Karoo 2 holiday sale
Use my Karoo 2 referral Link to get the Black Friday deal before it goes fast. Right now, the price of the Karoo 2 is slashed to $299. If you are interested or on the fence about getting a Karoo 2, read on a bit and I will share a little bit of my experience with using the Karoo 2. Act Fast!
Hammerhead Karoo 2 Release
The Karoo 2 was announced at the near end of last and was put up on pre-sale for deliveries starting around December of 2020. The demand for the new Karoo 2 seemed pretty high and of course during the pandemic, products were in short supply. A lot of the people who ordered first got their orders by the expected date, but the people who purchased a little bit later (like myself), things got delayed. Hammerhead customer service was great and they made sure everyone knew of the delay. For the inconvenience, Hammerhead offered a significantly reduced price for a Karoo cycling jersey (great lightweight jersey with very nice material).
Screen Visibility
I am one to have the screen brightness all the way down (I typically do the same with my phone) on my cycling computer. I do this mainly to extend the battery life during a ride and I will typically get a few rides in before I need to charge my cycling computer. With that being said, the screen visibility, even in full daylight with the brightness down is amazing. I feel this way probably partially because my previous cycling computer was a Garmin Edge 810 that is at least 8 years old.
The Hammerhead Karoo 2 has a 3.2″ display and supports 16.7 million colors. The display is covered with Dragontail™ Glass that has an acid etched matte finish. The matte finish helps reduce glare and the glass is highly scratch resistant. The touch screen is very responsive and is designed to block false inputs from mud or rain. A double tap on the screen will lock it. There are two buttons on the sides of the device that serve to scroll left and right through the different screens if you don’t want two swipe the screen to scroll.
Battery
The battery is rated for 12 hours of ride time under normal riding conditions using the following settings. Navigating a route, displaying data, logging with 4 sensors, and using the day-light screen setting. More details of different battery extending/draining setting can be found here.
Overall, I have no complaints about the battery life and not to often I venture out on epic rides where I would need 12 hours of battery life. On epic types of rides, I will typically be riding with some sort of frame bag or handlebar bag. If I need extra power for either my phone or GPS device I will probably carry an external battery charger.
Connectivity
This is one of my favorite parts of this device. Though I believe Garmin offers some of these features, Hammerhead does connectivity very well. I like how you can create a route in a different website (I like to use Ride with GPS), then upload the file to the Hammerhead dashboard. The following time you turn on your device your route is uploaded to it.
After your ride is complete, you have the option before saving, to upload your ride to a few other websites (Strava, TrainingPeaks, Kamoot, etc.) as well as to the Hammerhead dashboard. You need to make sure to connect your accounts in the Hammerhead dashboard first. Once your ride is saved, your ride will upload via Bluetooth on your phone or once you connect to WiFi.
The Karoo 2 uses both Ant+ and Bluetooth signals and it also has the capabilities of using a SIM card (I haven’t fully explored the SIM card purpose). If you are a Strava premium member the Karoo 2 supports live segments. Also, you can connect you training peaks plan with your device.
Firmware Updates
Hammerhead releases a bi-weekly update on the firmware if the Karoo 2. If you sign up for it, you will get an email letting you know there is an update. In the email, they list out the bugs and how they are fixing each one. I really like how transparent Hammerhead is with their firmware updates. I really like how they are constantly working on improving and optimizing the Karoo 2. I am unaware of another company that does this. This really shows that Hammerhead cares about their product.
Sensor Connections
The Karoo 2 uses both Bluetooth and Ant+ to connect various different types of sensors. I mainly use a SRAM Dfour power meter review. Bluetooth typically use more battery than Ant+, also with Ant+, if you are using dual sided power meters, each power meter is read independently. Whereas with Bluetooth, only one side is read.
The Karoo 2 will connect to a smart trainer. The Karoo 2 will control your smart trainer based on your workout and it displays the data. The Karoo 2 supports most electronic shifting systems (Di2, eTap, EPS). Garmin Varia is supported and there is smartphone and audio supports.
Patent Pending Mounting system
When originally deciding on purchasing the Karoo 2 this was one of the exciting features I was eager to try out. It really seems like a great system that is more secure that the plastic “ears” used by the Garmin devices. Unfortunately, I have yet to try it out yet. Most of my bikes already have out front mounts with Garmin quarter-turn mounts and GoPo mount underneath. The Karoo 2 comes with a quarter-turn adapter that I leave on the device. It will be interesting to see if any manufacturing companies use the Karoo 2 mounting system in integrated components such as handle bars. Hopefully this mount wins out and is here to stay.
Additional Perks
Hammerhead offers free shipping on all orders, which is always nice. Customer service is provided 7 days a week so you are never left stranded about your Karoo 2. And if you don’t fully love your Karoo 2, Hammerhead offers a 45 day risk-free trial, full refund and free return. It would be interesting to know how many times the device has been returned, because I doubt it has been many.
Route Building
Hammerhead offers route building on Hammerhead Dashboard. Currently, its not their strong point, it does the job, but I feel there are other sites that do a little bit of a better job. I’m sure with a little bit of work, other route building sites might not be necessary. On the Karoo 2 device, route building is also supported. I haven’t really used this feature, but it seems quite handy if mid-ride your plans change or if storms are coming in and you need to change your route.
Closing Thoughts
I have completely liked this device and so far have no complaints. I have had zero issues with bugs or weird quarks in the system. I have yet to have any issues with any of the update fixes that are descried in the update emails. I am sure you can find horror stories about this device, but from what I have read, Hammerhead has worked with the customer to fixed the issues and in worst case they have received a new device.
This review isn’t meant to be a full in-depth review of this product. I wanted to lay out some of the great features of the device that I really enjoy. This product has so many features it would be really hard to write a single post describing them all. This products probably has features that a lot of people may never use, but it definitely has plenty of features for everyone.
I can sleep easily fully recommending this device to anyone. I think Hammerhead is a great alternative to the other large companies offering similar devices. The Karoo 2 is Hammerhead’s main product, so they put most of their efforts in making sure it is the best it can be. I’m sure the same cannot be said about other companies.
Author Conflicts
I purchased the Karoo 2 with my own money. I did not receive any compensation from Hammerhead to review this products. This product was reviewed on my own accord to provide information about the product and hopefully provide useful information to help guide you in deciding to purchase the product. If you do you us my code at the top when purchasing your new Karoo 2 both you and I will get a new Hammerhead Heart Rate monitor.
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3 thoughts on “Hammerhead Karoo 2 [Updated 11/15/23]”
Yes, a coffee is a deal. I’m buying. You want a Starbucks gift card? Or just meet up at your favorite coffee shop? 🙂
Love your review and helpful information, Jason. I’ve had my Karoo2 since June 2021. I kinda feel like I use about 20% of what it can do. I have lots to learn. Thanks for your website and your videos and more.
Tom, thank you for reading my review. I am in the same boat, the Karoo 2 has so many features I am hardly using a lot of them. Where I live it is so flat. I haven’t been able to take advantage of the Climber features. I will be moving soon so I hope to take advantage of it soon. I will be posting more gear reviews and adventures so stay tuned. Happy 2022!
Hola conocen una página que venda el soporte del Karoo2, y que haga envíos internacionales, les agradecería mucho el dato