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I have been waiting for the Finis Swimsense to come out since it was announced and I was not disappointed. It is pretty hard to get an accurate distance tracker that straps onto your arm for swimming. I tried a couple of GPS style swim monitors with poor results. The Swimsense works with a better than 98% accuracy rate for me. I usually swim about 2,000 yards and the Swimsense will add or subtract 25 yards to my total distance. I am not too concerned about the difference between 1,950 and 2,000 yards for my morning swim. I just like the idea of only having to watch the clock on the wall and not count laps when I am doing a morning workout. The Swimsense will let me know if I went a different distance for my swim duration.
Options for you guys who like the bling
Motion detector – Distinguishes between strokes and senses distance
Storage – Records time, distance, pace times, laps, strokes and calories burned
Analyze Workouts – Review distance, splits, laps, pace times, stroke count; stroke rate, distance-per-stroke and calories burned. View your current workout and up to 14 past workouts on the monitor.
Software Training Log – Upload workouts to the Training Log to review all past performances and track progress at Swimsense.com
Swimsense Dock – Connect to your computer and charge the battery
Upload workouts – For you Dailymile and Facebook guys out there. You can chat about your workouts and analyze them with the history.
PRO’s:
- It works
- It is easy to use
- It is pretty accurate
- The battery charges quickly
- Light weight
- Docking station
CON’s:
- The battery dies quickly
- I can’t get the software to work on my computer
- The swim options are only for pools
- Not as accurate as a GPS
- Gets flaky when you do IM sets
- Back light does odd things (operator error)
The bottom line – I like the Swimsense. A lot of my swims are tempo swims where I get out and swim 1 or 2 miles. These are pretty mindless swims where I just get out and do it. I check the watch at approximately 30 minute intervals to check my distance. If I miss my target of 2 miles by 200 yards either way, it won’t make a difference to me. I can wear my XTREAMP3, turn off my brain and just go. I don’t have to worry about counting laps. The battery life is terrible but I can charge it up enough for a 45 minute swim during my 10 minute commute to the pool with my car charger. I can see the buttons well enough to start the timer in low light conditions. The $200 price tag is a bit steep but it is well worth the $150 you can pick it up for at Amazon.
