Are we there, yet?
Waaaah! I think my Forerunner 205 is in its death throes. It's been my first and only Garmin and I've had it for umpteen years including two refurbishings. I turned it off last night after my interval workout, then later tried to turn it on again to check splits. It wouldn't turn on. I tried charging it, but no message on the screen saying it was charging. I tried uploading the data to my desktop, but my desktop didn't even recognize that I had just added a device. It finally turned on for me this morning and I currently have it charging. But I think I'm going to have to replace it. I don't think I need anything fancy like the XT versions, but I would like one with enough battery life to last me for all or most of a 50M race, roughly 12-15 hours. I also prefer not having to spend $400-$500 for one. Are there any models you recommend that meet those needs. I;ve tried looking for the threads that compare models but can only find ones about specific models. So far the Garmin models that look best are the 230 and 620. I don't know anything about other brands.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
The Garmin 620 is not going to last you anywhere near 12-15 hours. Maybe 5.5-6 hours. I'm guessing the 230 is the same.
You mean Garmin lied? Their website says the 230 lasts 16 hours in training mode.
I said I was guessing. If you read different, then go buy it.
As with mpg for cars, I take formal specs with a grain of salt and prefer feedback from actual users.
Well I own the 620 and am not running much more than 7 hrs a week and I can't get through a week without charging it once. Of course I have not tried disabling all of the bells and whistles and if I turn off the gps it uses very little battery, but I'm assuming you wouldn't want to do that. The accelerometer is very inaccurate for me.
If I had to run 12-15 hours, my watch would not be the thing I would be worried about dying.
Dave
delicate flower
I don't think any of the Forerunners have a 15 hour battery life. Of all the complaints I had with my 620, the battery wasn't one of them. I never did test it out though to see how long it'd go. I did seem to be able to squeeze out more battery life without using the additional sensors (HRM, footpod, Bluetooth).
The 920XT is certainly expensive overkill just for running, but it's designed for triathlons and can easily handle a 17 hour Ironman. Hopefully for me, it'll only need to last 12.
<3
lol
I think the Fenix is meant for ultrarunners but I don't know how expensive that one is.
George: I think you are also on some ultra forums here? You might also post the question there if you haven't already.
Refurbished Hip
George, you can get the older 910XT for less than $200 on Amazon right now. Or the 310XT for even cheaper.
Running is dumb.
I found the 910xt for $185 new at the Factory Outlet Store. Supposedly a 20 hour battery life and is has a nice bonus, a barometric altimeter.
Did you buy it?