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Garmin 210 vs 610 (Read 330 times)

Albon


    Im about to pull the trigger on a new GPS watch. Its between 210 and 610. Pros and Cons on these tow please? Why should I spend $200 more on the 610?

    THX

    www.therunningswede.com

    FSBD


      My wife wanted to get me a Garmin for Christmas and I told her to either get me the 210 or the 610 and I would be happy with either.  She got me the 610 as she is kind of a tech buff herself.

      I really like the touch screen, I really like designing workouts to do. I like the multiple screens that are easy to shuffle through while you are running.

      Overall I am very happy with the watch and think a lot of the extra features are nice to have for training.

      We are the music makers,

          And we are the dreamers of dreams,

      Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

          And sitting by desolate streams; 

      World-losers and world-forsakers,

          On whom the pale moon gleams:

      Yet we are the movers and shakers

          Of the world for ever, it seems.

      Nakedbabytoes


      levitation specialist

        I was in the same boat as you last year! 210 or 610???? That is the question!

        Have you checked out DC Rainmaker.com for his reviews and pics? While that helped me narrow it down between those 2 watches, ultimately I decided that I really really really wanted the touchscreen and I liked the font of the numbers and words better(dumb huh?), I just thought it was easier to read and use. And I also wanted to be able to upload my completed workouts to Garmin Connect using my iPad with the Wahoo Dongle & app(this only works with the FR 60, FR 310xt, and the FR 610) And bypass the computer completely.

        So those things helped me decide that the 610 was worth the extra(and it does more too) money for the ease of use daily issue. And I haven't been wrong. I use it at least 6 days a week(sometimes all 7 if I can get a bike ride in on Sundays) and sometimes twice a day for running. And then I wear it as a daily watch all the time as well. I like it so much that when the white 610 came out in November, there was no question that I was selling my black 610 to get the white. Never even crossed my mind to downgrade to the 210, even if it was cheaper. Having and using my 610 is easy.

        I haven't found any cons to the 2 610s I had/have. I didn't have issues with pins or straps(they did a redesign of the pins, I may have gotten the post redesign of each) nor any problems with reverse charging or touchscreen funkiness. I had my black watch for nearly a year before I sold it and it worked and looked like new despite daily use. I have had my white one since early December and so far, so good as well. I had a Zagg cover on my touchscreen of the black one because my watches always tend to get face scratches. But these must be made of gorilla glass or something because the screens are very durable. I didn't put one on my white one and so far, so good.

         

        Now that being said, lots of people have the 210 and love it to pieces as well. It does a ton of stuff and does it well. What do you need it for? Will you use the extra features of the 610 often enough to justify the price difference? Only you can answer that.

        It isn't easy to decide, for sure. But whatever you get, I am sure you will like it! They are nifty little devices!

        Albon


          Thanks for awesome answers!

          www.therunningswede.com

          Jeff F


          Free Beer

            I received a 610 as a gift, and really haven't looked at the 210, but I can say the 610 works great.  I love the touch screen and the ability to sync it with my computer without having to connect them.  The only downside is that it doesn't hold a charge as long as my old 305 did.  I am getting only 5-6 hours with the GPS turned on.

              I think one of the big difference is advanced workouts that you can setup in Garmin connect software and download to the watch which the 210 does not have.  If you don't need that or need the ANT (wireless) transfer of your data to your computer, both watches have similar functionality.  The other big difference is the touchscreen vs buttons, I prefer pushng buttons to the touch bezel and the touch screen

              jEfFgObLuE


              I've got a fever...

                I'd say keep the 310XT in mind.  Yes, it's chunkier (but you don't notice that when you're running with it), but it's fully waterproof, whereas the 210 and 610 are only considered rain-proof.  The 310XT has 20 hour battery-life vs 8~10 for the other two.   310XT in general has similar features to the 610, both of which are much more feature-laden than the 210 -- stuff like mutli-sport, custom workouts, etc.

                 

                A quick price check shows that 310XT w/o heart strap can be had for only about $8 more than the 210  So you're getting a whole lot more watch for about the same price as a 210.

                • 210 $199
                • 310XT $207
                • 610 $349

                 

                The only big drawback for the 310XT is if you really want a touchscreen.  Personally, I like having buttons on a running watch as opposed to a touch screen -- I'm much more confident that I'll hit them when I want to, without having to look or think about it.

                 

                210-310XT-610 comparison chart

                On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                  What Jeff said!

                   

                  However, that 910 sure is looking tempting.

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                    superspike113


                    Honorary Old

                      I have the 210 which works great if you just want basic GPS functions on top of a sportswatch. I didn't really have a desire to program in workouts, so I decided not to spend the extra money on a 610 and I'm a small person and was really attracted to the compact design of the 210 over the 310XT.

                       

                      So far the main issue I have had with the 210 is the connector, I usually have to d*ck around with it for at least 5 minutes to get my computer and watch to establish a connection because it has the clip-style charger/connector.

                      2 Mile: 17: 11   5k PR: 27:45    5 Mile: 44:11    10K: 59:01    Half: 2:15:59     Marathon: 5:50:07

                       

                       

                      Mattchiro


                      Happy to be here.

                        I have the 210 which works great if you just want basic GPS functions on top of a sportswatch. I didn't really have a desire to program in workouts, so I decided not to spend the extra money on a 610 and I'm a small person and was really attracted to the compact design of the 210 over the 310XT.

                         

                        So far the main issue I have had with the 210 is the connector, I usually have to d*ck around with it for at least 5 minutes to get my computer and watch to establish a connection because it has the clip-style charger/connector.

                         

                        Have you had any problems with the "instant pace" feature?

                         

                         

                        Half PR:  1:34 (August, 2012)

                         

                        Marathon PR:  3:45 (October, 2012)

                         

                        Next race:  ???

                         

                        Next Marathon:  2015???

                        superspike113


                        Honorary Old

                          I have it set to average the pace over the last mile instead of the instant pace, just my personal preference.

                          2 Mile: 17: 11   5k PR: 27:45    5 Mile: 44:11    10K: 59:01    Half: 2:15:59     Marathon: 5:50:07

                           

                           

                          jEfFgObLuE


                          I've got a fever...

                            I have it set to average the pace over the last mile instead of the instant pace, just my personal preference.

                             

                            This is pretty much true of all GPS running devices.  The positional error from GPS becomes very significant when there's only a small number of sample points (i.e. "instant"), giving highly variable results.  Best to set your Auto-Lap to either 0.5 mi or 1 mi and just use Lap Pace.

                            On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                            Nakedbabytoes


                            levitation specialist

                              I don't have a lot of variance with instant pace. I actually like it better because I tend to slack off sometimes thinking about something and I look down and see that I indeed am now running an 11mm pace when I was supposed to be at 9:30. Pick it back up and my watch pretty much shows that change over the course of a few seconds. I don't stare at my watch but seeing my actual pace at that time gives me more info than what my average lap pace is. I just let my average pace come up in the 1 mile increments and beep at me that way. But I like instant pace for glancing at vs average, myself.

                                I have it set to average the pace over the last mile instead of the instant pace, just my personal preference.

                                 

                                exactly what everyone should do...

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