I know this has been talked about a million times, but I need to replace my Garmin forerunner 610. It cost 300 bucks 3 years ago (I did not buy it) and is not responding at all, even when I charge it up, or try various reset modes. The Garmin screens comes on, and that is it.
I am looking for something cheaper this time, like 100-120 dollars maybe, that will be reliable and like Leslie, I do a lot of running around tall trees so the gps has to work well. I don't care for HR monitor.
Suggestions?
"During a marathon, I run about two-thirds of the time. That's plenty." - Margaret Davis, 85 Ed Whitlock regarding his 2:54:48 marathon at age 73, "That was a good day. It was never a struggle."
Marathon Maniac #957
I just got a Garmin 220 and I love it. I got it for $159 online. I won't always use the extra bells and whistles, but I like the fact that it has many extras beyond just the distance, pace, ave pace, time elapsed, time of day, etc settings. I will eventually program some interval programs and download them, as soon as I have time to play with it more (work has been overwhelming lately, and I haven't had time). I like that it is extremely lightweight, compared to my 305, and that it has long battery life (8-10 hours). I haven't used it in dense woods yet, but the reviews said the satellite connection was extremely good.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
Oh, and I didn't purchase a HR monitor, but that is an optional extra.
Enke - you should contact Garmin. They will usually give you a discount on a new watch if you want to turn in the old one. I love the 920XT for multi-sport training, but I have a friend who absolutely loves her 220 for running!
denise
MM #5615
When my 610 died, I got a Forerunner 15. I think it was on sale at REI for $109.00. It's extremely light. I can't figure out how to give me splits so, if I have to do intervals, and I do a half mile in between mile repeats, I wear my other watch to keep track of my splits. I'm sure there must be a way to do it...but I ain't that smart...so, hopefully you'll get one and tell me how to do it.
I was looking at the Forerunner 15, but the FR 25 came up on my Amazon feed and I checked it out. It works as an activity tracker and a regular watch, so I wear it all the time; it tracks my steps during the day (I used to use a FitBit Flex or Zip for this), tracks my sleep at night and I use it for my running. I charge it once every 5-7 days, depending on how much I run, and it connects by Bluetooth to my phone and Garmin Connect. It was on sale, and I used my Discover Card cashback to offset the price, and ended up spending a little over $100 for it. Other than some weird mile split readings on some runs, it works really well. (I've got Garmin checking out those weird readings.) My 305 used to take forever to connect to a satellite, and this one takes less than 30 seconds. I'm pretty happy with it. And it's purple.
Thanks everyone for your replies!
I figure I will do some homework this weekend then pull the trigger, as I'd like to run somewhere else beside my standard routes that I know the distance. I guess I will also contact Garmin to see if they will give me a rebate for my 610 dying on me.
That FR 25 sounds cool.
Mike - When I first got this Garmin (and my last one) I went very slowly through the user manual - to set up how to do intervals and everything else.
Think I have decided.....the FR 25, in purple!!!
when my 310 died, I got credit at Garmin to use towards new watch. I went with a basic model (FR 15) as I rarely, if ever, used all the various options on the 310 and it ended up costing very little out of pocket with the credit I got. My 310 was long past warranty on it and completely dead.
Tammy
when my 310 died, I got credit at Garmin to use towards new watch.
I had no idea they did this. I'll have to keep it in mind when my 310XT really decides to kick the bucket once and for all.
FWIW, Enke - The 310XT does an excellent job of tracking on the trails. Has a lot of extra carp, too, that I need to learn how to use someday.
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
Sally McCrae-Choose Strong
Bare Performance
Enke, I posted this in the daily on Sunday, but might repeat here. The FR 25 also has the LiveTracker feature, where I could have DH track me on my run to know where I was. He meets me sometimes for drinks/snacks, and for a pick up on the last muddy bit to home. I can see in the summer it'll be handy so he knows where I am on trails, and during marathons he'll know where to meet me. Pretty cool, and I control the access from my phone. That's the only drawback, is I think it works by bluetooth from the Garmin to the phone. Not sure if it works just by the GPS from the Garmin without the phone. We'll try that next.
Erika, I was discussing this with MBE last night. He mentioned that tracking feature on FR 25 bluetoothes to the phone, but I almost never run with my phone with me. If I did, I might just use a running app on the phone instead, however those apparently burn through the battery and cellular data useage faster?
So how do you get a discount from Garmin for a new model? Where can you buy the new model? Any store? What if the watch is 3.5 years old? Do you mail it back to them? How much of a discount?
I am saying all this because I can get about 35 dollars off the FR 25 from REI. So it would be 105 instead of 140 dollars.
when i contacted Garmin about my 301 (or was it a 305? it came with heart rate monitor). I just told them it was dead (I probably had it 5+ yrs) but it was a model they no longer even carry (that's how obsolete it is I guess) and inquired about trade-in value for a different model. I can't remember exactly the trade-in value, but I want to say it was like $60? and then I purchased the FR 15 from them at same time (to get their trade-in value, you must purchase direct from them also) so they only charged me the difference. I had to mail back my watch to them, but not the accessories - like charging dock, HR monitor, etc. It was a pretty easy process.
you just need to inquire what your trade-in value will be from them towards a new watch, versus where you might find your watch elsewhere at a lower price to determine if doing a return to garmin is worth it or not.
Yeah, the needing your phone is kind of a drag, but I usually run with it anyway when I run long, especially on trails. I've had situations where I'm off the roads and in the woods pretty deep, and trip and fall or hurt something or need a drink, or whatever. It's nice to know someone can find you. For that reason, I will carry a phone on those runs and consider it a safety measure.
I got mine on Amazon for a sale price plus I had some gift certificates stored up and my Discover card cashback which you can use right on Amazon. Worked pretty well. Never though of getting a trade in credit for my old 305, which is now collecting dust on my desk.
Prince of Fatness
There are some pretty comprehensive reviews for Garmins on this site.
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-reviews/garmin
Not at it at all.