The PoolMate 2 takes distance counting to the next level by allowing you to track your distance in open water, perfect for triathlon training or just exercising out in the elements. It allows you to keep track of laps, strokes, distance, speed, efficiency, duration, sets, rest time and calories in the pool and in open water (minus the lap count in open water) and stores 50 sessions for recall, records and is water resistant to 50m and includes a 24 hour clock, alarm and a chrono mode for timing other sports. Basically everything you could want in a swimmers watch and more. I found the watch comfortable to wear and easy to use with large protruding buttons, it doesn’t have a back light which means it can be difficult to see in low light but it does have a 40mm display which is larger than most so it isn’t a big problem.

The open water feature is a smart little set up that asks you to calibrate it first by swimming a lap of a known distance and then uses pedometer style technology to calculate your distance outside, meaning there is no reliance on GPS or companion apps to analyse your workout. The PoolMate 2 claims to have 99.75% accuracy for counting laps as long as you perform more than 7 strokes per lap with the arm it’s being worn on, I found nothing to disprove that during my session, the downside however is if you train with a kickboard it would not be able to record your movements. If you are looking to upload data to your computer straight from the watch this isn’t an option with the PoolMate 2, (Swimovate do have the function available with the PoolMatePro, PoolMateLive or PoolMateHR), this isn’t something I miss though as I think all too often you can get swamped with data and analysing your progress through fancy computer programs or apps which can detract for the enjoyment of just going out and exercising. This is a lovely little swimming companion that does all the brain work for you whilst you are in the water allowing you to switch off your mind and focus purely on your workout and fall in love with swimming all over again. RRP £70

5 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Accurate.

4 colours available.

Works in the Pool and Open water.

Large display

Wrist strap fits from 14.5 to 21.5cm.

2 Year Battery life

Cons

No backlight

Some may prefer the other models for the option of uploading data.