TomTom Spark 3 Multi Sport GPS Fitness Watch - Small Strap, Aqua

Product Information

If battery life is less of a concern for you, and you’d rather some smartwatch capabilities, then the Apple Watch Series 2– which is also waterproof and has GPS built in – is a preferable option. But its running options are not as good as the Spark’s, plus you’ll be charging it every day.

So what this means in practice is that as soon as you start your run, a little icon appears on a blank screen saying “home” on it. A line is then drawn covering the directions you run in, with each twist and turn being shown on the screen like an etch-a-sketch drawing taking shape.[gallery:3] The trails support is also fantastic. I moved house and so didn’t really know the running routes around here, which always makes you a little apprehensive about going out for a longer run. Thanks to the .GPX route support, I just jumped online and used PlotARoute to generate a predetermined distance based on my starting point, which can also be a circuit. You can also use MapsToGPS in conjunction with Google Maps to easily generate a .GPX route to load onto the watch. What you get instead is a watch with a simple greyscale display, large battery and robust design – something that feels like it can take a battering whether you’re getting it wet, dirty or both. The Spark 3 is tall and rectangular, so not for those who like watches with round faces. The plastic strap is easy to put on and adjust, although having to remove the watch to charge it is annoying. According to TomTom, you're not required to calibrate the compass before activity but the Spark 3 will offer to calibrate if it considers it's needed. You can still calibrate whenever you wish as well.

The good news is that you can still pull your data into third party apps including Strava, Runkeeper and MapMyRun so that's TomTom's saving grace. But we were hoping for more on the app front in the future. TomTom used to be a company synonymous with add-on satellite-navigation systems for cars. Gradually, as GPS technology became more affordable and included in even the most budget of smartphones, satnav systems became less popular and TomTom needed a new plan. Its answer: scale down from cars to people, and enter the fitness market. If you have a bit of foresight, you can also upload trails to the device, and then follow them on your watch; a small arrow shows your location relative to the path. Configurations

Still, I’m more inclined to trust the heart-rate readings from the TomTom, which showed a high of 174bpm and an average of 153bpm. The Fitbit, monitoring the same period, came up with a rather dubious-sounding high of 146bpm, and an average: 135bpm. All that said, the app is clean, easy to use and works well for the sports for which it is tailored. Once you’ve got your music on your watch though, the included headphones work great. In fact, they’re some of the best running headphones I’ve used.

TomTom raises the bar for multi-sport GPS trackers

So if it looks and feels the same, why should you upgrade? Well, TomTom is hoping that you’re the kind of runner who likes exploring.

While not offering as much at-a-glance detail as the elite Garmin Forerunner 935 for instance, information is clearly displayed and, crucially, easy to read when running. That’s not to say there aren’t any flaws, though. The screen is low-res and could be brighter, removing the watch from the strap to charge is annoying, and we’d have liked some customisation for the watch faces.The Spark 3 beats Garmin, Polar and Suunto for offering the ability to stream music from your watch. You just need to get yourself a pair of headphones to get up and running. It should play nice with most Bluetooth headphones, but if you're in doubt, TomTom has a list of supported devices here that work depending on which wrist you wear the watch on. Regardless of which model you choose, all are competitively priced; I just wish that TomTom also sold the Spark 3 Cardio + Music without the headphones. Battery Life The Spark 3 is particularly suited to runners. You can set specific objectives for each part of your run (such as fat burning), or how many calories you want to burn, or what distance you want to cover.

So with my favourite truly wireless buds, the only option is to have the volume at maximum, ruling them out. In fairness, it’s not a problem if you use the bundled headphones that come with the TomTom Spark 3 Cardio + Music bundle, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you already have your own favourite running headphones. It’s a headline grabbing list of features for any sports watch, but has TomTom done enough to tempt both first-timers and fully fledged fitness freaks away from brands like Garmin and Polar? Design It's a similar story for cyclists if you want to capture more ride data by connecting an external cadence or speed sensor. TomTom has tested its own sensor and the Wahoo Blue SC setup as well, but it should technically work with all Bluetooth Smart compatible sensors as well. You need to head into the Sensors menu again and this time go to Bike to get things paired up. Give Spark 3 a reboot The TomTom Spark 3 is a comprehensive offering that works well and is offered at an affordable price, which makes for a very compelling GPS sports watch indeed. If you’re upgrading from a running app, or this is your first fitness watch, you might find the number of options a bit daunting.TomTom says you should be able to get a good five hours of GPS, HR and music on the go. Alternatively, using GPS, the watch should last for around 11 hours on a charge. Given the impressive options for setting up and planning runs on the Spark itself, it would be great if there was an option to create a training programme, or even just a one-off session, in the app and sync it over. It would be less fiddly than setting it on the device. How often am I going to have to charge it? It’s still a bit short of the presentation and capabilities offered by other apps, though. It partners with the likes of Strava, Nike+ and Runkeeper, so most users will probably prefer to dive into the details of their activity there, rather than on the TomTom Sports app.