Highly Tuned Athletes

REVIEW: Suunto Ambit review Part 1 of 3 - Initial Overview

2012-02-29T12:35:00.001+11:00

Download the complete Part 1 of the Comprehensive 3 Part Series

UPDATE: Garmin Vector Power Pedal–Delivery Reschedule

2012-02-22T16:05:00.001+11:00

Garmin have announced a delay in the release of the long awaited Vector Pedal power meter which was initially due late March 2012. In keeping with all product releases, Garmin will always attempt to ensure that the Vector Power Pedal meets the highest standards of quality, in doing so the product release has taken longer than expected. Garmin are 100% committed to bringing this highly anticipated power meter to specialist Garmin fitness dealers around the globe. Highly Tuned Athletes will keep our customers informed as any updates come to hand, at this stage the release has been delayed until mid year.

To Place your Pre-Order for the Garmin Vector Power pedal CLICK HERE

COMPETITION: WIN A SUUNTO AMBIT!

2012-02-14T12:28:00.005+11:00

Competition starts today!

How to Enter: Guess the Date and Time the courier will deliver the first batch of the NEW Suunto AMBIT to the Highly Tuned Athletes showroom. Submit your entry on the Highly Tuned Athletes Facebook Wall and have a chance to WIN! CLICK HERE to Enter NOW!

To learn more about the Suunto Ambit CLICK HERE or click on the link below:

http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au/default.asp?Keyword=ambit&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&page=searchview

For Full Terms & Conditions CLICK HERE or click the link below:

NEW PRODUCT: Suunto Ambit with built in GPS and outdoor adventure features

2012-01-19T05:58:00.001+11:00

Suunto today have announced the new Ambit with built in GPS and ABC features (Altitude/Barometer/Compass).

AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER HERE

Pricing is;
$629.99 with HRM - available mid March with $65 deposit now.
$549.99 without HRM - available mid March with $55 deposit now.

# Firm pricing to be confirmed during Thursday 19th.

The new Suunto AMBIT – conquering new territory with the world's first GPS for Explorers.

THE GPS FOR EXPLORERS Suunto launches the Ambit* GPS watch

Today, Suunto, the brand leader in functional outdoor instruments, announces the launch of the Ambit, the first true GPS watch for Explorers. The Suunto Ambit is what every backcountry skier, hiker, trail runner and mountain climber has been eagerly waiting for — a watch that combines a GPS navigation system, altimeter, 3D compass with advanced heart rate monitoring into a robust instrument for mountain and everyday use.

"This is an awesome product that should be on the wrist of anyone who heads into the outdoors," comments Greg Hill, the record-breaking extreme ski mountaineer, who in 2010, ascended two million vertical feet (609 vertical km). "The Ambit is a potentially life-saving survival tool thanks to its full GPS capability and altimeter. It's also invaluable for anyone who, like me, wants to record their tracks and log their vertical ascents and descents. And it looks great too."

Specific Outdoor Functionality

With Ambit´s full-featured GPS the user can choose waypoints to navigate with and see their location in multiple coordinate systems.

The Ambit boasts a host of other features including temperature, track logging, unique 3D Compass and barometric sensor. All these keep you informed of your location, altitude and weather conditions on your adventures.

With a conventional compass, you need to hold the compass level to the horizon to get an accurate reading. Suunto's 3D compasses compensate for tilt, allowing you to get a reading regardless of the angle of your wrist.

Suunto products with BuiltToLast casing have a robust, one-piece composite case with stiff top bezel. The anodized aluminum case and mineral glass display are designed to withstand mechanical shocks and scratching.

To better reflect the meaning of the Training Effect measurement, Suunto has renamed the measurement to Peak Training Effect (PTE). PTE indicates the impact of a training session on your maximum aerobic performance and is most accurate with medium and high intensity training. The measurement is relative to your current fitness level. The fitter you are, the harder you have to work to reach a higher PTE. Recovery Time is an estimate of how long your body needs to recuperate after training. The time is based on the duration and intensity of the session, as well as the overall fatigue, accumulating even at lower intensities. Recovery Time accumulates from one session to the next if you train again before the time has expired.

Feature Overview

Specialized Outdoor functions
Full-featured GPS (SiRFIV chip)
3D Compass_Barometric altitude
Temperature
Barometer
Waypoint –navigation with GPS
Waypoint creation and storing in watch and in Movescount.com
Location in multiple coordinate systems

Advanced Training functions
Highly responsive pace / speed (FusedSpeedTM)and distance from accelerometer integrated GPS_Peak Training Effect & Recovery Time
Chrono_Manual and autolaps
Heart rate graph in real time
Heart rate limits_Heart rate zones in Movescount.com
Track logging and analysis in Movescount.com

Mountain and everyday exploration
Measurement unit selection
Two-way data transfer and charging with USB cable
Water to 100 m (2281)_Positive / negative display switch
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery_User adjustable backlight
Robust BuiltToLast casing_Watch settings in Movescount.com
Upgradeable with new functionalities through Movescount.com
Enhanced Batterylife
* 30 days with watch and ABC functionality
* 50h with 60 sec GPS tracking interval, suitable for e.g. hiking
* 15h with 1 sec GPS tracking interval, suitable for e.g. running

General
Time, date, alarm, dual time
Button lock
Low battery indicator
Measurement unit selection
Two-way data transfer and charging with USB cable

Integrated GPS
The integrated GPS used in wristop devices such as Suunto Ambit is based on the SiRFstarIV technology. The receiver has a very high sensitivity. This helps Ambit to find GPS satellites much quicker and get steadier readings.

Peak Training Effect
To better reflect the meaning of the Training Effect measurement, Suunto has renamed the measurement to Peak Training Effect (PTE).
PTE indicates the impact of a training session on your maximum aerobic performance and is most accurate with medium and high intensity training. The measurement is relative to your current fitness level. The fitter you are, the harder you have to work to reach a higher PTE.

3D Compass
With a conventional compass, you need to hold the compass level to the horizon to get an accurate reading.
Suunto's 3D compasses compensate for tilt, allowing you to get a reading regardless of the angle of your wrist.

Recovery Time
Recovery Time is an estimate of how long your body needs to recuperate after training. The time is based on the duration and intensity of the session, as well as the overall fatigue, accumulating even at lower intensities.
Recovery Time accumulates from one session to the next if you train again before the time has expired.

BuiltToLast casing
Suunto products with BuiltToLast casing have a robust, one-piece composite case with stiff top bezel. The anodized aluminum case and mineral glass display are designed to withstand mechanical shocks and scratching.

UPDATE: Garmin 910xt

2012-01-10T07:47:00.001+11:00

Great news, stock is beginning to roll out.

On the 11th Jan (tomorrow), we will be receiving a very limited amount of 910xt's which will enable us to fulfil orders on our pre-order list dated from the very first customer on the 5th Oct through to the 8th Oct and a portion of the 9th of Oct. . We will be in contact with you today if you are included on this list, please do NOT call us. We will also have all of the accessories available at the same time, such as the new Quick Release kit and the Velcro strap.

Further, we have been advised that the next drop is possibly about 14 days away and we expect this to be a larger amount, hoping that it will fulfil all pre-orders in October and part way through November. More detail to follow as soon as it comes to hand.

If you are attending Two Bays Trail Run this weekend, hunt down Peter 'Chilliman' Mullins as he will be using one on the day. (Maybe a few other very keen customers too !)

From my understanding, we managed to get the first 910xt's anywhere in the World !!

UPDATE: Garmin 910xt

2012-01-05T19:39:00.001+11:00

Garmin Australia have announced that the 910xt is still on track and the first 910xt’s are scheduled for delivery around the 3rd week of January 2012 with an initial very limited amount of stock available.

Whilst the actual number arriving into Australia is still a bit scratchy, we believe that the allocation we will receive here at HTA will only be enough to fulfil orders placed in the early part of Oct.

Supplies of the 910xt will then continue onwards through the later weeks of January and February and all Pre-Order customers should be aware that the queue system we have implemented will be adhered to very strictly # Pre-orders will be fulfilled in the order they have been received and NOBODY will be afforded queue jumping.

Our 1st 2nd, 3rd and 4th batches are now sold out, with any newly placed pre-orders from this date will be a part of the expected deliveries to arrive in February/March.

It is likely that this product will not be available to walk up purchasers until sometime in March, April or even beyond and it remains that the best way to obtain one is only by Pre-ordering.

Back in October, we were aware that this product would be a hot item and have pitched to customers as best we could all the way through that pre-ordering is important, always attempting not to sound like used car salesmen. However, we never imagined that from the date of announcement on the 5th Oct to actually having freely available stock to sell over the counter would be a near 6 month process.

Pre-ordering as soon as you can is still by far the best way to get a 910xt.

If you do currently have one on pre-order with us then you are well placed and will be looked after in the process of getting what has become a very difficult item to obtain.

As always, we accept 10% deposit and we offer full refund at anytime, no questions asked, which provides a risk free purchase.

Pre orders can be placed by CLICKING HERE TO PLACE YOUR PRE-ORDER NOW

Christmas Newletter 2011

2011-12-20T16:46:00.002+11:00

Our final newsletter for 2011. Click on the link above to read:

Includes:
- The New: Motorola MOTOACTV
- Our Best Products for 2011
- Christmas and New year Opening Hours

UPDATE: GARMIN 910XT DELIVERY SCHEDULE

2011-12-03T17:12:00.001+11:00

Pre-Orders for this exciting new leading edge multisport training tool have been unprecedented.

With regards to expected delivery dates, unfortunately we are in the hands of Garmin, but will pass on any information received as soon as it comes to hand.

The initially advised release date of mid November has been delayed world wide. The latest update we have received from Garmin Australia is now the 19th of December and Garmin will be pulling out all stops to get the product into the country before Christmas.

Garmin Australia also cannot advise how much stock they will be receiving in the first shipment, but rest assured Highly Tuned Athletes has placed large stock orders the day of initial product announcement, well over forecast sales.

Every pre-order received by Highly Tuned Athletes has been placed chronologically in order and will be fulfilled as stock comes to hand. As Australia's largest independent retailer of Garmin Fitness products, we are anticipating a large stock allocation, which will be distributed to our valuable customers as a priority.

For customers who have not yet placed an order, we are now advising of a January delivery and possibly February delivery if your order is made closer to Xmas.

We recommend that the sooner you place your pre-order, then the sooner we will be able to allocate you delivery of a 910xt. Remember, Full refund for change of mind is available at any time and we are only taking 10% deposits as a part of your initial order.

Pre orders can be placed by CLICKING HERE TO PLACE YOUR PRE-ORDER NOW

Regards,

The HTA team.

customerservice@HighlyTunedAthletes.com.au

Coast to Kosci - Ultramarathon

2011-12-01T16:57:00.004+11:00

Just on a week to go for the 5th official running of what is widely viewed as Australia's most challenging Ultramarathon foot race, Coast to Kosci.

The Coast to Kosci event starts at 5:30am Friday the 9th of December from sea level at Boydtown beach Twofold bay Eden NSW, and travels continuously for 240kms to Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko at 2228 metres.

Race records Male: Jo Blake 26:01:40 (2009), Female: Sharon Scholz 32:14:32 (2010).

Highly Tuned Athletes are proud to be supporting previous finishers Brett Saxon and Kerrie Bremner during the 2011 event.

For more information click here (http://www.coast2kosci.com/), for live race progress click here (http://www.coast2kosci.com/live.php).

Garmin 910XT Product Launch

2011-11-16T11:42:00.003+11:00

To celebrate the GRAND OPENING of our brand new training facility based at the HTA show room in Hampton, Victoria, we are inviting all HTA members to attend our very first event: The Garmin 910XT Product Launch. Come and check out this exciting new product from Garmin and see for yourself what all the hype is about.

When: 22nd of November

Time: Choice of two sessions
Session One - 6:30-7.30pm
Session Two - 8:00-9:00pm

Where: 579 Hampton St, Hampton, VIC, 3188 (Use the door to the left of shop to enter the upstairs training facility)

RSVP: Event is by invitation only and places are limited, to register your attendance CLICK HERE and fill in your details.

UPDATE: Delivery of Garmin 910xt

2011-11-12T11:25:00.001+11:00

Further update received today on the 910xt.

As predicted the demand for the 910xt has outstripped supply. We have been advised late today that the allocation for Australia's portion of the 910xt will simple not fulfill the orders we currently have. Exactly where the cut-off line is is completely unknown and we will not know until a few days prior to receiving them.

Our Pre-Order system has always been based on 'first in best dressed' and every customer is placed in a strict order queue which is updated manually immediately upon order placement. We never give numbers ordered or sold due to commercial reasons, but I can say that based on what I am hearing today, 910xt's will initially come into Australia in small quantities all the way up to Xmas. Quite simply put, they will be very very hard to get if you have not or do not pre-order. What stock we get will always be provided first to those that have pre-orders in place.

Our phones are running hot and emails all have the same questions at the moment. When is it out and will I be guaranteed one if I place an order today ? The answer is now unfortunately 'no'. What I can say is that If you do place an order, you are guaranteed to secure a 910xt as soon as we can get one for you. As each day goes on, the orders are increasing and making it harder and harder to provide an answer as to exactly when a constant supply of 910's will occur. I can only honestly reiterate, stock through to and now beyond Xmas will be very limited. Worldwide demand has simply been phenomenal.

Lastly, the other important guarantee I can provide is that if you do happen to have placed a pre-order, we will always offer a full refund at anytime, no questions asked.
If you currently have a pre-order with us and wish to cancel, you are welcome to by calling us on 03-9598-7888 or sending us an email customerservice@highlytunedathletes.com.au

If you specifically wish to know if you are guaranteed to get one in the 1st batch ? I simply cannot answer this. If your ordered one close to release date, then your are more likely than if you ordered one today.

After our first batch arrives, we expect subsequent deliveries to roll in week by week. We are doing absolutely all we can to provide the best service to everyone at all times and in a fair manner. (please dont ask me to bump you up the queue, as it will save me from disappointing you)

On the matter of trialling a 910xt and a review, we highly recommend DCRainmakers reviews as the best in the business. We have had a preproduction model in our hands for about a week and will be offering a launch night on Tuesday 22nd Nov at our new training centre at 579 Hampton St, Hampton, where everyone will be able to try it on and have a play with it. Places will be limited. An invite will be sent out to our database on Monday and also announced here in the forum.

Stay tuned and we will continue to provide updates as they come to hand.
If you wish to call me to discuss, you are welcome to on 03-9598-7888.

Cheers
Rob

New Firmware Updates

2011-11-07T15:34:00.005+11:00

Garmin Firmware Updates.

Keeping your Garmin's firmware up to date is an important end user activity which is well worth the effort in the long run. Firstly, firmware updates are designed to fix any bug issues that may emerge in the "real world", often originating as a result of user feedback.

Secondly new behavioural features may be added to a product after its release, as an example the recent ability to now auto-lap at 5km intervals on the popular FR110 and FR210's.

Before you update your firmware, make sure you have downloaded all your history from your device, as some updates are destructive, ie will reset the device back to factory settings, the update revision information will warn you of this, if so.

Read and follow the documentation step by step.

Make sure the update you are performing is suitable for your device.

Lastly, if you have purchased your device from Highly Tuned Athletes, give us a call if you have any problems on (03) 9598 7888.

Forerunner Update Links:

Garmin FR205 V3.00

Garmin FR305 V3.00

Garmin FR405 V2.80

Garmin FR405CX V2.40

Garmin FR60 V2.70

Garmin FR310XT V4.20

Garmin FR110 V2.50 (Use WebUpdater)

Garmin FR210 V2.40 (Use WebUpdater)

Garmin FR410 V2.20

Garmin FR610 V2.60

Garmin FR910 (new product - TBA)

EDGE Update Links:

Garmin EDGE 500 V2.80 (Use WebUpdater)

Garmin EDGE 800 V2.40 (Use WebUpdater)

Garmin Edge 200 V2.00 (Use WebUpdater)

Garmin Product Redemption Offer

2011-10-29T11:29:00.002+11:00

Terms and conditions

1. Claims are only open to Australian residents aged 18 years or over.

2. Employees (and their immediate families) of Garmin, participating
authorised Garmin retailers and agencies associated with this promotion are ineligible to claim.

3. Promotion commences on 28/10/2011 and ends for purchases at 5.00pm AEDST on 31/12/2011. Final claims close at 5.00pm AEDST on 15/01/2012

4. To claim, individuals must visit www.garminfitnessredemption.com follow the prompts to the promotion claim page, input the requested details, upload a scanned or photographed copy of their purchase receipt(s) and a scanned or photographed copy of the serial number(s) (located on the GPS device) and submit the fully completed online claim form by 5.00pm AEDST on 15/01/2012.

For full term and conditions click here

New HTA Training Facility Coming Soon

2011-10-24T15:02:00.002+11:00

Want to know more about your Heart Rate Monitor? How to get the most out of your fitness product so you can maxmimise your potential? HTA will soon be opening our brand new training facility based at our showroom in Hampton to answer all these questions and more.

This facility will be a welcomed addition to the business, that will allow us to continually provide our customers with the superior customer service and support that HTA strives for.

Further infomation (including event information) will be coming soon.

310xt vs 910xt - What is different?

2011-10-17T12:54:00.004+11:00

	Forerunner 310XT	Forerunner 910XT
High-sensitivity GPS Receiver w/ HotFix^TM	X	X
Water Resistant to 50m	X	X
Open Water Swimming	X	X
Pool Swimming:		X
Distance		X
Stroke Type Identification		X
Swimming Efficiency		X
Stroke Count		X
Lap Count		X
Vibrating Alerts	X	X
Barometric Altimeter		X
HR based Calorie Computation	X	X
Training Effect		X
Multi-sport Mode	X	X
Customizable Screens	X	X
Courses	X	X
Map/Plotter Page	X	X
Waypoint Storage	100	100
Virtual Racer		X
Virtual Partner	X	X
Interval Training	X	X
Auto Lap/Pause/Scroll	X	X
Run/Walk Alerts		X
1 Per Second Recording	X	X
Automatic Wireless Upload	X	X
Fitness Equipment Compatible	X	X
Garmin Connect	X	X
Heart Rate Monitor Compatible	X	X
Foot Pod Compatible	X	X
Speed/Cadence Sensor Compatible	X	X
Bike Profiles	3	5
Power Meter Compatible	X	X
Battery Life	Up to 20 HRS	Up to 20 HRS
Dimensions (HxWxD)	2.1”x 2.2”x 0.8”	2.1”× 2.4”× 0.6”
Weight	2.5 oz	2.5 oz

NEW PRODUCT: Garmin Forerunner 910XT–Available November 2011

2011-10-04T23:44:00.001+11:00

The Garmin Forerunner 910xt. The new benchmark in Multisport GPS Technology.

Garmin International Inc. today have announced the Forerunner 910XT – the only all-in-one GPS-enabled device that provides detailed swim metrics and tracks distance, speed/pace, elevation and heart rate for running and cycling. The 910XT sports a sleek profile allowing users to easily slide wetsuits on and off, and has an on-board barometric altimeter for improved elevation data, all without sacrificing the size of its easy-to-read display.

The Garmin Forerunner 910XT is now available for PRE-ORDER

910XT without Heart Rate strap RRP $399 ($40 deposit now)

910XT with Heart Rate strap $449 ($50 deposit now)

CLICK HERE TO PLACE YOUR PRE-ORDER NOW

With the Forerunner 910XT, swimming will never be the same again. Designed for both open water and pool swimming, Forerunner 910XT is water resistant to 50 meters and is Garmin’s first multisport watch to offer extensive swim metrics, including swim distance, stroke identification, stroke count and pool lengths. It also computes a user’s swolf score – the sum of the time for one length plus the number of strokes for that length. For example, 30 seconds plus 15 strokes equals a swolf score of 45. Swolf is a measurement of swimming efficiency and, like golf, lower is better. The 910XT’s robust design and easy operation make it suited for other water sports, including paddle boarding, kayaking and windsurfing to name a few.

When an athlete is ready to jump out of the water and onto the bike, Forerunner 910XT moves easily from wrist to handlebar with the optional quick release and bike mounts. Forerunner 910XT categorizes multisport activities in one workout and can also log transition time in the process, so triathletes can analyze their performance from start to finish. And with up to 20 hours of battery life, even hardcore endurance athletes can push themselves further than ever.
Forerunner 910XT uses a vibration motor for alerts such as heart rate, pace/speed and distance when audible tones cannot be heard (heart monitor included in some bundles or available separately). With the heart rate monitor, Forerunner 910XT also allows athletes to track their training intensity via the Training Effect feature. By inputting key information into the watch, a user can measure the impact of an exercise regimen on their aerobic fitness.
In a true race against the clock, Forerunner 910XT adds Virtual Racer. With this feature, Garmin has an answer for every excuse- no more, “I could have beaten that time”- where users can race themselves over their previous bests or against other users’ times. These can be taken from activities stored on the watch or downloaded wirelessly from the huge and expanding Garmin Connect community. Here users can quickly and easily log their workouts, track their totals, set goals, share workouts with friends and family and participate in an online fitness community of more than 70 million activities around the world. Also, users can now create and plan workouts, and even design courses and send it all directly to your 910XT with the click of a button. Garmin Connect displays metrics such as time, distance, pace, elevation and heart rate. This information is shown through charts, illustrations, reports and a variety of map representations including street, photo, topographic, and elevation maps.
During and after the workout, Forerunner 910XT blends the best wireless connectivity of all of its predecessors in the Garmin fitness family, syncing wirelessly through ANT+ technology with Garmin heart rate monitors and foot pods, compatible third-party fitness equipment and power meters, and the user’s PC or Mac for automatic data download. The Forerunner 910XT will be compatible with Garmin’s innovative power meter Vector and display independent left/right power.

Watch Battery Change and Pressure Testing Service

2011-09-05T16:27:00.004+10:00

One of the biggest gripes we get in store is the notion of customers having to send their heart rate monitor back to the Aust. Distributors for a battery change. It takes time and $$$ and further some effort to send it. In this modern day quick world, everyone wants an easier solution.

Hence, over the past couple of months at Highly Tuned Athletes we have been busy building a new in-house Watch Repair Facility.We can now say we have proudly commissioned our new $10,000 pressure testing equipment which provides us cutting edge pressure testing. It is a state of the art Swiss made, fully automated electronic dry testing machine, with full data logging and graphical analysis/comparison testing. It also adds vacuum testing for condensation seepage tests due to varying climatic changes.

We are now able to conduct full battery changes and pressure testing up to a 100 metre water resistance rating !

Anyone wanting their battery changed in a Polar, Suunto, Timex, or Garmin watch (non rechargeable versions), we can now do these in Melbourne at $35.00 for a standard type battery change, or $39 for a complex clean/reseal and test. If you mention this blog or our newsletter, we will do any style for an introductory flat price of $29.00.

In most cases, we can also do them whilst you wait ! (i.e. get a coffee down the road at our local) and we will have it ready for you when you get back.

Interstate customers are also welcome to send their units in for testing whereby we will offer quick turnaround (but sorry, no coffee). Soon we will have a checkout procedure available on our website to assist in a fast sending and payment method.

Plus we are now stocking a large range of HRM straps allowing us to test, repair & replace straps and transmitters, giving us a comprehensive facility to get your Heart Rate Monitor back to a working state.

As we develop our facility further, we hope to add more customer features to simplify HRM repairs. These will include, loan units for product trial, extended warranties and special offers to trade-in your old HRM. Stay tuned for more.

Review of Garmin G3 GPS by Rob Grinter

2011-09-05T15:21:00.004+10:00

Having once owned a Golf GPS about 5 years ago, I was wary of this electronics meets golf idea for a 2nd go. I cannot think of many electronic products that have a purpose on a golf course. We often give value to Electronic aids in practice, before a game and maybe even after a game, but during a game they have little credence. Personally, I want to concentrate on swing, technique and well; winning, but definitely not slaving to a handheld device or electronic score system.

My first foray into GPS based golf course advisory devices was disastrous when I found my local golf course would not endorse it for use in any club competitions and further my home course wasn’t properly mapped out. It was hard to use even in a casual round and there was a further issue in that being an early adopter, I often found myself the subject of minor sledging by the others in the group (3 versus 1 is tough to defend and when the opponents sniff a weakness, they milk it). It was a no win situation. I duly ebayed it and waved goodbye. Cannot even remember the brand I bought back then, but do recall it was sold at Ray Drummond stores for $400+.

Then entered the Garmin Approach G3. It looked good on paper and a huge difference now was that GPS devices have been endorsed by the Golf ruling bodies full stop. My local golf club now allows full use in competitions, the course was fully pre mapped and I figured I might be less of a leper being 2011. Garmin state that 600+ courses are pre loaded on their G3 and a quick resume check of all the courses I have played around Australia in the past 10 years showed everyone of them on the list.

Everything about the G3 is simple and there is no need to discuss any of the finer details about what comes with it etc. as it works perfectly once the batteries are installed. I did play around with it for about 10 minutes at home the night before my round and it was simple and intuitive with a touch screen to add to its ease of use. The only detail I really needed to get correct was to ensure it was set to measure in metric and not imperial. I was really chasing a quick uptake on this product with minimum fuss and definitely wasn’t going to put any effort into connecting/uploading etc. Essentially, I had in mind that this unit was given a limited window to impress me or it was going to be packed up and shipped back pronto.

Arriving at the course, I turned it on and pressed PLAY. It asked me to select a course and since I was at Woodlands Golf course, Mordialloc, VIC, this was already on top of the list of courses. Straight up it switches to the first hole with a map and distance to the pin. I checked this against the course marking (i.e. the certified distance marked on a plate on the tee) and it was spot on. For the first few holes I regularly checked it against the sprinkler head distance markings etc and each time it was +/- 1 metre. I clipped the Approach G3 to a suitable position on my golf bag and the swing type clip was a perfect mount. So far, so good.

Each time I finished a hole, as soon as I transited to the next tee the G3 automatically switched over to the next hole map. There was only one occasion on the 14th hole I found the screen was incorrectly on a previous hole and I put this down to a stray tee shot. It was simply fixed by one push of a button and everything returned to normal. The colour screen was a little hard to read in some light conditions/angles, however touching the display turns on the backlight which improves the readability.

Here is the best news though, the two guys I was with kept asking me throughout the day what distance I had on my display. The more the day went on, the more they asked. So not only was it accurate, easy to use, totally useful (and legal to use on competition day), it was popular. I was even able to toy with them a few times on the distance after realising they were now reliant upon me! Every experience of 5 years ago was now the opposite as I trundled around all day long knowing exactly how far I was from the pin. I was at my home course and even though I already knew where all the sand traps and course obstacles were, I could utilise the on screen distance features on the odd occasion to check whether club selection was appropriate to carry these obstacles.

There are other features possible on the G3 such as selecting specific positions on the map to aid in next shot measurements. There is also a complete scorecard feature, but for now I was not keen on bothering with this. I just wanted a simple tool to aid in distance measurement. My interaction with the device throughout the day was negligible and I generally never touched it, but rather looked at the screen to get a distance. It worked for me just as I wanted and I never found myself slaving to it!

The only negatives are the included cover and battery life. The cover seemed like a good idea, but I ditched it and went naked after a few holes. It kind of got in the way of the touch screen. Before the game I installed two brand new Lithium AA batteries and upon picking it up again the next day to do this review I find I am now getting low battery warnings. It never ran out during the round or gave any such low battery warnings and it also has an auto power shut down so I am not sure why the documented 15 hour battery life seemed to be more like 5 hours. It may be something I did myself such as not correctly turning it off or finishing the round on the screen, as once my round was over I had the 19th hole on my mind. (Note: 19th hole is not on the course map). Regardless, I have made a note to carry an extra set or 2 of batteries next time, just in case of a mid round power issue. Plus the case now exists as a protection case for storage once I have finished. So neither of these are of great concern.

What’s good about it:

- It gets the job done in a very easy manner.
- 600+ courses are pre loaded with even more coming.
- Simple to set up and very easy to get working upon arrival.
- Accurate distances.
- Wont distract you from your game.

What’s not so good about it:

- Nothing really except battery life. Carry a spare set of batteries for emergency.
Carry case is a bit cumbersome. Simply fixed by removing it!

Conclusion
It’s a little beauty! Small, easy to use, functional and outright a great tool to aid in playing better golf. I will never play another round without it. This one is a keeper!

PS: I won the day too!

Rob Grinter is the owner of Highly Tuned Athletes and wrote this review based on his own personal experience with using the product. The Garmin Approach G3 Golf GPS is available HERE for $349 including Free delivery.

UPDATE: Garmin Forerunner 610 is now instore

2011-05-25T17:08:00.001+10:00

The new Garmin Touchscreen running watch - Forerunner 610 -, is now available in store.

Drop in for a hands-on demonstration or buy online at;

BUY GARMIN FORERUNNER 610

This has been a very sought after product and current stock is limited, so be quick. We expect this model to be in and out of stock regularly over the coming months.

NEWS: some quick updates

2011-05-17T13:22:00.001+10:00

1. We have been working on getting GoPro camera systems for sale in store for sometime now and should have our first shipment available next week. more to follow….

2. Garmin Forerunner 610 is in the last few days of its long awaited arrival. Lots of pre-orders, just as many keen phone callers and we are working at having this in store by end of the week. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a pre-release model for about 10 days earlier in May (1 of only 2 in the country) and it was all thumbs up here ! Some great new features and a very refined upgrade to the 405/410 family.

If you want to get your hands on one of these units in our first batch, be quick, we are close to running out before it even arrives.

ORDER the Forerunner 610 HERE

3. Garmin Forerunner 210 is confirmed as arriving in late May or 1st week of June.

4. Suunto has released 4 new colours in its Core range. All are now available.

See the NEW CORE’s here

5. New HTA Club ? In the background we are working away at a new HTA members club. Stay Tuned !

6. Watch Pressure testing is just around the corner now. Our new $10,000 machine for testing down to 10 Bar (100metres) will be here and installed in about 2 weeks.

NEWS: New Garmin Forerunner 610 (Pre Order Available)

2011-04-13T18:01:00.001+10:00

Below is the official Press release by Garmin announced this morning.

PRE ORDER the new FORERUNNER 610 by CLICKING HERE

HTA are now taking $50 deposit orders to secure yourself delivery of the first batch.

Customers placing a deposit will have the ability to purchase a unit when they arrive and will ensure themselves that they will be the first to secure a Forerunner 610 with HRM and the new Premium Ver 2 heart rate strap

NOTE: This is a Deposit only purchase . Balance of RRP less deposit is payable 1 week prior to confirmation of product arrival. # Please ensure that you include your email & telephone details to assist in contacting you upon release date. Deposits are fully refundable anytime and for any reason ! Contact us on 03-9598-7888.

GARMINS FORERUNNER 610 TOUCHSCREEN GPS WATCH

In preparation for world-class marathons in Boston and London as well as the Australian fitness expo we have released Forerunner 610 GPS sports watch – a slim, yet robust and weather-proof touchscreen solution for serious runners seeking an extra advantage. Forerunner 610 can stand up to rain, sweat and splashes, and is responsive enough that it can be operated with running gloves.

“Running with Forerunner 610 is like having a coach with you every step of the way,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “From giving the basics such as pace, distance and time to monitoring your effort through heart rate, creating interval workouts and racing a friend on the other side of the world, Forerunner 610 becomes a necessary partner for all serious runners.”

Now it is easier than ever to see how far, how fast and how hard you have worked. Forerunner 610 puts it all at your fingertips. Designed for the runner who is constantly seeking improvement, Forerunner 610 is Garmin’s new flagship model. Forerunner 610’s sleek stylish design complements the highly responsive touch screen and high resolution display. This innovative design has drawn praise from the International design community by winning the coveted Red Dot Design Award, the world’s largest and most renowned design competition in a field of thousands of submissions from over 60 countries. To see the Forerunner 610 in action, go to http://sites.garmin.com/forerunner610.

Forerunner 610 uses a vibration motor for alerts such as heart rate, pace and distance when audible tones cannot be heard (heart monitor included in some bundles or available separately). With the heart rate monitor, Forerunner 610 also allows runners to track their training intensity via the new Training Effect feature. With the right information, it is not necessary to be a coach or sports scientist to help you train effectively. Training Effect measures the impact of exercise on aerobic fitness and lets you know how the workout improves your fitness during the workout.

In a true race against the clock, Forerunner 610 introduces Virtual Racer™. With this new feature, Garmin has an answer for every excuse- no more, “I could have beaten that time”- where runners can race themselves over their previous bests or against other users’. These can be taken from runs stored on the watch or downloaded wirelessly from the huge and expanding Garmin Connect™ running community (http://connect.garmin.com). Here users can quickly and easily log their workouts, track their totals, set goals, share workouts with friends and family and participate in an online fitness community of more than 50 million activities around the world. Garmin Connect displays metrics such as time, distance, pace, elevation and heart rate. This information is shown through charts, illustrations, reports and a variety of map representations including street, photo, topographic, and elevation maps.

With the growing popularity of the run/walk training method in the distance running community (example: a runner runs for five minutes, walks for one minute and repeats for the duration of the course), Garmin has included a new run/walk alert. This alert allows Forerunner 610’s other features, such as, Auto Lap and Auto Pause, to remain active during a run/walk session.

FAQ: Garmin and Cateye Speed/Cadence Magnets

2011-04-05T16:40:00.001+10:00

A very common query here is; My Garmin product came with only one magnet and I need two. One for the spoke to pickup speed and the other for the crank to pickup my Cadence.

The answer is that the package actually does come with two magnets, but at first glance it looks like just one has been supplied. This is because in the packing of the magnets they are almost always joined through magnetism.

Some pictures below explain how they are packaged and what actually is supplied.

On the left is the packet of Garmin magnets with the speed magnet and cadence magnet stuck together.

The picture to the right shows the magnets separated and the spoke magnet screwed to the plastic retainer.

Same again, this time the Cateye magnets are pictured.

PRICE DROP: Poolmate Pro drops from $249 to $199

2011-04-04T21:24:00.001+10:00

We have been able to effect a 20% saving on the Poolmate Pro and we can now deliver Australia wide for $199.

See the Poolmate Pro HERE

The Pool-Mate Pro is the latest addition to the award winning Swimovate range of swimming computers. As well as automatically counting your laps and strokes and calculating your speed, distance, calories and efficiency, and displaying on the watch, the Pro will download all this data effortlessly to your PC so you can analyse your progress.

SALE: 2XU Compression now at 40% Off RRP - across the whole range

2011-03-07T11:03:00.001+11:00

All 2XU compression gear must clear to make way for new stock.

40% off Everything.

CLICK HERE to see the whole range at 40% OFF

SALE: 2XU Clearance Sale, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% Off. All stock must go.

2011-02-27T16:00:00.002+11:00

Once again we have a unique sale for our Followers & Members.
All of our 2XU compression gear is up grabs and must clear for new stock arrivals.

Click here to see sale items: 2XU SALE Clearance Sale
Click on the sub-catagories on the left hand side to see men's, women's, youth etc.

We start the sale rolling at 30% off and there is over 140 different items on offer, all are new and boxed compression garments.

Most are very limited in qty. Many are only 1 or 2 available items per size. So if you see your chosen item in the size you want, be quick as they wont last this time.

Next Monday, we will drop to 40% off and every week after until they are all gone.

The schedule operates like this;
- From Today 26th Feb 30% off.
- From Monday 7th Mar 40% off.
- From Monday 14th Mar50% off.
- From Monday 21st Mar60% off.
- From Monday 28th Mar 70% off.
- From Monday 4th Apr 80% off.
- From Monday 11th Apr 90% off.
- From Monday 18th Apr 100% off, yes FREE just pay the postage.

YES, thats correct, they keep coming down till they are ALL gone!

Find the item you want, keep a close eye on it, when it reaches the price you want, buy it!

No rainchecks, No customer orders, No holds. No returns or refunds for change of mind on these sale items. Full 2xu warranty applies of course.

First in, best dressed. If we have any remaining by Monday 18th April, you can have it for free, just need to pay the $6.95 postage.

(Last time we had a sale like this was on Timex watches and they were all gone by the time they reached 80% off). Every Monday before midday, we will drop to the next reduced price.

Cheers
Rob

UPDATE: Suunto Movescount.com gains some new features.

2011-02-03T16:05:00.001+11:00

Today, Suunto announced some updates to their online Movescount software. Suitable products are the M-series (M1, M2, M4, M5) and T3 Series. Details are below

Their website can be found at www.movescount.com

Dear Movescount users,
We're pleased to tell you that we've been working on another Movescount update to make it the world's best sports community!
At the moment, performance is our number one priority. The current update should make Movescount faster and we're still doing things to improve the speed. Besides new features, expect to see more performance improvements later in the spring!
We've also fixed some known issues and bugs.
Customize your group!
It's now possible to customize groups by changing the background image and colors of the group pages. This means you can add your own sports club logo, colors or photo on the page. If you're an admin of a group, why not try the new feature!
iPhone Application coming up
We're also really excited about the new Movescount iPhone application that we've been working on. The Movescount iPhone Application is an easy way to track your outdoor Moves in activities such as running and cycling. It shows you where you're going, as well as how fast and how far. And, by planning your routes on Movescount.com before hitting the road, you can also make sure that you don't get lost in the wilderness!
Every Move is automatically stored on your Movescount.com account, allowing you to make every Move count. The application is will be free and available in 11 languages so be prepared to get yours as soon as it's available in App Store around March time. We'll keep you informed!
Want to give us feedback?
We want to know what you think about Movescount to make it better. Please share your thoughts and ideas with us by filling in this survey. The questionnaire takes approximately 15 minutes to complete, and we'll draw three Suunto M5 products among all respondents.
Keep on Moving!
Best regards,
The Movescount development team

Blogger Labels: Movescount,UPDATE,Suunto

NEW PRODUCT: Garmin External battery pack for Edge and Forerunner series

2011-02-02T16:15:00.001+11:00

Today Garmin announced the release of the new External battery pack with Solar charging ability.

This unit will work with the Edge 500, 705 and 800 cycle computers as well as the Forerunner 110, 310xt, and the 405/cx/410 range.

You can purchase online now HERE

We will have them in-store by end of this week. (Friday 4th Feb 2011)

Description

Garmin's External Fitness Power Pack by powermonkey-eXplorer allowing you to stay off the beaten track for longer.

Designed specifically for Garmin's range of fitness and outdoor products, this water-resistant power pack houses a 2200mAh lithium-Ion battery capable of recharging 5V devices while remaining robust, compact and lightweight enough for space and weight-conscious outdoor enthusiasts.

Suitable for even the most demanding riders, the external power pack provides real power when you need it most - the added 20 hours of extra ride time on the Edge® 800 makes the combination ideal for everything from week-long touring holidays to 24 hour marathon racers.

Users can recharge the pack 3 ways via: the included folding solar panel which allows the external power pack to be recharged to one third in 5 hours and fully within 15 hours; the universal mains charger compatible in more than 150 countries; and USB in under 7 hours.

Box Contents

An external battery with miniUSB connector
A solar panel charger by Solarmonkey
A silicone case for battery
A female USB connector
A miniUSB connector to round connector
Velcro tape for solar panel
Velcro tape for Silicone
An universal charger with multiple electrical plugs for various countries.

Blogger Labels: 310xt,410,500,800,Garmin,External,battery,Edge,Forerunner,Solar,cycle,Power,Pack,panel,charger,Solarmonkey

THIS WEEKS SUMMARY: Friday 28-Jan-2011

2011-01-28T16:41:00.001+11:00

Price drop on Timex Global Trainer.
Jan/Feb Giveaway - Win a GARMIN EDGE 800 valued at $649.
Firmware on Garmin Forerunner 110.
Pressure testing and battery change service coming soon to HTA,
A solution to get Google maps back on Garmin Connect.

1. Price drop on Timex Global Trainer..

Timex Global Trainer prices have dropped in Australia and we at HTA believe we are the cheapest.
We now have them as follows;

Timex Global Trainer - Without heart rate $289
Timex Global Trainer - INCLUDING heart rate $319
Timex Global Trainer - INCLUDING heart rate & Speed/Cadence unit $369

All can be viewed here:
TIMEX GLOBAL TARINERS @ Highly Tuned Athletes

2. Jan/Feb Giveaway - Win a GARMIN EDGE 800 valued at $649.

Don’t forget our competition for $649 worth of Garmin Edge 800

with heart rate, speed/cadence and TOPO maps. Valued at $649.00

Check out the Jan/Feb Edge 800 Giveaway HERE

3. Firmware on Garmin Forerunner 110.

The recent Garmin Forerunner 110 firmware upgrade revision from 2.20 to 2.30 has created an issue that will cause your unit to intermittently display heart rate on the screen.

###### DO NOT INSTALL revision 2.30 ######
Wait for Rev 2.40

It appears as though you cannot downgrade from 2.30 back to 2.20. So you are best to avoid 2.30 altogether.
Garmin are aware of the issue and are attempting to fix it.

You can follow the thread on Cool Running for any further updates.

Do Not Install - Garmin 110 Firmware 2.30 - Cool Running Messageboards

4. Pressure Testing and Battery changes; Coming Soon to Highly Tuned Athletes.

One of our most requested items in store is to change batteries in heart rate monitors.

As this requires any watch unit to then go through pressure testing, which is about a $10,000 investment in equipment, like many retailers of fitness gear, we simply do not have the equipment.

However, this is about to change,around March this year we will have all the necessary equipment and skills to complete full dry and wet pressure testing up to 100 metre specifications. (More than most sport watches)

We will keep you informed with more information as we get closer.

5. Don’t like Bing maps on Garmin Connect ?

Recently Garmin switched from Google maps to Bing maps when using the online software “Garmin Connect”

This change caused a massive uproar as Bing maps at the time was very inferior. Whilst they have improved greatly after Garmin requested some better detail in the maps, they are still lacking in some areas.

Now there is a useable fix to force Garmin Connect to use Google maps. It requires the user to download and Install Google's Chrome browser, plus download a small plug-in called Gfix. Both are easy to do and below is the link for the Plug-In Gfix.

Gfix - Google Chrome extension gallery

Blogger Labels: WEEKS,SUMMARY,GARMIN,EDGE,Sale,message,News

REVIEW: Garmin Edge 800 what kind of cyclist needs GPS navigation (by Richard Tulloch)

2011-01-20T21:15:00.000+11:00

A package arrived on the doorstep. My pulse rate probably quickened, but I had no way of checking this. The heart monitor was in that package, along with a new Garmin Edge 800 GPS satellite-guided navigation bicycle computer. I’d been invited to take it on a test drive.

I should explain that I’m not a techy-geeky-dudey-type guy. I know how to insert a DVD into my machine, but getting it to play…that’s what you have kids for. So maybe I’m not the ideal person to be reviewing a wham-bang, state-of-the-art Garmin Edge 800 GPS bike computer. On the other hand, if I can work it, so can everybody else.

I’ve been riding bikes since before the launch of Sputnik. I know the way along my favourite cycling routes in Sydney and Amsterdam, and the Dutch ones have signposts giving the distance to the next town. I even know a clever trick for calculating average speed; I divide the distance travelled by the number of hours I’ve been riding. I learned to do this back when calculators filled large rooms in bank offices.

Nonetheless, I was excited by my new Garmy’s arrival, because GPS thingies are fun.

I was given a Garmin Edge 500 for my last birthday. I like it. I like knowing how far I’ve ridden. I enjoy trying to beat my best time on rides I do regularly, and I particularly like being able to upload the details onto the Garmin Connect website to show to others. Nobody’s interested of course, but I show them anyway. I make pretty maps of my rides which I can publish on this site.

To see the full readout of the route, click here.

The Garmin Edge 800 promised to do all the above, plus it had a navigation mode so it could tell me when to turn left or right. Normally Mevrouw T performs this function, but she isn’t always available to go cycling with me.

I took Garmy 800 with me on the recent Great Victorian Bike Ride. I also took my son, which is way better than having a manual. He couldn’t wait to get Garmy going, and found the on/off switch in no time. I was impressed. Garmy began by asking me some rather personal questions about my age and weight. I thought this was a bit rich, since we’d only just met, but not wanting to offend, I answered them as honestly as I could.

I liked the display. It’s bigger than the 500, in colour, and it was nice to see the gradient displayed alongside my speed and kms travelled. It was particularly encouraging when I conquered a short climb of 14 degrees without having to get off and walk.

I also liked the ‘virtual training partner’ option. This means you set what you think will be a challenging speed to keep up and a little man starts riding his bike along at that pace. We had some hills coming up, so I set my little man pedalling at a modest 20kph average and was delighted to see I could leave him eating my dust most of the time.

Then we tried out the navigation function. Garmy offers a map (too little for me to read without my glasses) and flashes advice on when to turn left or right.

The trouble was, I already knew where to turn. The Great Victorian Bike Ride route setters had thought about scenery, safety, road surface, suitable rest areas and athletic challenge. Garmy couldn’t compete with that. For instance, it assured us that the distance from Heathcote to Seymour was 127km. We were expecting it to be about 30km. The discrepancy was because we asked Garmy to avoid major roads, so it decided we should make a major detour.

Of course, it would be asking a lot of any computer to find a route ‘avoiding major roads, except those with debris-free shoulders. Oh, and a couple of kms on normally busy roads is okay if it’s on a Sunday. And one more thing Garmy, we don’t mind a bit of gravel if there are no big potholes and it’s not raining.’

It’s encouraging to know that the human imagination is still better than a computer in some respects. Driving a car, you generally want your GPS to take you on the shortest, most direct route to the destination. Touring cyclists on the other hand are constantly balancing convenience with a whole lot of other considerations.

I would like to be able to plan a route before the ride on Google Maps, say, then download it from my computer to the GPS, knowing that it will now give me advice without my having to stop to refer to a map again at intersections.

I would like to be able to link up a series of day rides on the Garmin Connect website to make a complete map, with stats, of a multi-day ride. When Garmy 800′s battery needed recharging after about two and half days of riding, everything automatically reset. Perhaps there is a way to avoid this, but I failed to find it.

The bottom line is, I don’t need a Garmin Edge 800. Who does? Even Cadel and Lance have team captains whispering into their earpieces to tell them how they’re going (or ‘how they’re doing’ in Lance’s case). The very bottom line is, I want a Garmy anyway. After all, I don’t need lycra jerseys, or a smart bike, or cleats, or cool-looking shades, but I have them all. They make riding more enjoyable, and so does Garmy.

I’m going to have another birthday soon. If anybody loves me a lot, you can get me a Garmin Edge 800, including Aust/NZ TOPO maps, $649 from Highly Tuned Athletes.

Thanks to them for lending me this one to try. It was fun.

Richard Tulloch is a freelance travel writer. His blog can be found at: ALL ABOUT ME « Richard Tulloch's LIFE ON THE ROAD

FROM HTA: Would you like to win a Garmin Edge 800 of your own, enter our free competition open till 24th February 2011.

See all the details by CLICKING HERE

Blogger Labels: REVIEW,Garmin,Edge,800,Richard,Tulloch

REVIEW: Garmin Forerunner 410 GPS/HRM (reviewed by Anna Papij)

2011-01-07T09:45:00.004+11:00

For the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of trying out the Garmin Forerunner 410, courtesy of Highly Tuned Athletes. My usual running watch is the Garmin 305 but it’s over 2 years old now and the battery life isn’t what it used to be. This was a great opportunity to see if the 410 was for me.

Everyone knows the great advantages of training with a GPS watch. Seeing your pace, HR, elevation and maps of your runs is incredibly useful, not to mention fun. But I’ll just go through what I think the three main obvious features of the 410 are - the shape, the wireless ANT connection and the bezel.

Firstly, it looks more like a watch than a computer. It’s designed to be worn as a regular watch when not in GPS mode. It looks so much more stylish than my 305 or the current 310XT. In comparison though, it is still quite large when compared to my regular wrist watch, and I wouldn’t wear it except when running:

The next obvious feature is the wireless ANT connection. You plug in a USB stick and sync your watch to it. This makes transfer of data so easy and seamless. The watch only needs to be within a few metres of your computer for the transfer to start. I had it upload direct to Garmin Connect online. This is so handy because you don’t need to remember if you uploaded the data yet already and of course you can access it from any computer.

Then of course there’s the bezel. This is a great idea - where you lightly tap the side of the watch, or scroll your finger around to change screens and select options. Unfortunately this is something I never got used to. Sometimes a light touch was all it needed. This was fantastic. Such smooth operating! Other times I found myself hitting it in frustration. Register my touch! I would shout, but get nothing in response, or maybe some jerky reactions. I had this watch for 4 weeks, and really, I would think I’d have got the hang of it by now, but I just could not get a consistent happy use of the bezel. This was the only negative of the watch. I much prefer pressing buttons.

In terms of general use, GPS accuracy and using the workout options, I found it a great watch. I have come to think of all these features as standard and I think most runners would too. There was some distance variation between the 410 and my old 305, and when running on a track it still thought there was some elevation undulation, but that’s the nature of GPSs. The HR monitor is extremely comfortable and it was not at all noticeable when I wore it. The battery life is 8hrs in use, and 2 weeks not in use. This is pretty handy as I found I only had to charge it a few times while it was in my hands.

Overall I think the 410 is a good looking watch, but the bezel let me down. If you’re not constantly changing your settings this is no big deal, so I guess it depends on your use. Incidentally, Highly Tuned Athletes have excellent communication and support. I’ve always been one to purchase gadgets online from overseas but when it comes time for me to upgrade my old Garmin I will definitely support these guys!

Blogger Labels: REVIEW,Garmin,Forerunner,Anna,Papij,410

UPDATE: Power Balance finally exposed by ACCC as not having any scientific substance

2010-12-30T19:11:00.002+11:00

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has placed orders upon Power Balance Australia after the company finally admitted that there was no credible scientific evidence to support that the Holographic band provided any benefits in either power, balance or strength. In fact, a few months ago, Choice conducted some tests and concluded that it did little else than empty purchasers' wallets. You can read the various reports; one on news.com.au HERE plus the video of Graeme Samuel’s take on it all is on the same site. If you still think these are ridgy didge, then have a look at how it is debunked HERE (It is a longish video, but a bit of fast forward to at least half way will give you info on the trickery involved.
Finally, here at HTA we feel somewhat vindicated in our early call to get out and the hell away from this product. Power Balance have now admitted to misleading conduct which is a breach of the Trade Practices Act.

Here at Highly Tuned Athletes, for a period of a few weeks in the middle of 2010, we sold the Power Balance bands as an authorised retailer. After further investigation, we felt uneasy about selling these to the public and ceased all sales. At the same time, we also requested to be removed from Power Balances website. The exact date this all occurred escapes me a bit now, but I do also strongly recall the number of bands sold both online and in store did not exceed 20, as the only order was for qty 24 and 2 of these are kicking around my house in bottom drawers and the last 2 were given away to a mate.
If you have purchased an original authentic Power Balance band, then the good news is that you can get a complete refund. I haven't tried it as yet but the ACCC suggests that a call to Power Balance will result in a full refund. Call 1800 733 436 and ask for a refund, or you can view the Corrective Notice HERE
If you see someone wearing one, do them a favour, politely tell them its a load of phony (as now admitted by Power Balance) and that they now at least have a bone-fide method to get their money back.
If you bought one, don’t feel bad, you are not the only one !!!!! If it was from HTA, then give us a call on 03-9598-7888 and we will instantly refund your money.
Blogger Labels: UPDATE,Power,Balance,ACCC,Australian,Consumer,Competition,Commission,Australia,Holographic

Technorati Tags: Power Balance Bands Corrective Notice

FIRMWARE UPDATE: Garmin Edge 800 changes made from 2.00 to 2.10

2010-12-30T11:08:00.003+11:00

A few days ago, Garmin released a Firmware update to the Edge 800. Being the first such update, it contains all the most obvious and requested changes and therefore is highly recommended to all Edge 800 owners.

Check out the update on Garmin’s Edge 800 Updates & Downloads page: HERE

Changes made from version 2.00 to 2.10:

* Improved Auto Pause behavior.
* Corrected issues that could cause incorrect speeds to be recorded.
* Improved auto wheel calibration especially for PowerTap power meters.
* Added a torque reading to the calibration page for Powertap power meters.
* Removed DeleteFiles folder.
* Allow the device to operate in normal mode with external power.
* Corrected issues that could corrupt activity files which would not allow them to be uploaded to Garmin Connect or Garmin Training Center.
* Improved keyboard layout, input, and design.
* Made improvements to the elevation profile.
* Added an activity reset reminder.
* Improved how the device responds when the screen has been locked.
* Added a factory default reset in MENU -> Settings -> System -> Initial Setup.
* Added the ability to view details for an activity that has not been reset.
* Data fields should now report correct time and distance while navigating.
* Corrected issues caused by removing an SD card while navigating.
* Corrected Auto Scroll issues.
* Corrected issues drawing the current activity on raster maps.
* Made improvements to the Virtual Partner.
* Added memory full warning message.
* Corrected issue that could prevent activities from being able to be deleted.
* Route recalculation can now be turned off in MENU -> Settings -> System -> Routing -> Recalculate.
* Added a day/night color mode setting in MENU -> Settings -> System -> Display -> Color Mode.
* Sensor settings will now be correctly maintained when merging FIT setting and sport files.
* Corrected issues with weight scale data recording and communication.
* Corrected issue that could cause lap calories to be reset after a power cycle.
* Corrected issue that could cause workouts, courses, and locations to not be displayed in their respective lists.
* Corrected issue that could cause data field changes on the map or elevation training pages to not be saved.
* Lap markers in a course will now be recorded correctly while following the course.
Blogger Labels: FIRMWARE,UPDATE,Garmin,Edge,Check,Downloads,HERE,version,owners
FC4RX6RTS8CX

THIS WEEKS SUMMARY: Wednesday 22-Dec

2010-12-22T18:25:00.002+11:00

Winner of December Giveaway.
Jan/Feb Giveaway - Win a GARMIN EDGE 800 valued at $649.
Timex Sale (with a twist) 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Free.
Run with Peter “Chilliman” from our store – 6:30pm Thursday 23rd.
New Years message and New News News !!!!

1. Winner of December Giveaway.

The winner of the brand new Garmin Forerunner 410 with Heart Rate Monitor is……..

Scooter

Who is Scooter? We think we know, but if the real scooter could contact us, your Garmin 410 is ready for you !

2. Jan/Feb Giveaway - Win a GARMIN EDGE 800 valued at $649.

This time around we have the top of the range Garmin Cycle Computer, the Edge 800 with heart rate, speed/cadence and TOPO maps. Valued at $649.00

Check out the Jan/Feb Edge 800 Giveaway HERE

3. Timex Sale (with a twist) 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Free.

….with a Twist. That's right, Timex is on clearance. We started at 30% discount on all Timex HRM’s and Ironman watches (except Global Trainer and WS4) and every Monday we reduce them by another 10%.
e.g..
From Monday 20th Dec 50% off.
From Monday 27th Dec 60% off.
From Monday 3rd Jan 70% off.
From Monday 10th Jan 80% off.
From Monday 17th Jan 90% off.
From Monday 24th Jan 100% off, yes FREE just pay the postage.
See them here: TIMEX SALE (with a twist)
YES, thats correct, they keep coming down till they are ALL gone!
Some models are now sold out, so pick the price you want to pay, keep a close eye on it though as if it sells out before it gets to your price point, then there is no further stock available.

4. Run with Peter “Chilliman” from our store – 6:30pm Thursday 23rd Dec.

Peter is conducting one of his infamous “Rat runs” from the HTA store at 579 Hampton St, Hampton. be out front of store for a 6.30 sharp start and optional pizza next door afterwards. For more details, CLICK HERE (just replace all details Thursday 23rd Dec)

5. New Years message and New News News !!!!

Apologies for being slow on the weekly updates we have been flat chat as you can imagine with Xmas period. However, we have received many well wishes and want to take the opportunity to sincerely thank all of our customers for what has been a record year.
So what's happening next year, well just a couple of snippets to some things in the pipeline for 2011.
We will continue to expand our range of brands with Tissot being one on the cards for early 2011. ZeroRh+ is in store now and the ability to provide modern prescription eyewear to the sportsperson is on its way late January.
Also to be introduced is a full Pressure testing facility to not just change watch batteries, but put them through the correct water testing procedure for piece of mind, and at a reasonable price With equipment costing close to $10,000, we hope to add to our ability to not just provide technical assistance, but also quality maintenance.
Booked in is a trip for HTA at the late April 3 day Sydney event known as the Fitness Expo (Fizbo), so we hope to see some of our Sydney customers come along and say hello.
That's the first half covered, the 2nd half of the year could see many ideas we have around here come to life. Training courses is on the development board and more web based interaction such as forums, feedback, Q&A’s and FAQ’s will be explored.
What wont change is our commitment to provide Australia’s #1 Heart rate monitor store.

Blogger Labels: WEEKS,SUMMARY,Winner,December,Giveaway,GARMIN,EDGE,Timex,Sale,Free,Peter,Chilliman,message,News

WINNER: The winner of the December Giveaway for a Garmin 410

2010-12-22T12:00:00.002+11:00

The winner of the brand new Garmin 410 is……

Scooter

Who is Scooter ? We are not 100% sure, but we think we know.
If the real Scooter could step forward and claim the prize please !
Your new Garmin 410 is ready for you !!!!!

Blogger Labels: WINNER,December,Giveaway,Garmin,Scooter

CONTEST: Jan/Feb Giveaway; Win a Garmin Edge 800 Bundle GPS/HRM Cycle Computer

2010-12-21T12:08:00.005+11:00

Win a brand new Garmin Edge 800 GPS Cycle Computer including Heart Rate Monitor, Aus/NZ TOPO maps and Speed/Cadence sensor. Delivered to your door for free. Valued at $649

What do you have to do to win ?????

Yes, we still need more help. So here we are again. Muster up your friends and family and enter as much as you can.

Up for grabs this time is a beauty !!!! You spread the word about our new blog and we will enter you in the draw to win a brand new Garmin Edge 800 cycle computer. This is their new top of the range colour touchscreen computer released in late November. Be the envy of all your cycling buddies with the best cycling computer available on the market.

The winner gets the Edge 800 bundle version. includes Premium Heart Rate Monitor strap+ Speed/Cadence sensor. PLUS the TOPO maps on SD card that will provide complete Australia and New Zealand coverage from City streets to outback contour maps. Great unit for not just cyclists but can be used as a Car navigation device with specific turn by turn directions based on driving (freeways etc.). Also can be used by Trail runners/walkers wanting in-depth navigation on remote trails with full logging/recording. Prize is valued at $649.00

Check it out here: Garmin Edge 800

As per usual the rules to enter will be as follows;

One Free Entry into the draw for anyone who places a comment and joins our Blog as a Follower.

Two Entries for those who comment, join our Blog as a Follower and also shares it on their Facebook or Twitter profile with a link to http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au/.

Five Entries for anyone who can do all of the above and also post a link on your own blog OR on a Website pointing to http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au/ plus a link to our blog: http://highlytunedathletes.blogspot.com/

If you would like to help me keep track of all the entries, drop me a quick email here, this way we will be sure to include your # of entries: CLICK HERE TO EMAIL

Entries close on Thursday 24^th FEB (11:59pm EDST)
....and the winner will be randomly drawn and notified on 25th Feb 2011.
Good luck everyone, any questions you can call us or email.

Blogger Labels: Edge,800,Athletes,Tuned,Highly,CONTEST,Giveaway,Garmin,Edge 800,Cycle,Blog,Follower,Facebook,Twitter,highlytunedathletes

SALE: Timex Sale (with a twist)

2010-12-19T14:28:00.001+11:00

We have a unique sale for Cool Running Members.
Currently at 40% off all Timex watches (excluding GlobalTrainer,WS4 & T5k254)
Tomorrow Monday 20th, we will drop to 50% off and every week after, drop another 10%, until they are all gone.
Example.

From Monday 13th Dec 40% off.
From Monday 20th Dec 50% off.
From Monday 27th Dec 60% off.
From Monday 3rd Jan 70% off.
From Monday 10th Jan 80% off.
From Monday 17th Jan 90% off.
From Monday 24th Jan 100% off, yes FREE just pay the postage.
See them here: TIMEX SALE (with a twist)

YES, thats correct, they keep coming down till they are ALL gone!
Find the item you want, keep a close eye on it, when it reaches the price you want, buy it!
But be quick, as stock is very limited and once they are gone, the sale will not be repeated. Some of the items we only have 1 of each, it really is limited!
No rainchecks, No customer orders, No holds. No returns or refunds for change of mind on these sale items. Full warranty applies.
First in, best dressed.

NEWS: Garmin make further changes to BING map integration !

2010-12-17T10:37:00.000+11:00

With some unpopular changes to Garmin connect made a few weeks ago, Garmin have now responded with some positive news to take their online fitness software a step further. Time will tell whether this will get the standard back to where we were with Google maps, but for now, it is a step forward. Interested in your opinions ????? Refer to press release below:

With a new release for Garmin Connect coming out Thursday, we wanted to thank everyone for their feedback. The transition to Bing Maps was based on the long-term development of Garmin Connect, and

we realize that there have been many negative experiences in the process, especially for users in specific areas. The transition was made to focus on long-term growth, sustained stability and accessibility, new features on the roadmap and keeping all of Garmin Connect’s functionality free for all users. Since the transition, we’ve been listening closely to all of the comments and criticism and working with Bing on the most efficient solutions for various issues.

Thursday, from 7-10:30 a.m. Central, we will be rolling out a new release that incorporates terrain view into Bing’s global mapping and introduces birds eye satellite imagery to the activities detail page for enhanced high-resolution zooming in many areas – two topics that have dominated user feedback. We are also sharing comments from around the world with Bing so that they can make any necessary improvements to mapping and satellite coverage.

Additional features that will be introduced in this new release include simple ways to compare your activities (of similar type and distance, such as lunchtime 4-milers, marathons or century rides) and enter notes into your calendar (to comment on a sick day or inclement weather, for example).

Finally, we have accelerated the timeline for future releases, and we are committed to communicating those changes as they happen as well as what customers can anticipate in those releases. Our fitness and outdoor customers are as vocal as they are active, and we welcome that feedback and strive to reach the best solutions available to us. Our goal has always been – and will continue to be – to give Garmin customers and the Garmin Connect the best user experience possible.

THIS WEEKS SUMMARY Friday 26-Nov

2010-11-26T09:25:00.000+11:00

1. Bing Maps on Garmin Connect; Has not gone down well ! Possible fix ??
2. Garmin Forerunner 410 release, Plus; win a free 410 before xmas.
3. Suunto M1 HRM works in water.
4. Edge 800: more coming soon.
5. Product reviewers wanted.

1. Bing maps replace Google maps on Garmin Connect
Last weekend Garmin introduced some changes to their online "Gamin Connect" software. One notable change was that they switched the displayed maps from Google maps to Microsoft's Bing maps.

Clearly an inferior map system to googles, Bing maps lack the detail and satellite imagery, not to mention it just wont zoom any where near as close on a target nor around a 360 degree view.

This switch bought on a flurry of worldwide complaints on Garmins USA based forum with over 10,000 visits in only 4 days on just one of the plethora of threads running the subject. I dont recall having read one pundit suggesting they like the change to Bing. Universally hated.

Will Garmin reverse their decision? I would doubt it, as one high up exec stated the change was somewhat enforced upon them. I now am seeing some marketing persons within Garmin qualifying the changes as being a bit of a pain now, but going forward it will provide a better experience.

Should you want to stick with Google Maps; There are some solutions arising in various forms. People power and those with a strong desire to rectify what they see as a compelling issue, have produced fixes or workarounds. One such clever software developer has built a patch to install into Googles Chrome browser that gets you back to google maps very easily.
- Click HERE to see the solution.

I am sure more such remedies will appear in the next few days also. Keep a watch on the Garmin forums HERE. (Scroll halfway down the page to "Threads in Forum")

2. Garmin Forerunner 410
Released at the start of this week, the new Forerunner 410 is a slightly tweaked version of the 405cx.

Changes include a switch back to the more popular black colour with a new red ring facial to decipher it from the now ageing 405. The improved bezel is easier to use with a firmer positive touch required and the noticeable improvement in the feel of the buttons is a minor but welcomed addition. A complete shutdown option in the software allows the user to discard the watch function totally to save battery for your important upcoming event.

In stock now at $449 and a great gift this Xmas.
Suits mainly the urban runner, but will also work as a cycling computer.

Would you like to win a FREE Garmin forerunner 410. Visit our link here to find out how you can enter this free competition; WIN a Garmin 410

3. Suunto M1 Heart Rate Monitor works in water
Yes this is what we have been told. A surprise to us all.
In the store, all day long we spiel about how none of the modern day HRM's will provide heart rate readings whilst submerged in water. Surprise surprise, the Suunto M1 will actually do this.

What do you need for readings in water? normally a very old Polar unit from Circa 1990's. As these units operated on a very low frequency. As HRM's got popular, the pitfalls of these early Polars was that they cross-talked, ie, if someone else near you was wearing one in close proximity, you could pick up their heart rate instead of yours and vice-versa. As there was very few frequencies, this was a too common occurrence.

To rectify this, Polar and other HRM brands have increased the frequency by which the devices transmit your heart rate signals through the wireless connection, but unfortunately a by-product was that this rendered it useless in water. The higher frequency was not capable of transmitting through water.

How you read your heart rate whilst swimming is another blog another day, but for now, the simplest and almost cheapest unit on the market will give the swimmers what they want.

The Suunto M1 can be viewed HERE
At $129, it makes for a good family heart rate monitor and an affordable gift this Xmas.

4. Edge 800 Bundle stocks
What a week, massive number of Edge 800 units went out the door and still many more waiting to get their hands on one.

Good news is that we have been advised that we will be getting some more in a few days. I am not sure if this will exceed the number of units we have deposits for, but anyone who has a pre-order with us will be given first chance at any new arriving stock. If there are units beyond the current pre-orders, then will be selling online and in store whilst they last.

If you want to obtain one for a Xmas present, I would strongly suggest you place a pre-order as this will continue to be sought after more and more as Xmas approaches.

EDGE 800 with HRM + Speed/Cad + Aust/NZ TOPO Maps
$65 deposit plus Full change of mind rights ORDER HERE

5. Product reviewers wanted
Do you think you have what it takes to write a good product review, then we suggest you give us a call.

We are currently lending products to reviewers that can write up a good blog or technical review of some of our new release products.

How does it work; We loan you a device and after an agreed time we seek the return of the unit in fair condition and access to print the written article on our blog and/or product description. Acknowledgement of you being the writer is provided and feedback opportunities will also exist.

We will even supply the delivery to you and a return satchel for safe sending of it back to us once you have finished. If you wish, we may even come to an arrangement for you to buy the device at a significantly reduced price should you wish to keep it.

We are currently interested in reviews on;
    Suunto Elementum
    Bryton Rider
    Garmin 110 and 410
    Poolmate and Poolmate Pro
    Suunto M1, M2, M4, M5, X10 and Core
    Cateye Commuter
    Nitelight.

We are also interested in comparisons of products such as;
    GU vs Endura
    Skins vs 2XU.

The qualifications you need are not specific or mandatory, however we would prefer that you could demonstrate your ability to write technical reviews by showing us some of your previous work.

If this appeals to you, contact us at customerservice@highlytunedathletes.com.au.

YOUR SAY: Garmin Edge 800's are in the mail, your feedback is welcome.

2010-11-17T19:13:00.000+11:00

As of 17 Nov, all ordered Garmin Edge 800's have been posted.

Please tell us your feedback or experiences below.

CONTEST: December Giveaway; Win a Garmin 410 GPS/Heart Rate Monitor

2010-11-16T10:06:00.002+11:00

Win a brand new Garmin 410 GPS HeartRate Monitor. Delivered to your door for free.

What do you have to do to win ?????

Just help us get our new blog site kicking along and to do this we need your social networking skills. Just write a quick comment about either your current activities, experience with your HRM or any dealings you may have had with Highly Tuned Athletes. It doesnt have to be nice or grovelling to HTA, thats up to you, we just want you to help us spread the word about our blog and website. Entries will put you into our draw as follows;

One Free Entry will be given to anyone who places a comment on any of our previous blogs.

Three Entries into the draw for anyone who joins our Blog as a Follower as well as a comment.

Five Entries for those who comment, join our Blog as a Follower and also shares it on their facebook with a link to http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au/.

TEN Entries for anyone who can do all of the above and also post a link on your own blog pointing to http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au/ plus a link to our blog: http://highlytunedathletes.blogspot.com/

If you would like to help me keep track of all the entries, drop me a quick email here, this way we will be sure to include your # of entries: CLICK HERE TO EMAIL

Entries close on Monday 20^th DEC (11:59pm EDST)

....and the winner will be randomly drawn and notified on 21st DEC 2010.

Good luck everyone, any questions you can call us or email.
We need to spread the word and we need your help !
Get blogging and posting now !!

THIS WEEKS SUMMARY

2010-11-14T12:24:00.002+11:00

1. Edge 800: hot product, pre-orders, delivery, Silicon case.
2. Suunto Contest closes Monday 15th Nov
3. Swimovate Poolmate Pro, now with download facility.
4. Casual Run Thursday 18th at 6:30pm
5. Garmin Forerunner 410 confirmed as end of the month.

1. Garmin Edge 800
Our 1st and 2nd batch are now sold out. We are now pre-selling the 3rd batch for arrival 2nd week December.

Geez has this been a big seller and congrats to those that had faith in pre-ordering, you have done well. Whilst Garmin AU seem to have been held up with getting stock out, we believe that we will see it arrive in a couple days, probably on Tuesday 16th. As soon as they come in, we will be turning them all around and out the door.

Last minute moment here, we nearly forgot to reserve one for our floor demo.

Couple of the FAQ's are;
- Does it come with two bike mounts? YES, enough hardware to mount on 2 bikes.
- Does it come with maps? The $649 bundled version will now come with the new TOPO Aus/NZ map system on microSD.

Also, word from Garmin is the Silicon case is a beauty! Fits like a glove and can be fitted to the unit and still mounted on the bike. Biggest plus is that all those that were worried about the blue trim, the black matt silicon case covers it totally. Perfect for all those fashion concious bikers.

If you require one, call us to add to your order on 03-9598-7888 or http://tinyurl.com/800case

If you missed out on ordering your Edge 800, get your order in for the batch arriving Mid December ASAP, as we expect this will be a sought after unit for Xmas and stocks will not last until then. 10% and full change of mind refund given. Remainder due one week out from confirmed delivery.

EDGE 800 with HRM + Speed/Cad + Au/Nz TOPO Maps
$65 deposit plus Full change of mind rights ORDER HERE

2. Suunto M2 HRM Giveaway
Still plenty of opportunities to enter the contest. Just blog, follow, twit, facebook etc and win one of three male or female M2 heart rate monitors. Contest finishes end of Monday.
http://tinyurl.com/Suunto-Contest

3. Poolmate Pro
Swimovate have released a new version of the popular poolmate. This new version has download facility. Perfevt swimming companion and does away with all those difficult watch lap timers. See the complete post here;http://tinyurl.com/Poolmate-Pro
We will have it instore by 22nd November and will retail for $249.00

4. Casual Run
Thursday 18th at 6:30pm, join Peter for a casual run starting outside the store.
For more details refer: Casual Run with Garmin Expert "Chilliman"

5. Garmin Forerunner 410
Last week of November sees the release of Garmins replacement for the 405cx.
An improved touch bezel and new styling in proven favourite colour black will make this facelift model popular for Xmas. Pre-orders can be made here: http://tinyurl.com/HTA-FR410

NEW PRODUCT: Poolmate Pro by Swimovate

2010-11-13T14:26:00.010+11:00

Available from Highly Tuned Athletes 22nd Nov 10

The watch contains motion sensors to automatically monitor the motion of your arm when swimming so you don’t have to worry ...............

about counting laps yourself and can concentrate on your technique or just relax and swim. The Pro package includes a download pod that plugs into your USB port. The watch will simply and automatically transfer the data via Infrared link to the pod and your PC.

The included software is simple and intuitive to use and has multiple language support.

The watch is Water Resistant to 50 metres, works with all the major strokes, any length of pool over 18 metres whether yards or metres and doesn’t require any calibration.

Add new swim Automatic Examine session Examine swim Show distances Change swimmer

or edit existing download in detail trends over time by week or year

Key software features

· Download data from the Pool-Mate watch or add swims manually.

· Grade your swim- Great, good, ok or bad!

· Add notes or edit data

· Select any session and examine in detail including individual sets within the swim

· Graphical analysis of your stroke count, times, speed etc see how they have changed over time.

· See how far you have swum this week or year.

· Multiple swimmer support

· See how many cup cakes you have burnt off in your swim!

· View your fastest times, best stroke count etc. at a glance.

· Multiple language support

· Save as .csv file

Session detail image

System requirements Windows XP or newer, spare USB port, software download from www.swimovate.com

The Packaging

POD POD Docking with watch

The Pool-Mate Pro will be available in store on 22nd November.

Swimovate Ltd is a UK company run by swimmers and triathletes developing innovative, affordable electronic training products for sports. The Pool-Mate has sold in over 60 countries since it’s launch last year and made a difference to the lives of many thousands of swimmers worldwide. Swimovate are dedicated to finding workable solutions to training issues athletes of all abilities have. The Swimovate team have extensive experience in electronic and software design, development and manufacture worldwide.

EVENT: Thursday night run with "Chilliman" - 6:30pm 18th NOV

2010-11-09T17:51:00.000+11:00

On Thursday 18th November and for several other Thursdays TBA between now and Xmas, Peter “Chilliman”, our expert Garmin member, will be conducting weekly casual runs starting from the Highly Tuned Athletes store at 579 Hampton St, Hampton.

Casual run will take you down South Road and along the scenic Bayside route to Black Rock Clock Tower and back again, known as the “Rat Trail”. Dont worry if you cannot keep up or don’t want to run the full distance, Peter will keep it at a easy pace and any speedsters can take off, or you can cut the run short and turn around at anytime, the group will pick you back up on the way through. (see map below). Full length of course is 16km.

Meet out the front of the shop before 6:30 pm, plenty of parking, EVERYONE WELCOME. Plus optional if you want, back for Pizza at around 8:15pm at Bay Crust Pizza, 569 Hampton street Hampton, 2 doors down. (best pizza for miles) Licensed, and BYO wine only.

There is no changing facilities, but there is toilets at the pizza shop. Our store closes at 6pm, if interested we will stay open for the ½ hour to 6:30pm for you to browse, but the run must start at 6:30pm sharp. Peter will also have a couple of demo Garmin units for people to trial.

See you there !

NEWS: Garmin Forerunner 410 - replaces 405cx

2010-11-06T17:52:00.007+11:00

Yesterday Garmin officially announced the new Forerunner 410. This is a replacement for the 405 and 405cx with improved touch bezel. See specifications below.
RRP $449

Pre Orders for this product are now available at: http://tinyurl.com/HTA-FR410

$50 Deposit will secure one immediately upon release in Last week November/1st week December.

Garmins announcement
Garmin Australasia is pleased to announce the new Forerunner 410 GPS-enabled sport watch.
This advanced sport watch is GPSenabled and accurately records your time, pace, distance, heart rate, elevation and more. It sports an enhanced touch bezel that lets you quickly scroll and select features on the run, in all types of weather. For extra training benefits, create detailed workouts or race the Virtual Partner.

Also includes a premium soft strap heart rate monitor with heart-rate based calorie computation for more accurate calorie data. If you’re ready to take your training to the next level, Forerunner 410 can get you there!

Enhancements from the popular Forerunner 405CX
• Powerdown feature

• Enhanced touch bezel operation that will work in moist/damp conditions

• Includes soft strap Heart Rate Monitor

Product Features and Specifications
• High-sensitivity GPS receiver with HotFix®

• Firstbeat™ advanced heart rate-based calorie computation

• Zone training: heart rate zone training, supports five heart rate zones

• Training and motivational features: Virtual Partner®, courses, workouts, goals

• Enhanced touch bezel interface

• Garmin Connect™: log workouts, set goals and share workouts in our online fitness community at www.GarminConnect.com

• Watch features: time of day (12/24h), dual time zone, day/date, daily alarm

• GPS features: mark locations, back to start, save location

• ANT+TM wireless technology: automatically transfer information back and forth between the watch and the computer

• Unit-to-unit transfer: send workouts and locations to other Forerunner 410 and Forerunner 405’s

• Fits most wrists comfortably with either the original strap or the included fabric wrist straps

• Can be used for running and cycling

• Compatible with GSC 10™ speed/cadence bike sensor: monitor pedaling cadence and wheel speed

• Compatible with foot pod: measure speed, distance and runner’s cadence indoors and outdoors

• Battery life: up to eight hours (training) or two weeks (power save mode)
• Compatible with external battery pack with solar charger to charge Forerunner 410 for multi-day activities

• Water resistant to IPX7

• Weight: 60g

• Display: round four-level gray FSTN, 124 x 95 pixels

• Size (mm): 45.75mm x 70.5mm x 16.4mm

• Distance accuracy: 99% with clear view of sky

• Temp range: -4oF to 140oF (-20oC to 60oC)
• Forerunner 410 features wireless uploads to Garmin Connect™, where you can analyse, store and share your data.

NEWS: Garmin releases details of updated TOPO Aus/NZ maps

2010-11-05T20:24:00.003+11:00

Details of New TOPO AUS/NZ map system released today by Garmin.....................

Includes topographic and street maps for Australia and New Zealand.
Provides terrain contours at 20 m (65 ft) intervals, approximating 1:100K maps.
Contains tracks, outback trails, 4WD destinations, perennial and seasonal lakes, rivers and streams.
Topographic terrain contours and summit points provide a detailed lay of the land.
Provides searchable points of interest in urban, rural and outback areas, including lodging, restaurants, camping locations, homesteads, caravan parks, shopping and more.
Includes famous outback routes, such as Birdsville, Strezelecki, Oodnadatta, Canning Stock and more.
Routable road content provided by NAVTEQ, and additional content provided by HEMA and LINZ.
Includes coverage of national, state and local parks, plus forest and reserve areas.
Provides elevation profile on compatible Garmin devices so you can estimate terrain difficulty.
Includes BaseCamp™ software (DVD only), allowing you to view and manage waypoints, routes and tracks on your computer and GPS, as well as organize trip data into folders. This application includes useful planning tools, rotated map orientation, 2-D and 3-D map views, animated playback, photo geotagging, enhanced printing and more.

UPDATE: Delivery Schedule of Edge 800

2010-11-03T17:12:00.000+11:00

We can now advise delivery of the newly released Garmin Edge 800 is confirmed for release on Friday 12th November.

If you have one on order, then we are in the process of calling all customers between now and Friday to finalise payments. However if you wish to get to us first, then you are welcome to call us on 03-9598-7888.

The matching Silicone cases for the Edge 800 will also be available available at the same time.

If you have not seen these yet, you can have one added to your order. (Just mention it when call you). The case can be seen here:

http://tinyurl.com/htaGarmin800Final payments for all Pre-orders are now being accepted.

EVENT: Watch this space............

2010-11-01T23:10:00.004+11:00

Thursday evening runs with ultra marathon runner Peter "Chilliman" coming to HTA soon.......

CONTEST: November Giveaway; Win one of 3 Suunto M2 Heart Rate Monitors

2010-10-31T20:39:00.012+11:00

We are giving away 3 brand new Suunto M2 heart rate monitors (inc heart rate strap) valued at $149 each. These will be posted to the winners on the 16^th Nov.

What do you have to do to win ??

Help us get our new blog site kicking along and to do this we need your help. Just write a quick comment about either your current sport or any experience you may have had with Highly Tuned Athletes. If you help us, we will put you into our draw as follows;

One Free Entry will be given to anyone who places a comment on any of our previous blogs.

Two Entries into the draw for anyone who joins our Blog as a follower as well as a comment.

Three Entries for those who comment, join our Blog and also shares it on their facebook.

Five Entries for anyone who can do all of the above and also post a link on your own blog pointing to http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au/ plus a link to our blog: http://highlytunedathletes.blogspot.com/

If you would like to help me keep track of all the entries, drop me a quick email here, this way we will be sure to include your # of entries: CLICK HERE TO EMAIL

Suunto M2 Womens Fuchsia

Suunto M2 Unisex Black

Entries close on Monday 15^th Nov (11:59pm EDST)

....and the winners will be randomly drawn and notified on 16^th Nov 2010.

The winners will get to choose their preferred colour of Suunto M2.

Good luck everyone, any questions you can call us or email.
We need to spread the word and we need your help !
Get blogging and posting now !!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEWS: Edge 800 is this years Hot Item !

2010-10-30T18:12:00.005+11:00

Garmin announced in Sept10 their new top end cycle computer called Edge 800. Even before it arrives in November, it is Garmins top selling product with just about everyone buying it sight unseen. At $649 with Heart Rate, speed/cadence and full Aust/NZ mapping included, this new touch screen unit will be this years hot product. Get your pre-order in fast before you miss out.

Pre-Order - $70 deposit with Full Change of mind Rights

NEW PRODUCT @ HTA: Zero rh+ Eyewear Coming soon

2010-10-30T15:07:00.007+11:00

Mid November will see our first steps into quality Eyewear. Not just any old brand but a quality Italian brand called Zero rh+.
It has been one of our most sought after products lines asked by our customers in store. All our gizmos and gadgets we stock are mostly high end products and our customers have been wanting us to select a quality Sport Eyewear brand to match. After scouring many popular brands and sinply rejecting most, we finally stumbled across this new Italian brand called Zero rh+. Great conservative yet sporty eyewear that has a real edge to it. We should have it instore around mid-November and one of the first customers will be myself. (Check out the Zero rh+ website) I like the RH690 ARX in light matt silver.
See the Zero rh+ website for more details on products:

http://www.zerorh.com/en/eyewear/eyewear%20strategy%20%3e%20man/

Return to us in November to see our range instore or call Rob on 03-9598-7888

EVENT: Online Giving - Grace Bailey's Online Giving page

2010-09-24T18:29:00.001+10:00

Online Giving - Grace Bailey's Online Giving page

REVIEW: Comparison of Garmin Forerunner 110 to Garmin 405 range.

2010-09-04T14:31:00.003+10:00

The latest GPS running watch from Garmin is the Forerunner 110. It has been out on the market for a few months now. With Garmin already having the Forerunner 405, 405cx available where does the 110 fit in?

The Garmin 405 range

The 405 range has a wealth of features, Virtual partner, the ability to set up interval training sessions, heart rate zones, auto lap, auto scroll, elevation and many more. All of these features are interesting and have their place. These features make it suitable for a range of users, elite athletes or top ranking age groupers, Coaches, athletes with a sports
science background and gadget lovers who want the best.

However what a lot of casual athletes are finding is that while these functions are great they tend to be a novelty to begin with, then once that has worn of the have ended up with a very expensive heart rate monitor and they don’t get much or any use out of these advanced functions. This is where the Forerunner 110 fits in.

The Garmin Forerunner 110

The 110 is a much more simplified GPS sports watch. It is considered a start / stop watch. While training with the 110 you are able to see your current heart rate, distance run (or travelled as it is GPS you can use it for a range of outdoors activities) elapsed time and either your speed or pace. Speed is KPH/MPH and pace is minutes per KM/ Mile. It also has a lap feature.

That is all the information you get while training. Once you have finished training you are able to download to you computer both mac and pc compatible, there you will have a wealth of information. You will see your route mapped out (powered by Google maps) , can see you speed/ pace heart rate distance travelled, elapsed time at any point throughout the run.

The 110 has the GPS technology from the forerunner 405cx with the hot fix GPS receiver , it will predict satellite location, which means you can be out the door and on with you training session in not time. So if you want a GPS heart monitor that won’t break the bank and cover most of the important information the Forerunner 110 is a valid option.

NEW PRODUCT @ HTA: The Bryton Rider

2010-09-03T15:33:00.004+10:00

The Bryton Rider 50E and 50T.

Brand new in Australia the Bryton Rider. Great to see a new GPS cycling computer on the market. The Bryton Rider gives a middle ground between the Garmin edge 500 and the edge 705 (soon to be the edge 800)

We have only received them in the store today so I haven’t had a chance to fully test one yet.
However from taking it out of the box and getting charged up, so far it doesn’t look like they have missed

anything. We currently have two options available the rider 50 and the rider 50T the difference is that the 50T comes with a heart rate strap and a cadence sensor.

The Bryton comes standard with a map of Australia powered by OSM (open source mapping) which is farily well detailed and should show most of the Australia streets, the handy thing about OSM mapping is that the user community can update the maps so you will be able to have free mapping update for the life of the Bryton.

As you would expect it has a customisable screen where you can choose from the expect data fields, Speed, Distance, Heart rate, Gradient, etc etc.
It also has a digital compass (pictured).

It has a knock knock feature for transferring data (you have seen the bump application on your Android or Iphone) you can transfer data to other users by tapping the units together, which is a pretty cool feature if you want to share data while out on the road.

The computer interface is very user friendly, rather than reading the manual (yes I know against my previous advice) I took it out of the box and plugged it in to my PC and it picked it up straight away and then prompted me to download the software required to transfer the data to the website, no disks, no download no fuss.

We have only had it in our hands for a couple of hours so I haven’t been able to do any feild testing or transfer any data to the web as yet.
Once this has been done I will provide an update on what that experience is like.

Built in GPS Sports Watches

2010-09-02T11:58:00.014+10:00

There are some alternative GPS Devices other than Garmin !!

I guess Garmin are to GPS sports watches what Apple is to the mobile phone. However they are not the only product avaiable. There are some alternatives out there.

As I have looked at in a previous entry, there is the

Timex IronmanGlobal Trainer.

This has been available in Australia for nearly two months now.
It is going along strongly. So far we have had none returned and no negative feedback at all. With the Australian ironman season just around the corner I expect you will start to see them around a lot more especially at the ironman branded events. They do look bulky in pictures, but when you try one on they are extremely comfortable for the size and not at all heavy.
There is also another watch available on the market.

The GS GH625M.

I have to admit I don’t think it looks as good as the Timex, but for the price and it functionally it is a pretty hard option to beat.

It pretty much does everything that the Garmin and the Timex’s can do. There is not much point in me re-typing all the information so below is a copy and paste from the net

The GH-625M is a multi-use GPS Sports Training Watch that can be utilised in almost any outdoor activity to monitor, track and analyse your exercise and training routines, or simply to log routes traveled via GPS. With the ability to record, store and upload data through your PC`s USB port, your detailed information can be displayed with the included Gym Trainer utility, or can be exported into popular formats such as GPX, CVS, TXT or KML for use with other popular web-sites and software.

With a host of training tools such as alarms to notify you of distance, lap times, speed, heart rate alerts for either above or below goal levels, as well as dashboard views of your workouts showing speed, altitude and calorie burn calculations based on the selected sport activity (ski, running, jogging, biking) and even the ability to record “bread-crumb” trails for easy back-track to an original destination points or to return back to a specific location.
The GH-625M is one piece of equipment that will change the way you conquer the outdoors. Internal memory capacity has the ability to store up to 60,000 trackpoints, 100 waypoints and 6000 laps and includes a wireless heart rate monitor (HRM) to provide another dimension to your workout. Battery run-time is about 10-21 hours from a single charge depending on the features that have been activated

Coming in at around the $300 dollar mark. So if you want a fully functional built in GPS watch maybe you could consider the GS sports brand.

Suunto M Series

2010-09-01T14:43:00.011+10:00

Suunto M Series.
The Suunto M series is now available in Australia. After a couple of months of waiting we received our shipment of M series heart rate monitors in the shop. As I expected they all look great. I know a good looking heart rate monitor like this will be a great Christmas present.
The range is the M1, M2, M4 and the M5

M1 & M2

offer you
• Real-time guidance: heart rate and calories burned

• Automatically switches between three heart rate zones to help reach personal exercise targets

• Suunto M1 comes with comfortable Suunto basic Heart Rate Belt, compatible with most gym cardio equipment.

• Suunto M2 comes with Suunto Dual Comfort Belt: comfortable textile belt, compatible with most gym cardio equipment and Suunto Fitness Solution

The M1 and M2 and entry level heart rate monitor. Perfect for people starting or getting back into exercise. They are fairly basic but provide all the information you require to keep track fitness sessions

M4

• Fitness Test

• 3 personal targets to choose from – improving fitness, weight management or free training

• Daily exercise instructions with ideal duration and intensity

• Automatically adapting exercise program for the next 7 days

• Real-time intensity guidance during workout

• Motivational feedback messages

The M4 starts to show the Suunto ingenuity. You set you fitness goals and the M4 will provide and ideal weekly workout schedule to help you achieve them. If you miss a training session it will automatically adjust the programme so you can still achieve those goals. I think the motivational feedback messages will be great for those of us that struggle with motivation.

M5

• Fitness test

• 3 personal targets to choose from – improving fitness, weight management or free training

• Daily exercise instructions with ideal duration and intensity

• Automatically adapting exercise program for the next 7 days

• Real-time intensity guidance during workout

• Recovery time recommendation after exercise

• Motivational feedback messages

• Download any training program from Movescount.com (with optional Suunto Movestick)

• Track speed & distance (with optional Suunto Foot POD, Bike POD and GPS POD)

The M5, similar to the M4 the M5 will provide and adjust your training sessions to meet you fitness goals & will provide the motivational messages. However the M5 is also compatible with all the Suunto pod, so you can easily turn it in to a cycling computer, use a foot pod to measure speed and distance while running or a GPS pod to measure speed and distance no matter what you’re doing as long as its outdoors.

Looking after your Heart Rate Monitor Top Ten

2010-08-31T13:32:00.009+10:00

TOP TEN TIPS

To preserve the life span and get the best use out of your Heart Rate Monitor (HRM)

1) DON’T DROP IT.
If you have a HRM with built in GPS e.g. Garmin 310xt, Timex Ironman Global trainer. We are finding on a regular basis we are having the GPS monitors returned due to the GPS not picking up satellites and in most cases the cause of this has been due to them being dropped. The GPS antenna is very sensitive and even small drops can stop the GPS from working.

2) DRY THE HEART RATE STRAP
The heart rate strap is considered a consumerable item and is not covered under the warranty. We find with most strap issues / returns we have is due to people putting the HRM strap in a bag after training and not airing/ drying it out. After 48 hours taking it out and it is still in wet screwed up state this leads to quick deterioration of the strap and it then fails to transmit heart rate. Very slight rust (invisible to see) on the contact points will stop the unit transmitting heart rate almost instantly.

3) BE WARY OF WATER
Know the water resistance rating, many are only rated to IPX7 levels which basically means the unit is only rain or sweat resistant and cannot withstand any water pressure, no swimming, showering etc. If you do get some moisture in your HRM, bury it in a jar of rice and put the lid on the jar and leave it over night. This should draw all the moisture out of the unit.

4) PRESSURE TEST AFTER BATTERY REPLACEMENT
Many of today’s HRMs come with user changeable batteries. However if you swim with or use yours in wet conditions make sure you have the watch pressured tested after you have changed the battery. This will ensure that you will not void the warranty and also give you the peace of mind that it is still water resistant to the manufactures specs.

5) READ THE MANUAL

Sound simple, but a lot of people (myself included) when we purchase a product like this the user manual gets left in the box. Read the manual as it will have specific information on how to care for the HRM you have brought. Another benefit of this is that it you will know all the functions your watch has a get more use out of it.

6) WETTING THE HEART RATE STRAP
Another common issue we face is a lot of questions around irregular heart rate reading at the beginning of excessive session or going in to winter. Most of these issues are resolved when we advise people that they must either wet the heart rate strap with water or heart rate monitor gel. DC rainmaker has got a blog enter on this subject so for more information see this link *******

7) SCRATCHED SCREEN
With the type of use your HRM will be getting it is possible or even likely that the screen will get scratched from time to time. There is a product from Suunto called Poly Watch. If the scratches are not too deep this is very handy and does a good job of removing light scratching and keeping your watch face presentable.

8) RINSE IN FRESHWATER
If your watch is water resistant to 30m plus and is used to swim in the sea, or is subjected excessive perspiration. After this type of use rinse the salt or sweat of with fresh water. This will reduce the ageing effect that the exposure to salt can have.

9) NOT A DAY TO DAY WATCH
A heart rate monitor is training tool; they were not designed to be a watch that is worn daily. If you can manage to only use your HRM as a training tool, this will increase the life span significantly as it will not have to withstand the day to day exposure to knock, bumps and so on.

10) A FAULTY HEART RATE READING CAN BE FROM A FAULTY HEART
This is an important point. We have had a case where a customer advised us they were getting very high heart rate readings (up to and over 240bpm). After exchanging the HRM strap and testing the unit we were unable to find any faults. We ask the customer to come the store so we could try some more testing. When he came in he consistently had a high reading from several monitors. We advised that he should be check by a doctor who diagnosed a medical issue with his heart and the fact that he brought a HRM may have saved his life. If in doubt seek medical advice

Garmin Edge 800

2010-08-30T13:53:00.005+10:00

One of the most common questions we get asked around here is “when is Garmin bringing out something new”.

Especially from cyclists who are always keen on new tech..

Well Finally I can give you the answer of late October, (well at least before Christmas 2010)

Garmin are bringing out the upgrade to the Edge 705 – with the Edge 800.

I am not going to provide a full review for the following reasons,

1) We haven’t got our hands on it just yet.
2) After DC rainmaker has done a review there is not much more I can add.

Follow this link for a look at DC rainmakers review of the Edge 800

DC Rainmaker Edge 800 Review

Below are a couple of the functions the Edge 800 has this I find interesting and think will be useful.

It will feature Satellite imagery – know as Birdseye Satellite Imagery

Subscribers to BirdsEye Satellite Imagery can quickly transfer high-resolution satellite images to Edge 800 and seamlessly integrate those images into the onscreen maps to get a true representation of the surroundings. And Garmin’s Custom Maps can bring the details, labels and landmarks of your existing paper or electronic map to Edge 800 in just a few simple steps. (Not available off the shelf model – has an additional subscription fee)

Touch Screen
I am a fan of touch screen myself I find it a bit easier just to touch the screen rather than use button to navigate the menu so I was happy to hear the Edge 800 is touch screen as well as having kept the to button to assist navigation. After reading DC rainmakers review I would be happy to say that it still keeps the touch screen functionality while using gloves.
Also with the other Garmin Edge models it supports ANT + transmitters. So it will compatible with your old Garmin or ANT+ heart rate strap, ANT+ Power meters and speed cadence sensors.

UPDATE: BE QUICK to Pre-order your unit now.

Garmin Edge 800 is selling fast. We have never had a product sell so well "Sight Unseen". The first batch is now sold out and our 2nd batch has been bought forward to meet the demand. Plus its not even due for another 2 to 3 weeks. Get your Pre-Order in now to avoid dissapointment as this new touch screen and birds eye mapping unit from Garmin is going to be this years hottest Xmas product.

We have trippled our orders now, but we still expect these to not to meet the Xmas demand.

Pre-order with 10% deposit to secure yours now and avoid dissapointment. Click Here: http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au/default.asp?Keyword=edge+800&page=searchview

Swimovate pool mate

2010-08-18T17:34:00.003+10:00

Can you relate to this.
You have your swimming training programme.
You do your warm up, a few drill, then Its time for the 10 x 100 on 2 mins.
Now your up to your 6th 100 or is it my 7th how many have I done again? Well that can now be a thing of the past.

With the Swimovate Pool Mate you can forget about counting laps and just concentrate on form and technique.
Finally an invotation in swimming I whish was around years ago.

The pool mate has many functions that if used properly will definatly improve your swimming, It can count laps so you don't have to, advise average strokes per length so you can monitor if you stroke is becomming more effiecent.
Total session time, measure distance and many others.

It has all the standard watch functions so can also be used as a day to day watch.

With a accuracty rate of 99.78% you can do away with some of those costly swimming coaches.

The pool mate will be avaiable from Highly Tuned Athletes from Monday 19/08/2010

Suunto M Series

2010-08-17T18:40:00.004+10:00

To go hand in hand with the moves count website Suunto has just release the M series.
We will be getting them in stock shortly. I must say they look good, but today I wanted to look at the M series test on the Suunto web site.

http://www.suunto.com/mseriesforme
This is a great way to decide what heart rate monitor is going to suit your needs the best and also give you some basic training guidance.

Once again Suunto have outdone themselves with the flash programming and useability, if the m-series flash tool is anything to go by, the watch will be awesome.

After advising your preferred language and gender you then proceed to choose a few categories to find out some really useful personal information.

Why exercise with a HRM, Which HRM is best for me, how intensive should I exercise and how many calories do I need daily.

I recommend that you have a look at all the sections, I personally like the how intensive should I exercise. A very quick and easy way to look at your heart rate zones and the range you should be training in depending on what you want to achieve in that session.

So if you are new to exercising or just getting back into it. I urge you to consider having a look at the Suunto M series and the Suunto website for the Heart rate monitor test. Once the range is available I will complete some product testing and complete review on the new range.

Suunto Elementum

2010-08-16T18:02:00.003+10:00

It’s finally here. After a long wait and a lot of work from both The Outdoor Watch Company and Amer Sports the Suunto Elementum is available in Australia.

With a range that comes in 3 models Terra (land), Aqua (diving), Ventus (Sailing).

All are fantastic looking and top quality precision watches that will stand out at any social event you may attend or provide you with necessary information you require when engaging in a range of outdoor activities.

All models have all the standard watch functions you would expect, Time, Date, Alarm, Stopwatch and all are available with a range of band choices, Rubber, Leather, or Steel.

Terra

The Terra is a beautiful ABC (Altimeter, Barometer, Compass) watch. Capable of indicating changes in barometric pressure, has a electronic compass and can record changes in altitude.

Aqua

This is the chunkiest of the 3 model and in my opinion the best looking, (Personally I have gone for the Terra as it is the most suitable for the activities I enjoy) The Aqua can measure and record current depth and changes in depth. It also has an auto sensor so it know when it is submerged in water and automatically display the depth gage screen.

Ventus

A great tool for any keen sailor, As with the Terra the Ventus has an electronic compass to assist with navigation, A count timer which beeps every ten seconds to help get your timing right at the start of the race. It is also about to display the current barometric pressure and changes in barometric pressure.

As I said early I have personally gone for the Terra and apart from a night out at the casio I have not completed any field testing. I will provide another entry once I have completed some further testing.

Timex Global Trainer Review

2010-08-12T12:25:00.001+10:00

Timex Global Trainer review

We received a Timex Global trainer at work as a Demo model and I was given the task of learning how to use the watch and to write a review.

It arrived without a manual so firstly I had to learn my way around the menus with no instruction.

Once I figured out that I had to hold the back/ pwr button down for a few seconds to unlock the menu it was very straight forward to navigate, the main two screens I was interested in were the Performance and the Configuration menus.

Entering my personal information in the configuration screen was very straight forward; To begin with I had to enter my details in imperial measurements as that is how it was currently set up. Eg, being a demo model, it had been started by the time it got to me and most likely had Imperial selected as its default.

The performance menu was pre-set with the information that I was interested in (Current Speed / Time / Heart rate and Distance) so I didn’t need to make any changes however that is just as easy as pressing the enter button while in performance page. You can customise the display between 1 – 4 pieces of data over 5 pages, so this should provide more information than needed.

Now for the road test, I ran 9km with a Garmin 405cx on one Wrist and the Timex Global Trainer on the other to compare the data provided by both.

Firstly I used the Timex heart rate strap is ant + so this is compatible with the Garmin and the whole time the heart rate readings were exactly the same as each other, so this was the first plus.

In the time I was waiting for the green man to change to cross the road I was able to acquire the GPS satellites and was ready to go (approx 1 minute).

Throughout the run I kept a close eye on the speed and distance between the Garmin and the Timex Global trainer. The readings were very close with the speed .1 - .2 of a km/ph difference at any given time. After I had completed the 9km there was a 250m difference between the Garmin and the Timex, Garmin showing the further distance.

The Global trainer connects to training peaks to download its history, This was a very straight forward process after downloading some software from training peaks You are able to see a comprehensive break down of your training session. I have had a brief look at Training peaks, it is a very in-depth training site, which will be well worth getting to know better when I have time.

If you want all the specification they can be found here - Global Trainer Specs
For a more detail review of the timex Global Trainer see DC rain makers review

Final verdict, Large watch face, however very comfortable to wear, (I found it more comfortable than the 405cx). Accurate information and display easy to see at night using the indiglo light, I would give it 4 out of 5 with the only downfall being the size of the watch face itself.

Who is Highly Tuned Athletes

2010-08-10T14:09:00.001+10:00

Highly Tuned Athletes (HTA), prides it's self on being Australia's only dedicated Heart Rate Monitor Store. http://www.highlytunedathletes.com.au/

With over 15 years of retail experience we will guarantee to you an excellent customer experience.

Our customer service consultants are here to offer unbiased information on all Heart rate Monitors.

Based in Hampton, Melbourne Highly Tuned Athletes started as a small ebay business founded by Rob Grinter and has grown steadily over the last three years.

Our Main focus is to provide top quality products at the best price we can manage, with our focus being on heart rate monitors, to assist people monitor their fitness and exercise, our customers range from elite athletes through to beginners looking at starting their journey to better health.

The products lines we stock are, Suunto, Polar, Timex, Garmin, Cateye and Bryton heart rate watches and cycles computers. We also have a small amount of complementary products including 2XU and Skins compression garments and GU and Endura energy products.

As a part of Business growth we have now opened up HTA’s, sister shop and web site The Outdoor Watch Company (OWC), http://www.outdoorwatches.com.au/. something that we are very proud of at OWC is we have manage to gain the exclusive dealer rights to Suunto Elementum. A great looking, fully functional outdoor watch range.

As part of this blog we want to give our customers the ability to provide honest feedback of our services and also to review the latest cycling computers, latest running watches and any developments in the heart rate monitor field as they become available in the Australian market. Please feel free to make any comments - The good the bad and the Ulgy.

On my next blogs entries I will be reviewing the below new products.

The Timex Global Trainer

Suunto Elementum Range

The Bryton Rider

Thanks for reading and please feel free to provide any feedback and contact us for advice on any of the product we stock.