Latest news with #GarminHRM600
Tom's Guide
15-05-2025
- Tom's Guide
I test Garmin watches for a living — here are the 5 coolest new features of the Forerunner 570 and 970
Two of the best Garmin watches just got upgraded, with the new Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 replacing the Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 965 in the brand's range. I've been testing Garmin's for almost a decade, and in that time, I've almost always had at least one of the brand's watches strapped to my wrist to support my marathon training. I've often had two, in fact, including when I set my marathon PR lately wearing both the Garmin Fenix 8 and Garmin Forerunner 965. I'm excited to start testing the Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970, and also the new Garmin HRM600 heart rate chest strap, which unlocks the new feature I'm most excited about — running economy measurements. Here's why I'm looking forward to tracking my running economy in particular, and four other new features on the Forerunner 570 and Forerunner 970 that have caught my eye. To use this feature on the Forerunner 970, you need to wear the Garmin HRM600 chest strap. Running economy is a measure of your running efficiency, and basically, the more economical or efficient you are, the less energy it costs to run at a certain pace. This is very interesting to me not only as way to look at my running form to see if I can make it more efficient to help improve my times, but also as a way to test running shoes — if a shoe helps you to run more efficiently, as many of the best carbon plate running shoes claim, then that's a reason to stick with it. Running economy measurements from the wrist are not something I've come across before from any brand, and if it's done well, this will be a star feature for Garmin's high-end watches, assuming it also comes to models like the Fenix 8 in time. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. When Garmin introduced a built-in LED flashlight to the Fenix line, it was a huge hit, and it's since been added to Epix and Instinct models among others, but Forerunner users have had to wait until now to get a flashlight on their watch. The Forerunner 970's flashlight has multiple brightness settings and also a red mode, and it's a very handy addition to the watch, whether you use it for camping or running at night, or just to get downstairs to see to crying toddlers without turning on any lights. I've been testing out the Forerunner 570, and the increased brightness of its display compared to a Forerunner 965 is noticeable. What's more, the colorful bezel and band options within the range make for a welcome change to the more conservative styles of most sports watches. Rest assured, if you're dead against the bright colors, there is a black model available in both sizes of the Forerunner 570. With the 47mm model of the watch, you also get a bigger screen than on past models — at 1.4 inches, it's as large as the screens of the 47mm and 51mm Fenix 8 models, but in a much smaller and lighter watch. Using this new feature, you can load the course for a race into Garmin Connect with the mile or kilometer markers logged, and then when you run the race, the watch will detect when you pass the timing gate and mark a lap, then, rather than relying on GPS. As someone who always worries about poor GPS during races affecting pace and distance stats, this feature could be a fantastic upgrade, especially in events in city centers where skyscrapers can play havoc with GPS accuracy. Even when running marathons on open courses, I often notice a discrepancy between the official measured distance and what my watch measures, and I've used a Connect IQ app called Peter's Race Pacer in the past that allows you to manually adjust the distance measured when passing a mile marker. Having that done automatically using a course will make for a much easier experience, and mean you can rely on the pace stats from your watch being accurate. You will need the course you add to the watch to be accurate, though, so hopefully, race organizers work with Garmin to create official routes you can use. A simple but much-needed upgrade, the Forerunner 970 now has a sapphire crystal screen instead of a glass one. As someone who scratched the screen on the Garmin Forerunner 965, this is a great upgrade — I've used many Fenix models with sapphire displays and have never managed to so much as mark them.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Garmin's HRM 600 Is A Heart Rate Chest Strap That Levels-Up Your Watch
Garmin's HRM 600 chest strap Are chest straps really that necessary any more? For many the answer is 'less than ever' thanks to improved accuracy of watch HR tech, but the Garmin HRM 600 is here to prove there's life in the HR chest strap yet. Like the Garmin HRM-Pro Plus before it, the Garmin HRM 600 goes beyond simple heart rate tracking by provides running dynamics stats when paired with a watch. It can even track exercise activities solo, without the need for a connected watch. The generational change in the Garmim HRM 600 is the breadth of running dynamics information it can glean. When paired with a compatible watch, including the Garmin Forerunner 970, you'll get 'step speed loss' statistics. This is something new to me as a Garmin user, but is an indicator of 'how much you slow down when your foot hits the ground' according to Garmin. As with other running dynamics, it tells you a decent amount on the efficiency of your stride and running style. Is it also something that tells you exactly how to fix whatever issue might be causing excessive step speed loss? Perhaps not, but if you're at the level where running dynamics truly make a major difference, you may have a coach — or someone else in your run club — who can monitor your form. The Garmin HRM 600 will also count steps, heart rate, and estimate speed and distance if you take part in exercise without your watch. There's just a single button on the heart rate monitor so you can't actually start a tracked exercise through an on-strap interface or anything like that. But it's handy if you prefer to take part in some activities watch-free. Or, conversely, the Garmin HRM 600 can pair with your watch to provide even better heart rate data, and distance data for indoor activities like the treadmill. It has both ANT+ and Bluetooth for connection to other devices. Garmin HRM 600 module rear The HRM 600 does not use the coin-style battery adopted by most chest straps. It instead has an integrated rechargeable cell, and a 4-pin charge connector just like those of Garmin's running watches. It's rated for up to two moths of use between charges, based on one hour of use a day. Garmin doesn't list a replacement battery, but there are clearly a quartet of torx screws on the back of the main housing, suggesting users may be able to get to the battery and internals easily enough. This will no doubt compromise the water resistance, though. The Garmin HRM 600 is rated for 5 ATM water resistance, making it suitable for wear while swimming. You can also fully detach the Garmin HRM 600's main module, in order to wash the strap part on its own. The Garmin HRM 600 costs $169.99, and will be available in 'XS-S' and 'M-XL' sizes from May 21.
