Running Mania

From reading my other post, I have been looking at other GPS watches, 'in case' my 305 doesnt fix. ?

I was at first looking at the polar watches, (love the white and pink) but if I understand correctly, I need to carry a sensor for GPS!?!?

But I came across the forerunner 10, under 150$ AND it comes in pink........ !!!

Anyone use it before?

I've never seen that one, so I looked it up. Looks great as a low-priced alternative. It has autolapping and manual lapping capabilities, and is fully waterproof. Here's a full review from my favorite Garmin reviewer: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/08/garm ... ch-in.html

I would have recommended the 110 as a low-cost one, but it's more $$, is not waterproof, and the charging clip is ANNOYING (it's a much better one with the 10, similar to my 610, but not the same shape). And you can see a lot more on the screen. The only thing it doesn't offer is a HRM option.

I'd say go for it if you like the look of it.

(p.s. don't get a polar one that needs an external GPS-- that's super annoying)

Jwolf wrote:I've never seen that one, so I looked it up. Looks great as a low-priced alternative. It has autolapping and manual lapping capabilities, and is fully waterproof. Here's a full review from my favorite Garmin reviewer: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/08/garm ... ch-in.html

I would have recommended the 110 as a low-cost one, but it's more $$, is not waterproof, and the charging clip is ANNOYING (it's a much better one with the 10, similar to my 610, but not the same shape). And you can see a lot more on the screen. The only thing it doesn't offer is a HRM option.

I'd say go for it if you like the look of it.

(p.s. don't get a polar one that needs an external GPS-- that's super annoying)

I have the 110, and I like it, but when I thought i was going to have the replace it, I was looking at the 10. THere are a few differences in terms of what is displayed on the screen and lap vs avg pace if I remember.

Thanx

I really dont get the external GPS for the polar, I imagine 8/10 I would forget it at home.

I am going to reinstall my garmin info on computer and see if it helps my cause any. Then go from there.

I grabbed the 10 last night. My birthday is in a few days, so I am counting it as an early gift. LOL

my 305 was hit and miss, and obviously the cradle b/c it would recognize it then just crap out! And it was doing it thru an update and will now not 'locate satellites!!"

I have a 2nd cradle here somewhere, just have to find where I stuffed it.

enjoy! it looks great.

I saw in on the back cover of this month's Runner's World. It looks nice.

The Garmin 10 watch itself is great and a great value.

The band design is too cheap and more than offsets the values of the watch. There are four pressure points instead of two. Two are connected by pins, which is fine. There are two other points where plastic adhesive is the conector.

The wear endurance athletes put on watches has been underestimated by Garmin.

I'm late responding to this thread, I know. I've had the Garmin 10 since Sept., and I really like it. The charger is easy and reliable, it finds satellites quite quickly, and it is easy to read. I use it mostly to track the distances run, and basic average pace. For the money, it was a very good deal. I bought it in orange.

Because I had read, here and elsewhere, that the wristband is its weak point, I've been very careful not to put stress on the band when taking off and putting on the watch. If I see that the plastic holding the band is starting to wear out, I'll probably reinforce it with Goop (my favourite adhesive).

Avis wrote:...I've been very careful not to put stress on the band when taking off and putting on the watch. If I see that the plastic holding the band is starting to wear out, I'll probably reinforce it with Goop (my favourite adhesive).

Good call on the stress. I realized as soon as it broke apart what did it - if you pull it out of the cradle, don't pull by the orange part. It is tough not to as the exposed watch, the other option, is all buttons.

To Garmin's credit, I called Monday AM and hd received a band replacement kit today, Friday, from a Canadian mailing centre. They have tons ready to go, seems like they know this is a very common and regrettable issue.

Let us know how it goes with the goop. Being water resistant, I found the band resisted almost every adhesive.

Double Bellybuster wrote:

Avis wrote:...I've been very careful not to put stress on the band when taking off and putting on the watch. If I see that the plastic holding the band is starting to wear out, I'll probably reinforce it with Goop (my favourite adhesive).

Good call on the stress. I realized as soon as it broke apart what did it - if you pull it out of the cradle, don't pull by the orange part. It is tough not to as the exposed watch, the other option, is all buttons.

To Garmin's credit, I called Monday AM and hd received a band replacement kit today, Friday, from a Canadian mailing centre. They have tons ready to go, seems like they know this is a very common and regrettable issue.

Let us know how it goes with the goop. Being water resistant, I found the band resisted almost every adhesive.

It seems that this is a problem with a couple of their older models. I had a Garmin 610 watch which was impossible NOT to put stress on the band when I closed it. It broke off, I tried to repair it, but it didn't work. I brought it back to MEC where I bought it, and they told me it was unfortunately a known flaw with the watch. I ended up exchanging it for a 910xt. The 910xt has a hinged band so it doesn't have this problem.

Jwolf wrote:

Double Bellybuster wrote:

Avis wrote:...I've been very careful not to put stress on the band when taking off and putting on the watch. If I see that the plastic holding the band is starting to wear out, I'll probably reinforce it with Goop (my favourite adhesive).

Good call on the stress. I realized as soon as it broke apart what did it - if you pull it out of the cradle, don't pull by the orange part. It is tough not to as the exposed watch, the other option, is all buttons.

To Garmin's credit, I called Monday AM and hd received a band replacement kit today, Friday, from a Canadian mailing centre. They have tons ready to go, seems like they know this is a very common and regrettable issue.

Let us know how it goes with the goop. Being water resistant, I found the band resisted almost every adhesive.

It seems that this is a problem with a couple of their older models. I had a Garmin 610 watch which was impossible NOT to put stress on the band when I closed it. It broke off, I tried to repair it, but it didn't work. I brought it back to MEC where I bought it, and they told me it was unfortunately a known flaw with the watch. I ended up exchanging it for a 910xt. The 910xt has a hinged band so it doesn't have this problem.

DB: you might be right about the GOOP. It works like a charm on almost everything--except a few kinds of plastic. I wonder if Garmin will send the band replacement kit even after the watch is out of warranty? I do try to be careful when removing the charger clip from the watch. It takes a bit of dexterity, since, as you say, the exposed sides of the watch are all buttons!

Double Bellybuster wrote:

Avis wrote:...I've been very careful not to put stress on the band when taking off and putting on the watch. If I see that the plastic holding the band is starting to wear out, I'll probably reinforce it with Goop (my favourite adhesive).

Good call on the stress. I realized as soon as it broke apart what did it - if you pull it out of the cradle, don't pull by the orange part. It is tough not to as the exposed watch, the other option, is all buttons.

To Garmin's credit, I called Monday AM and hd received a band replacement kit today, Friday, from a Canadian mailing centre. They have tons ready to go, seems like they know this is a very common and regrettable issue.

Let us know how it goes with the goop. Being water resistant, I found the band resisted almost every adhesive.

The Forerunner 25 is out. Addresses all the 10 and 15 flaws. Better band design. 10 hour battery. Waterproof. Bluetooth connection gets rid of all the cradle/cord activity retrieval, it happens with Bluetooth. 2-way process - all the popup notifications on your Smartphone go to your FR 25. Recommended.

Just ordered the FR25. I have a 310XT but it is too big & bulky and takes too long to find satellites. I had the Polar m400 for a couple of weeks but it has an issue where the USB port on the back ionises/oxidises if you don't flush the sweat out after every run. the 25 can be worn as a daily watch and has all that fitness counter stuff built-in if you want it. The display is simple but has usable options and has big numbers. Will see how it performs when it gets here....

Double Bellybuster wrote:The Forerunner 25 is out. Addresses all the 10 and 15 flaws. Better band design. 10 hour battery. Waterproof. Bluetooth connection gets rid of all the cradle/cord activity retrieval, it happens with Bluetooth. 2-way process - all the popup notifications on your Smartphone go to your FR 25. Recommended.

If I'm reading it right, the comparison chart at DC Rainmaker's site shows that the 225 costs an extra $US130 and buys you only custom workouts/intervals. That's a lot of coin for a small functionality increase. Looks like I'll pick up a 25 if my trusty 110 ever bites the dust.

Joe Dwarf wrote:

Double Bellybuster wrote:The Forerunner 25 is out. Addresses all the 10 and 15 flaws. Better band design. 10 hour battery. Waterproof. Bluetooth connection gets rid of all the cradle/cord activity retrieval, it happens with Bluetooth. 2-way process - all the popup notifications on your Smartphone go to your FR 25. Recommended.

If I'm reading it right, the comparison chart at DC Rainmaker's site shows that the 225 costs an extra $US130 and buys you only custom workouts/intervals. That's a lot of coin for a small functionality increase. Looks like I'll pick up a 25 if my trusty 110 ever bites the dust.

The 25 is a lot of features for $169 US at Dick's or $219 CAD at Amazon!

225 also has a built-in optical HRM which I would really like.
I'm waiting for Garmin to put that into a triathlon watch and I'll get that.
The 25 is a bit too basic for me but I can see it meeting the needs of a lot of people who want to step up from a smartphone app.

Jwolf wrote:225 also has a built-in optical HRM which I would really like.
I'm waiting for Garmin to put that into a triathlon watch and I'll get that.
The 25 is a bit too basic for me but I can see it meeting the needs of a lot of people who want to step up from a smartphone app.

...or who don't need all those extra options in the more expensive devices. Optical HRM is useless for me. I already wore a long-sleeved shirt this morning and strapped the watch on top of it. Will be that way all Winter.

Gimp wrote:

Jwolf wrote:225 also has a built-in optical HRM which I would really like.
I'm waiting for Garmin to put that into a triathlon watch and I'll get that.
The 25 is a bit too basic for me but I can see it meeting the needs of a lot of people who want to step up from a smartphone app.

...or who don't need all those extra options in the more expensive devices. Optical HRM is useless for me. I already wore a long-sleeved shirt this morning and strapped the watch on top of it. Will be that way all Winter.

Gimp is 100% on the money.

OK…three runs, three issues with the new FR25. First run: the run data on Garmin Connect was missing one whole kilometre lap that was displayed on the watch in the History log for that run. The Splits in Garmin Connect went from Lap 1 to Lap 3 with no Lap 2 but the missing lap distance was included in the total distance for the run. First and second run: the Moving Time per kilometre was around 6 seconds faster than the Time for each km split. And I did not stop anywhere, so they should be almost identical…as is the case with my old 310XT. Third run: the watch froze on the Run Saved screen. Had to do a Reset and lose all the data for that run.
Not exactly impressed with this performance and expect to be returning the device after my race this w/e. I have raised these issues with Garmin Support, so I will see what they have to say. These are more s/w issues than h/w ones and could be fixed in subsequent releases if I wait long enough.
I already had and returned the Polar m400 because the USB port oxidised with sweat and became inoperable after 2 or 3 weeks. This is a known issue with the watch and you are supposed to rinse out the sweat from the USB connection after each run.
Not sure where to go next without paying a bunch more money for features I don't need.

Good luck with Garmin support, Gimp. No similar issues here with my 25 though I do not use Garmin Connect - I have always found it a bit crappy and I have my Strava and Connect accounts linked so I can immediately look in Strava once a post-run synch is complete.