Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Enabled Sports Watch with Heart Rate Monitor
- The swim-proof Forerunner 310XT is waterproof to a depth of 50 meters, so you can wear it in the pool or the lake to time your swim.
- When you’re ready to jump out of the water and onto the bike, Forerunner 310XT moves easily from wrist to bike with the optional quick release
- When paired with the wireless heart rate monitor, Forerunner 310XT continuously tracks beats per minute and uses heart rate data
Product Description
Finally, a GPS-enabled training device that isn’t afraid of the water. The rugged Forerunner 310XT is the triathlete’s indispensable training tool — a GPS-enabled, swim-proof trainer that tracks bike and run data and sends it wirelessly to your computer. This multi-sport device has up to 20 hours of battery life, tracks distance, pace and heart rate, and goes from wrist to bike in seconds.Amazon.com Product Description
Finally, a GPS-enabled training device that isn’t afraid of the water. The rugged Forerunner 310XT is the triathlete’s indispensable training tool–a GPS-enabled, swim-proof trainer that tracks bike and run data and sends it wirelessly to your computer. This multi-sport device has up to 20 hours of battery life, tracks distance, pace and heart rate (optional), and goes from wrist to bike in seconds. A GPS-enabled training device that isn’t afraid of the water. Track bike and… More >>
Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Enabled Sports Watch with Heart Rate Monitor
OK, so I don’t own one of these units. I am researching and thinking of buying something. It occurred to me, with all the complaints about swimming accuracy, that I should mention something:
Electromagnetic signals (ie. GPS signals) DO NOT EASILY PENETRATE WATER. Just ask the Navy. Any water other than distilled water has some conductivity, especially salt water. It acts as a Farady shield – the GPS signal hits a conductor (water) and creates a current in the conductor. The resistance of the conductor will dissipate the energy of the signal. BASIC ELECTROMAGNETISM. This is how your microwave keeps the EM radiation inside from getting out and cooking you – by using a conductor shield to trap it.
I am surprised Garmin claims they have a GPS unit that will work under water. Call the Navy! They would love a way to communicate with submarines without having to use sonar, which gets them in a lot of trouble by disrupting marine life. The reason they use sonar is that ELECTROMAGNETIC SIGNALS DON’T TRAVEL WELL UNDER WATER!
The GPS accuracy while swimming will be based on how far you plunge the watch under water, the type of water, etc. The device might work better if you strap it to your head! Just my two cents.
It’s the first gps so i’m not able to do comparison but this product in my opinion is excellent.
I wish other companies would compete for this lucrative athlete’s GPS watch market. Garmin has a top-down mentality that thinks it comes out with great products. The 310XT is twice the price of the 305 and doesn’t track in the water! Does anyone at Garmin actually test these products before they’re introduced? For all the criticisms Garmin received for the 305, they never had a serious firmware update to address issues and upgrade ideas for the two plus years I’ve used it.
The big difference between Apple and Garmin? Apple pushes the envelope to create a better product through firmware updates. Apple products make you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth even years after you purchased their product. Garmin or the other hand, wants you to spend your money on the latest unproven product. Take the 405 – the GPS watch comes to market, was never tested wet or in rainy weather. The sensitive touch dial stops working, so don’t sweat on it or run in the rain!
Garmin Training Center software also was never updated. My 305 decided to download multiple copies of my run data multiple times. I had to spend hours deleting the copies. Spent hours with Garmin Tech Support to find out that they have no idea what the problem was. Never did get fixed…
Please Timex, jump into this lucrative market and make a watch a triathlete would love.
First, I must say I am a Mac user, your PC experience may vary.
There is a lot to like about this product, when it works. But the product is, in my opinion, still only at the Beta level of readiness. I have lost multiple events due to data corruption. The firmware update that is supposed to fix the product will not load. I was more patient with Vista before I got rid of my PC and went to Mac. Frankly, I feel like that is a good analogy for this product. Vista was awful at roll out. It isn’t great now, but it is much better. If you spend 300 dollars on this product, you should be prepared to deal with customer support, or dig through the Garmin forums. Maybe I come back later and change my rating, but for now, stay clear of this product. Eventually, the bugs will be worked out and the price will come down. At the very least, before you pull the trigger, look at the Garmin support forums and see what the general tone of the posters is at the time. Caveat Emptor.
I bought this as a birthday present for a triathlete friend, since I had been raving about how much I like my 305. But alas, this watch does not work for triathletes.
Please be sure to read the threads on the garmin forums about this watch before buying. Some key things to know:
The GPS does not work underwater. This means that your pace and distance calculations will be completely wrong. They can show up 2x or 3x what you really did. Unless you hook the watch up to your swim cap so that it is always out of the water.
For swimming, it tells you that you are downhill skiing. It really isn’t a big deal.. it is just the icon. But for a $400 product, and one that is designed for non-engineers, this is horrible.
If you happen to run in hurricanes, maybe this is a good watch for you, since it has all of the 305 features in a waterproof configuration.
If you are trying to use it for swimming, don’t bother.Unless you just want a watch that will survive swimming so that you can use the measurements while running/biking.