So I am kind of in the market for a new watch. I currently have the Polar S720i and Garmin Foretrex 101 (for “big” open ocean kayaking inter-island trips and long backpacking trips) watch which has most of the features I want EXCEPT speed/distance measurement via a “pod” and/or a GPS functionality. The sports this thing will have to support are biking, kayaking, skiing, blading, mountaineering, and running (trail < -- important consideration when using GPS based systems). After some initial research I narrowed my search down to three vendors (the "short list") - Polar, Suunto, and Garmin. The watch requirements were of course in conflict, so it came down to balancing/weightings for what would be best. No, I didn't create an xls for this one, I managed most of the weightings and scores in my head.

The Polar S625x or S725x is probably the one to upgrade too if I had to right now, but I think I will wait until the "next" thing comes out in this space as most of these watches have been out a while now. The Garmin 305 would have won, but the battery life (only 10 hrs then requires a recharge) knocked it out of the running. The Suunto T6 was knocked out because the foot pod sensor isn't waterproof/resistant, even though they supply a case for it (for another $10 of course, which is cheap considering the whole setup goes for $500+). Not too mention the Suunto software wasn't as good for analytical purposes as the Polar software (Garmin wasn't so strong in the software category either). None of these watches are that far off for what I am looking for, but when it comes to dropping $500 and the fact that I already have a decent watch, these "little" things kill the deal for now.

The summary is I am going to hold out for a watch that has:

1. decent profile (not too heavy or large on the wrist)
2. heart rate monitor (for training, albeit, I don’t like that word much)
3. distance/speed measurements (this will help me nail down my pace in my head so during AR’s I can accurately estimate the team’s pace, and thus distance - useful for navigating with a compass)
4. altimeter (required for AR’s, unless banned of course)
5. waterproof (including all accessories - e.g. bike mount/measurements and speed/distance pods)
6. bike integration (need one watch for my tri’s and AR’s)
7. ideally a GPS option with the foot pod option too (like the Garmin 305 Forerunner) - that way I can use the foot pod if training/racing in the woods and the GPS for open water/trail use
8. good coding technology (so the sensors - e.g. bike, heart rate, and speed/distance pod send data without error to the watch)
9. Infrared/cable (USB) PC and software integration for tracking/analysis purposes
10. Battery life of at least 10 days (required for multi-day expedition trips and/or races)