Garmin Running Dynamics Pod

If, like me, you love poring over the stats after your run you'll already have a state of the art running watch and will need no persuading to buy this extra gadget. Whether the data it produces is actually useful is a moot point. But first things first; the device weighs virtually nothing and clips onto the back of your shorts or tights (note that it has to be there and nowhere else to function correctly). If you have the right Garmin device it pairs very easily but it won't work with older or non- Garmin devices (despite recent moves to open up the ANT+ standard). If you want to measure power as well as the Running Dynamics data, you'll also need to download the Running Power Connect IQ app and create a data screen with the Run profile (or it won't record the power data). You'll get loads of extra stats about how much you bounce when you run, whether you're running evenly (L/R balance), etc. as well as arguably more accurate cadence and stride length data than the watch produces alone. The question is what it tells you and whether you can use it to improve your performance. Read up on the internet and opinion is divided. Finally Power which has now taken over cycling as the key metric. It's early days for running and Stryd for example gives different data from Garmin with no real idea which is correct. However comparative studies seem to suggest that the profile is similar even if the absolute numbers differ. I love this stuff and I'm coming back from heart surgery after a couple of years out so it's too early to tell whether it will be helpful as I progress to full racing fitness or not. Read the reviews on DC Rainmaker for a more detailed evaluation. However it's relatively inexpensive and seems to work well. UPDATE January 2020 Having used it for a good few months now, I can say that I do find it very useful and the figures seem plausible and consistent with my form - no funny blips in the data. My shoes wear pretty evenly and my L/R balance is pretty even. My stride length has increased as I've got fitter and faster but my vertical bounce has remained pretty static as has my cadence. Power is also gradually increasing. Planning to look at improving my running form and this will definitely help to tell me how it's going. Not essential by any means but worth the money for me. Update February 2021 Still on the original battery after 854 miles! Unlike some reviewers, I've not managed to wash it yet and I make a point of removing it when I take my key out of the back pocket of my shorts or tights. I have accidently dropped it several times and there's been no effect. It still fits very tightly and there is no prospect of it falling off. I do look at the power number (which is what I bought it for), but not convinced that it adds to my running pleasure and it does not account for underfoot conditions and has a limited adjustment for wind. Stryd may be better but everything I read is suggesting that Running Power is just too difficult to measure as accurately as cycling where it has taken a hold. On the other hand, I really have found the other stats genuinely useful. As I've relearned how to run well, it's given me valuable insights into my stride length and ground contact time and if I've had a quick run I can see how I've achieved it. I've also noticed a definite change in my left/right balance as I run faster which I will need to keep an eye on to avoid injury. Update August 2022 Still using the same RD Pod but now with a Garmin Epix 2. Still an essential piece of kit for me. The new generation of watches give you a pretty comprehensive measure of how your cardiovascular system is coping with training, the Pod completes the picture by adding in how your legs and feet are doing it. Everything I need, maybe overkill for others.

As a runner, I used to use a Garmin heart rate chest strap for years, which was fine and worked well. The strap also measured running dynamics, such as cadence, stride length, vertical oscillation and ground contact balance. It gave a very unbalanced reading for my ground contact balance...like around 46% left/54% right. This bothered me and made me think there was something fundamentally wrong with my running technique. Then earlier this year in 2022, I bought a Garmin Fenix 7, with wrist HR measurement, which I had previously found very inaccurate compared with chest strap. I intended to go on using the chest strap. However, I was impressed by how accurate and reliable the wrist HR was on the Fenix 7. So I no longer needed the chest strap. So I bought the Garmin running dynamics pod to give me the running dynamics without needing to wear the chest strap. Lo and behold, the Garmin pod showed my ground contact balance to be perfectly within the normal range at about 50.5% left/49.5% right, on average so far. I wonder whether the chest strap is the best way to measure ground contact balance. When you run, the chest constantly moves a little from side to side with every stride which could interfere. Anyway, I'm happy with the pod, which is worn at the centre of the back of the shorts or running tights. It does away with the palaver and discomfort of fitting the watch strap every time you go for a run. I tend to leave the pod on the back of my shorts until they need to go in the wash. It can be quite fiddly fitting the pod over the waistband of the shorts. I recommend this pod, which in my experience is positioned to give more accurate dynamics than the Garmin HRM-Run chest strap.

What is not to love, its small, its lightweight and it gives you stats! Now this is a small device, so small and so lightweight that your watch has to remind you to remove it after your workout so you don't leave it on and trust me, you will leave it on! Despite the many warnings I have more often than not only caught sight of the lime green unit before placing my running shorts into the washing machine. Thanks Garmin, for making that case such an obvious colour. The device itself easily connects to your watch (I have the forerunner 245) and once connected it will automatically connect every time you start your run application on your watch. If it doesn't connect you simply have to move around a bit to activate it. The device connects to your clothing at the base of your spine and will give you extra data such as Ground Contact Time Balance, Stride Length, Cadence, Vertical Oscillation, Vertical Ratio and Ground Contact time. All these extra stats will be viewable on your mobile device or Garmin application and can be mixed and matched with other stats so you can really identify which parts of your run either needs improvement or if you just want to see how you are progressing on the same runs. For those who like and use stats this is for you, there are so many different pods and straps out there it can get confusing however I decided upon this one and haven’t regretted it. The battery should last up to 1 year as the device turns itself on and off. Just remember to remove it before washing the small thing. Additional 29/01/2020 Have placed in the wash once and it's survived okay. Battery has died today after 6 months since I bought it. However it's simple to replace, just remember to turn to unlock before forcing off the back. Still very happy with the product.

I'm excited to share my incredibly positive experience with the Garmin Running Dynamics Pod, a remarkable gadget that has taken my running to a whole new level. Accurate Data Insights: The Garmin Running Dynamics Pod has proven itself to be an invaluable tool for tracking and analyzing my running performance. The accuracy of the data it provides, from cadence to ground contact time balance, stride length, and vertical oscillation, has given me deep insights into my running mechanics. Seamless Compatibility: Setting up and syncing the pod with my Garmin watch was a breeze. The seamless compatibility ensures that I can effortlessly access and review my running dynamics data on my watch or Garmin Connect app after each run. Real-Time Feedback: One of the standout features of the Running Dynamics Pod is its ability to provide real-time feedback on my running form. This has been immensely helpful in making immediate adjustments to my stride, posture, and other factors, ultimately enhancing my running efficiency and reducing the risk of injury. Compact and Lightweight: The compact and lightweight design of the pod ensures that it doesn't interfere with my running experience. Its unobtrusive nature means that I can focus on my run without feeling weighed down or distracted. Training Optimization: With the detailed insights provided by the pod, I've been able to tailor my training sessions more effectively. Identifying areas for improvement has allowed me to target specific aspects of my form and technique, helping me progress and meet my running goals faster. Multi-Sport Application: Beyond running, the Running Dynamics Pod is a versatile tool that can be used for other sports like cycling and cross-training. This flexibility adds value to its overall utility, making it a true asset for all-around fitness tracking. Battery Longevity: The impressive battery life of the Running Dynamics Pod is worth mentioning. Even during longer runs and training sessions, the pod remains reliable without needing frequent recharging. User-Friendly Experience: Navigating through the pod's features and data is intuitive. The pod doesn't overwhelm with unnecessary complexities, making it user-friendly for runners of all levels. Quality Craftsmanship: The pod's build quality is in line with Garmin's reputation for durability and reliability. It's evident that the pod is designed to withstand the rigors of regular training and outdoor activities. Overall Transformation: In conclusion, the Garmin Running Dynamics Pod has transformed my running journey. Its accurate data insights, real-time feedback, seamless compatibility, and user-friendly experience have elevated the way I approach and enjoy my runs. Whether you're a seasoned runner striving for performance improvements or someone starting their fitness journey, the Running Dynamics Pod is a must-have companion that will undoubtedly enhance your training and contribute to your overall progress.

For an info geek like me this is quite an interesting product, if not essential. It is dependent on careful placement on the back of your shorts before you start, so be aware. It pairs easily with my Forerunner 945, but I'd recommend it more if it were half the price. If you're on a budget, spend a bit more on your fitness tracker, but if you buy the pod it will offer some mildly interesting info.

I used a Chest Strap with an FR630 last year and loved the running dynamics but hated wearing the Strap. I have been using a Fenix 3 HR since and, whilst great, missed the running dynamics so was waiting for the FR935 to come out as compatible with this Pod. It works great and has all the dynamics you need and no Chest Strap needed :) It's tiny but clips onto your shorts tightly so hopefully wont loose it, but it's probably going to end up going through the washing machine at some point so hope its waterproof? (there is a handy reminder to remove your pod on the watch after a run). It turns itself on and off so its extremely easy to use and just does its job very well.

I previously used a Garmin HRM strap to get running dynamics. Once I purchased a Garmin FR 945 with wrist heart rate monitor I purchased this to get the stats. It works as well as the strap and seems to be consistent with the stats it produces for my 'running style'. The watch warns you to remove the pod from your clothing after you've finished a run. The clip is strong and I can't see it coming off during a run. All in all a pricey but well made addition to a Garmin watch.

It synced without any problems with my fenix 5. Took it out for a run and could see all the new data in the garmin app as one would expect. It seems to be pretty accurate so far. No problems here. However, as with these electronic devices, there is a high chance you will receive a returned item, as people buy them and find out it's not compatible or that it's not what they were expecting. Indeed, I received a returned item, which I wasn't too happy about, since I paid in excess of £50 for this very expensive equipment. The bottom line is, when buying online, it will always be a gamble whether you receive a new item as advertised. This is why it's always better to be buying from a shop as you can touch and feel and be assured that what you're buying is brand new. Edit: The pod has now disconnected mid-run on a couple of occassions. Surprisingly, the way the software is written means that no other data gets logged when this happens. For example, you would still expect the GPS to continue working on your watch, but that stops and that section of the run is lost. I can't put up with this happening again unexpectedly and have returned the item. The data wasn't that particularly helpful anyway, and it was rather expensive as well.

This does what it says it will do. It is extremely compact as I had imagined it to be bigger. Even if you don’t care much for such stats, I still recommend it because having technology serve you to gather stats during a time you are incapable of doing so yourself really adds value and worth to each run, and that motivates you to do it again. Connectivity is quick each time. I’ve ran in a freak rainstorm before and it worked just fine.

Lo utilizzo in abbinamento a un Forerunner 945. Inizio subito con il precisare che il Dynamic Pod NON è bluetooth, bensì ANT+. Può essere inoltre utilizzato in abbinamento solo con determinati modelli di sportwatch Garmin (il mio precedente Vivoactive 4 , ad esempio, non è tra gli sportwatch supportati) e non mi risulta sia compatibile con altri sportwatch di altri marchi. Detto questo, il sensore è incredibilmente piccolo e leggero. Va agganciato ai pantaloni/pantaloncini, avendo cura di posizionarlo quanto più possibile al centro del nostro corpo. è talmente leggero e piccolo che ci si dimentica subito di averlo indossato (tanto è che al termine dell'attività il mio Forerunner mi ricorda di togliere il Dynamic Poc). è impermeabile e con batteria sostituibile. Si attiva da solo quando rileva un movimento (la camminata) e va in stand-by sempre da solo. L'associazione al proprio Garmin è immediata e semplice: basta indossarlo, fare due passi e cercare il dispositivo nel menù Sensori del proprio orologio. Da lì in poi è tutto automatico e non è necessaria alcuna calibrazione, attivazione o disattivazione. I dati che raccoglie durante la corsa (attenzione, solo durante la corsa, NON durante una camminata), sono: Tempo di contatto con il suolo, bilanciamento destro/sinistro, oscillazione verticale (valore assoluto e in %), passo, lunghezza passo, e altre dinamiche di corsa. Sono tutte informazioni complementari ai valori rilevati di default dagli sportwatch Garmin, completamente integrati nelle statistiche di fine attività in Garmin Connect (ma non in Strava...), ma anche in tempo reale durante l'attività (basta impostare i relativi campi dati sul proprio orologio) e con un buon livello di lettura (i.e. colore verde se il dato rilevato è buono, arancione se al limite, rosso se fuori target). Le informazioni servono per chi, come me, è appassionato di dati e statistiche, ma anche utili per capire se ci si sta allenando bene e prevenire magari qualche infortunio. Al prezzo di 60€ (circa 10€ in meno rispetto al listino ufficiale Garmin) è secondo me un buon complemento per un runner anche alle prime esperienze ma che vuole avere informazioni quanto più dettagliate possibili delle proprie uscite.

Der Pod macht genau was der machen soll- in Verbindung mit Garmin Uhr mit dazugehörigen Laufeffizienzfeldern und Garmin Connect App kann man schon eine deutliche Verbesserung vom Laufstil erreichen und die Laufstilfehler eingrenzen und vermeiden. Ich tendiere z.B. unbewusst zu zu hoher vertikaler Bewegung und genau da geht ja Energie verloren- seit ich den Pod habe und meine Läufe ausgewertet habe, habe ich den Fehler eingegrenzt und im Zuge der Lauf-ABC bewusst vermindert. Auch andere Daten wie Balance, Bodenkontaktzeit usw. sind nützlich wenn man effizient und schnell laufen will. Für einen 5-km-Hobbyläufer ist der Pod aber wahrscheinlich eher sinnlos. Hier muss jeder für sich selbst wissen was er mit dem Sensor anstellen will und was er davon erwartet. Ich verstehe auch nicht manche Rezensionen, die auf den Gedanken kamen den Pod beim Skilanglauf einzusetzen. Es heißt ja auch "Running Pod". Für mich ist das Gadget top. Einziges Nachteil - konstruktionsbedingt keine Winddatenerfassung. Für mich ist das Gadget top.

Compatible avec les montres Garmin, cela permet d'obtenir toutes les infos complémentaires de foulées en running, fournies habituellement par les ceintures de la marque, sans avoir besoin d'en acheter une. Pour ma part j'utilise quand même une ceinture pectorale car elles sont plus précises que le cardio de la montre... Mais ce sont des ceintures de la marque concurrente (deux Polar H10 et une Polar H7), et il semble en plus qu'elles soient plus confortables que celles de Garmin. Par contre, avec ces modèles concurents (H7/H10), on obtient que le cardio, et rien d'autre. Avec le RDP (Running Dynamics Pod), on obtient toutes les données manquantes, que ce soit avec la montre toute seule, ou avec des ceintures "cardio simples". Le RDP se met dans le dos au niveau du short / cuissard, en face de la colonne vertebrale. Contrairement à ce qui est dit dans la doc, il suffit de commencer à courir pour qu'il se mette en marche, pas besoin de "l'activer" préalablement. Concernant le compteur de foulée, cadence, rapport et oscillations verticales des foulées, etc.. on a une valeur identique aux infos des ceintures Garmin. Par contre, concernant le calcul de l'équilibre contact avec le sol pied gauche / pied droit, il est très sensible du placement du RDP au niveau de la colonne et de manière verticale... Du coup, des fois, on obtient des résultats pas du tout cohérent avec les résultats habituels. Si cette valeur est vraiment importante pour vous, je conseille donc de faire vérifier visuellement le placement du RDP par un de vos proches ou un de vos compagnons de course avant celle-ci. A part cette petite remarque, le produit fait vraiment bien son boulot.

Garmin’s tiny but entirely capable Running Dynamics Pod is a device worn on the back of your running shorts which then communicates with your Garmin running wearable to provide running dynamics in real time during your workouts. These six combined metrics will help you with your running form and efficiency and are as follows: Cadence - measured in steps per minute (spm), this is how quickly you are moving your feet. The pod overrides your watch’s included cadence sensor. This is more accurate since the pod is far more static on your torso and is therefore closer to the ground than it would be if the data were coming from a constantly moving source (wrists). Ground Contact Time Balance - shows the balance of your left and right feet at the time of impact/strike. This is presented as a numerical value on the watch in real time, showing either a perfect 50-50 balance reading or giving you a value with an arrow showing which side you are favoring. Knowing these metrics in real time or viewing this data after your run can help improve running form. Ground Contact Time - shows the length of your impact when striking the ground and is measured in milliseconds. The lower this number is, the better as there is less strain on the joints with a lower contact time. Stride Length - this measures the length of your stride in meters and is an important metric to monitor when doing speed work and pace training. Vertical Oscillation - this is the height of your bounce measured in centimeters and the lower this value is, the less strain you are putting on your body. Think of this in terms of if you jumped high and landed on your feet, the impact would be far greater on your joints as opposed to if you did a smaller jump. Vertical Oscillation Ratio - this is a combination of the values of your stride length and vertical oscillation to help gauge how much time you are spending off the ground. This metric is expressed as a percentage. The actual pod is encased in a silicone housing from which it can be removed if the batteries need to be changed. Battery life is rated for up to a year and is user replaceable. The pod is waterproof to some degree in the sense that heavy sweat and the occasional downpour during your runs will not affect performance, but one cannot fully immerse it in water for prolonged periods of time. It is only available in a single color and while that may be puzzling at first, it is actually a smart decision on Garmin's part as the unit is highly visible on nearly all colors of clothing. This is a blessing as the pod is slightly larger than a peanut M&M and can easily be forgotten about once you throw your running shorts in the hamper. The unit is so light at 12 grams that the user forgets it's even there during a workout. The silicon layered clip is strong and never once has the pod fallen off during or after a workout. There are no physical buttons on the pod, you simply either wear it, walk to your starting point and initiate a run on your watch or wake the unit by gently giving it a vertical shake or two. Pairing is extremely simple and if your Garmin wearable supports it (check Garmin's website for compatibility), you'll be up and running in under a minute. On supported devices, there will be two visible data pages consisting of the six metrics described above for monitoring dynamics in real time. This data is also saved and logged to your run statistics under your Garmin Connect account for viewing at a later time. Having used the pod for well over a month now, I can say that these metrics update with an alarming rate of frequency during a workout. If you move your feet faster, you'll see your cadence increase and your stride length decrease almost instantaneously. The same goes for all the other metrics. When the workout is over, your watch buzzes to remind you to remove the pod. Garmin's Run, Tri and now Pro chest heart rate monitors will provide these same metrics with the added benefit of giving the user heart rate data over its optical, wrist -based counterpart. But what if you have another, off-brand chest strap or simply don't like wearing heart rate monitors to begin with? That's where this little pod comes in. Bottom line, if your watch supports it and you love data, there's no reason not to have this little device in your arsenal.