docked, you can search for and install firmware updates. Testers accidentally discovered several great fea-tures that were not in the printed version of the manual. One is the ability to configure the Swimsense through the Bridge, rather than on the watch itself (the method described in the manual). Swimmers can enter personal user data, pool data, and even set up five custom screens for the data they want displayed when they’re swimming.

Another nice surprise not found in the manual was iiM, or interval inference mode, in which the watch senses when you’re stopped on the wall and pauses itself. Testers who had tried the PoolMates and the Garmin Swim, and had to hit a button every time they stopped on the wall, loved the iiM feature. The Swim-sense screen reverses to light text on dark background when the watch is in pause mode, another great feature that makes it easy to tell at a glance that you’re recording when you need to be.

The Swimsense was able to detect the four major strokes in most testers better than the Garmin Swim, although it occasionally dropped laps on certain strokes. One tester noticed dropped laps whenever she swam backstroke.

Once data is uploaded to the web and into a training log the presentation is excellent, with nice-looking graphs and an interac-tive slider displaying the details of the workout. Finis also allows editing of the stroke type in the rare event that it guesses wrong during the swim, but testers could not find a way to add dropped laps, as in the case of the missing backstroke laps. (That tester’s 400 IMs showed up as a 375 IMs). Testers appreciated the “Tip” and “Help” trays on the right side of the window that explained common problems and how to solve them.

The Swimsense does not support multiple users as the PoolMate Pro does, and it will only record 14 sessions, compared to the 100 of PoolMate Pro. Testers who preferred this device were OK with this because the unit needs to be docked for charging anyway, since it doesn’t have a removable battery, so data was uploaded and analyzed during charging sessions.

3. Garmin Swim($150) garmin.com/swim

Garmin is known for its multisport gadgets; the Garmin Swim is its first pool-only device. Slim and attractive, although a little large for smaller wrists,

the Garmin Swim can be worn as a wristwatch. Like the PoolMates, the Garmin does not need to be charged because it operates on a battery—one that can be easily replaced by the user—rather than recharged. Like the Finis Swimsense, the Garmin Swim has a web-based interface and can receive firmware updates.

The Garmin Swim is, by far, the easiest of the three devices to read and use. The large face and bold numbers are easier to see, and testers found the functions and button controls more intuitive than the others. A single training screen can be customized so you see the data you want during the workout, which satisfied most testers, although some preferred Finis’s five customizable screens.

The Garmin Swim detected all four strokes with reasonable ac-curacy, although not quite as well as the Swimsense. One tester

reported that the Garmin Swim was never able to distinguish her butterfly from her freestyle. However, none of the testers reported any dropped laps with the Garmin Swim, so it was more accurate than the Swimsense and the PoolMate on that front.

Like the Finis Swimsense, the Garmin Swim has the option of invert-ing the display during pause mode, for easy verification that the device is recording or has paused recording. However, the Garmin lacks the Swimsense’s ability to detect when you’ve stopped at the wall and au-tomatically go into pause mode—a feature that was sorely missed after getting spoiled by not having to push a button when stopped on the wall and before starting again when using the Swimsense.

Garmin’s data upload is done via a USB stick that communicates with the watch. Once signed into a Garmin account, workouts are stored and displayed with excellent interactive graphs and charts. Editing of the workouts is possible, but not everything can be edited: Missing laps can be added (except that Garmin didn’t drop any), but stroke type can-not be changed if it guesses incorrectly (as in the misidentified butterfly).

Garmin Swim does not support multiple users.

GPS Devices4. FiniS Hydro tracker GPS

($130) finisinc.comBuilt for the open water swimmer who also may

want to use it for cycling and running, (a neoprene armband is included) this device is simple, does only

one thing—GPS—but does it well. Finis’s software package, Stream-line Bridge, was easy to install and configure.

The HydroTracker needs to be charged before use (there is a battery indicator in the bridge software). This device is particularly sensitive to heavy-use USB ports, and to any interference between the device and its four-pin dock. Several testers reported that the device lost contact with its dock, even when it sat motionless on a flat surface. This generated annoying improper-disconnect messages on their Macs.

There are only two buttons: power and start/stop. There are four indicator lights: power, GPS, recording, and paused. Al-though the process to start recording is simple, it needs to be at-tended to prior to strapping it on the back of the head.

Swim Bag: Swim Gadgets

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The indicator lights are extremely difficult to see in bright light. After a post-swim trip to breakfast was recorded on one test day, instead of the actual swim, testers decided it is best to mount the device on the goggle strap (but not put the goggles on), then hold it under cupped hands or a towel in order to see the indicator lights and ensure the satellite signal is found and the recording light is on before the swim. Then put on the goggles and swim.

Once the swimming starts, the device is easy to forget. It is comfortable, secure, and never a distraction. You can’t stop during the swim and analyze anything as with the Magellan or other GPS devices, which some testers found refreshing.

Once uploaded, the swim courses and the maps (Google) that ap-pear in the Streamline Training Log are fantastic. In addition to their distance, duration, speed, and pace, testers loved the ability to see an animation of their swims. The device is extremely accurate, showing even slight changes in course. When one group got out and walked along the beach to avoid some fishermen, the line clearly showed on the map that they were at the water’s edge and not in the water. While walking along the beach, a tester stopped and walked back a few feet to talk to a fisherman and even that short diversion showed up on the map. Testers also loved being able to email the map link to members of their swim groups so everyone could see the swim for that day. In one instance, a swim of about 4 miles showed up as 16,000 miles when it was uploaded, but an email to support resolved the issue and the file was corrected.

The Finis HydroTracker GPS is perfect for open water swim-mers curious about the places and distances they swim. To use it for cycling and running, the sampling rate can be changed via the software when it is docked. The neoprene armband is somewhat inelegant compared to wrist-mounted devices. Multisport athletes will likely prefer the Magellan or another brand.

5. maGellan SwitcH and SwitcH UP ($280-$350) magellangps.com

Magellan has crammed a whole lot of functional-ity into its devices. The main difference between the Switch and the Switch Up is the ability to remove

the Switch Up from its wristband and dock it on a bicycle mount (included). The Switch Up also includes a temperature gauge. The units charge in a USB dock, but an AC adaptor plug is included. The units securely adhere to the dock with a satisfying click—testers preferred this to Finis’s four-pin docking system.

The Magellans do not have accelerometers, so they cannot be used to record lap swimming. However, many customizable activity profiles allow the creative user to record just about any-thing. The Magellan Switch and Switch Up were fairly easy to configure and Magellan has a nice online interface with tons of data, similar to Garmin’s.

A complete test of the Magellan devices’ capabilities goes be-yond the scope of this review. Our testers focused on its applica-tion for swimming, knowing that many of our members who are also triathletes have an interest in these multifunctional comput-ers. Multisport athletes will want to check out other, more de-tailed, reviews, such as DCRainmaker’s blog at dcrainmaker.com.As a GPS device for Open Water Swimming

Although the Switch and Switch Up are designed to be worn on the wrist, this creates a problem for the GPS function, as the signal is lost every time your arm goes underwater. It will still track your course, but there is an annoying indicator buzz each time you gain or lose the sig-nal (every stroke). With the Switch Up, this can be resolved by placing the unit inside the swim cap instead of using the wrist mount, but that takes away the advantage of being able to stop and look at the device during the swim, which some testers liked to do. If immediately moving on to a bike or a run session, the Switch Up can be removed from the swim cap and snapped into the wrist or bike mount.

Testers found that the courses tracked were not always accurate. In one instance, a straight line across the top of a residential area appeared during a swim. This added to the total mileage on a swim, throwing off the accuracy. In addition, the maps used by Magellan are inaccurate for the geographic area where our testers live—no one recognized the place names.

For anyone who trains in multiple disciplines and loves gadgets, the Magellan is an amazing tool. See Heart Rate Monitors for more information.

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Heart Rate MonitorsSwimmers use heart rate monitors primarily for one of two rea-

sons: Because they’re under the care of a cardiologist who recom-mends a monitor for safety reasons, or because they want to target a certain heart rate to improve fitness level. Depending on what’s needed in the way of analysis, there are many choices. We looked at Finis’s AquaPulse, designed specifically for swimmers, and two brands—Magellan and Polar—that are popular with multisport athletes. There are many others on the market.

6. FiniS aqUaPUlSe ($120) finisinc.com

As with their GPS unit, Finis has created a simple, single-function device for swimmers. The AquaPulse clips to the ear lobe—there is no chest

strap. Testers who have worn chest straps in the past loved the ear mount. One tester could not wear it comfortably, but all others didn’t notice it at all or only noticed it for a few laps and then for-got about it. Earrings need to be removed.

The AquaPulse has only one function: it tells you what your heart rate is while you are swimming. You configure how often you want this information: every 10, 20, 30, or 45 seconds; or ev-ery 1, 2, or 5 minutes.

The AquaPulse uses the same bone conduction technology as Finis’s SwiMP3 player to deliver the sound through the jawbone. Testers did not have difficulty hearing the announcements except when swimming hard sprints. That is easily overcome by pressing one of the buttons to hear the last recorded heart rate whenever you miss one.

The ear clip has an infrared sensor in it that detects blood-flow through the earlobe. When compared with the Polar and Magellan HR monitors, and the very low-tech old-fashioned way—with a finger to the wrist—the AquaPulse was accurate every time.

One of our testers, a cardiologist, preferred the AquaPulse to the chest strap models for several reasons: The chest straps are difficult to keep on when swimming, and he felt that some of his patients would appreciate not looking like cardiac patients at the pool. The earlobe attachment is low profile and just as accurate.

Because of the wide design, this device does not fit very easily into some USB ports, so Finis thoughtfully includes an extension cord, which makes charging it a snap. And that is all it does in the computer: just charges. At present, the device does not upload any data, although that is planned in the future.

7. maGellan SwitcH and SwitcH UP ($280-$350) magellangps.com

As stated in the GPS review, these devices were only tested for their functionality for swimming, please see the other recommended links for more

extensive reviews of these complex training computers.As a Heart Rate Monitor for Swimming

When the device is turned on, it immediately searches for the heart rate monitor on the chest strap. Nearly all testers experi-enced some difficulty getting it into the right spot for a reading. Women were able to keep it in place a little better due to their suits, but men complained frequently of the strap being pushed down when leaving the wall.

If testers managed to find the right spot and not push off the wall too quickly, they did enjoy seeing their heart rate data be-tween swim sets. Actual, average and max heart rates, are all displayed on a single screen. Magellan’s light text on dark back-

ground was easier to read between sets than Polar’s dark on light, although both have backlights.

Once data was uploaded to Magellan’s customizable training website, the data was displayed attractively with a wealth of infor-mation. Interactive charts allow one to pinpoint heart rate at exact points during the workout.

8. Polar rcX5 ($350) polarusa.com

The Polar RCX5 is another complex training computer for which there are detailed reviews elsewhere. Again, we recommend DCRainmaker’s

blog. We tested only the heart rate monitor, although this device can pair with separate, optional GPS, stride, speed, and cadence sensors to make it a high-functioning, full-service training partner for the serious multisport athlete.

The RCX5 is the most attractive of the wristwatch-type devic-es we tested (shiny red) and is slim and comfortable to wear. The chest strap presented problems similar to those of the Magellan chest strap, but it did seem to keep a connection a little bet-ter. The reality is that most swimmers will struggle with a chest strap. However, for those who are willing to wear something else to keep it in place (a tri singlet for men) and who want a ton of other functions and ancillary device options, the RCX5 would be an excellent choice.

Workout information is uploaded via a USB stick and once uploaded to a customized training log on Polar’s site, the data available is displayed beautifully with many options available to analyze heart rate.—Laura HameL

Swim Bag: Swim Gadgets

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2 N. Tamiami Trail Suite 306, Sarasota, FL 34236 I P: 941.955.2591 I F: 941.955.0862 I www.myrthapoolsusa.com

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