Endomondo via the phone is OK’ish but not ideal.

I want something that records where I’ve been and how fast/far but in a watch form. Maybe also some ability to download routes.

That’s about all I need, plus simplicity in downloading data.

Recommend please.

There’s only one watch for a tryingathlete.

There’s only one watch for a tryingathlete.

No, there is two.

The 310XT, and its successor, the 910XT.

I thought the 310 had been discontinued?

You will still be able to buy it for a while. Garmin have overlaps in their model releases/discontinuations.

The 310XT can be had for £100 less than the 910XT at the mo, so depending on whether you need the newer features, it might be the bargain buy*

*Relatively speaking of course.

Anything wrong with a 405?

I have just recently purchased the 910xt, somehow just after it was released I put my old forerunner 405 in the washing machine with my dirty run kit, therefore justifying the purchase of the latest tech.

Its a great sports watch, one of the things I really like that the old one didn’t have are the vibration alerts.

Doesn’t sound half as good as a 910.

Anything wrong with a 405?

It can be a bit slow to pick up satellite signals, which can also cause spikes when out running/cycling and its not waterproof as claimed. It is quite a bit more bulky.

Anything wrong with a 405?

I had one for a while, just running at this point, and it was ok. Upgraded to 310XT for bigger screen, better battery and buttons.

My 310xt does all of that. Plotted and followed a 60+k bike route yesterday no probs.

DCRainmaker should be able to point you in the right direction between 310 and 910.

I do wish the 310XT was a touch thinner though. Saying that, the 910XT is only slightly less cumbersome.

Another 910XT owner here – the major feature which made it worth getting over anything else for me is the barometric altimeter. A feature so important to me that I wouldn’t have bought one without it (and actually sent Garmin a feature request several years ago), given that I tend to do significant amounts of ascent in my training.

Disappointingly the baro altimeter doesn’t actually seem to work all that well – no facility to manually calibrate, which means that I seem to get spikes in altitude when the GPS correction kicks in, and when I was using it on Saturday, the altitude was still significantly wrong over 2 hours after I’d switched it on. Far less stable than the altimeters on my previous Polar and Suunto HRMs. I’m hoping for a firmware update to make this work better…

I’m hoping for a firmware update to make this work better…

…and here is the thing. Garmin make decent hardware, but their software section is run by chimps. I don’t know if I would trust anything from them without 6 months having elapsed so the firmware is semi-useable.

Worse thing is, when they mess something up with an update, like course function getting knackered, it can be several months before an update is shipped…..if at all.

It really is a shame they do not have a viable competitor to keep things moving a bit a quicker.

The only thing annoying me about the 910 is the inability to set up swim workouts, which is apparently on its way. I can set up vibration alerts for a pace, but I then have to manually change the alert if I change pace.

Soon to be launched Suunto Ambit looks like its going to be a killer.

I do wish the 310XT was a touch thinner though. Saying that, the 910XT is only slightly less cumbersome.

You must be a roadie with shaven arms like that.

That’s not my arm…..

Soon to be launched Suunto Ambit looks like its going to be a killer.

Except that Suunto make Garmin look world class at software. I googled, and thought for a minute I’d made a mistake getting my 910XT, but then I remembered all the things I disliked about my T6c (most of which Garmin does better).

A 405 owner here, like it a lot. It can be slow to pick up satellite signals (tends to be when it’s very cloudy or wet) so I’ll sometimes leave it outside to sort itself out while I’m getting ready. I think the newer ones have an improved GPS receiver. Only use it for running but it’s survived running in all weathers for a few years now.

Best thing about it for me is the ability to program paced intervals.

Download to PC (and upload online) is easy with the wireless dongle thing.

Edit: Mine doesn’t do routes, though you can upload courses and race your “virtual partner”!

Double edit: also the touch sensitive bezel thing is a bit rubbish and doesn’t seem to work well at the end of a run (maybe cold fingers?) though I think they’ve also addressed that in newer versions of the 405.

Couldn’t agree more on the old Suunto software aracer – but since the movescount thing its been a lot better.

Personally, I thought you could only make the most out of a garmin with Ascend anyway