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

Product Information

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. Like the previous generation, there’s also the identically featured TomTom Runner 3 range, which has a slightly different strap design but is available in the same variations and provides the same level of functionality.

When you return within range of your phone, you can sync up your activities to the TomTom MySports iOS or Android app, or PC or Mac software. With so many color screens doing the rounds you could argue the 22 x 25mm grayscale (144 x 168 pixel) display looks a bit dated, but, while slightly boring, we’d rather have practical features than bling any day of the week. The key takeaway is that running with music without carrying your smartphone along for the ride is awesome. We relish the freedom every time we hit the roads for our training runs, and along with the top heart rate performance, is why we recommend the TomTom Spark again and again. But there's still definitely some work to be done to make music support more seamless – and our dream of a Spotify enabled running watch is yet to be realised. That said, on looking at the data when synced afterwards, it appeared to have recorded accurately. In fact, since most people are likely to train in zones, rather than looking at tiny heart rate detail variations, this shouldn’t be an issue; zone movements appeared to keep up. 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.First off, you’ve got to do it on a PC or Mac – there’s no way to sync music from your phone to the watch. If you don't entirely trust the heart rate data that's being dished out by the on-board heart rate monitor, you do have the option to connect a range of Bluetooth Smart heart rate sensor chest straps including the Polar H7 and Mio Alpha wearable. This will appeal to anyone with a terrible sense of direction, or those of us who just like to run free and explore new areas without the fear of getting lost.

It’s rudimentary, and doesn’t take into account topography, but we found it incredibly useful on a series of wooded trail runs. If, like many people, you’re guilty of doing the same few routes time and again, this is a great way to explore and add interest, especially if you’ve got longer training runs to do. Adding a route If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – right? That appears to be TomTom’s thinking with the Spark 3, which hasn’t changed significantly in the looks department since the first version. The main reason you'd consider upgrading from the Spark to the Spark 3 is the new route exploration feature. This basically means you can now go out on a big run and the route will be mapped out on the watch screen, helping you navigate your way home a little easier. You can now add routes to the watch as well, which is handy if you want to run an approximate distance or just freshen up your running routes. It's a feature that usually crops up on more expensive sports watches, so it's definitely a positive to see it appear on the Spark 3.For a sports watch, the Spark’s design is pleasingly unobtrusive, especially compared with the slightly more outlandish offerings you see from its main rivals, Garmin and Polar. As such, you can pretty much wear it anywhere without looking like you’re about to shed your suit and sprint off. Should I consider buying something else? Find your device in the list below to see if an out-of-warranty repair is possible and what the fee would be. Nobody is ever going to accuse the TomTom Spark 3 of showmanship. The simple, uncluttered design is difficult to hate, but equally hard to lust after. 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

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. It’s a shame you can’t link up sports for triathlon training, however. There are workouts you can activate to work on targets, such as running a 26-minute 5K pace or a 3-mile run in under 25 minutes, for example. These have you racing against a virtual partner, with the screen showing if you’re ahead or behind and by how far – a really great motivator to keep your pace up. All that said, the app is clean, easy to use and works well for the sports for which it is tailored. 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. 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.

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Despite TomTom’s in-car sat-nav pedigree, don’t expect on-screen turn-by-turn navigation. Instead, the watch simply traces your journey and by using the built-in compass you can follow it safely home again. The strap design tweak along with a few more colours to choose from still makes this every bit a sports watch, but it certainly feels a lot more svelte than what you can get from Garmin or Polar. It doesn't try to masquerade as something more stylish, and that's fine with us. For now. It's light, comfortable, still has a really intuitive user interface and is very easy to use. If you’re upgrading from the original TomTom Spark the menu system is exactly the same, but anyone used to a traditional smartwatch-style menu system should probably get practicing before pulling on the trainers.

It’s a great feature, and makes it that bit easier to let go, and stop running with your phone – which is an invigorating experience on its own. Add in the ability to go off-piste and run wherever you feel like going, while knowing it’s that bit harder to get irredeemably lost, and you’re in a whole new territory. TomTom has put some much-needed work into their app over the past year and it has undoubtedly been improved, giving a decent breakdown of your activities, with splits, a map and an adjustable graph that can show heart rate, elevation and pace.Aside from setup, you need the PC software for when you want to upload playlists to the Spark 3, so you can stream music directly from the watch to a pair of Bluetooth headphones. You can't just drag and drop the files, though; you need to pinpoint and upload them using the app. Mac users have to use iTunes as a middleman to add music through the Connect app. It's a slow process, and I wish you could just upload files through the mobile app. We put it up against a Polar H7 heart rate monitor chest strap for several runs and the sample below of the data compared to the H7 paired with Runkeeper shows it's still a reliable monitor. Mixing things up with some high intensity training yields similarly good results. The Spark 3, like the original Spark, houses one of the best optical heart rate monitors we've tested.