What are the main differences between the Garmin 910 and Garmin 310 GPS watches? It appears both can be used while swimming, cycling, and running. The 910 cost $200 more and I’ve read some pretty negatives reviews about it on Amazon.
What say you Slowtwitch?
910 has much better swim capabilities and a slimmer, less noticeable feel on the wrist despite being the same weight.
The biggest difference is that the 910 has indoor pool swimming capabilities. 310 only tracks open water swimming. Check out dcrainmaker’s reviews.
I’ll be interested to see the responses.
My 305 has pretty much used it’s battery life, down to about 2 hours (after about 2 years of IM Training use). I don’t need it for biking anymore, as I now have a Quarq and 500 for my bike.
I just ordered the 310 (as opposed to sending my 305 back for a refurbish), I just struggled to see the justification for the price difference. I really don’t need a watch for in the pool. I’ve got a clock to measure my send off’s and what not. The 305 is bulkier than both, and that never really bothered me.
Did you find a good deal on the 310? Best I could find was $184 used on Amazon (doesn’t come with HRM).
I don’t know what the negatives are. No complaints on the 910.
910 has: swim metrics
barometric altimeter
different color
different shape…feels different on the wrist
.
Did you find a good deal on the 310? Best I could find was $184 used on Amazon (doesn’t come with HRM).
I got a new one on Amazon for a little over $200 (no HRM).
I think with 2 day shipping I paid like $230
What are the main differences between the Garmin 910 and Garmin 310 GPS watches? It appears both can be used while swimming, cycling, and running. The 910 cost $200 more and I’ve read some pretty negatives reviews about it on Amazon.
What say you Slowtwitch?
Aside from the items already mentioned, the 910xt also has a Barometric altimeter versus the GPS-based one in the 310xt. Some people have reported problems with theirs, but mine works without issue and provides far more accurate elevation plots than the GPS-based units that I’ve used.
The 910 also has a more sturdy attachment to the wrist band than the 310xt. There were complaints about the latter’s strap snapping (and thus losing the watch) after contact in mass start swims, so they toughened it up in the former units design.
Finally, the 310 is a legacy product at this point so it likely won’t see much in the way of ongoing support. It’s unlikely to get further firmware upgrades, so if new ANT+ device classes come around Garmin probably won’t be adding support for them in older models such as this. Not that they are particularly pro-active about stuff like that on current models, but in buying an older model you’re pretty much guaranteed that you won’t see any further improvements.
With that said, the 310xt is an excellent deal at this point. The 910 does have advantages over the 310, however they are typically subtle ones and the much lower price does make the latter an interesting proposition. A lot of the reason for the lower price isn’t that it’s less capable, it is just that the 310 is an older model and many people will avoid it for that reason alone.
Very recently upgraded from a 310 to a 910, the swim metrics were one of two primary reasons, the second being it gives you a bit more if you train with a powermeter - including the ability to display NP.
I’ve enjoyed the 910xt with the slimmer fit in comparison to the old forerunner 305. The watch is comfortable to wear and like everyone mentioned the swim metrics is mainly why I chose it. I tend to lose lap count in the pool, so having a watch keep track of it for me, helps. During the pool workouts, it lets me know how many strokes I’m taking as well as the average pace, which are beneficial when training for a specific event.
If you haven’t read DC Rainmaker’s review of the 910xt I highly recommend it. It’s a big read, but you should have no questions how the watch differs from the 310xt by the time you’re done. BTW- I had the 310 and upgraded to the 910 and haven’t looked back.
Ok will do. Wanna sell your old 310?
I’m in a similar situation. My 305 is starting to die but with my Joule I don’t need anything for the bike. I am going to try to cheap battery replacement ala this thread http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=4366069#4366069 If that doesn’t work I was just thinking of getting the FR60. I don’t really need GPS for running, just an accurate pace and from what I hear you don’t get that with the 910. I don’t think I need to spend $300 on something to count laps in the pool.
why a 310 if you didn’t need the cycling or swimming?
In addition to other differences mentioned the 910 is less fragile. The 310 has a glass screen that can crack easily. I managed to crack 3 of them.
why a 310 if you didn’t need the cycling or swimming?
Good question. I would like to wear for IM racing all throughout the race, and open water swims.
Also for the longer battery life than the 305.
310 only tracks open water swimming.
I think that’s being generous. the 310 is terrible in lap swim or open water. I’ve used the 310 for 2 years now and although I use it for all 3 sports isn’t only an expensive stopwatch in the water. However I’ve never really needed it to track my swim pacing in the pool (just hit lap whenever i need to to record splits) and i havent felt the urge to stop swimming in the open water to check my pace times. If i know the course well enough I can have a good sense of that anyways. Could be handy to look after the race/OWS to see how my sighting was but thats after the fact.
I do agree that the wrist band setup for the 310 isn’t as good as the 910. Twice the 310 band has broken on me. Once it was the band itself which was a $10 fix but another time it broke part of the fastener part of the watch so I had to return it to Garmin for a free watch replacement (which was a breeze. great customer service)
I’d buy the 310 again mainly due to the price. The 910 is better but not worth it as it’s basically the same as the 310 minus the difference in size (which is minimal in my view since they both take up a large mass on the wrist) and ability to track swims in pool and open water.
I have a feeling for these watches I’m always going to be a generation behind due to pricing, which is fine. So whenever the new XT watch comes out I’ll wait 6 months It’ll be like the 910 was released for me at discount…plus most of the bug issues fixed!
good reasons. I’ve had a 310 xt since 2009 and it is getting near the end of it’s life. I’ve been considering going to a run focused watch.
I like the 310xt run features but don’t need the cycling or swimming.
If you don’t need the swim / bike features of the 910 I would highly recommend the Garmin 610 for a run focused watch. I have both the 910 and 610 and unless I’m doing bike or swim I use the 610 as my go to run watch.