Product Review: Soleus Turbo GPS Watch

If you’ve ever wondered whether or not my reviews of running products/gear are 100% honest, just read this one…

A couple of months ago, I received an email asking if I would like to try a new model of a GPS watch in exchange for a written review on the blog after I’d had a chance to use it for awhile.

I accepted the offer, and in a few weeks the new watch arrived in the mail.

Soleus Turbo

After using the watch for a couple of months, it’s time to share my experience with the Soleus Turbo.

But before we get into the nitty-gritty, I feel the need to explain how I am judging this watch.

In order to receive my stamp of approval any GPS watch must be accurate and easy to use.

Other bells and whistles are nice, but accuracy and ease-of-use are easily the most important features to me.

Soleus Turbo: How Accurate is the Data?

In terms of accuracy, I am not sure how to rate this watch.

I don’t know for certain, but it seems like the distance data is off a little bit.

When running with friends who have other brands of GPS watches, we would run the same route and end up .1-.2 miles different in distance.

Which is a lot.

I could see a slight difference due to tangent lines and whether or not they stop their watch when we stop for a drink (which I never do), but only .03-.04 of a mile.

Also, I’ve noticed that over the first few miles our watches basically would go off at the same time to alert us that we’d gone a mile. But as the miles add up, the gap between our alerts would grow.

I am not 100% sure that my watch was the one to blame, but I am not sure that I trust its accuracy either.

Soleus Turbo: Is it Easy to Use?

In a word, no.

I have had so many issues with this watch, I almost don’t know where to start for this review!

First and foremost, the manual that accompanies this watch is almost useless!

And calling it a manual might be a bit generous. In truth, it’s a pamphlet that looks like it has lots of information and instructions about how to get the most out of the Soleus Turbo on it, but in actuality it is a few basic instructions (that in my experience didn’t even work) in a number of different languages.

To illustrate my point, it literally took me almost 20 minutes to set the time! And this was with me legitimately trying to use the directions!

My first time using the watch to run, everything seemed to go OK.

But for my second run, not so much…

While on my second run, I was doing mile repeats and I hit the lap button after the first mile and again after the recovery before the second mile.

In hindsight, I must have accidentally pressed the button that automatically turns off the GPS.

Yes, there is a button that you can simply press that kills the GPS signal.

I didn’t realize what had happened until half way through that second mile, and I pretty much felt like…

Seriously, WTF?

At this point, I stopped using the watch for anything but tracking time and distance (or at least an estimate of distance).

I was no longer using the lap function, for fear of losing the data of another run.

The next several runs went off without a hitch, and it seemed like it was working OK.

And by everything, I clearly only mean that it was giving me an idea of how far and how fast I was running.

The Soleus Turob also syncs to Strava, which is nice, but even that is more difficult than it should be.

Apparently, you can also set interval timers on the watch to alert you for different workouts, but I can’t figure out how to do it.

There is a user manual that you can download from the Soleus website that would probably explain the process, but I want a watch that I can figure out without spending an hour in front of the computer trying to figure out simple procedures.

Honestly, I wish there was something good to say about this watch in terms of its ease of use, but there isn’t.

Pretty Much Sums it Up…

Other Features of the Soleus Turbo?

When it comes to other bells and whistles, there really isn’t much to report.

The watch will monitor your pace, distance, time, and a few other normal data fields but nothing out of the ordinary.

Final Grad for the Soleus Turbo

My final grade for this watch is a D-, and I almost wonder if that is too generous.

The amount of frustration that I have experienced trying to use this watch would really make me struggle to recommend this watch to any runner.

I guess it is better than nothing, but not by much…

***FTC Disclosure: I received a free Soleus Turbo GPS running watch in exchange for an honest review of my experience with the product. This review and the opinions expressed in said review are mine and mine alone, and in no way were influenced by anyone associated with Soleus Running.***