Titan traveller vs. Garmin Forerunner

During the run up to the Bangalore Midnight marathon (see my report here), I got my hands on the new Titan Traveller (TT). This is Titan's third attempt at a Sports Smartwatch. I have been devout of Garmin for the last 15 years. Did the TT manage to swing my loyalty? Find out below:

GPS

There are umpteen jokes written about the time the Garmin takes to get to "GPS On", which is essentially the time the watch takes to connect to the satellites to be able to track distances. Over the years, Garmin has improved on this ability by having 3 modes for GPS connections (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo).

The Titan Traveller (TT) has a similar GPS lock mode, when it is not in the lock mode, the watch gives long text on how the accuracy can be improved upon GPS lock, but only measures the time of the activity (such as running or outdoor bike). In a Garmin, however, you do get the distances in the GPS off mode, but somewhat inaccurate (maybe an estimate).

 The TT seems to take forever, to get to GPS lock mode (enough time for one to abandon the fitness plan altogether). I have tried patiently a few times, then had to get back home, use the app on the phone to finally get to GPS Lock mode! Titan takes forever to lock GPS (about 10mins) vs. Garmin (about 2mins). This is a crucial sore point.

Titan seemed to be about 2% overstating the distance (and therefore pace) in GPS lock mode, and about 10% understating in the GPS unlock mode.

Heart Rate

The resting heart rate was comparable in both watches. Heart rate during an easy run was accurate (I guess) on Garmin 945 and way over for Titan Traveller. While I was closer to 145 bpm as per Garmin, the TT was showing 170+ and was constantly reminding me to slow down. I am sure the "slow down" notification can be turned off (I only managed to reduce volume), but that is the last thing a runner wants to hear - Slow Down. Most of us runners tend to think we always need to go faster than we are - easy runs or otherwise.

Outdoor Bike Ride

Again, this needs the GPS Lock mode. During my trial, I got the Titan to sync on the third attempt. Given that each attempt is about 5mins and the successful attempt needed the phone app to be on - not ideal. Once synced, the GPS was quite accurate (I am not super worried about the accuracy of my commute bike rides).

I do like the option to be able to receive calls during my commute rides, since the phone is in the bag! On the same note, I have not explored the Music option either during my runs (or biking - not recommended).

All this said, Garmin Connect App is way better for specific sports than the Titan app. The dashboards, charts, stats, maps in Garmin Connect leave nothing more to ask for. Combine this with the Pod which goes into the waist, the amount of data on vertical oscillation, ground contact times, balance, etc. is mind boggling. 

Plenty of ground to cover for Titan on this aspect.

I am yet to explore the ability to upload courses, download GPS, etc. in the Titan app. On the Garmin forerunner, this is a great feature esp. when you visit a new place / country. Check out the heat map of what I managed to do, by downloading the Madrid marathon course GPS file from Strava, upload it on to my Garmin forerunner and run the city in this report here.

Aesthetics

The Titan Traveller with it's square dial looks neat, is non bulky. I also like the option of a synthetic strap which can be easily ported to a leather one. Garmin forerunner is still on the bulkier side. The charging ports, charging time, etc. is also more advanced in the Titan.

Last word

Titan traveller is a good all round watch, lifestyle smartwatch - much better than any of the earlier ones from Titan. It is a great lifestyle smartwatch and can be used to track day long activity.

If it comes to a specialist - either running or biking, I would still reach out to Garmin.