Fore Runner 35
A couple of weeks ago, my Garmin 310 XT band broke for a second time. This time, the housing which holds the pin for the band broke. I was so disappointed. My 310 XT and I have covered lots of miles together, and I greatly depended on it.
However, this Garmin is going on nearly 4 years old so getting it repaired is likely going to cost more than it is worth. Therefore, I went in search of a new Garmin.
The Garmin ForeRunner 35 is where I landed.
It has it pluses and minus. The battery life is about 13 hours which is about 3 hours less than what my 310 XT had. The interface face is not super intuitive so I roamed around until I figured out most of it. It has a built in heart rate monitor but so far, it doesn't seem to be accurate at all. Setting on couch, my heart rate runs at about 145, and if I am running, it is ranges between 170 and 190. I questioned the accuracy because I have another watch which also monitors my heart rate, and it shows my heart to be a more realistic number. Maybe there is some setting that I need to track down but definitely something is out of kilter with the way it works today.
The one feature that I do like over the 310 XT is recharging while on the run. With my 310, when I am charging it, it takes over the entire interface. It stays this way until I remove the charging clip. It still records time, distance, and laps, but it just runs in the background in silent mode. The ForeRunner 35 charges but continues to show the time, distance, and alerts which is a really nice feature.
From what I can tell so far, the 310 continues to be superior in GPS accuracy. Running the same course, the ForeRunner comes up about 1/2 mile shorter in distance.
But it will do for my needs.
Kickin' up the trail dust,
The Cool Down Runner
However, this Garmin is going on nearly 4 years old so getting it repaired is likely going to cost more than it is worth. Therefore, I went in search of a new Garmin.
The Garmin ForeRunner 35 is where I landed.
It has it pluses and minus. The battery life is about 13 hours which is about 3 hours less than what my 310 XT had. The interface face is not super intuitive so I roamed around until I figured out most of it. It has a built in heart rate monitor but so far, it doesn't seem to be accurate at all. Setting on couch, my heart rate runs at about 145, and if I am running, it is ranges between 170 and 190. I questioned the accuracy because I have another watch which also monitors my heart rate, and it shows my heart to be a more realistic number. Maybe there is some setting that I need to track down but definitely something is out of kilter with the way it works today.
The one feature that I do like over the 310 XT is recharging while on the run. With my 310, when I am charging it, it takes over the entire interface. It stays this way until I remove the charging clip. It still records time, distance, and laps, but it just runs in the background in silent mode. The ForeRunner 35 charges but continues to show the time, distance, and alerts which is a really nice feature.
From what I can tell so far, the 310 continues to be superior in GPS accuracy. Running the same course, the ForeRunner comes up about 1/2 mile shorter in distance.
But it will do for my needs.
Kickin' up the trail dust,
The Cool Down Runner
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