Wednesday, May 10, 2017

TomTom Adventurer Watch Review

HELLO STRANGERS! I know I haven't been blogging as often, but I've been a lot more active on my Instagram (IG) account. If you want to know more about what's going on in the life of a full-time working mother runner, check out @kellywils0n on Instagram!


I’ve been in desperate need of a new watch for some time. My 7 year old Garmin has been on the fritz (probably from sitting in a drawer for 2 separate 1-year periods) and had stopped working. As I was starting to research new watches, an opportunity to review the TomTom Adventurer watch fell into my lap! I hadn’t used the TomTom brand before, but I know they are one of the sponsors of Spartan. I thought what a perfect way to train for my upcoming Spartan race than with a watch that Spartan elites wear!
From my IG story.
I have the interface set to: average pace, distance, and clock.
Very easy to read despite the bright sun!

Like any new technology, it has taken me some time to figure out all of the available features. It has a nice large interface so you can actually see what’s going on. There is a steps tracker, wrist HR monitor, and you can change the sport to keep track of workouts. There are options for run, treadmill, trail (you can download trail maps for when the GPS is lacking), hike, cycle, indoor cycling, swim, ski, snowboard, gym, freestyle and just a plain stopwatch.
From my IG story. Perfect day for a RUNCH!
Just checking on my stats before I head back to the office

I know one thing important about watches is keeping track of distance, accurately. I have used the watch out on the trails, in the city, and around my neighborhood. I used the Nike+ Run Club app at the same time, and the distances marked were identical. I’m sure things would get a bit wonky during a big city race, but I think that’s true with any GPS watch. There is an autolap function if you want to do that yourself instead.
Interface for the app.
I cropped off the map since this run was around my neighborhood. 

One of the features I love is that you’re able to create custom workouts right from the watch! It has intervals, laps, and time goal options. I’ve been looking for a nice interval option where I didn’t have to download or create something on my computer in order to have a quick workout, so it’s great that the option is actually just on the watch!

The watch also syncs with a TomTom sports app on my phone. The app has a pretty high rating on iTunes and I’ve come to see why. You’re able to see the route you ran on a map, where your mile splits are, and your fastest mile is highlighted. Also, it keeps track of fastest 5k, 10k, etc. so you can keep a history of your workouts.

There is also a “treadmill” feature I’ve been interested in trying. (I was going to use it today but the rain clouds had cleared and I took my run outside. I’ll report back on IG when I actually use this feature!) The treadmill feature keeps track of your arm movement and height, anticipating the distance (similar to a Fitbit). However, after every treadmill run, you can update the distance to match the stats on the treadmill. Also, you can calibrate it to help increase accuracy.

Before this review, I hadn’t tried TomTom watches. I’m really glad I got the opportunity to give them a try and I’m really happy with the result! I’m not yet ready to give up my FitBit, but I love all the running and other workout features of the watch. I can’t wait to try them all! (Except maybe the skiing and snowboarding ones. I am not coordinated enough for such activities.)
Patsy and I, running around the yard. You can really see the watch in action!

I was sent a TomTom Adventurer watch for free in exchange for promotion and a blog review of the item. All thoughts and opinions are my own.