TomTom Spark Cardio GPS Watch - Test and Review

Recently, the guys at TomTom asked me to test and review the Tomtom Spark GPS watch and I gladly agreed. The GPS unit which was provided to me has been returned to the company.

               

I'm not unfamiliar with TomTom GPS watches since I bought a TomTom Multisport watch in June 2015 and I've been using that for most of my workouts with the exception of a few workouts on my humongous, orange, old and faithful Garmin 310XT. Multisport is the generation prior to the launch of Spark range by TomTom.

The unit which was provided to me for the test was all black in colour and the first aspect that I noticed is how much sleeker, smaller and tasteful the new design looks. On comparing it with my Multisport unit it is apparent that the Spark unit has become smaller and sleeker majorly because of the reduction in the size of the strap but some of it is also attributable to design changes. I'm a big fan of simple and clean designs and the unit in all black is quite appeasing to look at. 

Good looking much?!

It can easily be worn to work as a regular watch since the main interface on the unit shows a big and clear time display and with the new activity tracking feature that has been added to the Spark, the unit becomes quite useful when not being used for running/cycling/swimming. In activity tracking feature, the unit measures steps, distance, heart rate and calories.

Spark has an in-built optical heart rate (HR) sensor and this removes the hassle of wearing a HR chest strap. You needn't worry about the accuracy of the in-built HR sensor since the technology has evolved enough over time to provide you an accurate HR measurement. In fact, as compared to my Multisport, the new Spark HR sensor is far more accurate. The Multisport has a habit of recording faulty readings for short and fast intervals but I did not face this issue with the Spark. Possible reasons for this enhanced accuracy could be the change in watch design and the new collaboration by TomTom with LifeQ instead of the previous partner Mio for the optical HR sensor. My Multisport has a Mio optical HR sensor and as per my analysis it is not as accurate as the LifeQ sensor in the Spark.

I’ve never been fond of HR chest strap monitors because, (i) they’re hard to connect; (ii) you need to wet the HR strap; (iii) the strap keeps slipping while racing; (iv) the strap wears down easily over time and loses elasticity; (iv) it is quite unhygienic if you don’t wash it after every use; (iv) your watch tries to connect with other HR straps in your vicinity; (v) chafing;  and (vi) purchasing a replacement strap is expensive. Consequently, I’m more than happy for the new in-built HR technology that is now available in the market.

The wrist strap/band of the Spark unit has not just been made smaller but it has also been redesigned to fit better and not come loose like the Multisport. The Spark has dual prongs where the straps connects with itself and this makes the unit fit much better and also stay that way during a workout. The Multisport strap has a habit of coming undone during workouts but this does not occur while using the Spark. Also what I noticed is that the material of the strap on the Spark is more flexible and seems more durable than the Multisport

Spark can be used for running, cycling, swimming, step counting, treadmill running and indoor cycling (when paired with a sensor). I didn’t use it for swimming so I’ll reserve my comments on that, but it is quite easy to use while activity tracking, running and cycling but the treadmill usage is a little complex since the accelerometer in the unit does not work as accurately as you’d wish it to work. However, when a treadmill run finishes then the KM (kilometre) reading can be adjusted manually (as per the distance shown on the treadmill) to get a more or less accurate spread of HR vis-a-vis total workout time but the per KM pace will not be accurate. For a treadmill run in which you’ve manually changed the distance, when you upload the data to the Tomtom app or Strava app, the duration of the run and the HR during the run will be accurately shown but the per KM pace may not be accurate.

To measure speed, cadence and distance for indoor cycling you’ll need to buy a cadence and speed sensor. I haven’t bought the cadence and speed sensor yet, so I use the HR sensor to gauge the effort for my indoor cycling workout. I pedal for my desired timeframe on my Kurt Kinetic trainer at a particular HR and use the unit for HR based training. So if don’t want to run a 5k at 5:30 pace (for which I know that my HR will average 140 bpm), I’ll simply cycle indoors for about 30 minutes and ensure that the HR sensor in the unit stays at 140 bpm.

One of the foremost reasons why I had shifted last year from Garmin to TomTom was because TomTom had launched direct Bluetooth transfer from the watch to Android phones. This makes life pretty easy and immediately after finishing a workout; I can send my data to my phone via Bluetooth. Moreover, since I’ve synced my TomTom account with Strava, the data from TomTom automatically gets updated to Strava. You can sync it to other apps too like Endomondo, Runkeeper etc.

During the Bluetooth transfer from the unit to the phone, one issue that I’ve seen people regularly face and for which I’ve been asked for suggestions is that on some occasions the unit simply does not connect to the TomTom app on Android phones and therefore the workout cannot be transferred. I’ve also faced this issue initially and at such times I would reboot my phone and the transfer would start. It’s then that I realised that instead of rebooting, the solution lay in simply closing the TomTom app on the phone and then reopening it to allow the transfer to start. This works and do note that this is not an issue with the watch, rather it’s an issue in the phone. So next time when you face this issue, simply close the TomTom app in your phone’s app manager and then open the TomTom app again. If this does not work then every time when you finish a workout, switch on the Bluetooth in the phone and then open the TomTom app; then in your watch go to "Phone" option and turn the phone sync option off and then on. This works for me invariably if the first method doesn't. Another method is to again pair the watch with the TomTom app. I hope that TomTom rectifies this issue very soon.

I won’t comment on the battery life since the unit which was provided to me had seen quite a rigorous and harsh time with previous testers and users and therefore its battery was compromised. However even in this state it was tracking workouts for upto 4-5 hours (provided night mode and vibration alert wasn’t turned on). My old Multisport provides around 6 hours of workout time (without night mode and vibration alert) and I’ve seen it run upto 10 hours or so with the HR sensor turned off. So for longer runs and races, switching off the HR sensor and vibration alert is a feasible solution for extended battery life. With the HR sensor turned off, you’ll get the GPS data fully but no HR data. This seems like a valid compromise for an extended battery life!

Let us look at the competition - in the Garmin range, if you look at the features and pricing then the Spark Cardio unit can be compared with the Garmin Forerunner (FR) 235. Spark can do almost everything that a Garmin FR 235 can do at almost half the price and look way more elegant while doing it since as I said earlier, the unit in black colour is appeasing enough to perform double duty as an office watch cum activity tracker. Moreover, what I really like is how solidly built the watch feels and looks as compared to the Garmin FR 235. The Garmin FR 235 weighs like a feather but it seemed as if it wouldn’t withstand a lot of punishment.

For a little more money, there is also a music version of the watch which can store upto 500 songs and the music can be played via a Bluetooth headset. Also if black is not your color then go for one of the more vibrant colors and/or buy interchangeable straps.

Feel free to post any questions regarding the unit. Cheers.