“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin
The latest addition to the Soleus Running GPS line-up, the Fit GPS 1.0, caters to conscientious endurance athletes and runners of all stripes. The new Soleus GPS Fit 1.0 offers attractive style, powerful performance and user-friendly function in a running watch that won’t exhaust your wallet.
Over the past year and a half, Gumption Gear Review has had the good fortune of working with Soleus Running. We’ve spent time getting to know the brand and the vision that continually urges them forward. Our team of runners has trained with and reviewed the GPS 1.0 and 3.0.
After listening to customer input and feedback, Soleus went back to the war room and updated the GPS 1.0 with larger numbers you can read at a glance, a customizable screen, 4 light modes and a more breathable band for increased comfort. The result is the new GPS Fit 1.0.
The Down and Dirty….
Long runs, tempo runs, speed drills; you expect alot from your body… and from your training gear. But let’s be honest, at the end of the day the most important thing your GPS watch can provide is reliable information. Towards those ends, the new Soleus GPS Fit 1.0 follows in the footsteps of the 1.0 and 3.0 in providing accurate, and reliable stats.
A high-sensitivity internal receiver stays in constant contact with satellites to provide up-to-the-second GPS info. Whether careening through canyons, concrete jungles or forging your way under heavy tree cover, the signal of the GPS Fit 1.0 holds steady, ensuring that you’ll never be left questioning how much of the run didn’t get tracked. The only time our run team ever lost signal was sprinting through an underground roadway on the course of the Big Sur International Marathon.
This GPS trainer allows the user to set auto lap splits in half mile and half km increments and the night light mode will help for training runs through the winter months. The display has been updated to provide big, easy to see digits and the user can toggle to view what is most important to them, whether it be speed, calories, distance or time.
Admittedly, some of our run guru’s felt the larger digital numbers were a little reminiscent of an old school calculator layout. But there’s no mistaking the fact that the new digital layout makes the display screen much easier for the athlete to spot the data in a glance whether steadily striding over the pavement or no matter when you’re hitting the pavement or traversing the trails.
Size Matters…
A common problem with the typical GPS watch that runners often complain about, is the size and bulk factor. Even given all of this functionality, the GPS Fit 1.0 maintains a slim profile that’s suitable for casual wear. With sleek, stylish lines wrapped up in a sporty package, the Fit 1.0’s streamlined design is smaller than most GPS watches, accommodating style and comfort.
The one place that the new Fit GPS 1.0 isn’t large is the price tag. Coming in at under $100, this GPS watch gives the runner almost all the functionality of higher priced competitors at less than half the price. True, you don’t have the option of downloadable data, but when you consider the vast array of other features at the price, it’s a virtual steal.
Battery Performance…
Like the Soleus GPS 1.0, the rechargeable lithium-ion battery does not come with any other means of charging the watch outside of the included USB cable. But let’s be honest, it’s 2013 and unless you’re spending weeks traversing the backwoods of Alaska, finding a USB outlet shouldn’t be a problem for most of us. The Fit 1.0 charges fairly quickly and displays the total charge percentage in blocks of 10% while charging.
Once loaded, the battery life was on par with other more expensive gps watches – and will last up to eight hours in GPS mode. When not in GPS mode, the battery life runs long enough that you can count on your Soleus to serve as your go to sports watch for any week-long Hawaiian vacations that you may have in the works.
The Critique…
One of the changes made by the Soleus design team was moving from the six button design of the GPS 1.0 to the four buttons of the GPS Fit 1.0. The four buttons accurately track distance, speed pace and calories burned with this high performance running tool. That being said, our run guru attempted to set up their GPS Fit 1.0 without spending time becoming familiar with the instruction manual found themselves befuddled and frustrated.
While our team appreciated the simplicity of the four button design, setting up the watch and dialing in the settings of the runner’s preference does take some time and getting used too. The only other critique came from our female runner who would have preferred solid digital numbers rather than the more digitized format utilized in this watch.
Bottom Line…
If you’re looking for an entry level GPS watch that accurately tracks your speed, pace and distance without breaking the bank, the new GPS Fit 1.0 from Soleus Running will help you confidently move ahead of your competition.
*Gumption Gear Review received the product samples featured in this review from Soleus Running. The items featured were provided solely in exchange for testing the products and providing our honest views and opinions. We received no other form of compensation for this or any related review.