I wear the footpod from the Polar 625x. It looks huge and bulky, but I really don't notice it. The one thing that I have found problematic is that I can't use those nifty elastic laces because of the way it attaches.

I don't think it'd work right on your ankle, even if you could get it to attach based on the way the Polar works. A pedometer style one might work that way though.

I'm such a geek I actually wear two footpods. One for my Polar S625x and one for my old Nike speed and distance monitor. The Nike responds to speed various more quickly, so I've stubbornly kept using it along with the Polar.

I don't notice them at all. Though Mobius is right, they don't pair up well with some elastic laces. Yankz are the ones that seem to be least compatible with the foot pods. Easy Laces[/URL" target="_blank"> are more minimalistic and seem to work fine with pods. Though I still want to try Lock Laces[/URL" target="_blank">, too.

I own both a Garmin 305 and a Polar S625X. I don't use the S625X at all anymore, in part because I don't like the footpod. I did find it uncomfortable. Perhaps the top of my foot is bonier than others or perhaps it is because I generally run in flats or light-weight trainers, but the top of my foot would get sore on occasion. I also like my shoes as light as possible, and adding a few oz seemed like taking a step backwards in that respect.

The other problem I had with the footpod approach is that I run in different shoes every day. That means the foot pod had to be swapped back and forth between shoes. This meant changing the calibration and ensuring that the footpod was in the exact place on my shoe. I even marked up my shoes with a permanent marker so I could precisely position the footpod and still found the distance readings would be off.

When it comes to altitude, the Polars will be more accurate than the Garmin. Using GPS to estimate altitude is problematic, in my opinion. Although the Garmin seems like it is never more than 10-25 feet off at any one time, it shows frequent variations within that range, even when I am running on level ground. Because of that accumulated ascents and any calorie calculation tends to be way off with the Garmins.

Still, I love my Garmin and use it everyday, whereas the Polar is now not much more than a wrist watch to me.

Victor


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Some additional (too much) information and opinions on the 625x.

Altitude is usually pretty iffy for me. I'm not sure why, but I also never look at it during a run, or after. (I also didn't know that you can calibrate it! How do you do that?) I'm an east coast, by the sea guy. We can have pretty big pressure shifts (a killer on the sinuses). Most runs are < 100 ft above sea level and basically flat (which is why I don't care much about altitude). I mainly run out and backs or loops and the elevation is always different a the beginning and end. The few times I've raced in actual hilly terrain, the elevation profile did match the published elevation profile for the race pretty accurately.

Storage -- you can store data every 15 sec by default, or every 5 seconds (and maybe every second too). I just use the 15 sec setting. I run about 25 miles a week and sync up to the computer every couple weeks without issue. I probably had a week of data and my HIM on there (so.. about 4 hours of data plus the 6.5 from the HIM) without issues. I've only run out of space once when I forgot to sync up after 3-4 weeks. The watch still worked, just didn't save any new data half way thru a bike ride. I try to sync every week if I remember because I find the IR syncing to the computer takes FOREVER if you fill up the watch. A lot of time outs and I don't have the patience for it. A weekly data dump and reset works best for me.

Bike - what drew me to the 625x was the ability to add the speed and cadence sensor for the bike and use the same watch. There are problems with this. One, the sensors are expensive! You could get a decent wired speed/cadence sensor for the price of just the Polar speed sensor. For me, the wireless range of the speed sensor works fine a wrist-mounted watch IF I stay on the hoods. If I go into aero I get far enough away I lose speed. The solution is to attach the watch to the bike (which I don't do in a triathlon). I still haven't purchased the cadence sensor.

Temperature -- always wrong when I wear it on the wrist. Off by 5-10 degrees. Body temps influence it too much. Seems very accurate on the bike. During the Luray Oly triathlon you could even see the temps dip a few degrees as we entered the valleys on the bike course, then rise during the climbs.

Swimming - I've worn the watch during all my triathlons with no problems. I never wear it in the pool though. The HR monitor on the swim works fine in a wetsuit, but was pretty iffy with just a trisuit (maybe I didn't have the band tight enough).

HR monitor -- I have to get mine wet for it to pick up a good signal, and even then it can be flakey the first half mile of a run on a dry day. I'm sure that electro gel goop would do better but I'm too lazy to buy it.

Pod - I have no problems switching the pod between shoes, but I wear the same kind of shoes (vs. alternating brands). I just note which laces I mount the thing in. Batteries (one AAA) seem to last about 20 "on" hours. I always chanage it before an important race, even if it's only 10 hours in. I keep a pack of AAA in the car just in case. It doesn't give much warning. It'll work fine Monday afternoon, and Tuesday afternoon just won't come on at all. After 1.5 years the watch and HRM battery are still original. I don't know how long they will last. (You don't charge them or anything like the Garmin)