Following on from my Ironman thread, it’s about time I replaced my Forerunner 210 with one that has a decent battery life.

Does anyone have any experience of the 910XT? Any other suggestions?

I’ m looking at this too and decided on Suunto ambit 3 Watch with Powercal HRM strap.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/07/suunto-ambit3-multisport.html

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/11/cycleops-powercal-in-depth-review.html

I’ve got a Suunto Ambit2, and exactly like their Finnish cousins Nokia, its a brilliant bit of hardware seriously let down by software coded by a three year old.

Chef: could you expand a bit on that please? From all the forums etc I’ve read, most Suunto users seem happy…I’m interested to hear if you think it’s a bad choice?

I’ve got a Suunto Ambit 2, can’t say I’ve got any complaints about the software – apart from a lack on linux compatibility that forces me to use a VM on my home PC.

The first version of the Ambit 2 software apparently had a crap screensaver on the swimming setting, but that’s since been changed (I think – I don’t use it swimming…) Can’t think of any other major complaints people have about it. And it looks about a million times better than a 910XT 🙂

The software on the actual watch is OK, what annoys people is that the watch is only configurable when connected to the MovesCount software which is web service.

MovesCount has had two major outages in the last 3 weeks, meaning people cannot use their $400 watch, e.g loading new trails for races, accessing their data, configuring a new screen on the watch. And all because Suunto want to force people to use their own MovesCount site as a social network.

If Suunto provided an offline version then all these functions that are on your watch would be available to you.

Just check out the Facebook site for MovesCount for the real vitriol people are spewing.

I do like the watch a lot, and would rate is highly, especially if you’re interested in multi sports. There is a new Ambit3 on the way with bluetooth which is looking to compete with the new Garmin Forerunner.

Thanks for the info. Given that the pricing is similar, I’ll probably go for the Garmin, when. I can afford it.

Worth a look at the Garmin Fenix 2. It has a number of improvements and extra features over the 910XT, eg better navigation and long battery life. Check DC Rainmaker’s review for a comparison. http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/03/garmin-fenix2-multisport.html

I had a 910XT and loved it. As a pure GPS / training device it’s battery life was fine – as a watch, no. I used mine daily for a year or so and ran a few long distance events without issue. It’s not designed to be used as a watch in 24/7 use though as it’ll require charging pretty regularly if that’s what you’re aiming for. It was good for swimming too, as well as running. I sold it when I stopped running so much though I’d buy one again as a training tool in an instant. But £££…

So, now back training and bought a 610 a month or so ago – better than the 910 as a daily watch, and more importantly for me at the moment, it is a bunch cheaper (I got mine 2nd hand from eBay for £65 though admittedly I did need to buy HRM and foot pod seperately). It doesn’t do swimming but I’ve no gym membership any more so that’s irrelevant. GPS pickup is as good as the 910XT, the touch screen takes some getting used to, but it syncs with my Tanita scales, will go a week of my general use (1 hour + GPS running daily, then intermittently worn throughout the day) without needing constant charging and generally just does what it’s meant to without issue.

One thing to note with the Fenix 2 is it’s sync method – it uses bluetooth rather than ANT+ which, accordingly to a friend at work, is utterly hateful. ANT+ isn’t fantastic but he says that syncing can be buggy / take an age / a battery life hog. The Fenix is also £££.

I have a veritable plethora of GPS devices, and always sport a 910 on the wrist for multi-sport events. Apart from randomly annoyingly deleting a load of data immediately after a big race last year I can’t really fault it.

Bear in mind though that the 910 is a little long in the tooth these days and if it were me I’d be gutted to drop a not inconsiderable sum on a 910 only for a replacement to come out next year, which is what a lot of people are expecting.

There are quite a few alternatives worth considering now, the Ambit and Fenix being 2, also Polar look as they have a good multi-sport watch now too.

As has been mentioned, DC Rainmaker is the go-to place for all your GPS needs.

Cheers, Rich

One thing to note with the Fenix 2 is it’s sync method – it uses bluetooth rather than ANT+ which, accordingly to a friend at work, is utterly hateful. ANT+ isn’t fantastic but he says that syncing can be buggy / take an age / a battery life hog.

You can just plug it into the USB. That’s a lot simpler and more reliable – it just works as a mass storage device, no drivers or software required.

The software on the actual watch is OK, what annoys people is that the watch is only configurable when connected to the MovesCount software which is web service.

MovesCount has had two major outages in the last 3 weeks, meaning people cannot use their $400 watch, e.g loading new trails for races, accessing their data, configuring a new screen on the watch. And all because Suunto want to force people to use their own MovesCount site as a social network.

I think you’re exaggerating the importance of MovesCount – other than uploading data, most of the other stuff like configuring the watch is not something you do everyday. I should probably mention that my data automatically syncs to Strava (can’t remember who pointed that out, it was someone here on STW), which means that unless both sites go down I can always access my data, and the logbook on the watch will also give basic information.

I’m also not sure Garmin is really that much better – if you want to set up a more complicated workout, for example, you need to head online too. Similarly I’m not sure you can upload a route for navigation without Garmin Connect, although I could be wrong here.

TL;DR: I’ve not had any major problems with MovesCount, and I doubt Garmin is much better.

You can just plug it into the USB. That’s a lot simpler and more reliable – it just works as a mass storage device, no drivers or software required.

That means another battery recharge cycle, though – not what you necessarily want if you’ve only used 10% of the battery on a short run.

That means another battery recharge cycle, though – not what you necessarily want if you’ve only used 10% of the battery on a short run.

Won’t do a modern lithium-ion battery any harm.

I have a Forerunner 220, it really only does running (though rumour has it a bike mode is inbound) but it’s so light it’s easy to wear all the time. Colour screen is really clear too.