Nice video mate Very informative. Obviosuly there's difference price points but would you say this beats the garmin fenix 5? I'm trying to decide between the two. Clearly the fenix 5 is more upmarket but ive heard they have rust issues with the buttons and charging pins? Any feedback would be great!
Trainer also has a mineral glass option too on the steel and glass models. However, those comes out in October and cost 50usd more, but it's like .5mm thinner.
Hey there, great review. Got the watch recently but had a bit of a factory fault with the heart rate only tracking for 1 hour exactly. Hoping to get my new one this week. Can I ask how to set Min and Max heart rate zones? Read the manual but cannot find the menu items they are referring to?
Can we change the strap with zulu strap as ambit 3...?? Is dimension the strap spartan trainer with ambit 3 same in size. Because we can change the original strap ambit 3 to zulu strap with lugs add...
Hi John. I know what you mean, the reverse polarity that you could do on the Ambit range and other similar watches. The answer is no. I think that's more a feature for the MONOCHROME watches although it is something you can do on the Garmin Fenix range. I wouldn't be surprised if it's something Suunto add to a firmware upgrade at some time :-)
Cardio Critic The screen looks dark at it is. I have the Garmin VAHR and I can do that with my watch. I think it's much easier to see with the white background
Thank you UffDaSchnerr. You are correct. In EXERCISE MODE it is possible to switch the THEME from DARK to LIGHT. In light mode the background is WHITE opposed to BLACK default :-)
You can change the theme from DARK to LIGHT in Exercise Mode. For time of day you have 6 x Watch Face styles and 9 x Colours. I have a separate video for WATCH FACES here - ua-cam.com/video/9Oy-QXsL7H4/v-deo.html
Hi Can this watch be used as track logger for for instance long distance walks? If yes what is format of file. What is max size of log file (in points)? Can you change how often is your position recorded? What data are saved in that file? Can can be the file uploaded?
Hi. Yes. You can export files in GPX format from Movescount to use in other applications. You cannot precisely change the GPS data sample point, I believe the default is about 1 second. In power save modes this increase to more, maybe as much as 1 minute sample fo rlong distance walking etc. However, I cannot be 100% certain on precise sample rates.
I am quite tempted to buy this but i wonder if anyone who has one can asnwer the following: Does it automatically track your activities eg if I am walking the dog will it record this as a walk ? Is there a generic sports mode to cover a visit to teh gym and doing multiple cardio and weight training? What is the minimum pool length you can enter? What is the app like for looking at your daily data, steps, distance travelled, calories?
Hi Will. No, it does not have auto-sport tracking as you will find in certain Garmin and Fitbit. Yes, you could use generic INDOOR SPORTS mode or even configure your own custom sports mode with the metrics you would want to see in the gym. Minimum pool length - 15m App is good - not quite as good as Garmin or Polar but certainly covers all essential metrics :-)
Is it possible to save your current position as a POI (like the Ambit could)? I find this very useful for marking interesting locations, campsites etc.
Hi. Please refer to my Vivoactive 3 video here - ua-cam.com/video/SdHmziZfBGc/v-deo.html If you are rough on your gear, get the Suunto or a Fenix 3 / 5. The Vivoactive 3 is a great all rounder, but a little soft/delicate for my own use .
I'm looking over my old training logs to see if I have some chest strap versus Suunto Spartan Wrist HR graphs. To be honest, it is as good as all the other premium wrist based HR brands. For 98% of the time it is 98% accurate. Only when performing high level intervals might you expect to see a few spikes / dropouts. In short, it is as good as the Garmin Elevate (Vivoactive 3, FR935 etc) and Polar M430 etc
Great question and difficult for me to answer at present. I've only had a 2 minute play with a Vivoactive 3 at a PR launch. I think Garmin has the edge on their IQ Connect APPS which are brilliant. Hopefuly Suunto will resurrect the Movescount APPS in the Spartan Range soon so we can have user created APPS. I think I'd probably be happy with either for my requirements of general all round sport. Tris :-)
Great question. I will be releasing a Vivoactive 3 review in about 1 hour :-) The Vivoactive 3 does NOT support Triathlon mode. The Vivoactive 3 is LESS chunky than the Spartan Trainer ... a little more stylish / slimmer / . They're both great watches ... for me I'd have to go for the Suunto as it has TRIATHLON mode and I think its a bit tougher, but I am VERY hard on my watches.
Thank you for making such a long and detailed review
Nice video mate Very informative. Obviosuly there's difference price points but would you say this beats the garmin fenix 5? I'm trying to decide between the two. Clearly the fenix 5 is more upmarket but ive heard they have rust issues with the buttons and charging pins? Any feedback would be great!
Trainer also has a mineral glass option too on the steel and glass models. However, those comes out in October and cost 50usd more, but it's like .5mm thinner.
Cheers Tanya :-) Tris
Hey there, great review. Got the watch recently but had a bit of a factory fault with the heart rate only tracking for 1 hour exactly. Hoping to get my new one this week. Can I ask how to set Min and Max heart rate zones? Read the manual but cannot find the menu items they are referring to?
Gary Madden - I'm afraid I don't have the Spartan anymore. Hopefully someone on here can help. You will need latest firmware for HR zones 👌
Just ordered the new steel with mineral crystal glass. A little pricier, but definitely like the glass screen idea...
Can we change the strap with zulu strap as ambit 3...??
Is dimension the strap spartan trainer with ambit 3 same in size.
Because we can change the original strap ambit 3 to zulu strap with lugs add...
Thanks for the review. Can you change the colors on the Watch? Can you, say, set a white background with dark time numbers?
Hi John. I know what you mean, the reverse polarity that you could do on the Ambit range and other similar watches. The answer is no. I think that's more a feature for the MONOCHROME watches although it is something you can do on the Garmin Fenix range. I wouldn't be surprised if it's something Suunto add to a firmware upgrade at some time :-)
Cardio Critic The screen looks dark at it is. I have the Garmin VAHR and I can do that with my watch. I think it's much easier to see with the white background
Cardio Critic with the Sport you can do that for pages while activity. Scroll down to options below the green Start in activity options.
Thank you UffDaSchnerr. You are correct. In EXERCISE MODE it is possible to switch the THEME from DARK to LIGHT. In light mode the background is WHITE opposed to BLACK default :-)
You can change the theme from DARK to LIGHT in Exercise Mode. For time of day you have 6 x Watch Face styles and 9 x Colours. I have a separate video for WATCH FACES here - ua-cam.com/video/9Oy-QXsL7H4/v-deo.html
Hi Can this watch be used as track logger for for instance long distance walks? If yes what is format of file. What is max size of log file (in points)? Can you change how often is your position recorded? What data are saved in that file? Can can be the file uploaded?
Hi. Yes. You can export files in GPX format from Movescount to use in other applications. You cannot precisely change the GPS data sample point, I believe the default is about 1 second. In power save modes this increase to more, maybe as much as 1 minute sample fo rlong distance walking etc. However, I cannot be 100% certain on precise sample rates.
I am quite tempted to buy this but i wonder if anyone who has one can asnwer the following:
Does it automatically track your activities eg if I am walking the dog will it record this as a walk ?
Is there a generic sports mode to cover a visit to teh gym and doing multiple cardio and weight training?
What is the minimum pool length you can enter?
What is the app like for looking at your daily data, steps, distance travelled, calories?
Hi Will.
No, it does not have auto-sport tracking as you will find in certain Garmin and Fitbit.
Yes, you could use generic INDOOR SPORTS mode or even configure your own custom sports mode with the metrics you would want to see in the gym.
Minimum pool length - 15m
App is good - not quite as good as Garmin or Polar but certainly covers all essential metrics
:-)
Is it possible to save your current position as a POI (like the Ambit could)?
I find this very useful for marking interesting locations, campsites etc.
Kenneth Johnsen hi - yes. I did that on holiday saving my villa as a POI. Very easy 👍
Cardio Critic excellent. Thanks.
Can you please do a comparative video with this and the Garmin Vivoactive 3 because they are at the same price range
Hi. Please refer to my Vivoactive 3 video here - ua-cam.com/video/SdHmziZfBGc/v-deo.html
If you are rough on your gear, get the Suunto or a Fenix 3 / 5. The Vivoactive 3 is a great all rounder, but a little soft/delicate for my own use .
I like the watch also a lot, but the heartrate is terrible. I suppose to see a heart rate review from Cardio Critic... Can I expect it?
I'm looking over my old training logs to see if I have some chest strap versus Suunto Spartan Wrist HR graphs. To be honest, it is as good as all the other premium wrist based HR brands. For 98% of the time it is 98% accurate. Only when performing high level intervals might you expect to see a few spikes / dropouts. In short, it is as good as the Garmin Elevate (Vivoactive 3, FR935 etc) and Polar M430 etc
Do the Push Notifications include Facebook Messenger?
It was a super tutorial. Im think im gonna buy it.
Does it have compass?
Yes, it does
Have you stopped doing videos?
What's your opinion? This or Vivoactive 3?
Great question and difficult for me to answer at present. I've only had a 2 minute play with a Vivoactive 3 at a PR launch. I think Garmin has the edge on their IQ Connect APPS which are brilliant. Hopefuly Suunto will resurrect the Movescount APPS in the Spartan Range soon so we can have user created APPS. I think I'd probably be happy with either for my requirements of general all round sport. Tris :-)
Great question. I will be releasing a Vivoactive 3 review in about 1 hour :-) The Vivoactive 3 does NOT support Triathlon mode. The Vivoactive 3 is LESS chunky than the Spartan Trainer ... a little more stylish / slimmer / . They're both great watches ... for me I'd have to go for the Suunto as it has TRIATHLON mode and I think its a bit tougher, but I am VERY hard on my watches.
How turn off this watch?
Pretty nasty light bleed in the upper left corner. I hope that's not indicative of the quality control.
Where is critics?