Garmin 225 reliability?

[DVCFan1994]

I am considering upgrading from my FR 210 to the 225. I am sick of the chest strap for heart rate. The reviews I've read are mostly good, just looking for opinions if users here have been pleased or disappointed in their 225?

Are there any other features you like in the 225 that other models don't have? The only other feature my 210 is lacking that I'd be looking to gain is a pace alarm. I am supposed to be focusing on endurance, not speed right now, but I have horrible pacing abilities. I have a tendency to go too fast and therefore end up too fatigued and losing form before I should sometimes.

 

[DWorldOrBust]

I bought a 225 just before the Disneyland half last month and have used it almost daily. I absolutely LOVE it. The interval alerts are convenient and were easy to set up. I was unaware of a pacing alarm but will be checking my user manual when I get home lol. Anyhow, I use it for activity and daily step tracking. The heart rate calculates quickly and the watch is easy to navigate. I love it so much that I am buying my dad one for Christmas so he can ditch his fitbit!

 

[LSUlakes]

The DCrainmaker (Or something along those lines) should give you the best review you can look for. He has very in depth reviews for nearly any GPS watch you would consider purchasing. I have a want to get the 225 but my 620 is only 1.5 years old and other than the Wifi part of things not working as I would like, everything else works fine. From what I have read about the watch, it looks like Garmin will be making a push towards using the tech that comes with that watch and will start to phase out some of the other styles of watches moving forward. Let us know what you decided to purchase and how you like/dislike it.

 

[DVCFan1994]

Thanks to both of you. I did read the DCrainmaker review back when I first heard about the 225. I like you though couldn't justify it right away because my 2ish year old 210 works well, and does most everything I need. But, I am really getting sick of the chest strap for the HR on my 210.

I just came here looking for others real life experiences with the watch. My husband let it slip he was going to get me an Apple Watch for my birthday, and I told him to save his money and get me a Garmin. Thats what I really want I'm not as gadget crazy as he is. So, hopefully I'll get the 225 in the next week or so. I'll report back once I've used it for a while.

 

[LSUlakes]

I would pick the Garmin over the Apple as well.

 

[ExportedMolson]

Are there any other features you like in the 225 that other models don't have? The only other feature my 210 is lacking that I'd be looking to gain is a pace alarm. I am supposed to be focusing on endurance, not speed right now, but I have horrible pacing abilities. I have a tendency to go too fast and therefore end up too fatigued and losing form before I should sometimes.

I 'only' have the FR 220 and don't use a HR monitor, but I originally set up the pace monitor/alarm feature. It seemed like a great idea, but I found it a little annoying and turned it off. I probably could have tweaked around with it and found a happy place, but I did not have the patience.

I originally had it set up to keep my pace in a range and then changed to only a lower limit to make sure I was not going too fast. The problem I found was though it kept an accurate pace over my mile lap/interval, the instant/live pace would cause the alarm to be going off at least once a minute. It became a distraction and either caused me to constantly be fiddling with my cadence or to ignore it like everyone does a car alarm. I find it best for me to use my 1 mile lap alerts and a glance every now and then to be the best method for pace maintenance. Just my opinion on that one function. Maybe the 225 has improved.

FWIW, I love my 220 and based on what I have read I would love the 225 as well.

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

FYI - The 235 is being released soon. Everything the 220 has with the wrist-based heartbeat monitor. I'm holding out for one! LOL

 

[DVCFan1994]

I 'only' have the FR 220 and don't use a HR monitor, but I originally set up the pace monitor/alarm feature. It seemed like a great idea, but I found it a little annoying and turned it off. I probably could have tweaked around with it and found a happy place, but I did not have the patience.

I originally had it set up to keep my pace in a range and then changed to only a lower limit to make sure I was not going too fast. The problem I found was though it kept an accurate pace over my mile lap/interval, the instant/live pace would cause the alarm to be going off at least once a minute. It became a distraction and either caused me to constantly be fiddling with my cadence or to ignore it like everyone does a car alarm. I find it best for me to use my 1 mile lap alerts and a glance every now and then to be the best method for pace maintenance. Just my opinion on that one function. Maybe the 225 has improved.

FWIW, I love my 220 and based on what I have read I would love the 225 as well.

So I have had the 225 for a couple of weeks now. I love the heart rate on the wrist. I hated the chest strap, and it seems accurate to me. No big differences from my 210. I agree, the pace alarm is finicky. I think I need to play around with it some more. Maybe make the high and low values a touch more forgiving than I'd like, but not as likely to go off so often. I am still recovering from an injury, and not going too fast is important, so I am going to keep working with it.

FYI - The 235 is being released soon. Everything the 220 has with the wrist-based heartbeat monitor. I'm holding out for one! LOL

Yeah, the announced this within days of me getting my 225. Exact same thing happened when I got my 210 and then the 220 came out. I seem to have bad luck with this! I knew the 235 was rumored, but I'd read January or at earliest December expectations, and with the glitches my 210 had been having, I decided I really wanted something new for Avengers weekend and a few weeks to get used to it first. Oh well. I am very happy with it so far, so I'm not too upset.

 

[ExportedMolson]

Yeah, the announced this within days of me getting my 225. Exact same thing happened when I got my 210 and then the 220 came out. I seem to have bad luck with this! I knew the 235 was rumored, but I'd read January or at earliest December expectations, and with the glitches my 210 had been having, I decided I really wanted something new for Avengers weekend and a few weeks to get used to it first. Oh well. I am very happy with it so far, so I'm not too upset.

Glad you like the watch. As for timing it seems Garmin announces their upgrades every year in and around October. I look at the watch like my camera. As long as it can do what I need, I don't need to get a new one. The FR 230/235 look like a big step up and include a lot of features to compete with the FitBit and such. I just can't see myself wearing it all the time to count steps and monitor my sleep, the HR and new displays are very tempting though.

 

[DVCFan1994]

Glad you like the watch. As for timing it seems Garmin announces their upgrades every year in and around October. I look at the watch like my camera. As long as it can do what I need, I don't need to get a new one. The FR 230/235 look like a big step up and include a lot of features to compete with the FitBit and such. I just can't see myself wearing it all the time to count steps and monitor my sleep, the HR and new displays are very tempting though.

I've been wearing my 225 to bed. It is a bit annoying to me, I am not going to lie. But, I am a horrible sleeper, so I wanted to see just how bad my sleeping is. I feel the watch on my arm all the time. For the heart rate to work you need to keep it fairly tight. I keep meaning to loosen it at night, because its not using heart rate then, but I forget.

I agree, I am not worried about every bell and whistle that is available for my watch. I am not a super competitive runner. I run mostly for health and fun. I don't need all the VO2 max and such data. I wouldn't know what to do with it My 210 had started to have issues freezing, and not charging properly. My hatred of the chest strap made the 225 the obvious choice for me. I basically only need distance, time and heart rate. I like using intervals, so that is a helpful feature, but I could go with out it. And like I said the pace alarm has been an adjustment, but I think in the end I will like it and get it to a good setting.

 

[DWorldOrBust]

So I have had the 225 for a couple of weeks now. I love the heart rate on the wrist. I hated the chest strap, and it seems accurate to me. No big differences from my 210. I agree, the pace alarm is finicky. I think I need to play around with it some more. Maybe make the high and low values a touch more forgiving than I'd like, but not as likely to go off so often. I am still recovering from an injury, and not going too fast is important, so I am going to keep working with it.




Yeah, the announced this within days of me getting my 225. Exact same thing happened when I got my 210 and then the 220 came out. I seem to have bad luck with this! I knew the 235 was rumored, but I'd read January or at earliest December expectations, and with the glitches my 210 had been having, I decided I really wanted something new for Avengers weekend and a few weeks to get used to it first. Oh well. I am very happy with it so far, so I'm not too upset.

How do you set up the pace alarm on the 225? I can't seem to find instructions... =(

 

[DVCFan1994]

How do you set up the pace alarm on the 225? I can't seem to find instructions... =(

Yes, it is very well hidden, took a lot of searching to find it in the online manual, which is more detailed than the one that came with it.

Here you go, from the manual on the garmin website. This is how you set either the heart rate or pace alerts.

http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webh...UID-51E08C4E-53D3-4895-B36B-7267B2857A93.html

A range alert notifies you when the device is above or below a specified range of values. For example, if you have an optional heart rate monitor, you can set the device to alert you when your heart rate is below 90 beats per minute (bpm) and over 180 bpm.

1. Select Menu > Settings > Activity Settings > Alerts.
2. Select Heart Rate or Pace.
3. Turn on the alert.
4. Enter the minimum and maximum values.

Each time you exceed or drop below the specified range, a message appears. The device also beeps or vibrates if audible tones are turned on

 

[ExportedMolson]

Just an FYI, if looking into a Garmin watch REI is having a pre-Thanksgiving sale right now on the older models.

Garmin 620 $240 with HR Monitor/$210 without
Garmin 920XT $375
Gamin 225 $250

 

[Dennyha]

I bought my 225 when they first came out on the market, so I've used it for quite a while. I love it. The heart rate seems accurate, and I use it with a max and min heart rate alarm that works well. Over the months I've used it, I maybe had two occasions where the heart rate displayed a value way too low, but both times, I just unbuckeled and rebuckeled the watch, and then got valid readings, so no big deal. I use it for my daily watch and activity tracker as well as for running, and I love not having to wear a chest strap.