garmin 610 works a treat - BUT the Heart rate belt goes a bit La La once submerged in salt water, doesnt talk to the watch much after a dunk.

Walter, I looked into this before Christmas, and settled on the polar RS300X G1

Bought it off ebay new from a dude in bissy no problems.

Looked that the garmin just found it a bulky watch and I struggled to read the dials without prescription lenses, but know a few with them and they seem happy. Also it was way more expensive.

With the polar the gps sits on your arm which isnt everyones cup of tea but it doesnt worry me, but the GPS stangley doesn't work under water but it resets itself in secs when out of the water. Used it today, went for a few swims off the board and was more worried about loosing my drink bottle than the polar.

Also has the advantage i can use when I train in the gym to monitor my heart rate and intensity

Greg

How do the garmin 610 go In water as far as I can see they are not rated as water proof ?
Has anybody had problems with this?
I just orderd the 910 as its water proof but much prefer the look of the 610

littlewalb said...

my sunto hrm has hit the wall, anyone using a reliable waterproof one that is a reasonable watch? - would love to find one with gps/speed/distance for use with paddling/ running/cycling and tide info as well but imagine thats a lot to ask

Excuse the opportunistic post but if you're looking to save a buck, I have a lightly-used Garmin 305XT that's surplus to requirements, with an unused heart rate strap.

Here is a fairly detailed review of the garmin 910XT, with links to tests on other brands.

www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/10/garmin-forerunner-910xt-in-depth-review.html

No not really the sort of thing I would want to wear every day, I am looking for something more for just when training myself, so am considering the 910, he does reviews on nearly all the available watches/gps's, I think he may have a little to much time on his hands.

www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/04/garmin-forerunner-610-in-depth-review.html

ScarbsSUP said...

Hi Guys,

Been using the Garmin Forerunner 310XT for the last three or four months for training and monitoring activity.

It's amazing when it's working. Unfortunately, I am now sending back my third one to be replaced with the fourth. Two of them have leaked water, one failed to lock onto satelites and I have had one HRM fail too.

I cannot emphasise strongly enough that you need to purchase from a recognized and official Garmin dealer as they do not offer warranty support for Garmin products bought from non recognized dealers ie e-bay dealers from OS.

Unfortunately I have had more down time than working time with mine but when they work, they are great.

Don't try and save that extra $20 by shopping OS or e-bay, if my experience is anything to go by, you WILL need warranty support.

DM

I will second that. Although I am still on my first watch (310xt) I am onto my second HRM. When I sent it back to Garmin they informed me it wasn't purchased through them so there was nothing they could do. Fair enough although they could have told me that before I sent it. Sent it back to the company i bought it off and they replaced no questions asked.

I've had a 310XT for nearly 2 years now and it's great. But as a few other have said, I've also had trouble with the HR monitor cutting in and out - i've got 2 HR monitors and they both do it - possibly the interaction with the salt water?

I've heard the 910XT is a big step up though in terms of setting different programs/workouts and also things like stroke rates etc. I haven't had a look at one or tried it out, but if I was getting a new one now, it would be my top pick.

Also my suggestion to anyone with the 310XT (or any other Garmin with a similar buckle on the wrist band) is to remove the wristband it comes with and replace it with a velcro one. The clip on the strap isn't the best and i know quite a few people (including myself) who have had it fall apart and the watch fall off. I was lucky to catch mine when it fell off at the end of a paddle before it sank! For $6-10 the velcro strap is a no brainer and could save you a lot of $$$ if the watch fell off and you didn't catch it in time.

We have a product here in SA called Mobii (www.mobii.com) - it can do everything the Garmins can - and more.

I've now set it up to give me voice prompts via waterproof headphones with my speed and heartrate every 100m when I'm paddling flatwater - unreal for making you keep your pace - you have no idea how slacking off ever so slightly slows you down - with the prompts, you have no excuses...

We've also loaded our most popular downwind and flatwater runs with start and finish virtual intersects so everyones times are based on exactly the same course.

You can also overlay video so when I get my Go-pro next week I will upload a clip where you will see me paddling and my heartrate, speed or stroke rate or speed per min or whatever you choose to show - it's pretty sick.

And you can choose how precise you want it to be down to 1/4 second readings which I believe is quite a bit more accurate than the Garmins....

Only caveat is it is still a little tricky to set up and get used to - but once you get into it it's alright.

They should send one to dcrainmaker and see what he can make of it....

I am pretty sure Timex Triathalon series are good as well.

bigmc said...

I am pretty sure Timex Triathalon series are good as well.

Great watch with some excellent downloaded features. I bit on the large side. Long charge and easy read screen in all modes.