Nike Watch

[crad80]

Hi Everyone,

I walked the Camino Frances route in 2010 and had a wonderful experience. From St. Jean PDP all the way to Finisterre (Cabo Fisterra), I followed the "yellow arrow." Only once did I have to ask a local which way was the Camino. Turns out it was a little 8 year old child in the Basque region who was kind enough to point me in the right direction.

However, this time I am walking with a Nike Watch which has an application that can map out one's walk or run. I received it as a gift from my cross country running mates, and I was wondering if anyone has used it on the Camino. I totally understand that anything with a GPS device is NOT necessary on the Camino. We DO NOT plan on using it on this Camino pilgrimage; but I was just wondering if the application will even work properly on the Camino. Any thoughts and concerns are greatly appreciated.

As we head into the holiday season, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Bo Nadal e próspero aninovo! Feliz Navidad y un feliz año nuevo!

Buen Camino para TODOS (2013)

Ver es Creer!!!!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

GPS works on the Camino. My Garmin handheld GPS locked on quite readily. I have a Suunto GPS watch, and it does not lock on easily anywhere! So the usefulness will depend on Nike. Your running friends probably can give better feedback than this forum, which tends to avoid technology like this. The alarm on the Suunto was useful...

 

[rickster]

I have a Nike Sportswatch that I use for walking/running that records many things that are downloadable to the computer. Your Nike watch may be different but mine requires recharging through the usb port on a computer, which I was concerned would be an unwanted extra nuisance. It can be charged through an electrical outlet, however, Nike does not recommend that.

 

[dougfitz]

I used a hand held Garmin GPS in 2010, and had problems in the major towns and cities when the buildings and narrow streets shielded the view of the GPS satellite constellation. The GPS needs to receive signals from at least four satellites to give a full resolution of your position in the horizontal and vertical.

This year I had a GPS application on my mobile phone as well, and it had difficulty locking on. My hand held GPS had no problems at all, and worked like a charm.

Your only issue might be the number of tracks/track points that you can record, and whether you will have enough memory to do the whole trip without downloading the history and clearing the device. I have a little GPS data logger that allows me to geo-locate photos, and when I am walking, I reset the recording interval from about 5 sec to 15 sec or more to ensure that I can cover long multi-day walks like the Camino.

 

[rickster]

Another interesting device is the Spot Tracker. You turn it on in the morning and it tracks you throughout the day and sends an email to friends who you have designated. They can then click a link to google earth to see exactly where you are.It worked well for me on my Camino walk in May/June.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

the Spot Tracker

I used one in October, and it was great for informing my list at the end of the day where I was staying. It needs an iPhone continuously connected by Blue Tooth to do a trace, so I only did a couple. Several others failed even though the iPhone and Spot Tracker were within inches of each other in my pack. When the Blue Tooth disconnects, the trace ends. Also, doing a trace uses a fair amount of battery power; I got about a week out of a set of AAA Lithium batteries. It can send a message from the iPhone when there is no cellular service.

It has an SOS button in case of emergency. You do need to live long enough to activate it, and then wait for the emergency response team. It is faster than having nothing, but may not save a heart attack victim without CPR!

With GPS in a lot of new phones, the Spot Tracker is pretty much obsolete. It will be easily replaced by an app.

 

[dougfitz]

With GPS in a lot of new phones, the Spot Tracker is pretty much obsolete. It will be easily replaced by an app.

I would be cautious - few phone apps are going to be as good as a dedicated GPS or an EPIRB. Leaving aside the recent iPhone debacle with their mapping application, there is some concern that using other phone apps to report a location for rescue purposes has revealed phone apps can be quite inaccurate, and have misled rather than assisted.

I don't suggest one needs an EPIRB on the Camino, but as falcon points out, multi-functional devices that can be linked to a social networking site or web page allow one's family and friends to easily see how things are going.

 

[crad80]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you all so much for the Nike watch feedback and the quick GPS tutorial. I am not really a techie person so I am not sure if I'll bring the Nike watch with me on the Camino. I think it's totally unnecessary since I put all my trust in the "yellow arrow"; however, my friends (USA) want me to map out the Camino so they can track our progress. I told them we would send them email updates from Internet spots along the Camino.

As for recharging it via USB; my plan is to recharge it every couple of days at Internet cafes/spots along the Camino. That way, I will not need to bring a computer and I can transfer the GPS information to the Nike application. Even if it doesn't work on the Camino, I can always use it as an alarm clock.

Thank you very much for your help (muchas gracias por su ayuda) and Buen Camino!!!

En Galicia llovizna todo el tiempo. Pero lo hemos pasado maravillosamente!

Ver es creer!!!