Garmin Forerunner 310XT Orange Sports GPS Receiver

I replaced my Forerunner 305 with this watch. I have used the 305 for five years almost every day - eventually the rubber buttons wore through and fell off. This watch is fantastic as it has the 50m water resistance feature - making it useful for water sports. Already I have used this feature taking it rafting on the weekend.

I use SportTracks to record and monitor my training effect and that software with this watch in combination are an invaluable training aid. The ability to track distance and heart rate enables an accurate calculation of your training load which will enable you to avoid overtraining and peak nicely for events tapering down at the precise time needed to come up fresh and at peak fitness. There is even an automatic plug in for SportTracks to do this and it present very helpful graphical data on your training load and fitness.

The wireless ANT device was at first was a worry to me as the old USB was a handy way to know I had the Forerunner 305 connected. Nothing like a physical wire to know you have a connection. I have read many reviews on the Garmin forums about issues with ANT USB drivers and Windows Vista and Windows 7. I downloaded the latest version from Garmin and use this with Windows 7 64 bit and have had no troubles. Whereas my old 305 USB drivers blue screened Windows 7 on start up when there was a new unsynced activity on the watch - despite using the latest drivers from Garmin.

The design of these watches is large and you will get comments about wearing a computer in your wrist. Geeks, unite! If that bothers you go for the 405 range and lose the water proof feature for the smaller form factor. For me that feature is worth it as my old 305 lost its water resistance after four years and would get water between the screen and the case. I hope this 310XT stays water tight for its life.

Overall, these are great watches - invaluable tools to help you reach peak fitness and track your work outs.

What a fantastic training aid.

I bought this watch because I had been using my wife's 210 and heart rate monitor. I'm training to get fit, and I am entered into a 10k, a half-marathon, and a sprint triathlon next year (2013).

My only minor criticism is the ease of use - but this is probably due to my inexperience with the watch and the way the menus are set out.

So far I have taken it on hikes, runs and bike rides and had no issue with it at all. It can even handle the tunnels on the Monsal Trail - admittedly satellite reception is lost underground but is very quickly picked up again ensuring that no data is lost.

Some reviews have said that the watch can 'short' you a little when in tunnels (this means to make your journey seem artificially shorter than you actually ran) but perhaps the straightish character of the Monsal Trail tunnels meant I had no such issues.

I've recently started to use the Virtual Partner feature when I am trying to set a PB, and this is a wonderful little aid to putting in that extra bit of effort when the stick man is a few seconds ahead of you.

Most recently I've been training using Workouts - in my case 1/2 mile intervals - and these are easily customisable in Garmin Connect and then uploaded to the watch. Audible signals tell you when an interval is about to start or end, and you also get nagged when you are running too fast or too slow. Great stuff.

Another great feature of this watch is that as soon as I get home, the PC upstairs (if it's switched on, of course) recognises the watch and begins to transfer data. This means that after my shower, I can get straight on to checking out my data. My wife's 210 has to be USB-connected to transfer data - not a deal-breaker, obviously, but the 310 just makes it so much easier.

I've had this only a few weeks now, but already feel like I've owned it forever - I wouldn't leave the house without it. In fact, I'm trying to persuade my wife that she might want to upgrade at some point in the future.

Highly recommended piece of kit, and superb resale values. Don't delay. Get one.///////////////////PS does anyone know how to format these reviews with things like carriage returns?

I have recently purchased the Garmin Forerunner 310XT and it is the best training aid i have ever bought. The watch tells you instantly miles covered what your current pace is your heart rate in fact it has so many functions i could not list them all here. Whats more it allows you to easily transfer your data onto the Garmin website to anyalise your performance, as a runner who covers around 90 miles weekly and competes in numerous marathons i would not be without the device now.

The overall size of the item is bigger than a normal watch. I had the Garmin Forerunner 205 before and it was very good. This is very similar both in appearance and functions. The satellite connection is meant to be much better than the 205 and it is a different colour however, if you just wanted a watch to measure distance and your time the 205 would be just fine. I would recommend the 310xt as it is very good. Battery life seems improved.

Wonderful training watch for triathletes. Many functionalities. Good batery life that last 20 hours.