Forums >Gears and Wears>Garmin 610 is dead - what next?
The same Garmin 610 that locked up during a race in April (and had previously reverse-charged) has now died. The screen is blank, it isn't charging in the cradle and won't reset. A call to Garmin US has confirmed that it's in need of repair or replacement. I'm bummed as it's only 2 years old but it does open the question of an upgrade.
Garmin offered to repair it for $50 or give me a credit toward a 620 or Vivoactive. The credit helps quite a bit with sticker shock : )
Is anyone using the Garmin Vivoactive for running? How do you like it? Easy to see and use while running? Easy to upload to RA?
Is the 620 still solid? It's the most familiar option other than repairing this one.
I like having heart rate and a bike cadence sensor; I've been a Garmin customer for several years so I just keep looking at their devices. I'd appreciate thoughts and suggestions while I browse the DC Rainmaker reviews : )
Thanks!
2014 - heal the sinuses and move to Germany!
2015 - Paris Marathon 12 April
I just upgraded from the 220 to the 225 and am extremely happy with it. The wrist based HRM was necessary for me.
It doesn't solve your bike cadence requirement, but as a running watch it's near perfect (for me).
2/3rds training
Good deals to be had on the Fenix 2 right now. I just upgraded to one from an old forerunner 410. While a bit bulkier, the amount of data and configurations available is awesome. But I spend a lot more time in the mountains on foot and bike so the other features like a magnetic compass, barometric altimeter, and routing capabilities are nice to have. Probably overkill for a road runner/rider.
My not-entirely-running-related 'Gram
I just upgraded from the 220 to the 225 and am extremely happy with it. The wrist based HRM was necessary for me. It doesn't solve your bike cadence requirement, but as a running watch it's near perfect (for me).
I just got the 225 as well. Of all the Garmin watches I've owned, it's the most accurate, and if anything, it errors on the side of measuring short. I'd rather have it measure short than measure long and be fooled into thinking I"m running faster than I really am.
I ran a 1 mile road race, certified course, recently. The course was straight except for one slight curve. The distance on the watch was 1.00. Can't argue with that :-)
The thing I've noticed about the wrist-based HRM is that you need to have the watch pretty snug on the wrist or you get some strange readings.
delicate flower
I actually had similar problems that you experienced with my old 610 so I returned it to Costco after a year and used the refund to buy a 620. I was an early adopter to the 620 and holy hell did I have problems with it (I won't list them all again). My fault for buying one before Garmin worked the bugs out. After a bunch of firmware updates over the span of a year, the device was finally stable and reliable. It's actually a very slick and fun device and provides more data than you'll know what to do with.
That being said, I've started doing triathlons over the past month or so, so DW bought me a 920 and I sold the 620 on eBay. Got almost $200 for it. Sweeeeeet. I was a little reluctant to even get the 920 at first, but I freakin' love that thing now.
<3
Fight The Future
My 610 seemed to be fading, and the band kept self-destructing, so I was in the market for a replacement about a month or so ago. I tried the Vivoactive, and while it did have some cool features (stylish, lightweight, rapid GPS fix), it was more of a toy than a serious running watch. Very little flexibility in displaying running stats during the run, and only one size text field much smaller than the face of the watch, so if you reach a certain age, you'd need to bring reading glasses on your run. Upload to Garmin connect was easy. After goofing around with it for a week or so, it crashed and entered some sort of debug mode, which I couldn't get it out of, in spite of powering down, up, pressing many buttons many times. So I returned it to Bestbuy.
Instead, I successfully repaired the watch band on my 610 with more clear nail polish, and it resurrected itself as being useful.
I hated the Vivoactive at first because of the unpredictable battery issues. It would die suddenly for no rhyme or reason. After a couple of firmware updates, looks like that issue is solved. While a decent watch to track your run and get the data you need for post run analysis, its almost worthless during the run itself, for me the font is too small (I need reading glasses), and not really sure what field I am looking at at any moment. As a fitness tracker i think it does a decent job and I don't have to get my phone out to read texts which is a bonus.
Thank you all for your input! I knew I'd get some real life runner type feedback from RA, and that's the best kind.
I decided on the 620. The 220-series is pretty slick but my cycling husband has brainwashed me about cadence and the bike trainer makes for good cross training, especially in the winter. I'll pass on the Fenix as I'm really not as adventurous as I'd like to believe, although anything that would help me find my way when I get lost might be handy : )
Baboon, I wish I'd seen your 620 on eBay ... I didn't even think to look there. Northernman and HappyFeet, I was concerned the vivoactive would be hard to use while running. The reading glasses comment hits home for me : )
Now to survive a few weeks of running and biking without a Garmin. I guess I'll have to look into some apps or get out my old Timex Ironman watch (which will probably work just fine in spite of being 15 years old).