GPS watches

[Faccia Bella]

Hey everyone . I just had a question regarding the GPS sports watches that are out there. I know a lot of people seem to love the Garmin Forerunner series, and I was leaning towards one myself. I am not sure though whether to get the 10, 210 or 220. I will be training for the Wine & Dine in November and would like to have something to track my progress. Any recommendations out there? Thanks bunches!

 

[croach]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those versions. Depends on how much you want to pay as to which one you get I guess. I have the 210 and it does everything I need and is easy to use. The 220 is the newest model out by Garmin. If you are into really in depth reviews of the watches, google dcrainmaker. He does very good but lengthy reviews of running watches. Good luck with your training!

 

[rebapple]

I got a 220 2 weeks ago and love it do far!

 

[AZlady]

I got a 220 for Christmas. Love it. But made a huge mistake at Tink weekend. I didn't realize it can take several minutes to find the satellite in a new area. So my gps was off for my first half marathon. When you turn it on...give it time to vibrate ( found satellite) before starting the watch.

 

[thotfulspot]

Thank you so much for asking this question, OP! I popped in here today for exactly this: I've gotten by with my iPhone and a training app so far, but I'm participating in the Glass Slipper Challenge and I want to have a way of checking exactly how long my race has been going on along the way without having to do math at each mile marker. Math and I are not buddies at the best of times, and especially not during a race!

So I'll be checking out those reviews and reading everyone's recommendations with great interest. Thanks!

 

[steph0808]

I have the 110 and really enjoy it. I did have a problem about 9 months into owning it where it would freeze up and wouldn't reset. But I sent it back to Garmin, they sent me a refurbished one, and I haven't had any problems since then.

It really makes life so much easier! I don't have to map out runs beforehand, I know exactly what my pace is for each mile, etc.

 

[ludari]

I really like my Garmin Forerunner 305 that I purchased over three years ago. Still working fine and I use it not only running but I also purchased accessories to use it on my road bicycle. I've been thinking I would upgrade to one of the newer Garmin Forerunner models but my 305 is holding on strong.

 

[RnbwSktles]

I started using the 220 in December (upgraded from 110) and I love it! If you do run/walk intervals, the watch can be programmed to beep/vibrate at each interval. I used to think keeping track of the time to run/walk was no big deal, but the watch has me spoiled now!

The battery life is phenomenal too. I probably could have run 2 marathons before it died!

 

[BernardandMissBianca]

I just bought the 10 and have used it twice. My biggest gripe is the battery life. I am a slow runner and the watch wasn't fully charged so the battery died with about 4 miles to go in my 11 mile run. Thankfully I was on a course that I knew the exact mileage and I had my phone as a back up (I was looking to see the mileage difference between the watch and the phone).
If you get the 10 make sure it's fully charged before your run and if you are slow like me I would recommend the 210 or the 220 if you plan to do full marathons.

Other than that, I love the watch. The size is good for my small wrist. The buttons are easy to push. It was easy to read and without headphones or with one earbud in I could hear the interval beeps. It felt really secure on my wrist too.

 

[wiigirl]

I really like my Garmin Forerunner 305 that I purchased over three years ago. Still working fine and I use it not only running but I also purchased accessories to use it on my road bicycle. I've been thinking I would upgrade to one of the newer Garmin Forerunner models but my 305 is holding on strong.

 

[mla2177]

I started using the 220 in December (upgraded from 110) and I love it! If you do run/walk intervals, the watch can be programmed to beep/vibrate at each interval. I used to think keeping track of the time to run/walk was no big deal, but the watch has me spoiled now!

The battery life is phenomenal too. I probably could have run 2 marathons before it died!

I am looking into maybe getting the Garmin for the Princess Half next month. Do you just plug it in to charge it?

 

[Ariel484]

I just bought the 10 and have used it twice. My biggest gripe is the battery life.

That's what I was going to say. A couple of years ago I was between the 10 and the 210 (with a sale the prices were pretty similar). I ended up going with the 210 because, fully charge, it lasts 8 hours vs. 5 hours for the 10. I was looking into it for running the WDW Marathon, and knowing I'd stop for lots of pictures, I picked the one with the longer battery life. Probably would have gone with the 10 otherwise, but now I have the 220.

I am looking into maybe getting the Garmin for the Princess Half next month. Do you just plug it in to charge it?

Yes - it should come with a USB cord that attaches to the watch. You'd then need to plug it into an adapter to charge it through the wall. You can also charge it (and upload your data) using your computer.

--------------------------------------

OP - As I said above, I had the 210 and just upgraded to the 220 (put the 210 on eBay). I LOVE the 220. The display is very easy to read and I can have 3 fields displayed on the screen at one time (i.e. current distance, current time, pace) vs. 2 on the screen at once with the 10 (you scroll through the screens to see all of your fields). My biggest issue with the 210 was that I always had trouble lining the charger up on the watch to get it to charge properly, and this is SO much better with the 220.

The 210 and 220 have more options than the 10, which is why they cost more. My biggest requirement is that I want a watch that has the option to display current, average or lap pace, and I think all 3 do that now (seems to be a new option with the 10). I think the other big difference between the 210/220 vs. the 10 is that you can add a HR Monitor.

I second the dcrainmaker recommendation - VERY thorough and helpful site!

 

[fairestoneofall]

i got the 220 with Christmas money and i love it. it's my first Garmin watch. i do love that it pauses when i stop (versus RunMeter that keeps running).

 

[kappyfamily]

Just wanted to throw another watch into the mix. I adore my nike GPS! I also love friending a bunch of people on FB and having challenges with them. Great watch!

 

[Faccia Bella]

Thank you so much to everyone for the advice and recommendations! . I think I am going to go with the 220 as it does have a lot of features that I like, especially the HR monitor and the accelerometer, as during this super cold winter I have been doing much training in the treadmill. This will be my first Garmin and I can't wait to try it out.

 

[dragitoff]

Just wanted to throw another watch into the mix. I adore my nike GPS! I also love friending a bunch of people on FB and having challenges with them. Great watch!

I'm with you! I've gone through two Garmins (110 and 305) and was a little hesitant when purchasing a new watch after my 305 died in November. I've been so happy with my Nike. I love the screen set ups on it and ease of use. I also love the size and look of it as well.

I've heard a few negatives about them (how easy screen is to crack and accuracy issues), but haven't experienced anything yet like that with mine although my watch did register 12.92 miles for the WDW Half Marathon a few weeks ago so I guess it was a little off on the distance, but I had the same problem occasionally with my Garmins as well.

 

[mufasa0505]

I have the 10 and I really like it because it has functions I use and isn't overkill. As for battery life...it held up fine for my first marathon (5:18) but died at WDW marathon a few weeks ago (5:49). I think it died in HS around mile 24. So it probably has about a 5:30 lifespan. Currently debating whether I need to buy a new watch, but it gives me incentive to focus on getting faster. So it's a good watch for shorter-distance or fast runners, at a decent price.

 

[cherrybomb11]

This is random but it might help someone: I found out that with my flexible savings account (FSA) for health expenses, a heart rate monitor is an eligible expense. That includes GPS with heart rate monitor. I plan on getting the 220 with heart rate monitor since technically I already have the money "saved".

 

[Kitty-chan]

I've been running with the Garmin FR220 for about a month now, and I love it. I went for the 220 rather than the 10 mostly for the battery life, and the ability to add a heart rate monitor and a foot pod (currently, I use neither). I also LOVE the fact that the run/walk timer (and other alerts) can vibrate and/or beep.

I also like being able to program workouts in the watch (via the Garmin Connect website), such as interval training, mile repeats, etc. But I was disappointed to realize that when you use the workouts, the run/walk timer doesn't kick in. Since I use the run/walk timer pretty exclusively, that makes the workouts feature less useful to me.

Also a word of warning: The Garmin Connect smartphone app doesn't work anywhere but iPhones (and I think only relatively new iPhones). I knew this before I bought the watch, and it wasn't a deal-breaker for me; I just upload my data through the USB cable via my laptop. But the Garmin marketing about the smartphone integration doesn't say that non-iPhone phones aren't supported yet, so this has been an unhappy surprise for some folks.

 

[peachygreen]

I've been running with the Garmin FR220 for about a month now, and I love it. I went for the 220 rather than the 10 mostly for the battery life, and the ability to add a heart rate monitor and a foot pod (currently, I use neither). I also LOVE the fact that the run/walk timer (and other alerts) can vibrate and/or beep.

I also like being able to program workouts in the watch (via the Garmin Connect website), such as interval training, mile repeats, etc. But I was disappointed to realize that when you use the workouts, the run/walk timer doesn't kick in. Since I use the run/walk timer pretty exclusively, that makes the workouts feature less useful to me.

Also a word of warning: The Garmin Connect smartphone app doesn't work anywhere but iPhones (and I think only relatively new iPhones). I knew this before I bought the watch, and it wasn't a deal-breaker for me; I just upload my data through the USB cable via my laptop. But the Garmin marketing about the smartphone integration doesn't say that non-iPhone phones aren't supported yet, so this has been an unhappy surprise for some folks.

I agree about the run/walk timer part. I also wish I could change the run/walk intervals without stopping the timer and starting a new one. I actually decided to use the Galloway timer for my run/walk intervals (on longer runs - shorter ones I have a set interval or workout) and use the Garmin to set up other workouts etc. I like the option of changing on the fly especially in races. I'd like to start off a little slower and have the option of changing to a longer run interval (or shorter if the race isn't going well) for the later stage of a race.

I love the built in accelerameter (sp?) on the 220. I don't have the HRM or footpod, but it does a really nice job picking up my cadance and I can use it when I have to run on the dreadmill to get some feedback on the run.