Has anyone used their 910XT for an entire Ironman and had the battery last? I’m trying to decide to use it just for the bike and run so it doesn’t give out on me at the end of the run. I’m not talking an 8 hour Ironman, more like 12-14 hrs. Thoughts? Also, I have a quick release strap and bike mount so after I get done with the swim how could I get the strap back for the run? Could I toss it in my run bag in transition?
The battery should last around 20 hours so you should have no problem. I have used it for all parts of an IM, and for just the bike/run portions of other races. If you want to only use it on the B/R, then turn it on prior to swimming (set it so it doesn’t auto power off) and place on your bike or in your T1 bag. You can wear the qr wrist strap easily under your wetsuit so its already on your wrist when you get it from your bag.
Jack
How long have you had the 910? How many times have you recharged it?
With my 310XT, I just did a test. Fully charged it and then put it on the windowsill (so it would have a GPS signal) and it shut down after about 12:40 (and travelled a bit over 5Km on the windowsill but I digress). This is my third year with it. When new, it was closer to 17 or more hours as I recall. You may want to do the same test with your 910.
As an additional note, when I went to recharge the 310, it indicated it was already 89% charged!
So, over time and multiple recharges, the battery efficiency decreases. Which I suspect is why you can find articles on how to change the battery.
(so it would have a GPS signal) …
(and travelled a bit over 5Km on the windowsill but I digress).
Those two statements are very contradictory.
I do agree that my 910 has lost a fair bit of its battery life in 2+ years, but I still bet it has 12 hours in it.
I’ve used my 910 for two Ironman races so far and intend to use it this Sunday in Frankfurt as well. I use it for the entire Ironman, so including the swim. My slowest time was just over 11 hours in Nice last year and I haven’t had any issues with battery life yet.
Why not simply wear the strap during the bike leg? Another thing you don’t have to think about during transistions, I can’t imagine it’s bothering you on the bike, is it?
I have run my Garmin 910xt all day long (IM, ultramarathons) and it was the last part of me to run out of energy. No problem at all.
It seems that sometimes I’ve had the battery indicator read funny on my 310xt and 500. It would read 100% charged but die in a few hours.
I ran them all the way down and charged them overnight and the issue went away. It might have had something to do with me charging them while they were at 50%+ 20 or 30 times.
Perhaps you 910 issue is similar.
jaretj
This past weekend I used my 910 at AC. The watch is at least 3 years old. My race was 10:57 and the watch still had 39% of the battery left when I finished.
I’ve used my 910 (3 years old at this point but was approx 1 year old for this race) for an entire 16:32:xx Ironman finish (Louisville). That doesn’t include turning it on 15-20 minutes before the race to let it acquire satellite contact and I’m sure I didn’t turn it off immediately either. So, I would say it lasted very close to 17 hours.
ETA: Just wear the device (notice I didn’t say “watch”) with the regular strap on your wrist for the whole race. Turn it to the inside for the bike so that you can see the display while you are down in the aerobars. Also, I find using the “key lock” feature is very beneficial. As noted earlier, just makes your transitions/overall race much less complicated this way.
(so it would have a GPS signal) …
(and travelled a bit over 5Km on the windowsill but I digress).
Those two statements are very contradictory.
Nope, not contradictory, GPS is never “exact”, there is always a margin of error as to where it thinks you are. So, you can move 6 feet while standing still. Add up all those small movements over a 12+ hour period and they do add up, in this case, to over 5 Km. This effect is most pronounced if you look at the track while swimming and see the watch keep reacquiring a fix after loosing signal underwater.
Has anyone used their 910XT for an entire Ironman and had the battery last? I’m trying to decide to use it just for the bike and run so it doesn’t give out on me at the end of the run. I’m not talking an 8 hour Ironman, more like 12-14 hrs. Thoughts? Also, I have a quick release strap and bike mount so after I get done with the swim how could I get the strap back for the run? Could I toss it in my run bag in transition?
Mine has lasted just fine through the 15:10 hours it took me to do IM Tahoe and the 13:01 hours it took me to do Challenge AC last weekend. Garmin designed this thing specifically to have a battery life long enough to last for an entire Ironman even if it takes you the full 17 hours, and I think they actually nailed it.
Just wear the device (notice I didn’t say “watch”)
I find this funny, since I am always being asked what time it is when wearing it and I have to apologize saying “Sorry, my watch doesn’t actually tell me the time of day” and people look at me funny.
I used mine at Mont-Tremblant and Challenge AC…powered it up in transition w/GPS, started the timer before the swim, stopped the timer at the end of the race (12+ hours), kept it on until midnight (with GPS still running) and it still had 10% left in the tank.
Well, it does have a clock on it if you know where to find it but it does seem like it was an afterthought.
Yup, there is an available data field called “Time of Day”. I have one page on the ‘Other’ sport mode that just shows that. Boom, instant watch.
In any case, there is always the tiny clock just one ‘MODE’ click away.
(so it would have a GPS signal) …
(and travelled a bit over 5Km on the windowsill but I digress).
Those two statements are very contradictory.
Nope, not contradictory, GPS is never “exact”, there is always a margin of error as to where it thinks you are. So, you can move 6 feet while standing still. Add up all those small movements over a 12+ hour period and they do add up, in this case, to over 5 Km. This effect is most pronounced if you look at the track while swimming and see the watch keep reacquiring a fix after loosing signal underwater.
Wow, you are right! I looked back at a few indoor spins where I didn’t turn off the GPS and it walked around almost 1MPH. I think that even in the windowsill, and not direct sky-view that it may be more in search mode and be a bit more of a battery drain.
Calling the technicality police.
It can’t be 3 years old, as it wasn’t released until 2012.
Calling the technicality police.
It can’t be 3 years old, as it wasn’t released until 2012.
LOL. I was going to say 5 years old and then I stopped to think about it and thought 3 was safer. I checked my records. Birthday (Sept 2012). In my defense, it *looks *like it’s at least 5 years old thanks to a crash that scuffed it all up.
Make sure you have the back lite turned off or set to 15" or so I have run mine down fast forgetting to turn off the back lite after training in the basement but as far Ironman distance 2 completed with no issues on the Garmin Battery Life 13 hours and 14 hours
.
Ok not 3 years but third season.
Feels like I have had it for ever.