Discussing this week with an athlete, I realized that it would make sense for me to create a specific page on my website with all the gear I require all athletes I coach to have. So here we go.

Disclaimer: The Triathlon Tips of My Tri World are reader-supported. When you buy through links, I may earn an affiliate commission.

1. TRIATHLON WATCH

At a minimum, the watch should have a triathlon mode, enough battery life for the duration of the target race, good connectivity to third-party apps (Trainingpeaks is a must), and be able to load workouts for you to execute.

You cannot go wrong with those two watches:

  • Garmin forerunner 745 (Amazon affiliate link) for triathletes racing up to half-distance triathlons. It has all the features you really need and internal music storage. My wife has the previous version (735 XT without music), and she loves it.
  • Garmin fenix 7 (Amazon affiliate link) for triathletes racing full-distance events or who want navigation guidance. I upgraded to this watch (7S) for the possibility of using either the buttons or the touchscreen, which is especially helpful when browsing the map.
Garmin fenix 7s and Forerunner 735XT
My watch (fēnix 7S) and my wife’s watch (Forerunner 735XT)

Many other options exist. I wrote an in-depth article to help you choose a triathlon watch; check it here.

2. CHEST STRAP HEART RATE MONITOR

In theory, you would not need it, as most of the high-end triathlon watches have an HR sensor. In practice, I have seen much more reliable data from chest straps. Look for one which has ANT+ and Bluetooth connections. My favorite right now is the Polar H10 (Amazon affiliate link). It has been reliable, and I really like the small silicon dots on the strap. It just keeps the strap in place.

3. POWER METER

Power meters are extremely useful for triathletes. They provide information on your actual performance, which is unaffected by external conditions and hence can improve your training and racing quality. I wrote a full article about them: Are Power Meters Useful For Triathletes?

I do have several power2max power meters (link to their website, no affiliate), which have been set and forget power meters. I would strongly advise you to reach out to their support team to know which exact model is compatible with your bike.

However, if I would buy a new one, I would go for the Assioma Uno or Duo (Amazon affiliate link), especially if you have several bikes and don’t want to invest in several power meters.

4. SMART TRAINER

Training indoors brings a lot of advantages that you simply can’t get outside. It is definitely a more controlled environment that I use for all my fitness tests (also way safer 🙂 ) and for hard interval sessions.

You have dozens of options available. I would 100% go for a direct drive smart trainer with automatic calibration.

My favorite is currently the one from Zwift (link to their website, no affiliate)

If you have any questions about those or want to check my opinion about another gear, just send me an email: [email protected]