Soleus GPS Chrono Mode

I want to tack a little addendum onto my Soleus review, now that I've spent a little bit more time using "Chrono Mode."

In my more lengthy review, I mentioned that it might serve as a suitable replacement for Garmin's entry-level one-size-fits-all screen that gives you distance, workout time ("chron") and the projected time of your current split.

On the Soleus, the view stacks up like so:

Elapsed Split Time
Total Distance
Total Workout Time

Pressing the "View" button will briefly tell you which lap you're on in place of the elapsed split time.

I actually find this to be a little easier format to work with over what you can get in the "Run" mode, where pace and distance are stacked on top of each other.

The Soleus still automatically splits in chron mode and reports your lap time, lighting up if it's dark out. These are great features, but for your average marathon runner, I'm going to guess that Garmin's readout is preferable. You're generally going to want to know how your next split is looking at any given time, and though it's quite easy to to just look at the fractional part of your total distance and the elapsed split time, I found that I just don't have the mental fortitude to do very precise math mid-run. If you're living and dying by 7:10 splits, for example, you're probably going to want the Garmin, which clearly uses a handful of inputs to arrive at what is generally a very accurate number.

In Run Mode, as I mentioned in my previous entry, the Soleus can display current pace, but I'm fairly certain that this is nothing more than a conversion from km/miles per hour over to minutes and seconds. This is a straightforward formula.

As far as my experience goes, I have a feeling I'll be using chrono mode for trail running. I continue to be impressed by the Soleus' GPS sensitivity. In the woods, it simply blows my Garmin away. And I love the ability to see when and where it's starting to lose signal. I'm sure that Garmin (and its other competitors) have watches with higher sensitivity and advanced viewing options, but none is anywhere near the staggering $99 price of the Soleus.