I have never had any problems with the 305. The 310 however is a pile of shit. I raced the disney dopey challenge 5k friday half mary sat, full mary sunday. The damn band broke during the 5k and shattered the screen. Took it to the expo they gave me a new one. Ran the half and the band broke on the new one 6 miles in, luckily it didn't shatter. I would never buy a 310 again because of it.

Timex Global Trainer. I just got one, and I have very little experience with it so far. But it looks very promising. Plus, 'cause it's a Timex, it takes lickin! ;)

I'm going to do a "shootout" between the Global Trainer and 310 for the front page, but if you want to ask me some questions in the meantime, I'll do my best to answer. But I have a years worth of experience with the 310 and about a week with the Garmin, so I'm certainly no expert on the Timex... YET!

Quick summary, though, the Timex has all the same core features as the 310:
- GPS
- ANT+
- user configurable display (number of windows and contents of each window)
- quick switching between modes/windows

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

My primary concern with the Garmin and other wrist computers is their bulk. While I recognize a 310xt does so much, I really don't like wearing a brick on my wrist. How does the Timex compare?

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#cureMS

The Timex is basically the same size as the Garmin 310xt. Don't expect any size differences.

Can you plot the HR data vs time/distance? The main reason I went from a small Polar to the Garmin was this ability, but the Garmin HR readings are always finicky.

Did you call Garmin? After having my 305 for about two years, I somehow got water under the display. I had a race scheduled for just over a week after it broke. They over-nighted me a new one in exchange ofr the old one. I hope their customer service has not gone down, but they were great to me about 1.5 years ago.


Also, though it appears to be bulky, it really is not heavy or noticable when you run.

What about the garmin fr60? I've never had luck with the gps running watches but love my fr60. With the footpod you get all the data except the elevation and maps.

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Chris Thornham
Co-Founder And Previous Owner Of FLO Cycling

The Timex GT is AWESOME! See the the review by dcrainmaker...

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/...obal-trainer-in.html

I have had three Garmin 305s, so far. I bought the first one soon after they became available, around July, '07. One day, just over a year later, it would no longer start up unless it was on its cradle. I paid the 99 bucks out-of-warranty fee and got a rebuilt one in exchange. That one worked better up until a few weekends ago when it went blank just into the bike portion of a race. (dammit!)

On the following Monday I called Garmin and told the customer service rep the situation. She said that I had better send it in. I replied that "That's easy for you to say, you don't have to pay the $99." She said that she would swap it out for free, even though it was (way) out of warranty. I sent it in and had a rebuilt one back in a week: great customer service.

I love my Garmin and may buy a 310 to use while swimming, too.

The bulk of it doesn't bother me at all, for while it is somewhat bulky, compared to a regular watch, it's lightweight.

And, I heart the data!

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Wow...great information thus far.

I can't wait to read Rapp's thoughts on the Timex.

You pretty much have to balance what you want in a watch between the two models (310XT and TGT).

At the moment, the TGT isn't as polished at the 310XT. Yes, it's less suseptible to breakage than the 310XT - but it's also not as versatile, for example - there is no quick mount system. Also, note that it doesn't support any ANT+ foot pod, so no treadmill running if you want distance.

The 310XT band problem is sorta well known, and Garmin will swap out for a different band (though the quick release kit really helps to solve it mostly).

On the other hand - the TGT has some awesome configuration options, especially the ability to import/export out settings.

I've got detailed review on both...enjoy: 310XT - TGT

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My tiny little slice of the internets: dcrainmaker.com

That's be great Rappstar.

Looking forward to it.

Timex seem like a pile of shit though in terms of quality and reliability, at leats their Ironman line of watches - crap bands, crap battery life, crap buttons that fall off. And customer service really poor in this country (Aus).

Anyway,

Be interested to know about it's capabilities as a monitor for power based training and racing. Any comments?

I guess I have been lucky. I have had several Garmin devices without issues. As for the 310xt, I have it and it has worked prefectly for nearly 4 months.

Can't comment on their customer service, but I've had a Timex IM watch for over a year, that I use for running. Gets completely sweat soaked several times a week, and still runs/fastens great (This one has the velcro strap).

John

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Top notch coaching: Francois and Accelerate3 | Follow on Twitter: LifetimeAthlete |

Fortunately, I'm just looking for this as something I can use for running. I prefer to use my basic PowerTap head unit on the bike and have no need for a device while swimming.

The bulk of the 305 never bothered me...well, maybe the first week or so, but I don't even notice it anymore. The functionality for the 305 is great and it's easy to navigate, so part of me feels like sticking to Garmin just because of the familiarity.

Rappstar, et al, I'll read up on the Timex. I like having Ant+, so it sounds like I need to give it some serious consideration.

In the meantime, I'll check on my warranty! Thanks folks!

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-Andrew

Yeah, no experience w/ Timex GPS, but my M.dot watches have always lasted like forever. I just bought another one, since the last one finally bought the farm after over a decade of service as my daily driver. Sorry to hear the quality of them apparently isn't as good down under.

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float , hammer , and jog

As other's have said, they are roughly equivalent. The Timex is maybe even a tiny bit bigger since it's round instead of rectangular.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Timex seem like a pile of shit though in terms of quality and reliability, at leats their Ironman line of watches - crap bands, crap battery life, crap buttons that fall off. And customer service really poor in this country (Aus).

In my experience Timex watches have been great. I get at least a year or two of abuse out of a band and battery before they need replacing. When that happens I send it back and Timex replaces it for a nominal charge. I've never had a button fall off.

what about the garmin 110?
it's gps enabled too

Indeed. I've been doing some online shopping today and it seems like a pretty good option. Not Ant+ capable though is it? It's also about the same price as a Forerunner 305, so if I just stick with the same thing you get a little bit more with the 305.

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-Andrew

Can the Timex read data from a powertap hub? If so, can it do power smoothing?

My 310xt has been awful. It crashes every time it downloads data, it totally loses the powertap for several minutes at a time, etc.

What are you guys doing to your 310's? Mine has worked just like it should since I took it out of the box at Christmas. Just how tight do you sinch the band?

I use it, set it by the computer while I shower, magicly data is there and on-line. I get just under a week's training time out of the battery. It has seen no ill effects from riding in my duffel bag every day.

The only complaint I would have is that the open water swimming mode does not work well. But, that is not that big of a deal.

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Twitter @achtervolger

Yes to question 1.

It doesn't appear that you can do set smoothing (i.e., it's just whatever is built in). But i'll ask.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

Great reviews. I'm still on the fence regarding the two but your reviews were very helpful.

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Formerly DrD