Earlier in the year I was in the market for a new watch for training/racing. I used to wear the old school Suunto Vector but it has since been stolen when my house was broken into last winter. It’s tough for me when making a purchase like this as not a single watch has every feature I want/need. I was already using the Polar RS200 bike computer so I figured going with Polar would be a good choice and allows me to use the same transmitter when running or riding.
I chose the RS300X for a couple of reasons. First of all, since you can’t use GPS during most (adventure) races any Garmin product was out of the question for me. While the RS300X does have GPS capabilities, it can be used with or without the sensor (a small armband receiver). It also seemed to sit in the middle of the road when it comes to functionality. I didn’t want to pay the extra few hundred dollars for a built in personal trainer; that feature may be a benefit to some but was something I knew I didn’t need. Its display options are many and totally programmable letting you set which parameters you wish to view on each screen. It also allows you to scroll through the various displays by using the “Heart Touch” feature (tapping the wrist unit to the transmitter), a feature I am starting to use more and more.
The G1 GPS receiver is good, but I wouldn’t say it was great. While having pace and distance data is great, the accuracy is somewhat limited. Traveling on trails with a lot of turns or switchbacks it doesn’t pick you total distnace and as a result gives you some inaccurate pace data. If you are looking for more accurate pace data the optional foot pod would be a better choice. Also, the battery life of the GPS sensor is limited (approx. 10-15hrs). I would recommend spending the extra money and putting a lithium battery to extend the life as much as possible.
In summary, I do like this watch if you are looking for a versatile multipurpose unit. I think you could go out and get a better watch for adventure racing (Suunto) or better GPS features (Garmin) but if you want to save some money and pack as much as you can into a single unit the RS300X G1 is a good option.
