Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

I have just had the watch a week, so I have not tested some things such as the promised 20 hour battery life. I will report back on that, but I felt compelled to write a review, even if a little premature, because I am disturbed with what some other reviewers are publishing.
I have owned the Forerunner 405, the 201, the Timex GPS and a Polar, so I have years of experience. Since I do triathlons, I was most looking forward to the waterproof controls, and 20 hour battery. The charger is a bit funky (you "clip" it on the watch, making sure that two short prongs on one side of the clip are snug against the contacts on the watch), but for me it seems to work just fine. One issue that I had with the 405 also: the watch should be TURNED OFF while you are charging. If not, as soon as you disconnect the charger, since the watch is ON, it will start "discharging" (as it does normally while it is on. I have been caught several times with a depleted battery on my 405 because of this quirk--I think the watches should be programmed to automatically turn themselves off when the charger is connected).
I have used the new watch swimming, biking and running, and I am pleased with the performance for each sport. One reviewer pointed out that there should be a "swim" mode--I agree, but I think Garmin may have avoided that mode because the GPS does not work well in the water. Several reviewers complained about that, however Garmin does write on their website AND in their manual that the GPS does not work well in the water (I noticed that the REI description touts the time AND DISTANCE in water--Garmin does not do that, so I do not know who wrote it for REI.) I did NOT get an accurate GPS distance reading for open water swimming, but it did map my COURSE correctly, albeit with a lot of zig-zags (I know I can't swim in a straight line, but I am not THAT bad).
The biking portion works great. The Garmin matches pretty closely with the distance measured on my bike computer (I don't have the Garmin bike sensor--I want that and the quick-release mount for my next birthday). Of course it also tracks speed, altitude, heart rate, etc. (I used the heart monitor strap from my 405).
Running works well also, basically same as biking although I do set up the display screens differently.
Other, useful new features I have noticed:
1. The watch locks onto satellites more quickly than my 405
2. The watch vibrates, although I wonder how this affects battery life. For instance it vibrates every lap (if I set it) so I know I have completed an autolap without looking at the watch.
3. The software is more refined (lots of small fixes. For instance the settings function lets me know what sport mode I am in--although I think this could still be made easier and less confusing. And the time zone can be put on automatic--I always wondered why they couldn't do this before--the watch knows where it is for gosh sakes. And there are extra custom screens if you want them--statistic hounds take note.)
4. Wireless data upload. Very nice! Their new "Garmin Connect" site is also very useful, and the data can be uploaded directly to the Internet.
5. The 310XT is not much smaller or lighter than the 405 (according to the specs), but it FEELS MUCH smaller and lighter.
6. There is a progress bar for the battery charging. I would like to be able to see how much time is LEFT in my battery--I wish Garmin would add this.

In summary, I think this is far and away the best GPS watch Garmin has made, and is especially appropriate for triathletes. You DO need to become accustomed to using the watch. Although I do not think it is hard to use, you SHOULD read the manual. At least you do not have to keep RE-reading the manual like I do for some other gadgets. Hopefully the battery will really last for 20 hours; I will update this review as soon as I test it a few more weeks. And I do think this watch is way overpriced, but I am a gadget freak, and I'm sure the price will come down over time, like it did for the 405 (which is a great deal, now, btw, if you don't need a 20 hour battery-life and a waterproof stopwatch :)

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

I don't typically comment however the other 2 reviews on this item need to be addressed and the product given a fair shake. The product works well if used as intended and the limits of GPS wrist top units are understood. the 310 is intended to address the shortcomings of the 405 in that the 405 is not waterproof and submerging the unit can render the touch bezel useless and potentially damage the watch. The 310 is also one touch multi sport, that is to say the 310 can switch between sport modes with the touch of a button. The 405 has no such capability seriously limiting the watch as a true multi sport training tool. the 310 also brings to the table a lot of the functions that made the 305 a reliable, indispensable utility without the bulk. With a clear view of the sky a GPS unit when stationary will be accurate within about 9 feet. When moving the accuracy is decreased; averaging around 23 feet. Also, bear in mind that when submerged the reliability of any GPS is reduced as a result of refraction. What does this mean? a GPS is not intended for nor will it work as (with any accuracy) a distance measuring device in a lap pool, the margin of error is far to great. DO NOT WRITE REVIEWS ON PRODUCTS YOU DO NOT OWN, HAVE NEVER USED, AND DON'T UNDERSTAND THE INTENDED USE FOR (or any combination there of); it's silly. Also, proclaiming that a device is ineffective and poorly designed based on the perceived shortcomings of a completely different device that shares virtually zero design similarities is bias ridiculousness. "I hate oranges because I got food poisoning eating contaminated persimmons; at least I think I hate them I've never actually eaten one".... WHAT?? Battery life is an issue plaguing GPS's in general. Being that this is not a formal editorial I won't go into depth on GPS's and battery life, however I will say that another wrist top GPS unit that is considered state of the art (I'm omitting the brand and make intentionally here) has a battery life of less than 8 hours when the GPS is running. Is the 405,305, or 310 particularly battery efficient? NO. Consistent with other products of its type? YES. In summary, The 310 addresses the size issue, the waterproof issue and is a true multi sport device. Although far from perfect the 310 is an improvement over the 405 as a training utility.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

I upgrade to the 310 from the 305 because of the stated waterproof capabilty. The 305 is a great unit but because I had been training for a half-ironman, I wanted to wear the unit during training and race day.Some things you should do prior to using it for a multi-sport event:Turn off all distance alertsTurn off the auto pause mode (or it will constantly pause during the swim)Turn off any other remindersDon't expect the unit to track your swim distance very well because your arm is rotating forward and backwards which I would assume throws off the reading and during the down stroke (your wrist furthest underwater) the unit will elert you that the signal is lost.Now the reason why I gave the 310XT only a single star. I had the unit for less than 2 months and while carrying my gloves, jacket (chilly morning) and the unit; I dropped the unit on the sidewalk from about waist height. The mineral glass face shattered!!! Apparently the unit landed on the upper corner of the case which is only a single millimeter away from the corner of the glass. Needless to say, if the plastic near the corner had a raised edge or if the glass wasn't so close to the upper egdes then surely an approximate three foot drop would cause the mineral glass the shattered.I have been a long time Garmin customer, having owned several handheld Vista gps units, the 305 (great product), the Nuvi 660 and just resently the 310XT. All of the units I own I treat with great care. I even go as far as packing them in either Otter or Pelican boxes when I travel so there could be no chance of damage.After first talking with a sales associate from my local REI, a called the Garmin customer number. After talking to a couple of people I was told that because I dropped it they would not exchange the unit nor repair at thier cost. I would expect that a $350 unit that even has sealed ruggedized buttons around the edge wouldn't have such an obvious design flaw as the mineral glass within a single millimeter of a corner. Apparently there have been reports of this happening to a "couple" of other users but not enough to warrant a recall. What is that supposed to mean? Garmin has lost a loyal customer. I will look to other manufacters for my gps/electronic needs. The "lived happily every after" part of the story is when my local REI store refunded me the full cost of the unit because it "didn't meet my expectation of quality". I have been a loyal REI customer for well over a decade. Even though I have been tempted to buy something online because it might have been a few dollars cheaper, I still purchased it either through my local REI store or REI.com. The staff is always knowledgable and professional. THANK YOU REI!

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

I posted a comment earlier in the year that stated I was disappointed in the Garmin 310 XT. I returned the unit and ordered another. My new unit has worked flawlessly. I used it for the Jordanelle Triathlon and look forward to using it for the Top of Utah Marathon and the Ogden Valley 50 miler.
After researching the 310Xt, I knew the limitations it had in water. Therefore, it only receives 4 stars. I really enjoy having one unit on my wrist and not having to have a gps around my arm or a footpod. The Garmin 310XT has met my expectations.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

I have been very pleased with my 310XT. However, before I even received the unit, I was concerned from reading some of the customer reviews on REI.com. I contacted Garmin and their advice was to make sure that I upgraded to the latest version of firmware and to deep cycle the battery a couple of times.I have had my 310 for a couple of months now and have used it for inline skating and running. I did upgrade the firmware on the unit as soon as I got on-line with Garmin Connect. It seems kind of strange, but some of the charging issues may be due to earlier firmware issues.On the first charge, I got 16 hours of use out of the battery. I did not use the charger a second time until I completely depleted the battery and the unit would not even turn on. Then I used the charger a second time. Currently on the second charge, I have about 10 hours on the unit and the battery indication on the watch shows a couple of bars gone. I think that it should last at least as long as the first charge.I don't use it for swimming, but I know that some people are disappointed with the GPS not working while swimming. I have seen on the forum on Garmin Connect where people have put them in their swim caps and they work better.I also read about people not liking the bezel control on some of the other Garmin models because they were accidentally pushed. On the 310, the buttons don't activate too easily, you have to deliberately push them.I also like the soft heart strap. The chest sensor is very small, comfortable, and it seems to be accurate. (I have a non-Garmin heart rate monitor which is too tight for me and is more prone to bad readings.)The only problem that I had was with transfering my workouts to Garmin Connect. I had to upgrade from Internet Explorer version 7 to version 8 to get it to work properly with Windows Vista. I could download my data in an awkward manner, but the data transfer did not work exactly right until I upgraded. Finally got that resolved.The only other thing that I wish was faster is that the the speed indication lags several seconds. You don't get an instantaneous reading.There is a lot of information at the forums at connect.garmin[@]. I think that a key thing is to upgrade to the lastest version of firmware. I think that the hardware is good, but it seems that this product had a lot of software bugs when it was first released.I really enjoy my unit, but I only gave it 4 stars knowing that a lot of people have had problems with the 310 for many different reasons.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

Constantly looses signal in water. Not accurate for swimming laps in a pool.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

I returned my Polar HRM because I enjoy Garmin products and having everything in one unit instead of having to wear a device on my arm, around my chest and on my wrist. I have been using the Garmin 310 XT since June 2009. I have enjoyed the unit and cannot report anything wrong in the times that I have used the device. I am also a marathoner, ultra-marathoner and triathlete. The only problem I have experienced is when I needed to recharge the unit. I would place the unit on the charger and it would say that it was charging only to find that the unit had discharged. Most of the time I would place the unit on the charger and nothing would happen. As I fiddled with the recharger, the unit would turn on but would not charge. I contacted Garmin customer service and followed their directions for a master reset. This did not solve the problem. I have owned the 205 and the 305. I have decided to give the 310 XT another chance. I have ordered a new unit and will return my old one which should arrive the Friday before my triathlon. I will post any success or problems with the new unit and either try a 405 or find some other option. The problems remind me of microsoft.... each release seems to have more problems instead of solutions. At this time, I would not recommend the 310 XT until the problems are fixed.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

This device has been represented as a triathlete's watch and the first swim proof GPS watch. If you watch the video from Garmin or see any of the advertisements, the lead you to believe that this watch will collect data for all 3 multisport events and provide data for all 3 events. It is reasonable for someone to assume this watch can be worn in a race and collect GPS data in the water.If you are considering buying this watch realize the following:-This device does not collect usable data in the water, period (other than time, which any $20 waterproof watch can collect in a much smaller profile). No heart rate data and totally unusable and inaccurate GPS data.-There are preset modes for running, cycling, and "other", in which other shows a person skiing (explain that one?). They intentionally omit the category "swimming", despite advertising that this watch is for triathletes.-You will need to purchase a separate quick release kit if you want to use this watch on a bike. It does not get accurate data on a bike if you are wearing in on your wrist (it auto pauses, then unpauses continually while on the wrist, even if you have it set to only auto pause when stopped).-If you want foot cadence and assume you get it for spending [$] on this device, think again. You will have to buy a separate foot pod which costs $100 (it is included in the much cheaper Garmin 50 kit). -the watch is large and sits high on top of the wrist, so to wear it under your wetsuit will let water in the wetsuit, or you will have to wear it on top of (or crammed in front of) the wetsuit, which will not allow you to remove your wetsuit without first removing the watch (thus adding time to your transition).-There is no way to turn off GPS tracking for only one of the 3 events in multisport mode. Therefore you will always either have incorrect GPS data recording for the swimming mode (or, actually "other", since there is no "swimming" mode, as previously mentioned). I have called customer support and they confirm this. Their solution was to turn off GPS while I am swimming, then reset and manually start a new timer and mode during transition 1 for my bike event. I'll let you be the judge of how to take that advice.So, in conclusion, if you want to setup this watch for a bike and run, and want the ability to wear the watch in the water before hand (and no start it unless you want some incorrect distance data included), you will need to buy:[$]

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

I want to add further to [...] reasons for WHY the watch does not work for swimming. [...]logic that your arm is moving forward AND backwards is correct, but there's MORE to it than that. When one is swimming, depending on how well one swims, where your arm with the watch exits the water is LIKELY to be to be DIFFERENT from where it entered. It could (like me, a poor swimmer), be behind where it entered the water. Since water is literally fluid, the water moves back with your arm, so your arm is likely to exit the water BEHIND where it entered the water due to "slippage" in the water. Also, it is likely to lose the signal below water and it takes a moment to re-acquire the signal, but by that time by your arm is probably entering the water again.This is why it doesn't and is NOT CLAIMED by GARMIN to work for swimming. Even if it worked perfectly UNDER water, the slippage in the water is going to make it such that your arm is likely to exit the water BEHIND where it entered, but regardless, it probably will NOT exit where it entered the water. That plus your arm is moving BACKWARDS. So it's not possible for it to be accurate for swimming, unless one had it on one's head (under your swim cap maybe?) which does not move backward and usually NOT underwater.NOTE - I see that REI's description does not say it works for tracking distance for swimming, only timing which is what the GARMIN site states.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Fitness Monitor:

I've used this particular watch for training for over a year. Previously I used a forerunner 205 with a separate polar HR monitor. This has been a great watch for tracking my training efforts. I just love getting home after a long run or swim and reviewing the routes in Google earth. Oh the places you go!. The watch reliably picks up signals in a downtown environment and maintains signals pretty well in canyons and under moderate canopy. I've used it extensively in ocean swimming. It really only works if you place it under a swim cap so it has a constant view of the sky. I have it set to buzz every half mile which is a bit startling after you've settled into a nice mellow groove. I've also made good use of the workout feature, defining interval training sessions. Its nice to have a good idea of distance to go, pace reminders and number of interval remaining as my ability to count is severely impaired when exercising (am I the only one?).My only con is that the bezel is very fragile. I've broken it twice now. Once from dropping it from my pocket onto a cement floor, and another from some mysterious impact on a trail run. Either one shouldn't have happened and I would recommend to Garmin that they recess the bezel to protect it - or make it more like the old G-Shock watch.[...]Overall - recommended