Details
Brand
Epson
Model
Runsense SF-510
Battery Life
20 days | 30 hrs GPS
Use
Tracking
Latest Version
Yes
Key Features
• 30 hour battery with GPS running• Tracks distance, route, pace, and altitude• Measures your cadence and stride length• Connects to third party fitness apps, such as MapMyRun, Strava, Runkeeper• Sports a lap timer and an interval trainer• Capable of connecting to Bluetooth Smart• Able to pair with a heart rate monitor chest strap
Comfort
At just 48.9 grams, the Runsense SF-510 is quite small. Its light weight is a key feature in its comfort — no clunky, bulky material weighing your wrist down when you’re trying to exercise. The band is thin and made of rubber, like most sports watches, and is easy to fasten. Unfortunately, the balance between band and face is not quite right: the watch face has a tendency to slip off the top of the wrist.
Size
s Available;The Epson Runsense SF-510 comes in one size, with an adjustable band.
Accessories
Although the Runsense SF-510 has many of the same features as higher-end running watches, it is lacking a heart rate monitor. Most health-conscious exercisers consider heart rate data as an important part of their workout routine, so they might want to consider purchasing the heart rate chest strap monitor that Epson offers.
Style
The Runsense SF-510 is definitely a sports watch. With its bold face, dark color, and black rubber band, this is not a watch many people would choose to wear unless they were going on a run or hike. But, unlike the F itbit Alta, this watch isn’t really meant to be worn day-in and day-out. It is not an all-around fitness tracker, but a more goal-oriented speed and distance tracker. It has a round face and a basic strap — smart and clean. Its simplicity is quite appealing.
Activities
The main activity this watch is geared toward is running, because it has features that are particularly useful for that type of training. The SF-510 is able to measure your route, distance, and pace. It also automatically measures your cadence and stride. It has a lap timer that provides information lap by lap, and can store up to 400 laps. The watch helps you reach your goals by showing a countdown to a set distance or time. It’s also able to link to all the most popular third party running apps, so you can continue using whichever of these apps is your favorite. While these sorts of features make the Runsense SF-510 an ideal running watch, that’s certainly not the only activity it’s able to track. It can also monitor hiking, walking, and biking, as well as indoor activity.
Basic Features
The main activity this watch is geared toward is running, because it has features that are particularly useful for that type of training. The SF-510 is able to measure your route, distance, and pace. It also automatically measures your cadence and stride. It has a lap timer that provides information lap by lap, and can store up to 400 laps. The watch helps you reach your goals by showing a countdown to a set distance or time. It’s also able to link to all the most popular third party running apps, so you can continue using whichever of these apps is your favorite. While these sorts of features make the Runsense SF-510 an ideal running watch, that’s certainly not the only activity it’s able to track. It can also monitor hiking, walking, and biking, as well as indoor activity.
Advanced Features
The Epson Runsense SF-510 works for many different people because it’s wonderfully customizable. You can choose four screens with up to three measurements per screen. You can also choose what specific function you would like to be active when you tap the watch. For example, tracking of distance, or stride length, or pace. To run smarter and better attain your goals, you can set pace alerts, including options for intervals and even indoor work. Runsense shows your estimated distance or finishing time based on the targets you set.;The customization of the SF-510 is not the only advanced featured in this GPS watch. In addition to its GPS tracking capabilities, it utilizes a Smart Stride Sensor which is able to to continue tracking your distance even if you lose GPS signal. The SF-510 also has a built-in accelerometer that tracks your distance, pace, and calories while you are indoors. You can select the recall menu to view run data from past workouts. And the auto pause feature automatically pauses the data recording when you stop running.
Connectivity
This GPS watch is able to connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth Smart or to your computer with a good ole USB cable. Epson has both a Runsense online system and a Run Connect app where you can see your running metrics and export all your data. This watch is able to connect to all the most popular third party running apps. Epson also offers an optional heart rate chest strap which connects to the Epson SF-510 via bluetooth, allowing you to track even more variables of your workout.
Ease of Use
Most runners have had the unpleasant experience of attempting to check their workout stats on their phones as they run. With the Epson Runsense SF-510 on your wrist, all you have to do is lightly tap the screen to flip through the various data displays. Unfortunately, the buttons on the side of the watch are not as intuitive. There are four buttons, each of which has two different functions depending on what screen you’re on — it can be confusing to try to figure this out, and difficult to remember even after you learn how to do it in the first place.
Power Source
The SF-510 comes with a charging dock. Just snap the watch into place, plug into your computer with the USB chord, and let charge. The long-lasting battery is one of the most impressive features of this watch. While many fitness watches only last for eight to ten hours before they need to be recharged, the Epson Runsense SF-510 lasts for thirty hours with the GPS on. Without the GPS running, when simply used as a standard watch, it can last for over two weeks before it needs to be hooked back into that charging dock.
Accuracy
Epson boasts that the GPS tracker in the SF-510 is extremely accurate, but reviewers vary widely on the subject. One reviewer claimed that the GPS’s accuracy was simply terrible. According to this reviewer, the GPS especially struggled to track when the runner’s path was twisting and turning. According to another reviewer, however, the GPS tracking was precise and exact. This is true for most people who have used this watch, and many others are not too concerned about an unrecorded step here or there. And this watch goes a step beyond its own GPS: even if you lose GPS connection, the SF-510 continues tracking your distance and your running speed. It is able to do this through its Smart Stride Sensor, which learns your individual technique by measuring your stride length and strides per minute. In other words, you can run beyond the limits of GPS signal without running beyond the limits of this watch!
Face
A particularly useful feature of the SF-510 is the ability to customize the watch’s face. The wearer gets to decide what combination of functions/parameters he would like to be displayed on the screen. As mentioned above, the face can display up to three measurements at a time. The functions you can choose to display are speed, time, split time, lap time, guide time, distance, lap distance, guide distance, pace, lap pace, average pace, calories burned, altitude, Stride Sensor, stride, and pitch. The screen is LCD so, although not high resolution, it is easy to read.
Band
The band on Epson’s Runsense SF-510 goes along with the simple, sporty look of the watch. It is made of black rubber and fastens with a simple metal clasp. Like the watch itself, the band is no-nonsense, oriented more toward function than fashion. And when you’re in the middle of an intense workout, that’s all that really matters.
Apps
The SF-510 comes with Runsense Connect, a free mobile app that allows you to monitor your stats from your phone. With this app, you can track, analyze, and compare your workout stats. You can also share your stats with friends, promoting accountability and encouragement. It’s a great app, but no problem if it isn’t quite right for you — the Epson Runsense SF-510 is also compatible with all the most popular running and fitness apps.
Sizes Available
The Epson Runsense SF-510 comes in one size, with an adjustable band.
Durability
The band is made out of thin, supple rubber which, to this reviewer, seems like it could be damaged easily. On the whole, however, people find the band to be comfortable and long lasting.
Price
The SF-510 may not have all the bells and whistles of high-end smart watches, but there’s a reason for that — affordability. As noted above, the SF-510 is the third watch produced by Epson in their Runsense line. At the lowest end of the spectrum, the SF-110 has the least features: for example, its battery only lasts ten hours and it cannot measure altitude. The SF-310 soars to the next level with a battery that lasts thirty hours, as well as an altitude tracker. The SF-510 has all the features of the SF-310, plus it also has a Stride Sensor which, as mentioned before, tracks speed and distance when running inside on the treadmill. All in all, the SF-510 is an excellent product for the price.
Bottom Line
If you are a hardcore athlete looking for absolute precision and accuracy, Epson’s Runsense SF-510 is not the watch for you. If you are a tech junkie or a social butterfly who wants smartphone notifications popping up on your watch’s screen, this watch is not for you, either. But if you are an ultra-marathoner looking for a watch that won’t die on you during the race, this is the product you’ve been searching for. The SF-510’s battery sets it apart from even higher-end running watches, lasting for an entire thirty hours with the GPS running. Of course, ultra-marathoners are not the only people who should consider purchasing an Epson Runsense SF-510. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of an Apple or a Garmin, he simple sportiness and the great affordability of this GPS watch will appeal to many.
