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Customer Reviews & Questions for Garmin Swim
Stop counting laps. Let Garmin do the maths with Garmin Swim. It's the swimming watch designed for pool use that tracks your distance, pace, stroke count and more.
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78
78
Great watch but unnecessary
This is an excellent watch... it does all that you would want it to do, and it is very interesting to analyze the session after you have completed it... However, its not necessary! It is only interesting to analyze the session, but doesn't improve your swimming. So is it worth the money?
12 February 2013
good feature, lots of data, mostly accurate
I'm really enjoying using the Garmin for my swimming. Records a lot of info, pretty accurate but occasionally added an extra length to my swim. Dunno how, perhaps its my swimming technique!
04 February 2013
Another great Garmin product
Great lightweight but durable watch that links effortless with Garmin Connect. Plenty of features to monitor your swimming and offers a clear face generally which shoes time/date and metres swam.
26 January 2013
Good product
Overall I am pleased. It does sometimes miss a length on freestyle, but this may be to do with my technique. I bought this as it included a Garmin Ant+ stick and it syncs with my PC very well.
04 January 2013
Moisture leakage.
The watch is great, does exactly what it claims to do, great features. The only concerning thing was that it has leaked moisture in it after the third swim it was used for. It hasn't affected the functions of the watch but its very disappointing that a "swim" watch isn't even water proof. The moisture is out now but will most likely return. Not sure whether to return it or see if it gets any worse.
I use a Garmin edge 800 when cycling and haven't had any problems with that, would be good if this watch was of the same quality.
A swim watch that leaks moisture? Sort of defeats the purpose of having a specifically made swim watch. Not sure if this is a once off or if others have had the same problem?
30 December 2012
Garmin connect inadequate...
the watch is fantastic. looks great, fab data for personal use only...
the only reason i wouldnt recommend buying this watch yet is because garmin connect has decided not to allow the function "save as tcx file" (which was allowed 2 weeks ago), thus i cannot export my data to a social site like strava- this was my main reason getting this watch to motivate me in swimming.
19 December 2012
A pretty good product
This product is perfect for beginner to above average, sometimes elite, swimmers who swim pretty long distances. If you are a pretty serious swimmer who trains on fast intervals with short rest who wants exact times at practice, this watch probably isn't for you. This is more or less aimed for those long, boring practices, like 4x1500m. It is nearly impossible to stop the watch right when you hit the wall, and the timer will keep timing until you do stop it so perfectly accurate times are difficult to catch. Sometimes it will miss a flip turn, and your split wil be double that of the others on Garmin Connect, but that depends on the swimmer's push off the wall. Other than that, this watch is amazing. The Garmin connect is great, and a really helpful application! If you know what your doing, and just want some extra help keeping track of your distance, this is a pretty cool watch, for a somewhat reasonable price. Wiggle has by far the lowest price online (trust me, I looked EVERYWHERE), especially if you time it well with one of their promotions. I don't regret buying this watch at all. This site helped with a lot of specs:
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/06/garmin-swim-watch-in-depth-review.html
27 November 2012
Good but not perfect yet
I had a swimovate previously which was pretty accurate but might count the number of lengths wrong occasionally, but eventually died from a broken contact internally.
The swim smooth is far superior in terms of looks, menu and the ability to display online data. It has counted a few single lengths as double lengths but they a pretty obvious from the data and one or 2 per swim. I would like the ability to manually edit this online but that's not possible yet.
I'm sure garmin will sort the lap counting and the online editing in the long run though.
02 November 2012
Fantastic Swim watch!
If you are looking for a watch that will sit in your swim bag and only be used in the pool to help count lengths then I'd buy the obvious competition to this watch, the version without wireless transfer of data and costs around £60 from memory, however if you want a watch that looks great, has an alarm, a backlight and syncs to garmin connect so easily for a wealth of online analysis then this is a brilliant watch. I also particularly like the data I can see mid swim like last interval time, overall session time, number of lengths and a few other customisable fields. Its a great watch, has been 100% accurate for me so far and is great for wearing day to day also.
13 September 2012
Works brilliantly
I always struggle to count strokes and lengths as well as concentrate on my swimming technique, so I bought this having read some positive reviews.
I was a little skeptical about how well it would work, so I was pleasantly surprised when I tried it out for the first time. It was 100% accurate and has continued to be. A really nice feature is the display inverting when it is paused - so you can easily see when your button press has successfully started and stopped the timer, even through foggy wet goggles.
The menus are easy to navigate on the watch directly, and once you've transferred the data to Garmin Connect (a process that is very easy) you get tonnes of information should you want it.
As well as functioning well as a swim watch, it also looks attractive enough to wear day to day if you wanted to - though doing so would shorten the battery life as the watch would normally go to sleep when it's not moving. But if you're going swimming directly from somewhere else, it's handy to not have to remember to pack a separate watch.
All in all I'm impressed and glad I bought it. It is pricey though.
10 September 2012
Much better than I expected.
Really chuffed with the Garmin Swim, I really didn't think it would be anywhere near as good as it is.
Having used it a number of times, I've found it to be extremely accurate with all of its data fields. One of main concerns was how well it'd register a length completion when I don't do tumble turns and when I'm inconsistent with which arm hits the wall first, however after swimming 5000m in my first week I've come across no problem whatsoever.
Highly recommend. Though it's only got me wanting the new forerunner even more than before!
25 August 2012
The Garmin Swim is perfect
I have only used this watch this week, 4 uses and a total distance of 4800m.
I bought it because I intend to train for a triathlon in the new year and my freestyle is hopeless. So I am hoping with some lessons and effort in the pool over the winter the Garmin with show an improvement over time.
It's brilliant, easy to set up and use straight from the box. I have recorded interval of between 100m and 300m and it has recorded everyone perfectly. The last 2 session were 100m freestyle 100m breast stroke, all recorded perfectly and in a 20M pool.
When I log into Garmin connect it has uploaded the data perfectly allowing me to see how long each length has taken and what stroke I am swimming. I can see when lengths have taken longer because I am having a breather. Everything has been spot on, I can't fault this watch on its use so far.
Another bonus is it looks great, I now use it as my regular watch, the battery can be changed by the owner rather than sending it off.
I was slightly apprehensive about getting this watch as I had another swim watch that failed to deliver the goods, The Garmin swim is the nuts, I love it.
24 August 2012
Simple ang genius
- few errors during counting,
- convenient service Garmin Connect to fix the results - the data is transferred automatically, without difficult procedures
18 August 2012
Not working
After learning the existence of this watch and after a quick search over internet, I immediately decided to buy one since I am already using Garmin Connect to log my cycling activities. My goal was to measure the total distance (or number of laps) and the total time. The pace and stroke count of each lap would also help me improving my performance, without being essential.
The watch is sleek, lightweight and relatively attractive for a speciality watch. The handling is intuitive and I quickly got familiar with its operation. The display is large and clear. But the positive stops right here.
After the end of my first training (2,000 meters in a 50 m pool), I was surprised to see that the watch logged 2,800 meters. I swim only freestyle, at a constant pace of about 2 min / 100 m, with flip turns and without any break. After each turn, I usually glide to the banners mark. Between 2 strokes, I glide more than the average swimmer; indeed, I cross a 25 m pool with 14 strokes in freestyle (7 strokes according to Garmin definition since the watch is worn only on 1 arm). After seeing the results, I immediately did another test, but with open turns instead of flip turns. The result was the same : the watch overestimate the distance.
After analyzing the data on Garmin Connect, it is clear that the watch is sometimes detecting a turn in the middle of a lap. So the lap is separated in 2 and there is no possibility to correct the data. I needed this watch to count the number of laps and it cannot do it. I am very disapointed.
The biggest innovation for me on this new Garmin device is the wireless data uploading. After a training, the data transfer is automatically done with the USB ANT+ stick. You don’t even need to open Garmin Connect; the data is uploaded automatically and will be there next time you log into Garmin Connect. I wish my Edge devices have the same convenient feature.
The concept is excellent, but it is not working for me. It may work better for swimmers than turn their arms like a windmill. Be careful and ideally try it before purchasing.
07 August 2012
Waste of money
If you want a watch to count laps don't rely on this device. I've used it twice & both times it has given incorrect information. The download information is a waste of time.
06 August 2012
Fantastic tool with great data capturing
Gone are the days of counting laps and losing track. Amazing amount of data to upload and analyse in Garmin Connect. Only missing piece heart rate.
02 August 2012
Good but flawed
This is the third swim watch I have had and easily the best. Having said that it is not perfect.
It does look good and I already wear it all day on my wrist. It clearly shows time, day and date and has room for a brag number where you can amaze all your friends by showing them how far you have swum that week!
I find it easy to use as the menus are easy to find and to follow. There are 6 big buttons to help although it suggests you don’t press these underwater! It is a watch for swimmers wouldn’t it be a good idea to allow them to press them underwater?
To start recording a swim is easy, press a couple of buttons and off you go. It records lengths accurately and the type of stroke you are using. It does not like you changing your stroke half way down a length as it gets confused.
Now comes my main complaint. Say you have swum ten lengths and you stop for a rest you hit the pause button. The display changes just to confirm you are in pause mode which is good. However, the timer keeps going. I don’t know about Olympic swimmers but I am not that concerned about the length of time I spend gasping at the end of the pool. I could also pause to let a faster swimmer to get past me, what do I want to record that time for? Later when you upload the swim data to Garmins Connect site the “time” it gives you includes the pause time as do the graphs on timing, strokes and efficiency. I AM NOT INTERESTED IN THE TIME I HAVE SPENT RESTING !!!
There is no way that I can see that makes either the watch or the Connect site ignore the rest time.
Whilst you are pausing you can use a single button to review how you are doing. One of the pages it displays allows you to customise it to show you the data you are interested in. Well to a point as it does not allow you to display the time you have actually spent swimming within the whole session.
If you do a drill there is a special function that will allow you to time this. It is a bit fussy to set up and it allows you to time the drill. It also lets you enter the distance you covered manually when you get to the end of the drill. No pauses allowed there though.
When you have finished you can review how it went: Total time in the pool, total swim time (at last!), total distance, lengths, speed (time/100m), cals. Then for each of the sessions within the swim you can see: distance, speed, stoke type.
When you get home you can upload all the data to the Garmin site using the USB stick that comes with your watch. Setting up the site is easy and updating the data works really well too. You can then look at you swim in a lot more detail. It can be displayed in a lot of ways. You can also compare different swims quite easily too. However, previously I have putting swimming data into an excel program. Can I download the data from the connect site? No. Well I can download a TCX or a GPX file but what are they? Excel does not seem to be able to get anything meaningful from it. Why won’t Garmin give you an easy access file, it seems a bit narrow minded. To put it on excel I have to manually copy it from their site. How annoying.
Overall a pretty good watch with some short comings though.
28 July 2012
This product is comfortable and has great features
Having small wrists I worried that this watch would be too big for me but it sits very comfortably on the wrist. The adjustable straps are soft and as the watch is lightweight you really cannot feel you are wearing it when in the water whatever stroke you are doing. I have not used all the features available as yet but as my open water training progresses I will do.
I struggled a bit with the set up instructions but got there in the end.
26 July 2012
11 Questions | 46 Answers
Product Q & A
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Do I have to send the watch back to the manufacturer to guarantee that the watch remains water-proof? If so how much is that likely to cost?
Country : United Kingdom
I have read some reviews that have suggested it may let water in. Are these faulty watches or is it an issue per se?
Country : United Kingdom
Answers
Answer:
I've experienced problems from the time I purchased it.I had it replaced after one month and the replaced watch also fogged up.
I contacted Garmin and was told this was normal. The watch is now 18 months old and is now unuseable. Cannot read display. Beware!
Answer:
I haven't had this problem with my watch and have used it quite often.Answer:
A watch called 'Swim' that leaks HAS to be faulty. I've had mine for a month without incident.I'd be gob-smacked if they didn't replace a swim watch that you couldn't swim with.
Country : Australia
9 months ago
Answer:
These watches are designed to be waterproof but can sometimes show light condensation under the screens' protective facia during use. Typically this shouldn't represent a major issue, but if the screen stays heavily 'fogged' for longer than a few hours after its' last use in the pool, then it would be worth returning the item to us for a full inspection.
I allready have a Garmin 310 and upload my data to Garmin Connect. Is it possible to o upload the data from Garmin Swim to the same account or do I have to create a new one?
Country : Sweden
Answers
Answer:
You can upload data from multiple devices to garmin connect. I use garmin fenix, FR 910, garmin swim and edge 800 all at the same time on the same profile.Answer:
Yes this is no problem. Garmin Connect & Strava work with different devices.Country : United Kingdom
8 months ago
Answer:
Almost certainly.I have a Garmin 410 for running and cycling. Garmin connect collects stats from this and from my Garmin Swim into the same account.
Country : United Kingdom
Answer:
This should be possible through the same account.
I swim in a salt water pool. will it damage the watch?
Answers
Answer:
I used it in the sea last summer, including one full week of all day swimming everyday and it still works.
Answer:
This should not cause any long-term damage to the watch as long as it is washed and rinsed thoroughly under clean fresh water after every use in a saltwater pool.1 year, 4 months ago
Country : United Kingdom
1 year, 5 months ago
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Answer:
No but it has an alarm that works. I am going to use it next time in the pool so that I know when I need to get out. That is I will plan to swim for 45 minutes, set the alarm for a time 45 minutes hence and then stop swimming when the alarm sounds. I hope that it won't alarm other swimmers!Country : United Kingdom
8 months ago
Answer:
NoCountry : Australia
1 year, 5 months ago
Answer:
I can confirm that this product does have a alarm that goes off after a set number of laps.
My question is about Garmin Swim Watch, which I want to buy in wiggle shop
Answers
Answer:
Yes there is a Polish language option.Country : United Kingdom
8 months ago
Answer:
yes, but it only has western charactersIt's not complicated, probably better stick to the English as SWOLF is the same in all languages.
Answer:
I apologise but I have checked with the supplier and unfortunately Polish is not loaded onto the unit. I apologise we cannot be of help in this case.1 year, 10 months ago
I can upload swims manually to strava, but it is a pain. Can I upload this straight to strava like I do with my forerunner and edge?
Country : United Kingdom
1 year, 11 months ago
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Answer:
Yes it is possible to upload to Strava. To get a more detailed analysis you probably need to upload to Garmin Connect. I do both and that works well for me.Country : United Kingdom
8 months ago
Answer:
Yes you can, but I find it better to manually upload the data.1 year, 6 months ago
Answer:
I can confirm that you can download your information via Garmin connect which can then be loaded to Strava. I hope this helps.1 year, 11 months ago
I've a poolmate pro which only gives an average. So if I swim 100 lengths I can't see how fast I did the 23rd length for example. I was thinking of getting the garmin if I could look at individual laps to see how fast I did each length.
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Answer:
If you do intervals the watch will give you loads of data as well. I do a swim on a Thursday and there is a programme to follow if you pause the watch at intervals it will give you and retain the interval data.If you upload to Garmin Connect then yes you do. You get a great deal of data.
Country : United Kingdom
8 months ago
Answer:
Yes - once uploaded to Garmin Connect you can view times for each individual lap / length. The quality / volume of data available over that provided by the Swimovate product , in my opinion, is one of the main benefits (plus the fact it uploads automatically).Country : United Kingdom
1 year, 4 months ago
by
Alvechurch, Worcestershire, UK
Additional information about Racing18 could not be loaded.
Answer:
Yes - when you upload your data you can see individual lap times / strokes etcCountry : Australia
1 year, 5 months ago
Answer:
Yes, you get individual lap information and analysis when you connect to connect.garmin.com, which literally takes less than a minute with wireless usb device and requires NO pressing of buttons or user intervention of any kind - just plug in USB device and it will do everything for you!Country : United Kingdom
1 year, 6 months ago
Answer:
Yes it will do individual laps, along with blocks of laps and of course the whole swim.1 year, 6 months ago
Answer:
I believe this is possible. For further details see:http://sites.garmin.com/swim/
Country : Russia
2 years, 3 months ago
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Answer:
No there is no HRM. I understand that this is because the HRM device that one straps to one's chest is not waterproof. But the Garmin Swim does not have a HRM link up.Country : United Kingdom
8 months ago
Answer:
No. HRM do not work under water.2 years ago
Answer:
This watch does not have HRM.Answer:
No, you can't take your heart rate by machine underwaterCountry : Norway
2 years, 2 months ago
Answer:
Heart rate monitors as far as I know dont work under water so this doesn't have one.
Answer:
Sergey, no, it does not have HRMCountry : Spain
2 years, 3 months ago
by
Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, España
Additional information about MarcoPI could not be loaded.
Q:
8 answers
Does this work using GPS and could it be used for open water swimming to track distance?
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Answer:
It is not GPS enabled although it works fine in Open Water if you use the Drill mode. This times your swim and you add the distance at the end of the swim.Country : United Kingdom
8 months ago
Answer:
No, it has no GPS-funktion, so it only works in swimming pools.Country : Sweden
1 year ago
by
Varberg, Sweden
Additional information about Runnerfromsweden could not be loaded.
Answer:
No - doesn't use GPSCountry : Australia
1 year, 5 months ago
Answer:
No. It is pool specific.2 years ago
Answer:
No. It is only suitable for pool swimming.2 years ago
Answer:
No, it calculates the distance swam by the length of the pool.2 years, 2 months ago
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No it is no use in open water except to record Chrono timeCountry : Australia
2 years, 2 months ago
Answer:
Hi Bree, no it does not work using GPS but an internal accelerometer combined with the pool length you set, so it will not track distance in open waterCountry : Spain
2 years, 3 months ago
by
Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, España
Additional information about MarcoPI could not be loaded.
Country : Australia
2 years, 4 months ago
Answers
Answer:
There is a stopwatch but if you are doing intervals you can pause the watch and look at times later either on the watch or via Garmin Connect.Country : United Kingdom
8 months ago
Answer:
No. It is pool specific.2 years ago
Answer:
Yes it can, simply have the "swim workout" (press swim button) going in the back ground and only start it at the start of the session and stop it at the end. Then while this feature is running in the back ground go into the stop watch feature and it can be used as a normal stop watch. When pressing start/pause/ stop in the stop watch feature it will not stop the "swim workout".
Answer:
Yes, and no. If you are out of the water, timing someone else, it won't necessarily be called a "lap," but instead an interval. But you can long back into the HISTORY page and get the split per interval. If you are swimming, it will catch the exact moment you push of each wall and take your splits for you, which you can later review on Garmin Connect, on your computer.Country : Norway
2 years, 2 months ago
Answer:
YesAnswer:
Yes while swimming but the standard stopwatch feature for use outside of the pool doesn't have laps. Look up the DCrainmaker product review on the internet for all the details.2 years, 4 months ago
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