Garmin Forerunner 310XT Review
If open water swimming is your cup of tea, you may want to go for Garmin Forerunner 310 heart rate monitor. With this watch, you can meet your primary needs, such as speed, distance and heart rate measurements. In this Garmin forerunner 310xt review, we will shed some light on the device from different aspects to help you make your purchase with ease.
Design
The watch is as per my expectation design wise. The screen and the strap both are awesome, which make it easier for you to operate the gadget without any issues. As far as design is concerned
Usability
From usability perspective, the only thing that annoys me is the fact that the watch keeps switched on even when plugged in for recharging. Personally, I think that watches should turn themselves off when they are connected to the charger.
Performance
All else is good, but the water doesn’t seem to stay fully water-resistant 50 meters below the surface of water. But since I don’t need to go down in that depth, that is not a big issue for me. The figures how the number of calories you burnt in a workout session are pretty inaccurate. Overall, I would give it 6 out of 10 in this section.
Value: Here I am a bit more concerned. The price of the gadget is higher than my expectations. While it is less expensive than a lot of similar models out there, it is still a burden on my wallet.
Features:
We will take a start by discussing the features of the product that makes it stand out from the crowd.
Waterproof
The gadget is waterproof and can be used for open water swimming. It won’t get damaged as long as you don’t go more than 50 meter down into the water. And I guess you won’t need to go deeper than that if you are using for taking measurements for regular swimming. The recent software update lets you track your average speed and swim distance with great accuracy. You just need to push the button for activating the Swim mode. Once the Swim mode is enabled, you should press start and start swimming. At the end of your swimming session, just hit the Lap button and the watch will display the average speed and distance you covered on the screen.
Easy Transition
With the bike mount, you can use the Forerunner 310XT to measure your speed on the bike. So, the transition between biking and swimming is a piece of cake. You don’t have to purchase a separate speedometer while you are on the go. With this gadget, you kill two birds with one stone. Of course, you save a good deal of money too.
Integration with Cycling
The Forerunner 310XT helps you track important data regarding your ride, such as your sped, distance, heart rate, and elevation. If cadence sensor is installed, it is possible to record the cadence too. The information is then uploaded to an online app, such as Training Peaks, and you can get back later to check the recorded information. Just log into your account and the information will be at your disposal. You can have as many as three bike profiles, and that is enough I guess.
Long Battery Life
The Forerunner 310XT offers long battery life. With one charge, the battery will support you for up to 20 hours, which is enough for day-to-day use. According to regular users of this watch, the battery performance degrades with the passage of time, which is normal. Even after one full year, the battery life will be no less than 16 hours on one charge. You can confirm by taking a look at many a Garmin Forerunner 310XT review left by a number of experienced users on Amazon.
Virtual Partner
The Garmin Forerunner 310XT lets you challenge a “virtual” runner, and this feature can be activated whether you are going to ride a bike or go for a swim. You will them get motivation to keep up your pace to beat your partner. This feature is quite common on these types of gadgets.
Many of my friends own this watch and all of them just love it. I didn’t find it hard to use or sync the watch. After each swimming or bike riding session, I connect the gadget to my computer and then upload the data to Training Peaks. There is no need for you to use a cable to connect it to your PC as you use the wireless connectivity option. For data storage, you can for any of the several options available, but I prefer Training Peaks over all other apps out there.
Another interesting feature of The Garmin Forerunner 310XT is that it lets you figure out the number of calories you burnt while swimming or riding a bike. If you ask me, I don’t take the figure seriously because they are just estimated figures to make the “feature list” more appealing.
The screen of the watch is customizable, supports a heart rate monitor and lets you connect it to an options food pod of your choice. On top of that, you can set it to make alerts of different types.