Before I begin, I was kindly sent this device by the company for review purposes. All links to buy the device will be at the end of the post! Welcome to your first ever FitGear Review! First up, the lovely TomTom MultiSport Cardio
What It’s For:
Tracking runs [in/out], bike rides, and swims! It has a few cool features, and is a GPS watch so it tracks your route! In addition the “cardio” in the name tells you it has a built in Optical Heart Rate sensor [wrist based HR monitor], which is an added bonus!
Design & Comfort:
I personally like the design of this device! I love that you can have multiple straps for it, since with many GPS watches you are locked into one strap. It is a bit bulky, but as you can see in the above photo, it still doesn’t look too crazy on my tiny wrist! Plus, the navigation on the device is done all from the joystick four way button below the screen, and its very simplistic and intuitive even for those who aren’t tech savvy!
Software/Battery:
The TomTom Multisport Cardio has an array of features such as an interval timer, goal setter, race this feature, and a stop watch. I personally only attempted to use the normal modes, and Race This! which seemed to work just fine. The watch does also have a lap feature, but it can detect laps on its own as well. Both work very well! As for accuracy, I found no issues in comparison to my phone’s GPS. If anything I found .04 of a mile discrepancy between this and the mile markers on a trail run I went on.
Battery was the BIGGEST issue for me here. Several times the watch died well before when I thought it should have. This is definitely inconvenient since I didn’t get to track several runs due to this issue. I started charging the watch right before I set out for a workout, and that remedied the problem. The other issue I did have was the lack of a Gym Mode! I love monitoring my gym/non-cardio workouts and could not do so with this device. The freestyle mode that is included is only for GPS based activities, so it was rendered worthless in the gym since I barely even get a signal in there!
Overall, I think for a beginner runner or someone who doesn’t need all the crazy features of a super high-end GPS watch, the software is great. It is simple, and easy to navigate through no matter who you are!
HR Monitor:
As someone who knows their resting and active heart rates, I can attest to the fact that the onboard Mio Heart Rate sensor is very close to my expected HR! I love that! It was a big concern of mine when receiving the device, but it really did do a great job! You just have to secure the strap a BIT tight to ensure it gets an accurate reading!
Overall:
I would say this is a cost effective purchase for someone who wants to get away from using their phone as a running partner! The HR being onboard is a MAJOR selling point, and the different straps is up there on my list as well! Only downside is the battery is not so great, and the lack of a GYM mode for non-GPS based workouts! However, this GPS watch would be a great purchase for someone who is getting into running, or a great gift for someone who loves to bike or swim and is interested in monitoring their progress!
Buy It
A Note: since this review, TomTom has released an all new device which also has a GYM mode [yay!!] and ONBOARD music storage! Check it out here: TomTom Spark Cardio
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