So folks, I had been drooling over this product since I heard it was coming out. I finally managed to get my hands on the new Garmin 910xt. Which I need to add, has every feature you could think of for the everyday right to the hardcore triathlete. I made the purchase around Christmas time and have been using the watch for every training ride, run, bike and every race so far and it has never let me down.
I ended up purchasing the watch, HR strap, foot pod, cadence/speed sensor and quick release strap all at the same time. The strap allows for a quick release of the body of the watch to then quickly transfer to your bike. Smart idea!
The watch has got huge functionality. You can set it to Run, Bike, Swim or Other. The watch is also able to collect more than enough data to make anyone happy! I mainly use the watch to track my pace or distance. I find that when you use the foot pod vs. not using your foot pod, the distances aren’t the same. This is more than likely due to the fact that I never calibrated my foot pod, which is something that they recommend that you do (lesson learned).
I have manually set my HR zones based on my latest VO2 testing results and had the watch vibrate when I exceeded or went under a certain HR. This is a huge benefit as it saves you trying to focus on the watch to check your HR.
I also found the Garmin Connect website extremely helpful. I uploaded my data to the site and within seconds I had more than enough data to waste another 1hr on the computer trying to analyze it all! But as mentioned before, I just use it to track the distances and also intensity of my training workout.
It also has a multisport mode that you can use during your Triathlons which I found amazing. It tracks each sport you do, plus your transitions. Pretty neat feature as it will not only show you where you lost time in your swim bike and run, but it will also remind you that you need to spend less time in T1 and T2!
This watch is an upgrade from my old Polar 100. The thing is a dinosaur and really only calculates laps and HR. Good for 1 thing basically. It has never let me down though and I have been using it regularly for about 3 years now.
So this affordable GPS training buddy is all you’ll need to track your workouts. I suggest giving it a try and I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed.
I also bought a 910xt after both my old 305’s packed it in within a week of each other. I am hoping the full waterproof feature is the end of the corrosion issue that killed so many 305’s (sweat gets in a corrodes the battery terminals). The only thing I am really missing on the 910xt is that it does not give a weekly tally of distance. Perhaps there is a setting to get that, but so far I cannot find it. Garmin Connect also does not do a weekly tally. I have ended up uploading data both to Garmin Connect and my old Training Centre software, which is a bit of a nuisance.
I recently had one incident where the charging clip was not on right. For some reason this resulted in some of my data being wiped out. Very strange. Just be careful the cats aren’t playing with it!
Good news – weekly totals are available in Garmin Connect. Go to the Plan tab –> Calendar and make sure the ‘weekly totals’ box is ticked in the bottom right corner of the calendar if you’re looking at the whole month. You can select totals to include all activities, just one or any combination of sports.
Nice!