epson sports watch first impressions at beijing marathon
Hello, everyone. My name is Time S. During this trip to the Beijing Marathon, I rented an Epson GPS sports watch at the Epson booth at the Beijing Marathon Expo.
When I think of Epson, what comes to mind is their famous printers. Actually, Epson started out making watches. The full name of the company is Seiko Epson Corporation. Founded in Japan in 1942, they initially made clocks and clock components. Seiko invented the world's first quartz watch in 1969, which was a huge success in an era where precision was paramount in the watch industry, with an annual error of only a few seconds. (Mechanical watches, affected by gravity, have significant errors and need daily adjustments. Although the tourbillon can correct these errors, its mechanism is very expensive and only used in top-tier watches, making it impractical for widespread use.) Affordable and durable quartz watches quickly dominated the global watch market, leaving the Swiss watch industry in dire straits, even on the brink of bankruptcy! Even old brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre had to sell their factories! Until a man named Nicolas Hayek stepped in, buying up Swiss watch brands and proposing a new concept: watches are about history and taste, and precision is good enough... Well, well. In terms of history, Seiko had only been around for twenty or thirty years, how could it compare to the centuries-old Swiss watch industry? In terms of taste, how could quartz movements compare to the charm of mechanical movements? After this, the Swiss watch industry miraculously revived and started selling even more expensively! Now you know why you can't afford a Swiss watch? Blame this guy!
Alright, let's get back on track! Let's talk about today's main character: the RUNSENSE SF-850.
SF-850 Accessories
SF-850 Watch
Clip-on USB Charging Cable
User Manual and Warranty Card
Watch Dimensions: 45mm*14.2mm
Weight: 55 grams
I chose the SF-850 in Road Running Blue.
Compact, Precise, and Efficient is Epson's design philosophy.
The Epson SF-850 has six main features.
20-hour ultra-marathon battery life (GPS + heart rate)
High-precision optical heart rate (dual sensor + dual filter)
High-precision GPS positioning (GPS + GPS correction)
Diverse training modes
24/7 heart rate monitoring
Comfortable wearing experience
The SF-850 case is made of high-strength polymer material, and the strap is made of skin-friendly rubber with a unique elastic design that fits the wrist better. It has two physical buttons on the left side, which provide good feedback and are not easily pressed by mistake. Unlike other sports watches that place the charging contacts on the back, Epson places the four charging contacts on the left side. It takes 3.5 hours to fully charge. The watch glass is made of acrylic material, which is scratch-resistant. The heart rate sensor on the back uses LEC green light for continuous detection every second, with dual sensors and dual filters. It monitors your heart rate in real-time, ensuring safety. The screen is a simple black-and-white display with clear fonts that are easier to read in sunlight.
For those with experience using sports watches, the operation will be familiar. Turn it on, select the language, and choose between kilometers and miles. If you're outdoors, you can choose automatic time synchronization. Connect to the recommended app, Codoon.
The SF-850 has only four sports modes: running, walking, cycling, and treadmill. The running interface offers four customizable screens (pace, average pace, distance, time, heart rate, average heart rate, cadence, average cadence, speed, average speed, altitude, weather, etc.). The cycling interface includes (speed, distance, average speed, altitude, heart rate, cadence, maximum oxygen uptake, etc.). Heart rate monitoring is enabled by default. If you're not exercising, you can turn off heart rate monitoring. In watch mode, the battery lasts 16 days (with heart rate and GPS off), and in daily mode, it lasts about three days.
One design flaw of the Epson SF-850 that I dislike is the lack of a quick return button. You have to navigate back step by step to the return menu and then press the confirm button to go back.
Time was tight. I received the Epson SF-850 on September 16th and competed on September 17th. I adjusted it to the running interface and didn't dare to press any buttons randomly during the race. I maintained a heart rate below 170 throughout, and the real-time pace of 5.35 was very accurate, thanks to the high-precision GPS and heart rate sensor. I finished the race in 3.55 hours! Although I hit the wall and slowed down significantly after 35 kilometers, I finished safely, which is what matters.
Sync sports data with Codoon.
After the Beijing Marathon, I returned to Jiangnan and had plenty of time to use the Epson SF-850 in detail. I explored its functions and how to use it proficiently almost every day!
Here's a video to give you a feel for it.
The advantages of the Epson SF-850 are its ultra-marathon battery life, high-precision GPS and heart rate sensor (I personally feel it's more accurate than Garmin), comfortable wearing experience, meticulous craftsmanship (slightly better than Garmin), and simple, easy-to-use operation.
The disadvantages are that in a market dominated by color screen sports watches, the black-and-white screen feels a bit outdated, although the battery life is good. It doesn't allow for personalized watch face settings, and the lack of a quick return button is inconvenient. Considering its price of 2499, there are more options in the same price range. As for its appearance, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.