I think it is only fair to point out that I am writing this from the perspective of a Garmin Forerunner owner… actually, I own two, my more recent addition of a 205 replacing the 301 ‘Santa’ dropped down the chimney in 2005.

So whilst I am a ‘fan’ of the forerunner series I still want to know what I am getting for my hard earned cash and as the 310XT retails for around £300 in the UK
I was rather excited to get this and as soon as I got home I took it from the packet figuring I’d charge it for a couple of minutes then take it out for a run. Ah….first snag, it’s not actually set up the same as the 301 / 205 etc and as it was currently set to ‘ski’ mode this meant I’d have to actually read the manual; instead I put my trusty 205 on and headed out of the door.

Upon my return I thought I’d have another go whilst I uploaded my training, I then took it out for some sessions.
These are my findings……
The first thing I noticed is it is actually the most frustrating Forerunner to set up, perhaps I was stuck in the old school Forerunner mode and someone new to the product, with more patience, would fair better.

That aside, then next thing to note is that they’ve done away with the rigid telemetry strap, the cause of many a chaffing injury not usually discovered until the hot water of the shower hits them, replacing it with a softer stretchy number. So much better for the larger busted individual who is going to spend a couple of sweaty hours training.
I headed out training, like the Forerunners before it, the 310XT is a little bit larger than a 1970’s Casio watch, but to be honest you don’t notice it, I could get it on despite an arm full of bangles. A rather useful addition is the vibration notification, perfect for when you’re training with music, or during an open water swim or for those with visual impairments; you can set it for time or / and distance. I love this feature.

It does appear to pick up and maintain a stronger signal than previous Forerunners, even a run betwixt the concrete signal blocker offices in the centre of London I was able to pick up and maintain a signal for the duration of training.
Once back I decided to upload the data, and once again got confused, according to the little man on the display I’d been skiing…but I knew I’d been running. I wanted to switch the mode and then had a few frustrating minutes trying to work out how to change it to running using the method I used for my 301 and 205…it didn’t work I tried it again….still didn’t work (yes, I know, I tried the same thing twice). In the end I called a friend.

Garmin have simplified things now so that at a press of a button you can switch from activity to activity, including your transition times, perfect for the triathletes. Trying to switch modes with water soaked or bike numbed hands was never easier.
And that’s another thing, whilst the Forerunners have been marketed as being water resistant, something I’ve not wanted to test when there is only a rubber bung to cover the data cable receiver, the 310XT is a sealed unit, with two little metal pin points for the charger to attach to.

Take heed though whilst it is now ‘properly’ water resistant, it is not kick proof and I know of two people who have had their kicked off during an open water triathlon start. £300+ gone in 15 seconds.
The 20 hours of stand by time a 5 hour increase on previous Forerunners means that it can work for the ultra marathon runners as well as Ironmen competitors, it also means, should you forget to switch it off after an evening’s training, something we’ve all done, you’ll probably have enough battery life left to eek out another cheeky little training run at lunchtime the next day before it needs charging.
The best bit of any workout is when it’s finished….always….the Forerunner is like the cherry on top, not only have you finished your workout you now get to download your data and spend hours pouring over ever little detail….splits, HR, ascents, descents, total time, totals per week, per month and to top it all off you can have a little look at it all in satellite map form. Geek heaven.

It is a very popular brand there are many other training gadgets out there, but there is a reason why so many people stick with the Garmin Forerunner and the fact there are some training website that facilitate direct data upload from Forerunner to website confirms this; no more manually entering your splits. From an aesthetics point of view it is ugly; no self respecting mugger would want to be seen wearing this and you can have it in any colour as long as you want grey and orange.

Would I buy one? Yep, if I had a spare £300 lying around, and if I’m honest I probably will buy one, when I’m ready to do my Ironman.

RRP: £319.99 See www.garmin.com for more info or to buy.

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