As many have already written this watch has software issues. It does not display pace accurately. There's absolutely NO EXCUSE for Garmin releasing a training watch that doesn't know a person's pace. That's the sole reason this is getting a one star rating. On top of this, it is a simple software fix that they have still failed to make.
There is a simple work around: don't display pace and instead display lap pace. Lap pace has no issues and accurately describes your current pace. All the other pace features also work. Lap pace, ave pace, last lap pace are all accurate. The fact that everything else works fine shows to me it is just a software issue that Garmin could pretty easily fix if they bothered to spend 10 minutes on the issue. I probably would have given it four stars without this issue.
Why I really, really like this watch:
I bought this to supplement/replace my 405CX
The display is bigger and better. You can display four metrics at a time across four screens - so 16 metrics. The font is BOLD and easy to see even in tough conditions. While working out, you can hit the down or up arrow to more quickly get the screen you want to see. Also, even at its smallest, the font is bold and readable even to old eyes that don't see up close so well. The font describing each display is too small for my eyes to see when I have contacts in. So, I need to memorize which spot displays what. Still, this is sooo much better than the 405CX. On that watch, I can only see the big middle display with my contacts in.
The watch vibrates alerts. This is awesome!! I hate watches beeping at me and in loud conditions I would miss the beeps. I much prefer the vibration and I just turn off the audio alerts altogether. Also, the watch now alerts you (via beep or vibrate or both or none - your choice) when it has a GPS lock. The 405 never did this. Awesome improvement.
The battery lasts forever. Well probably not forever but you can use it for an entire day with GPS. The manual claims 22 hrs - I've yet to use it up when I started fully charged. The 405 claimed 8 hrs but it was really more like 6. Also, the 910 can be turned off so you can NOT waste the battery during travel time to your work out starting point.
It shows your recovery heart rate about one minute after you push 'stop' if you don't do the reset count downtime. Someone else mentioned that here. It a wonderful feature and not mentioned at all in the promotional material or users manual.
No touch bezel. The touch bezel in the 405 and 510 is a miserable feature. It has a life of its own in humid conditions which pretty much describes most of the heavily populated USA during most of the months of the year folks train a lot outside. The 910 completely relies on pushing buttons so now it only does things when you WANT the watch to do something. Also, the start/stop/lap/reset buttons are on the face of the watch. Everything else is on the sides. This keeps me from accidently hitting the wrong button when I don't mean to.
GPS programming seems smarter than the 405 / 510. With the 405 or 510 if you stop your movement and forget to hit stop on the watch it will keep adding distance. (For example, you can sit on a bench for a 15 minute break and it will add 0.5 miles to your distance.) I think this is because of GPS not knowing your exact location so it keeps seeing you as 10-20 feet from the last place it thought you were and keeps adding this up even though you are not moving. The 910 seems to do a lot less of this. It's still adds a bit of distance but over a 15 minute break it might be 0.05 miles instead of 0.5 miles.
Other things to note:
This watch is NOT smaller than other Garmin watches but it does stick out from your wrist less but to make up for that it is wider and taller. My guess is that it weighs pretty much the same. If you have a tiny wrist like mine, it can actually be a bit too big for your wrist. I got the cloth strap - this makes that issue much better.
I have not used it for swimming and I don't think I'm going to. It's not worth the risk if there is even a chance of screen fogging.
The manual not very useful. It doesn't show all the features. It is close to unintelligible. If I hadn't already had the 405 and was sorta familiar with how Garmin watches were organized, I'm not sure if I could have figured this out. Garmin's online help is no better.
Hint for female users: I skipped the heart rate monitor that came with the watch and instead got the original plastic hr monitor. I take off the strap and just place the main plastic part inside to top of my bra. It works great this way and is much more comfortable than having a strap wrapped around me and much easier to get in and out of and you don't have to find a private place to do it. I'm not sure if this will work for all women but it might be worth trying if you hate have a bra, HR monitor strap, plus shirt all binding around you like I do.
ETA 04-Jun-2012
I have found that lap pace isn't accurate either. Very disappointing. My latest work around is to reduce by lap distance to 0.25 miles. Last lap pace is accurate so by setting my laps as a very short distance, I'm getting constant feedback on my pace. Still, I think for a serious training regime, this wouldn't work. It's close enough for me.
(When I say not accurate, I mean not remotely accurate. It will show my pace as 10 minutes slower than I am going and it will stay that way for a full lap. Only when the lap is complete - it then shows total time for the lap correctly. It's not 5 minutes fast for half the time and 5 minutes slow for half the time. It's just off all the time and usually shows me as going at a pace 5-10 minutes slower than I am actually moving.)
On the a positive: another feature I'm really, really liking is the ability to manually scroll through the metric screens. I now set the screens to not scroll at all. I just use the up and down button and they get me to any screen I need. It's very nice for when all I care about is say, my heart rate. I just leave it on my HR screen but if I happen want to know my distance, then I can scroll to that screen and then back to my HR screen.
I'm also really, really still loving the giant display numbers. I can read these in any conditions. Rain, darkness, poor light, as I'm moving fast and don't have time to hold my hand still, etc.
ETA 09-Sep-2012
Garmin's support website has a post from 16-Aug-2012 that claims to have fixed the pace issue with a firmware update. I'm downloading it now. I'm planning an 11 mile hike today. I will post again if this fixes the issue.
See Garmin's site > tech support > search on 910 > search on 'pace issues.' Sorry, amazon removed the url.
BTW - I'm still using the 910 over the 405 despite the pace issue. The display and button functionality/placement of the 910 is just so superior to the 405 that it's worth the pace problems. I took my lap distance down to 0.10 miles so I get near continuous feedback on my pace that way.
Update 10-Sep-2012
The pace issue does seemed to be fixed!!! Or least, highly improved. The pace keeps nice and steady. It takes a few seconds of a changed pace for the watch to pick up on it which seems totally reasonable. Clearly there needs to be a lot of smoothing for the math equations seeing as GPS accuracy is only 15-20 feet and it only takes a reading every few seconds. Downloading the update is odd and I wasn't 100% sure it took but it does seem to have. My watch now displays my version as 2.6.
Upping my stars to five.
Update 07-July-2013.
With much trepidation, I just starting using this for open water swims. I've only done two so far in fresh water lakes. No fogging. Distances seem accurate enough. Maps show it has me within 30-40 meters of my real location. So far so good. I have not tried it in a pool.
I've also started using it on a bike. Just on my wrist. Lots of fun seeing how fast I'm going, etc but have yet to use it for any disciplined training. Just starting out but I really like it for this so far.
Also - Pace issue still seems fixed. It isn't as good as the old 405 but it also doesn't eat battery strength like the 405 did. I'll take the trade off.
Update 23-Dec-2014
I continue to heavily use this. Now the light has stopped working. It's past its warranty now. I'm reluctant to send it in to get fixed because I'm in training and don't want to be without it. It can be hard sometimes to get the charger attached these days. The attach points are extremely well worn at this point. I've used it 20+ time for swimming and have had no issues with fogging like some others have reported.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start over
Product information
| Product Dimensions | 0.6 x 2.1 x 2.4 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 6.4 ounces |
| ASIN | B005T0Z9CU |
| Item model number | 010-00741-21 |
| National Stock Number | 6645-01-611-0968 |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Customer Reviews |
4.1 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank |
|
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| OS | iOS, Android |
| Connectivity technologies | ANT |
| Special features | GPS, heart_monitor |
| Display size | 9 centimeters |
| Display resolution | 160 x 100 |
| Colours displayed | black |
| Other display features | GPS or Navigation System |
| Human Interface Input | Buttons |
| Color | Black |
| Whats in the box | Garmin GPS, Heart Rate Monitor |
| Department | boys |
| Manufacturer | Garmin |
| Date First Available | October 6, 2011 |
Feedback
Would you like to
tell us about a lower price?
Garmin Forerunner 910XT GPS-Enabled Sport Watch with Heart Rate Monitor
Share:
Found a lower price? Let us know. Although we can't match every price reported, we'll use your feedback to ensure that our prices remain competitive.
Where did you see a lower price?
Please sign in to provide feedback.
swiming, biking, running heart rate and performance monitor
Very good, enough lasting battery good. Good site for saving your results and to monitor these results. Everything was ok until one or two months ago. They changed the site and it doesn't support 610, 910 and others new Garmin models. It is inexplicable. Garmin ask you for wait. Sportsmen can't wait to check their results. I'd like to give 5 stars to the device. To Garmin I'd like to give zero, because they don't have respect for the customers. I scored 1 star to draw attention. Update 06/29/2014 By now I can sync my 910 XT but receive this message: "Due to increased popularity, the segment feature is currently down so we can increase capacity. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2012
- Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2012
Top reviews from other countries
-
Alberto OroReviewed in Spain on July 21, 2013
Muy recomendable. Cumple con lo esperado
- R SmithReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2013
Excellent Multi-Purpose GPS Watch
-
Wolfram MitbachReviewed in Germany on May 2, 2013
Tolles Gerät (mit Potential zu Verbesserung) FW Lvl 2.7
-
-
