Garmin - Forerunner 310XT Review

I have been a forerunner user for 5 years and recently upgraded to this model of forerunner from forerunner 305. Forerunner 310XT is garmin's new gps enabled watch for tri-athletes. I mostly run but the additional battery time (10 more hours compared to 305 model) appealed to me. This watch has been a great addition to my running gear; I no longer have to wait for gps signals, walk up to my computer to download data or charge every 4-5 days. It even feels lighter than the previous two forerunner watches I have owned.

The first time I fired up the watch it found gps signal inside my house within 30 seconds. This is a stark contrast to forerunner 305 which usually takes around 2-5 minutes outside my house. When I plugged in the ANT USB stick, the watch was being charged across the room (about 10 ft), but the ANT stick found it right away with no issues at all and could download the data off the watch.

I tend to look too much at the watch around each mile completion to find out my current pace. The splits are usually displayed for about 10 secs and in anticipation to not miss it I keep looking at the watch around the last 30 secs of each mile. The vibrate mode notification on the forerunner 310xt has been a saviour for this problem. I no longer keep looking at my watch and I instantly no exactly when each mile is up. 

I am not a big fan of the charger because it is a big clip that grips on the screen while charging and it makes me nervous about the screen being scratched/cracked. But so far I have not noticed any blemishes due to it.

The color combination is another plus for me because I love orange. However it is only on the inside portions of the strap, etc and does not overwhelm the overall look.

I don't understand why people opt for polar, suunto brand when garmin has done such a great job with the forerunner series. Although the price is a bit steep, I highly recommend this watch to any runner who is serious about the sport and tracking their training log.