This product has been discontinued by the manufacturer. It's been replaced by the Garmin Forerunner 945, you may want to check out that review instead.
The Garmin Forerunner 910XT represents the next generation triathlon/multisport watch from Garmin. The watch builds on many areas that the FR305 and then FR310XT had – including a slimmer profile then either of those watches, and a new pool swimming mode to track your distance while swimming laps. But are these changes and others enough to get you running to pickup the latest model? Well, stick around and I’ll explain.
Like all my reviews, they tend to be pretty in depth (perhaps overly so) – but that’s just my trademark DC Rainmaker way of doing things. Think of them more like reference guides than quick and easy summaries. I try and cover every conceivable thing you might do with the device and then poke at it a bit more. My goal is to leave no stone unturned – both the good and the bad.
Because I want to be transparent about my reviews – Garmin sent me a development unit to try out. It’s almost identical to that of the final production unit that’ll be on store shelves in a bit (may have slight color differences). Once units are available in retail shops I’ll send this back to Garmin and then go out and buy my own (to be able to support y’all in the comments section down the road). Simple as that. Sorta like hiking in wilderness trails – leave only footprints. If you find my review useful, you can use any of the Amazon links from this page to help support future reviews.
Lastly, at the end of the day keep in mind I’m just like any other regular athlete out there. I write these reviews because I’m inherently a curious person with a technology background, and thus I try and be as complete as I can. But, if I’ve missed something or if you spot something that doesn’t quite jive – just let me know and I’ll be happy to get it all sorted out. Also, because the technology world constantly changes, I try and go back and update these reviews as new features and functionality are added – or if bugs are fixed.
So – with that intro, let’s get into things.
Unboxing and Size Comparisons:
First, let’s start with some unboxing. When you first (finally) get your FR910XT, it’ll look pretty much like this:
A few short seconds later you’ll likely be tearing through the box, in which case, it’ll probably look something like the below (though, admittedly, a lot less pretty). This is where you’ll find more plastic baggies than a Costco bulk container of them would contain.
Once you remove all that plastic, you’ll have the below setup. On the left side is all your power goodness (which I’ll detail in a second). In the middle you’ve got the watch and manual. And on the right side from top to bottom, you’ve got your USB charging clip, USB ANT+ stick, and heart rate strap (in two parts). The little white piece of paper was bonus from having an early beta kit, as I had to add my own sticker – officially FR910XT #17!
Here’s the power plugs. The unit comes with three different types: US, Euro, and UK. Of course, some of those adapters are used in a slew of other countries.
Then we’ve got the heart rate strap. This will include the strap and the transmitter pod. Note that this is a different strap design than the previous premium strap. Check out the heart rate accessory section later for the exact details of what’s changed (and it’s good news there!).
Next we’ve got the ever exciting manual. You can also download it from Garmin’s site. Just wander over here. Though, there’s pretty much nothing in the manual that I haven’t detailed beyond normalcy here.
Then we’ve got the USB charging clip. This plugs into either your computer, or the provided AC power block. It does NOT transfer data.
The below USB stick is what does the data transfer. It does this via ANT+, which is a low-energy transmission method used to communicate with Garmin devices wirelessly. More on this later.
And finally…the watch itself! Here’s a few quick shots before I powered it on. Of course, by the end of this post, you’ll likely be tired of seeing FR910XT shots.
And once we’ve got it all turned on, here’s the unit in shining glory!
For those familiar with the FR310XT/FR405/FR410 charging clips, the FR910XT uses the same two pronged system.
For comparisons sake – I went ahead and pulled out the trusty kitchen rolling pin and compared it to a number of other common triathlon focused watches. Starting first, I went with just the Garmin lineup (left is FR305, middle FR310XT, right FR910XT):
When upside-down you can really see more clearly the thinner profile of the FR910XT compared to the FR310XT – given there’s a slight air-gap below it.
As you can see, the FR910XT is the smallest multisport watch that Garmin has made to date, being both slimmer than the FR310XT and FR305. Though while it’s still bigger than the Polar RCX5, keep in mind the RCX5 does not have GPS integrated into it, and instead requires a separate pod.
I figured I’d compare it to my other two favorite Garmin running watches – the FR210 (left) and the FR610 (center).
And finally, two more comparing the size of the watch on a human wrist (mine), with the FR310XT.
With the comparisons all set – let’s dig into the details!
Running:
I’ve changed up the review format a bit this time, to give a brief overview in running and cycling separately and then dive deep into the features that are available across both sports. So after the Running/Cycling/Swimming overview, head down into the detailed feature by feature sections.
The FR910XT is like most other GPS watches in that it’ll record the details of where you went, how fast you were going, and how long it took to get there. Once it’s done, it’ll save this information and then upload it to Garmin Connect, allowing you to slice and dice the data till your heart’s content. I talk about much of this slicing and dicing later on in the Garmin Connect software section.
Of course, first we’ll want to start with what you see while you’re running. This is completely customizable, but to give you a feel for things, here’s a sample data page that I often use when running:
In this instance, I can see my lap pace, my lap distance, my heart rate – and my footpod cadence. But you can customize this any number of different ways however you see fit. Later on I’ll talk about the data fields and customization.
One of the other features I dive into later on is the ability to create a Virtual Partner, which allows you to pace against a little computerized person for a set pace.
Of course, these are just two of many different running features that are shared across both run and bike.
Run/Walk Function (new):
A new feature specific to the FR910XT and running is the watches Run/Walk functionality. This has become popular in recent years as a way to try and keep a consistent overall pace in an endurance event, such as a marathon or longer. Essentially the idea being that if you manage the walking aspect of it, it’ll keep it from snowballing into just non-stop walking.
Typically this is setup based on a specific time, such as 10 minutes of running and then 1-2 minutes of walking. The FR910XT now supports the ability to create these alerts, along with all the normal alerts you can still setup (time/distance/calorie).
I’ve actually found a more interesting use for the Run/Walk alert though – which I’ve mentally relabeled ‘Nutrition alert’. See, a typical time based repeating alert (say every 10 minutes) is normally a good way to remind you to take in nutrition during training or a race. But I’ve often found that I sometimes mentally find an excuse where I say “Oh, let me just get over this hill and then I’ll take some gel”, only to realize 10 or 20 minutes later I haven’t taken anything.
With setting up a 10 minute and 2 minute alert combo – I’m basically giving myself a 2 minute window to take in my nutrition, at the end of which it reminds me again. It’s been working pretty well for me this season – and I’ve really reduced the amount of missed nutrition opportunities. You can of course customize the run and walk alert portions for as short or long as you wish.
Cycling:
The FR910XT has made a number of small updates from the FR310XT that will definitely appeal to cyclists. Starting off is the ability to now customize up to five different bikes. Each bike can then store a slew of different saved parameters, such as ANT+ sensor details (power/speed/cadence) and wheel size/bike weight.
Speaking of which, the FR910XT supports the major cycling ANT+ sensor types including Power Meters, Speed-Only sensors, Cadence-Only sensors and combination Speed/Cadence sensors. It also supports ANT+ heart rate monitors as well. And in the event of a power meter that sends cadence information (pretty much all of them), it’ll happily pick that up too.
The FR910XT is designed to be worn either on your wrist, or on the bike mount quick-release system. Which is just like the cycling focused Edge 500/800 from a quarter turn mount standpoint.
Unfortunately, with my development unit I didn’t have a quick release kit available yet – so I instead used the old school rubber Garmin bike mount.
Not exactly aerodynamic – but for the purposes of this week’s posting, it’ll do. On the bright side, it’s easily out of the way and also a bit easier to take photos of. Once my quick release kit arrives I’ll update this section with new goodness.
While cycling the FR910XT can do essentially everything your normal bike computer can do – except now it’s powered with GPS and ANT+ sensor data. If you’re familiar with the cycling only Edge 500, it does everything that unit does. The only difference is the FR910XT displays 4 data fields at a time versus the Edge 500’s 8 data fields. Obviously the FR910XT does tons more in other areas though (swim and run namely).
As noted previously the FR910XT shares almost all of the features between the run and cycle portions, which means that I’ve consolidated them down below for easier reference.
The only areas that are a bit unique to the bike are the data fields. For example, 3s power (and all power meter metrics) are displayed while cycling, but not running. I’ve made it easy for you though and consolidated all the data fields the watch contains within the Data Field section below.
So let’s talk about a few new and unique things that will appeal to cyclists.
Barometric Altimeter (new!):
For years cyclists have managed to get barometric altimeters within their bike computers, while runners have had to put up with GPS based altimeters. Now in general, GPS based altimeters work just fine – but they aren’t as accurate for more complex elevation situations (mountains), or for determining things like grade – which requires a better understanding of the elevation changes.
That’s why I was excited to see that they’ve integrated a barometric altimeter into the FR910XT, over the GPS altimeter that was previously used with the FR310XT and FR305.
This means that when you look at altimeter data, it should map to reality better than GPS data. But remember, even if it doesn’t, you can always use altitude data correction on Garmin Connect to turn on/off elevation correction. This correction uses NASA imagery that’s accurate to about a meter, and can overwrite your existing elevation data. Simply turn it on/off on the left hand side of each activity:
Note that because the FR910XT uses a barometric altimeter, by default this will be off. And in general, I find that the altimeter data produced by the FR910XT is pretty accurate (like that of the Edge series devices for cycling). Much smoother and cleaner than GPS based elevation data.
Also note that the barometric altimeter is of course accessible while running too – so it’s not just a cyclist feature. I know this is of special interest to ultra marathoners.
Power Meter Support (major changes):
As previously announced at Interbike, the Edge 500/800, FR310XT and now the FR910XT will all get the TrainingPeaks metrics of TSS (Training Stress Score), IF (Intensity Factor), and NP (Normalized Power). [Update note, it has since been announced that the FR310XT will NOT get the power update]
The FR910XT will also be getting Left/Right power to be able to support not only the Garmin Vector pedal based power meter, but also other pedal/cleat based power meters such as the Brim Brothers Zone and O-Sycne’s power meter.
These metrics will also start appearing shortly on Garmin Connect as they rollout new feature updates. As of this initial post, the FR910XT I have doesn’t have the updated metrics in this beta firmware version, but I’m told it should very shortly. One of the key partnerships with TrainingPeaks was to ensure that the metric seen on TrainingPeaks is the exact same metric displayed on the Edge/Forerunner units, which is also the exact same metric shown on Garmin Connect.
Back at Interbike it was noted that Garmin as a company recognizes that Garmin Connect isn’t for everyone and that the more advanced/elite athletes will naturally gravitate to TrainingPeaks as a platform and that they want to ensure there aren’t discrepancies across the two from a data standpoint.
Swimming:
The biggest change in the FR910XT is the ability to support lap-swimming and record distance, speed, strokes and more. For years no Garmin product has supported the ability to gather lap data while inside a pool. But now the FR910XT does exactly that. Additionally, it also supports the same data while openwater swimming. But first, let’s start with the pool, then move to openwater.
Lap Swimming:
As noted above, the biggest benefit of the FR910XT over the FR310XT is likely the ability to record pool distance and lap information. The unit does this using an internal accelerometer, which measures change in direction and acceleration to determine what you’re doing. This is important because when you’re doing your workout in the pool, you need to be cognizant of this with respect to extra movements. But I’ll talk more about this in a minute.
To use it in the pool, you’ll switch into Swimming Mode, and then from there into pool mode.
After you’ve changed modes and selected Swimming > Lap Swimming, you’ll then be confronted with this option on pool length:
As you can see, you can select the common 25M, 50M, and 25Y lengths, or simply customize your own…perfect for all those whacky hotel pool lengths. Except, as of present, the only pools supported are those between 22m/y and 100y/m. This is somewhat problematic for those that swim in shorter pools. I’ve talked with Garmin about this (as recently as February 2012), and am hoping to see a change to allow shorter pool lengths.
With that set, it’s time to hop in the pool and get swimming. Using it in the pool is much the same as you would use while running or biking. The start/stop buttons control whether or not the timer is recording, and the lap button records laps (or sets/intervals).
While you’re swimming you’ve got realtime access to four data pages, each with up to four pieces of information on them. For me, I’ve found that I’m really looking for three key metrics during a set: Time, Distance, and Pace.
I’ve then setup two data pages that I use frequently – one showing me that information for the current lap (i.e. Lap Distance, Lap Time, Lap Avg Pace, Lap Stroke Rate), and then the whole set again for ‘Last lap’. This is useful in that when I finish a set and press lap, I can easily see what the last set was.
Today the watch does NOT support the ability to pre-create workouts on it for swimming mode, like you can for running or cycling. I asked Garmin about this, and it’s on their radar, but no time commitment yet. What you can do however is setup both time and distance alerts. These alerts can be configured for preset times, such as every 500y. Once it hits the alert, it’ll beep, buzz and display a warning. You may not hear the beep, but you’ll feel the vibration, so it actually works pretty well.
Once you’re done, you can see the total information for each and every set via the history menu. This shows total (workout), sets/laps/intervals, as well as even lengths.
In fact, that’s an important distinction between the FR910XT and something like the Pool-Mate Pro, which doesn’t show per-length data afterwards, just per-set data. The Swimsense does however show per length data.
After our swim is complete, we’ll want to upload it all to Garmin Connect to check out the data. While I talk about Garmin Connect a fair bit later, I’m going to tackle the swim portion of GC now.
Once you get the workout uploaded using the ANT Agent, it’ll be visible on Garmin Connect (speaking of which, if you already have a Garmin device, be sure that you do indeed update the ANT Agent to at least the Nov 28th, 2011 build – the reason is builds prior to that don’t know how to deal with the swim files, and will fail). This is how a workout looks in the overview page. We’ll walk through the key segments in a second.
First up is the Summary and Swim Graph, towards the top. The Summary is simply your total distance, pool length setting used for that session, total time (including stoppage), and average pace for the workout (not inclusive of stoppage):
Meanwhile, the Swim Graph is an interactive guide that shows you each length as part of a set (interval), which is in turn part of the overall workout. You can slide left/right to see other sets and the distances/times.
Above you can see the total Interval time, and the individual lengths, along with the total distance.
The next section includes a listing of all your intervals along the left side. Also, you’ve got more timing information including Avg and Best paces per 100y. On the right side you’ll see segments for timing (basically, pace), then strokes (per length per arm).
Finally, continuing down further, you’ll see the remainder of your intervals, and then on the right side you’ll see your SWOLF and efficiency scores. These are essentially metrics that look at stroke length by taking stroke rate and the length of the pool. It’s like a golf score.
In addition to the overview page, you can also crack open a separate detailed page to check out all of the above information on a per-interval basis…without the fancy graphs. At the end of which, you can export to CSV.
The swimming mode supports a number of different metrics, starting with the following stroke types being recognized, along with the terms the watch uses to identify/display those swim strokes:
– Freestyle (FREE)
– Back Stroke (BACK)
– Breast Stroke (BREAST)
– Butterfly (FLY)
– Combination of strokes (MIXED)
– Unidentified Stoke (RAY mode…oh, wait…UNKNOWN)
Here you can see some of the stroke information being displayed:
Since I predominantly just swim freestyle, my experience is focused on that. Even if I did swim backstroke, it’d likely be so horrendous that it would probably just simply display “FAIL, TRY AGAIN”. So, I don’t try.
In addition, the watch also displays the SWOLF score, which is your efficiency score. Lower is better. All of these metrics can be displayed as data fields. I talk about the swimming data fields later in that data field section – but here’s what’s available to choose from for swimming:
Note that the FR910XT is like the FR310XT and is waterproofed to 50 meters deep. This is different from a watch like the FR305, which is only waterproofed to 1 meter deep at 30 minutes. Also note however that no Garmin watches will record HR data while underwater, due to the ANT+ protocol being unable to transmit through water (has a transmission distance of about 1-2” underwater). However, the HR strap is waterproof and most folks just leave it on under their triathlon suit/top. Once you depart the water the FR910XT will automatically pick it up in a few seconds and start recording data.
I wanted to briefly talk to this, since I’ve seen a number of folks ask about accuracy in the pool. Some have had the distance issues where the unit reports longer than normal. And a few people have issues where it reports shorter. With that, I wanted to provide some tips based on my using it for the past 5+ months. During which time, I’ve had it measure distance in a pool wrong only once – due to having to stop mid-way down the lane and converse with my lovely wife. Yup, just once. So I figured I’d share my tricks to accuracy.
The first thing to keep in mind is that the unit measures distance purely on accelerometer data. That means that it’s measuring what your wrist is doing, and in particular, changes to direction and acceleration. Thus, you have to keep in mind that any movement you make while the timer is running is being analyzed. The watch is constantly thinking “Is this a stroke?”, “Was that just a new lap?”. Keeping that in mind is critical to accurate data.
1) When you’re not actively swimming back and forth, pause the timer. I know that there’s some guidance that says you can just keep it going, but honestly, that’s wrong. If you’re standing at the wall waiting for your next set – just pause the timer. That tells the watch to stop looking at whether or not you should be swimming. And thus, it won’t increment the distance until you press start.
2) Separate out your laps/sets using the lap button. If my workout calls for 1000y warm-up, then a 500y build, then a slew of 100’s, I’m going to press lap between each section. Thus, at the 1000y marker I press lap to create that set. At the 500y marker, I press lap. And then after each 100y I press lap. In the case of the 100’s, I’ve got a short rest at the wall, so I FIRST press stop, then I press lap. If I pressed lap then stop, it would incorrectly start a new lap that I haven’t started swimming yet.
3) Be strong on your wall push-offs. Because the 910XT is looking for changes in acceleration, you want to ensure that you push off the wall strongly. Fast being the key. It doesn’t matter if you do a flip turn or an open turn (I vary sometimes for fun), it just matters that you do it with conviction. If you ever-so-slowly do a turn at the wall and make it more graceful than Ms. Daisy, the unit might never actually detect an acceleration change, and thus, no new lap.
4) Be aware that passing someone mid-line is an acceleration change: Folks have reported issues with sudden surges to pass another swimmer mid-way down a lane being counted as a new lap. This is an area where Garmin could improve the logic a bit, but my advice here is to try and ‘soften’ the acceleration/deceleration just a touch to not trigger it. I realize of course that when it comes time to pass someone mid-lane, the most important thing is doing it quickly – but just offering some options. Or, do it at the end of the lane (again, not always possible).
5) Pause when in drills: Because the unit is looking for one of the recognized stroke types, it will only be accurate when you’re doing one of those stroke types. So if you’re doing a bunch of drills with three pieces of swim equipment and look like a fish out of water, it’s best to pause the timer.
6) It won’t work if your arms aren’t moving: This goes hand in hand with the above, but if you’re doing kick-only drills, the unit simply won’t measure that distance. For these, I just pause the unit. The time is counted in total activity time, but it doesn’t try and incorrectly record laps (which it will, trust me).
7) Don’t leave the unit running when you go to the bathroom: I only mention this, because I got an upset e-mail from someone that indicated that the unit incorrectly added a lap when they went to the bathroom while leaving the timer running. I really wanted to note that technically they probably did go 50y round-trip, but decided against it. Again, remember, as your arm swings, it thinks your swimming. So as you get out of the pool, walk to the bathroom door, open the door, go to the bathroom, and do it all again in reverse, it’s prime time for the unit to think you’re swimming. Just pause, you’ll be happier later. :)
So, you did all that and you still got a bad nugget in there? Well, unfortunately on Garmin Connect there isn’t a way to adjust lap/length distance (someday I hope). But, there is one application that can: SportTracks. If you use SportTracks and download the Swimming Plug-in, then you’re able to edit swims. Note that SportTracks doesn’t cost money if you use less than two plug-ins, though the Swimming Plug-in costs $10.
Here’s what the main overview looks like (of the plug-in for a given swim session). Essentially, you can see the sets are expandable, along with each length within it. Along the top you have all your sets and lengths as well.
But let’s dive into the primary item of interest: Changing incorrect swim items.
First, is the ability to change the stroke type. You simply click on either a length or set, and then choose the correct stroke:
Next, we have the ability to ‘split’ or ‘join’ lengths that are incorrect. This is useful if the unit didn’t catch a turn at the wall and you need to make it show that you did 100y instead of 50y.
You can adjust the time for each length as well during this. And finally, you can adjust the number of strokes for a given length, as well as just straight up delete the length.
Make sense? Cool stuff. Also of note is that if you happen to have a Swimsense watch, this plug-in works with that as well.
Now, there’s no doubt that all of us wish this were simply in Garmin Connect, but since it’s not, there’s at least an alternative.
Openwater Swimming:
In addition to lap swimming, the FR910 has an improved openwater swim mode that was introduced on the FR310XT a year after its release. You may have seen my previous in depth openwater swim mode post with the Garmin product team on that and how it works. In many ways, the FR910XT follows much the same trend. The key difference though is that with the FR910XT you also now get stroke metrics. Further, the accuracy is a bit improved – now pretty repeatedly within about 10-15% of actual distance.
For those not familiar, the goal of openwater swimming mode is to allow you to wear the watch on your wrist and get a rough distance measurement. I say ‘rough’ because it’s not quite perfect. See, the way GPS works every time your arm drops below the surface of the water GPS signal is lost. That’s to a large degree just the nature of GPS signal strength. So each time during your stroke recovery (the part above the water) it has to reacquire GPS signal and then plot a data point. The challenge is that sometimes it doesn’t quite get an accurate GPS point during that split second recovery. That’s where the ‘openwater swimming mode’ comes in. It uses an algorithm to make a guess at where you actually swam, and determines a distance.
Looking at the FR910XT, you’ll see two improvements over the FR310XT in openwater swimming. The first is a cleaner GPS map track. In the past, the track would be all over creation – quite literally. Now, smoothing has been introduced to make the map look a bit more accurate. Take for example a swim I did on a recent vacation with the FR910XT. You can see my swim around the island pretty clearly – no immediate or obvious problems with the route (this was on my wrist):
Of note is the very slight differences with the FR310XT (older) where you can see a bit more detail in the route, as it’s not smoothed as much:
Oh, and here’s my swimming with the unit on my wrist (going through the channel above):
For those that are curious, here’s the two distances as reported by the units:
Now, it wasn’t quite perfect on other days either, especially in shorter loops. For example, I would daily do this about 400m loop around the resort. In doing it daily for a week, it was interesting to see the slight variations each day, especially compared to where I actually swam. Now, what may have impacted things slightly is that it was dumping out most of the days I did these short swims (something about swimming in openwater that has low visibility isn’t really my cup of tea). It’s possible the rain storms were impacting satellite reception.
What I found was that one of the most important items was getting a good initial fix above-water before you started swimming. Meaning, instead of pressing ‘start’ when you initiate your first stroke, just give it about 5-7 seconds to get one good satellite point dropped before you start. That made all the difference between a good clean line and one missing chunks/distance. For example, see below when I didn’t get the fix initially (I started/stopped in the same place):
So what about distance measurement? Well, most days I swam with three GPS units. A FR910XT on one wrist, a FR310XT in my swim cap, and the new FINIS Hydrotracker on my swim goggles. And almost every day, they were within 10%-15% of each other. It’s hard in these situations to say exactly which one is correct, since I didn’t have a specific measured course to work from. But I think that the stroke information benefits of the FR910XT on your wrist outweigh the distance accuracy benefits of putting it under your swim cap.
I have found that historically the most accurate method for capturing distance is to place it on my head under my swim cap. I talk about that in more depth here. This way I still get an incredibly accurate GPS track – as well as a pretty picture. The challenge with that method is it completely negates the benefits of the FR910XT when it comes to capturing stroke information. Which, we’ll talk about now.
With the FR910XT you get stroke information due to the internal accelerometer. This requires you to have the unit on your wrist (indoor and outdoor). But assuming it’s there, you’ll get this information during the full duration of the swim. As you can see below mid-way through my openwater swim, I’m getting this information (along with distance) in real-time:
And below you can see the total time (upper), total distance (lower right) and then 100/yd pace (lower left). The pace fields are new to the FR910XT.
Once home and with the data uploaded to Garmin Connect you’ll get slightly different data than indoors. Primarily, aside from distance, map and pace data, you’ll only be getting basic stroke data.
So while you don’t get some of the additional efficiency information like you do in a pool, you do gain the ‘Player’, which allows you to replay the whole swim – pace information and all. Stroke is converted to ‘cadence’ here, which essentially means they saved development time by re-using the bike/run metrics.
Finally – there’s been some questions on wetsuit removal with the FR910XT on your wrist, primarily because trying to remove a wetsuit with the FR310XT on your wrist was a bit of a pain. Well, the FR910XT was specifically designed to enable quick wetsuit removal. And I thought there’d be no better way to do that than demonstrate exactly how quickly you can remove a wetsuit with the FR910XT on your wrist…thus, time to turn to the video:
As you can see, it pretty much slips right off!
And finally, again note that I have a fair bit more on swimming with the FR910XT in my detailed FR910XT vs Swimsense post.
Calorie Calculation and Heart Rate Display/Recording:
Like most fitness devices, the FR910XT does calorie estimation based on your activities. The FR910XT does this in a few different ways, depending on exactly how much information you give it. This section will be pretty high level, but if you’re looking for more detail on all the different calorie methods, check out my Garmin Calorie Measurement In Depth post I put together last year with the help of the Garmin engineers.
Option #1 – New Leaf Profile (most accurate): The FR910XT supports the ability to have a VO2MAX taken at a New Leaf testing facility, and then have that data used to generate calorie burn metrics across your heart rate ranges. This is the most accurate consumer-grade method available today for calorie calculations. The test takes about 10-15 minutes…and is rather painful since you’re pushed to your absolute max. But once complete the computer will generate a small file that you can import via Garmin Training Center to your FR910XT which will then subsequently updated on any and all Garmin devices you own. For a detailed look at how this all works, check out this post here on my experience getting New Leaf Testing.
After the Garmin ANT Agent has transferred the profile to the watch, you’ll see the below message:
Option #2: FirstBeat Algorithm (2nd generation): The Firstbeat algorithm is the most accurate Garmin device calorie measurement that can be done without external testing. But it’s actually not developed natively by Garmin. It’s developed by a Finnish company (Firstbeat Technologies) that has its roots in calculations around Olympic athletes, specifically Nordic skiing. Their calculation uses user inputted variables including gender, height, weight and fitness class. It then combines this data with heart rate information from the ANT+ heart rate strap. Specifically, it evaluates the time between heart beats (beat to beat) to determine estimated MET (Metabolic Equivalent), which in turn is used determine actual work expenditure. This makes the system one of the more accurate non-invasive options (read: doesn’t require a laboratory), within about 10% accuracy. Firstbeat has published a fascinating white paper detailing the technology and accuracy rates. And just to be clear here – you have to wear the HR strap for this to work.
Option #3: Speed/Distance/Weight Calculation (least accurate): This is the least accurate and most basic method of determining calories, as it is only used when a heart rate strap is not enabled/used (default). Given the lack of heart rate data, the unit will simply use speed/distance, as well as the weight you entered in the device setup. The reason this is less accurate (65-80% accurate) is that it can’t differentiate how much effort you’re expending to travel a given distance – which while less important for running, is quite important for cycling. For example, if you’re coasting down a 7 mile descent, you’ll burn virtually no calories compared to ascending the same mountain. This speed/distance algorithm does not consider or evaluate the impact of elevation change.
Outside of calorie calculations, it should be noted that the FR910XT can easily record heart rate (HR) data in either a given sport, as well as just sitting around. For example, I often use my Garmin watch to record my resting HR by simply putting on the strap and then starting the unit (you don’t even have to record to display HR).
Within a gym environment, if using a heart rate strap you’ll get calorie burn metrics appropriate to your heart rate. That may not be fully representative though of your actual calorie burn since most of the HR burn metrics used are primarily aimed at aerobic activities such as running and cycling.
Sport Features (across multiple sports):
In the past, I’ve placed all of the below features into either the bike or run sections to demonstrate them. But since they are common to both sports (and in some cases, to swimming as well), I’ve decided this time to mix it up and make a ‘Sport Features’ section that shows off these major areas across all sport types, to help reduce confusion.
Auto Lap:
Out of all of the Forerunner features, Auto Lap is probably the most commonly used. Auto Lap enables you to automatically create splits/laps based on predetermined distance intervals of your choosing. For example, you can specify to automatically create a lap every 1 mile (default), or every 1 kilometer. You can also configure Auto Lap for as little as every .01 miles/kilometers, a nice change from the past.
Many runners will use Auto Lap on longer runs so that later on they can easily see the mile by mile splits in applications like Garmin Connect. For example, if you look at the below data from a long run I did Sunday, you can quickly and easily look at the mile by mile splits without having to splice the data manually:
On the bike, Auto Lap works exactly the same way. However, because of the speeds being discussed in bike versus run, most folks tend to change Auto Lap here to a higher value – like 5 miles.
Auto Pause:
While Auto Lap (previous section) is heavily favored by runners, Auto Pause is heavily favored by cyclists. See, Auto Pause enables the watch to automatically pause recording when you reach a certain speed threshold – which is configurable. Take for example the scenario of a cross-town jaunt on a bike where may hit numerous stop signs or stoplights. With Auto Pause you can remain hands free and the watch will automatically pause recording at each red light you hit. And then resume it when the light hits green.
You can either use the default speed settings (configurable for both bike and run differently), or customize them yourself.
For me, I only use Auto Pause when I’m in a city environment, as I prefer to manually control it otherwise. And in running, I tend to also just manually press pause/resume myself. But I also completely understand those that use it.
Also note that for cycling with a power meter, it’s generally recommended not to use Auto Pause, as it’ll skew your Normalized Power metrics afterwards since it’ll make it appear as though you’ve had no rests (depending on the software used).
Alerts (Vibration/Audio):
The FR910XT contains a few different alerting mechanisms, but my favorite by far is the vibrating alerts. These are most useful because if you’re running along in a loud environment (or just with a big fluffy winter hat), it can be hard to hear. Or, if your gasping for breath on the track…the same thing.
You can enable either beeping alerts, vibrating alerts, or both within the settings page. I prefer just to leave it on the default of both.
You’ll configure the alerts separately for each sport (Swim/Bike/Run/Other), with the run page offering the most alerting options (since it includes the Run/Walk alert section I talked about earlier).
Within a given alert type, you can then set more detailed configuration options – generally based on either a trigger (distance) a high/low watermark setup (HR/Power/Cadence).
The nice part is that unlike previous watches, this allows you to customize as high or low as you’d like. No worries about having too small or two large of a number.
Note that you can’t configure whether or not it vibrates or beeps on a per alert basis – that’s a setting across all alerts (vibrating, beeping, or both).
Virtual Partner:
Virtual Partner allows you to pace against a set speed or pace. This is useful if you want to run a 5K at or better than a certain pace, such as 8:00/mile. Or any other distance/pace. I’ve used this in the past when trying to pace longer distance races – such as a marathon in an Ironman, and wanted to be able to keep just slightly ahead of my goal pace.
It also allowed me to instantly see the impact of slowing down (or walking), as the ‘little man’ then gains on you. The inverse is true if you speed up though.
As is always the case though with any GPS based pacing in a race – be aware that more than likely you’ll be running longer than the actual race distance due to corners and crowds. Thus, you’ll want to take that into account during your pacing strategy (read: set the pace slightly faster). For more on that, check out this in depth post on how to pace with a GPS watch.
Virtual Racer:
Virtual Racers is new to the FR910XT, and allows you to race against existing courses and workouts. Because it measures your race progress based on a given point in the course, this enables you to pace more appropriately to a course that may have difficult terrain (such as a large hill). This is different than a Virtual Partner because in the VP scenario the little pacer would keep a constant speed over the hill, whereas in the Virtual Racer scenario it would adjust to a much slower speed for the hill.
What’s cool here is that you can go onto Garmin Connect and download any workout you can find (yours or someone else’s). For example, you can find a workout for the Boston Marathon at a given pace, and then race against it. Or for cycling, you could go grab one of those Team Garmin-Cervelo files from the Tour de France and attempt to hold on. Or not.
Simply select to download the course from Garmin Connect, and it’ll end up on your Garmin FR910XT.
Intervals:
Interval mode enables you to setup a simple interval workout and then have the watch guide you (thus in effect yell at you) through the workout. When you setup intervals you’ll be specifying how long the warm-up is, the number and distance/time of work intervals, the rest interval, and then the cool down. Once you’ve got all that specified, you click start and hold on for dear life.
This mode is great if you’re new to intervals and don’t have a lot of complex pre or post-main set work and just want to focus on reaping the rewards of speed work. The warm-up and cool down portions can also be specified using either time or distance. And of course for either running or cycling (not swimming).
If however, you have a more complex workout regime, you’ll want to use Workout mode (below) instead of Interval mode.
Workout Mode:
Workouts differ from intervals in that they are infinitely customizable – for any sport. In the past I’ve used workouts for actually creating a race plan to then execute on either during the bike or the run. You can do an endless array of ‘if/then’ type statements, allowing you to dial-in your exact workout or race plan and then let the watch own you for that session.
You can configure these on either Garmin Training Center, or Garmin Connect (new). Since the feature was just added to Garmin Connect, I’ll create an example there – using a workout from a few weeks ago. This is a running workout, but I’ll also create a quick cycling one:
In my cycling example, you can see how I’ve gotten more complex with it, enabling me to specify any number of parameters for either training or racing.
To get it to your watch, you’ll simply click “Send to watch”, which brings up this screen:
Once on the watch, you’ll go into the menu system and select workouts:
From there, you’ll see the available workouts that you’ve synchronized to the watch. To start a workout, merely select it…and then prepare to follow the directions, one step at a time during the workout:
Note that you can actually create workouts manually on the watch itself (in a pinch). But I find this to be fairly slow going, sorta like painting a room with a toothbrush.
Workouts can be configured for cycling or running. I suspect we’ll eventually see a ‘Swim workout’ option arrive though.
Courses:
Courses allow you to specify a route online, and then get a breadcrumb trail of the route while on the watch. This is somewhat different than what you might be familiar with on a car GPS where you see road names (as well as on the Edge 800 cycling GPS). In the case of the FR910XT (and all other Forerunners), you get a bit of a breadcrumb trail to follow.
First though, we’ll go onto Garmin Connect to create the route. Note that you can also use MapMyRide/MapMyRun to create and download courses too. And in general, those programs give you more options (and information). The online course creator was actually just added to Garmin Connect back in mid-September, so I’m optimistic we’ll see more features over time (such as elevation graphs, ability to add water stops, etc…). In the meantime, it works as a good basic option.
Below I roughly sketched out my Sunday long run. Because the map doesn’t quite have all the trails I use, it’s not a perfect representation of the route. You’ll note I can change the speed/pace in the lower box and it’ll give me an estimated time of arrival (AKA: When I find my couch and TV).
Once you’ve created the course, you’ll go ahead and select to send it to your device:
After that’s done, it’ll be queued up for the next time you plug the USB stick in and synchronize. Now we’ll go to the watch.
On the watch, you’ll go into the courses menu and find the course we want. Once you select it you’ll see a breadcrumb trail of the whole route. This is just an overview of sorts.
After you press start, you’ll see it’ll start giving distance information until the next point, as well as all your regular data fields. I find that despite not having the actual road names on them, they are still pretty valuable if you’re out for a long ride/run and need a rough map. In this age of cell phone mapping though, I suspect most of us would just grab the phone in our back jersey pocket (if riding) if we needed more detailed information.
Data Fields:
Like it’s predecessors the Forerunner 910XT offers the ability for you to customize your data fields. In fact, when you look at the major differences between Garmin’s lower end watches (FR110) and their higher end watches (like the FR910XT), the biggest differentiator is data field customization. So I went ahead and created the following chart of all of the data fields currently offered on the FR910XT. Note that like almost.every.single.other.Garmin.device in history, this tends to change over time – with new data fields usually added in firmware updates. I’ll update this list from time to time as new fields are added. Here’s the fields sorted by sport as of October 4th, 2011:
Swimming – Lap Swimming:
Swimming – Openwater Swimming:
Cycling:
Running:
You can configure up to four data fields per data page, and you have up to four data pages to use per sport (Swim/Bike/Run/Other). In other words, you have lots of customization options.
Here’s a three view with four data fields, three data fields and one data field. You can also do two data fields, which simply splits it upper half/lower half:
Note that you can select to either manually iterate through the data pages, or you can choose to automatically have it scroll through the data pages – at a setting of slow/medium/fast:
Note if you want to see data fields offered on other watches, as well as how I configure my data pages, check out this post here.
Finally, also of note is that the FR910XT supports both smart recording and 1-second recording rates. Smart recording means it records data points based on changes to data, while 1-second recording just records at a simple 1-second interval.
In general, I always recommend 1-second recording – especially for cyclists with power meters, or those users using the device without any ANT+ accessories.
Multisport Mode (Triathlon Mode):
Multisport mode within the Garmin family is unique to the three multisport mode watches: the FR305, the FR310XT and now the FR910XT.
Multisport mode enables you to setup a recording session that’ll take you from the start of the swim, to the end of the run – all while recording swim/bike/run and the transitions separately. More importantly, it’ll automatically change the settings and data pages/configurations you’ve set for each sport, as you transition between them.
To setup multi-sport mode head into the Settings page and select Auto Multisport. From there, you’ll be presented with this menu screen to select which sports you want to add.
Once in that you’ll see you can add or enable the different legs that you plan to participate in. You can include transitions if you want. This is where if you’re doing a duathlon you can set that up as well. Or, you can just add as many sports as you like. You can’t edit the names however – it’s either Swim/Bike/Run/Other. Adding a ‘Beer Garden’ step doesn’t appear to be an option.
During the event you’ll advance to the next sport by pressing the lap button, which will automatically transition you from sport to sport. As you’re doing this, the FR910XT will let you know which sport you’re in (serving mostly as a reminder to get rid of the wetsuit prior to the bike):
Once you’re done with the event (training brick or race), you’ll have a small pile of files – one for each leg. This is actually more useful than a single giant file because this way you can analyze the legs independently as you would expect: Swim, Bike, Run (and transitions). Note that the watch will also record everything with one big time as well, so you can track total time and see that too.
Indoor Use:
I just wanted to briefly touch on this, simply as a means to answer any questions. Since most of this section is alluded to in other sections, I’ll keep this short.
Treadmill Running:
When running inside with the FR910XT, your best bet is to pickup an ANT+ footpod. Garmin makes one for less than $50, as does a number of other ANT+ companies. The footpod attaches to your shoe and the wirelessly sends both speed as well as cadence to the FR910XT. Here’s what one of the units looks like on a running shoe:
When indoors, it’ll send both speed and distance, as well as cadence. And when outdoors it’ll send cadence (turnover), to match up with the GPS signal. Additionally, if you end up in an area with bad GPS signal (GPS speed = zero), the unit will switch to the footpod for speed/distance. You can also set the watch to switch over to using footpod for speed, to help even out some of the speed jumpiness sometimes associated with GPS speed. This is called changing the speed source:
While indoors on a trainer you can use the Garmin GSC-10 ANT+ speed/cadence sensor (or any other ANT+ speed or speed/cadence combo sensor), to record distance and speed. Of course, keep in mind that speeds and distance indoors on a trainer are fairly meaningless because they can be easily changed by adjusting gearing and resistance without changing effort. Meaning that I can change my indoor speed from 15MPH to 30MPH with no additional effort, merely by modifying gearing and resistance.
That said, there is some value in this data depending on the type of trainer (as well as just our human nature curiosity, enabling us to record it in our training logs). So, if you pickup the $30 sensor (see accessories section), you’ll be able to do just that!
Of course, the sensor works indoors just as well as outdoors, so it’s always useful in the event you go through a long tunnel as well. The sensor will automatically be used in any scenario where the GPS speed drops to zero MPH, but the sensor speed is providing more accurate data (i.e. 20MPH).
While I’m reasonably certain the folks in Olathe, KS had no intention that the FR910XT would be used on a swim trainer bench – it actually works just fine. I got on the VASA Swim Trainer and got to work. Well, actually, both The Girl and I used the trainer.
The only obvious caveat being that since you don’t do flip/open turns on the bench (well, unless you fail in a big way), it won’t know when the end of the lap is. I resolve this by simply knowing that roughly every 18-19 strokes I’m going to be at 25y, and thus I can simply pause for about 1 second, flick my wrist, and then it’ll record it as a flip turn. Just like magic. The LCD screen on the Vasa Swim trainer also tells me distance – so I can monitor that for when to ‘pretend flip’ as well.
See…it’s all about thinking outside the box…
Skiing:
In addition to being an avid triathlete, I’m also a longtime skier. In fact, far before I ever did my first triathlon, I ski raced while growing up as a kid. So any chance I get at skiing (a bit harder now in DC compared to Seattle where I grew up), I take out a Garmin and see just how much I’ve skied.
So on a recent trip to Seattle I grabbed the FR910XT and took it out for the day. Because the unit has a barometric altimeter, it’s a bit better suited for the constant up and downs of skiing, over that of a GPS based altimeter. Though, that does assume/require that it gets its initial GPS-assisted altimeter fix correct.
Once that’s complete, it’ll easily track your total distance, elevation gain, and descent information. For skiers, it’s all about total vertical skied.
When using the unit skiing you’ve got two options for attachment. The first is just using the normal strap, likely in between your coat and your gloves. The normal strap isn’t quite large enough to go over your ski jacket.
The second option is to pickup the extender strap – which I talk about later in the accessories section. This solves the problem by significantly increasing the length of the strap to be able to get over/around winter jackets.
When you’re skiing with the FR910XT (usually in the ‘Other’ mode), you can setup any data fields you’d like. For me, that’s primarily just distance, max speed, and total descent. But, you’ve got all the normal pages and data fields accessible to you. Here for example, is my max speed that day:
Afterwards, you’ll be able to pull up the full GPS track and total elevation ascent/descent from Garmin Connect – or any other site you upload the file to.
I’ve skied with Garmin units for years, and never had any issues. Though, a couple things to keep in mind. While I definitely trust the FR910XT’s new strap system (far more secure than the FR310XT or FR305), keep in mind that I’d still generally recommend you start the unit and leave it inside a secured pocket or backpack. The reality is that if you’re flying down a run and crash, you could easily manage to have the unit go flying…and depending on conditions, you may never find it. Just food for thought…
Paddleboarding:
Many have asked as to whether or not the FR910XT is capable of recording stroke data while paddleboarding. So on a recent vacation I gave it a shot. Well, actually, The Girl and I both gave it a shot. And since she looks better than I, we’ll go with the photo of her:
What we found was that while the unit easily recorded speed, distance and time – it did not accurately record stroke information.
As you can see above, it believed I was only stroking at 7 strokes per minute. In my case, that was significantly under, as that would have been only one stroke per 9 seconds – a pretty slow stroke rate.
I suspect the issue comes from the fact that the FR910XT simply isn’t designed at this point from a software standpoint to understand the paddleboarder stroke. Now, given that Garmin has added a professional paddleboarder to their sponsored athletes lineup for 2012, I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see them add this sport profile in the future. Since the accelerometer that’s in the FR910XT is 3D, it could recognize this stroke – it just comes down to the unit’s firmware being updated to do so.
Ultra-Long Use (56hrs+ on single charge):
Upon your request, I decided to find out exactly how long the battery would last if you turned OFF the GPS, and just let it use ANT+ for speed/distance (via footpod or bike sensors). I ended up writing a pretty detailed post on how I did the test, and the full set of results.
In short though, the answer is on a single charge the device will last approximately 55 hours with multiple ANT+ streams (heart rate, power, speed/cadence) feeding data to it. Data storage/retention was never an issue.
To see the full story behind the tests, and some of the other offerings that can go even longer, check out my post on it.
Backlight/Light:
The FR910XT offers a backlight that clearly illuminates the entire screen. By default, the backlight will stay turned on for 15 seconds before turning off. But I prefer mine to stay on permanently – that way when I’m doing night runs or rides I don’t have to keep pressing the light button. To change this, within the backlight settings, simply adjust the length of time to remain on:
Once in a dark place, you can very easily see the display. You can also adjust contrast as you see fit as well in the same menu as above.
Note that obviously, backlight length will affect battery. The brighter and longer, the less battery.
Band and Screen Improvements
One of the biggest concerns in the past with the FR310XT has been the band not being strong enough to withstand the usually rough conditions of an openwater swim start – with people whacking away at your wrists. Many a Forerunners have been lost to ocean and lake due to this and the quick release kit.
However, it’s clear some thought went into the FR910XT’s band design, because it appears as though this thing is built like a tank. When I pull on it, the band doesn’t budge or bend. You’ll notice the band is now more streamlined to the watch – which should reduce the number of places it can have forces pull on it:
In addition to the default band that comes on the watch, they are also offering three additional replacement bands: A quick release kit, an extender band (useful for big winter parkas), and a soft fabric strap (more comfortable).
I’ve detailed these more later on in the accessories section down below, but here’s a quick peek:
The most significant thing you’ll note though with the band improvements is the use of a pretty substantial pin system – a monster of a pin really, which should reduce/eliminate some of the band breakage/loss issues that the FR310XT had.
Also of note is that the display on the FR910XT is slightly set into the watch – as opposed to being a single sheet of glass on top like the FR310XT. This should hopefully reduce breakage issues. Of course, if you run over the watch with your car, or smash a rock against it…it’s probably going to act like most electronic devices and break.
Software:
The FR910XT uses the Garmin ANT Agent software to download workouts from the watch to the desktop client. It does this across the ANT+ protocol, which is a wireless protocol similar to Bluetooth…except low energy like Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE). With your computer, you’ll plug-in the ANT+ USB stick, which allows your computer to connect wirelessly to the watch. The wireless distance it can cover can be pretty impressive – such as across a few rooms in a house.
But you don’t have to worry about cross-talk with ANT+, each device is uniquely paired. In fact, that’s one of the first things you’ll do with the ANT+ Agent:
Once you’ve paired the watch to the computer (and you can pair it to multiple computers should you wish to do so), it’ll automatically download the workouts and place them locally on your computer (Mac or PC). From there, it can also automatically upload them to Garmin Connect. I always check the box to upload to Garmin Connect, even if I don’t use Garmin Connect for day to day workouts – because it ensures I have a backup copy of my workouts no matter what happens to my PC.
Once you’ve uploaded your workouts, they’ll show up online in Garmin Connect, which I’ll talk about below.
If you’re using a 3rd party application, then the files are available to those applications on your local computer. You can actually browse to them yourself, should you want to. The locations vary depending on your operating system version and platform (details on all OS’s here). But on a Windows 7 PC, they’ll be at the below location:
Now that you’ve got the files uploaded or entered into an application, let’s go through some of the more common ones.
Garmin Connect (included, free):
Garmin Connect is Garmin’s online fitness site that allows you to store, manage, and analyze your workouts. Think of it as a giant training log, but one that allows you to also share your files with others. In September Garmin Connect got a pretty significant number of new features added to it, and this seems like a great time to talk about those features as well as some of the more common ones.
When you upload workouts, you’ll be able to see them in either calendar view or activity list view, such as the below:
Once you’ve selected a given workout, you can go ahead and dive into more detail on that specific workout, like the below map. You’ll see everything from workout totals, to small charts depicting the different recorded ANT+ metrics (i.e. heart rate, speed, cadence, power, etc…).
In addition, you can select to replay activities matched to charts and maps. It’s a bit gimmicky, but it can be fun to replay longer runs/rides/events and watch the numbers change as the map and/or terrain shifts.
Some of the newer features are the most interesting. For example, probably the feature that excites me the most is the workout creator. In the past, you had to use the downloadable Garmin Training Center application (which btw, works just fine with the FR910XT) to create workouts. While this software was functional, it is/was also lookin’ pretty old. So the online version is much appreciated.
It’s online here that you can create complex workouts like the below. This is my mile-repeat workout I have later this week, but by creating it here I can also add the slightly more complex warm-up & cool-down pieces I have – whereas the standard interval function couldn’t quite do these:
Outside of creating workouts, you can also do searches across Garmin Connect for a given location and find workouts to download. This is sorta like MapMyRun/MapMyRide – and is great for finding valid courses/routes. This is one area where Garmin Connect has a slight advantage over those other services in that it’s automatically placing all run/ride/activity data up on Garmin Connect, so if someone’s done something somewhere – you’ll likely see it. I used this during a trip to Jordan (country) to try and find a route in the middle of nowhere…and it assisted perfectly in my initial route planning.
In addition to route finding, you can also keep some basic health information up there as well. For example, if you have a weight scale such as one of the wireless ANT+ scales, you can keep track of weight-related metrics. I cover that down below in the Weight Scales section. And finally, you can do quite a bit of reporting on the site as well, such as total activities and analysis by type and goal setting too.
Let’s move onto a few other non-Garmin options.
TrainingPeaks (3rd party):
TrainingPeaks is one of the largest 3rd party software options. They have two versions, one is free and one is subscription based. Regardless of whether you pay, the entirety of TrainingPeaks is a website (except the device agent software you can install to upload files). I use TrainingPeaks as my primary method of tracking my training efforts. The major reason for TP over Garmin Connect is the advanced analytics. Additionally, it provides a completely seamless conduit between myself and my coach – something that my other software favorite (SportTracks) can’t do.
While at the time of this writing TrainingPeaks doesn’t officially support the FR910XT yet, it still works just fine. I was able to simply select the watch from the right-side dropdown and it automatically grabbed the .TCX file to upload to Training Peaks (the Garmin ANT Agent software creates both a .TCX and .FIT files from the FR910XT, for backwards compatibility with older applications).
From there I was able to log-in and see my run without any issues at all. If you’re looking for very advanced analytics in a web based form, there’s really no other option out there today that has as many features as TP and is completely web based.
SportTracks (3rd Party):
Another non-Garmin option is SportTracks. SportTracks is a Windows only client application that allows you incredibly in depth analysis of your workouts. Perhaps one of the biggest strengths though of SportTracks is the ability to allow community developers to extend the application with plug-ins. As a result, there’s a ton of totally cool functionality that’s been added over the years (some for a fee). SportTracks as an application has a free-mode with some limitations, and a paid mode for $35.
Because the ANT Agent software exports out both .TCX and .FIT files (the Garmin FR910XT initially records it in .FIT file, and then the ANT Agent makes another copy of the file in .TCX), SportTracks has no problem consuming these files today:
Once imported, the files act just like any other activity within SportTracks – allowing you to slice and dice the data as you see fit.
If you’ve got a Windows based PC, I definitely encourage you to check it out (free or otherwise).
Accessories:
The FR910XT has a number of accessories that are compatible with it. The vast majority of these are built on ANT+, which means that if you have an existing ANT+ accessory from an older device (or a different companies device), it’ll work just fine. For example, if you have a Heart Rate (HR) strap from a FR305, that’ll happily work with the FR910XT. Note however that no Polar straps or equipment is compatible with the Garmin units.
Heart Rate Strap(s):
Depending on which version you pickup, the unit will either come with the Premium ANT+ Heart Rate Soft Strap, or it’ll require you to pick one up. You can utilize any existing ANT+ strap (such as one from an older Garmin unit), but it does have to be ANT+. Meaning, a strap from a Polar or similar unit won’t work.
Garmin today itself offers two straps – one is the classic strap, and the other is the newer ‘Premium Soft Strap’. However, an even newer premium strap was tossed into the mix last summer. This new one solves almost all the issues of drops/spikes of previous soft and classic straps.
Note that the FR910XT bundle includes the newer premium soft strap HR monitor, which is different than the older soft strap one. This new strap resolves virtually all of the issues of the existing soft strap, based on my day to day use of it over the past year. Of course, if you’ve got an older strap and have some HR related issues, start here.
Speed/Cadence Sensors:
This sensor allows you to use the FR910XT indoors on a trainer, as well as record cadence information outdoors. Additionally, you can sometimes increase your speed accuracy a hair if you use the speed sensor outdoors (automatically occurs actually).
Power Meters:
The FR910XT supports ANT+ enabled power meters, such as those made by CycleOps (the PowerTap), SRAM/Quarq (the Cinqo), SRM, Power2Max and more. I own a Quarq Cinqo and the unit is easily paired to the power meter by going into the bike profile page and pairing the power meter.
As noted earlier, there have been significant changes in power meter data files – most notably the addition of the TrainingPeaks metrics of TSS (Training Stress Score), NP (Normalized Power), and IF (Intensity Factor). Also, the FR910XT supports Left/Right power for the upcoming Garmin Vector pedal based power meter, and the Brim Brothers Zone cleat based power meter (as well as the O-Sycne pedal power meter down the road).
It should be noted that the FR910XT is NOT compatible with any of the Polar power meters, including the new Look/Keo Power System pedal based power meter. This is because that system is reliant on Polar’s W.I.N.D. protocol, and not ANT+.
ANT+ capable power meters start at $700 from CycleOps (PowerTap), go through $1,500 (Quarq Cinqo and Garmin Vector) and top out at over $2,000 (SRM).
Running Footpod
The footpod allows you to gather pace, distance and cadence data while both indoors or outdoors. For example, if you’re running on a treadmill this would be required as GPS won’t show you moving. Outdoors it’s useful if your route takes you through a tunnel where you’d lose GPS reception.
The foot pod easily snaps right onto your shoelaces in a matter of a few seconds. After which you’ll want to calibrate it on a track to ensure the highest level of accuracy. I’ve found that after correctly calibrating the footpod, I can actually get both GPS and footpod data to align exactly. Pretty impressive.
There is a new quick release kit available for the FR910XT. The new kit aims to reduce some of the issues that the previous FR310XT quick release kit had around pins breaking – usually during a rough swim start – and causing the watch to be lost to the fish. Overall however, the goal of the quick release kit is to allow you to quickly remove the watch when you exit the swim and then lock it onto your bike, then remove it again for the run. Thus it comes with both a wrist strap, and a pile of bike mounts.
The FR910XT quick release kit uses a two-piece screw design that pulls the two screws tight into each other.
This requires you to actually use two screwdrivers at once – which can be a bit of a challenge. But you only have to install it once.
Once installed, the back of the unit is more flush than previous versions – again aiming to reduce the ability for the unit to catch its edge on something.
When you look at the bike portion, it uses the industrial strength rubber bands to allow you to quickly move it wherever you’d like (the mounts). And since an extra box of a few mounts only costs about $9, it’s easy to get more mounts for more bikes in the future.
Here’s a quick video showing me clipping in the watch into the quick release strap – just to give you an idea of how the quarter turn mount system works:
The kit includes the usual wrist strap, two bike mounts, a slew of rubber bands and two screwdrivers. And it costs $22.
Fabric Strap:
The fabric strap is a nice throwback to the Garmin FR305 quick release days when there used to be a fabric strap instead of the rubber one. I always preferred this and found it more comfortable. This time though it isn’t a quick release strap – but is nice and comfortable.
Like the quick release strap, there’s some dualing screwdrivers required because the pin system is still just as strong. But once you get past that, you’ll be good to go:
Note that the strap offers a bit less ‘extension’ than the regular strap – so be mindful that if your wrists are a bit larger, or if you’re trying to put it around a heavier coat – it may not reach.
This is a new entrant to the Garmin fitness accessory lineup – but is much welcomed. This allows you to finally use your Garmin Forerunner on a big winter parka – perfect for skiing!
Unlike the previous two straps – this one requires no tools, and only takes a split second to install. You just simply attach it in the same manner you would normally secure your strap band.
Once it’s done, you’ll have significantly increased the band length. Here’s a before and after:
The FR910XT is wirelessly compatible with any of the ANT+ enabled scales on the market. As of today, that’s essentially just three scales, though Tanita is aiming to bring ANT+ to nearly a dozen more scales here shortly.
ANT+ scales work by sending your weight data (and in the case of the Tanita BC-1000 also your body fat and hydration data) to the watch wirelessly. This is then uploaded to Garmin Connect via your watch. Thus every time you synchronize your watch (such as when you upload your workouts), it’ll also upload any weight scale data points as well.
In the case of the FR910XT, the scale is typically triggered by the watch (only the Lifesource scale is the other way around). You press the light button on the FR910XT, which triggers the ANT+ Weight Scale search protocol. Once that’s done, your scale will start blinking and beeping. This is your queue to step on the scale (unless you think the scale is a ticking bomb, in which case it’s your cue to run like heck).
After the scale has completed it’s weigh-in, the number will display on the FR910XT:
Which is then automagically transmitted to Garmin Connect and visible there:
As of today, there are three scales that offer ANT+ compatibility. They are as follows:
To make this slightly easier to understand, here’s a picture of them all with the key things you need to know:
Good? Good. Onwards!
Battery and battery extension options:
The FR910XT is designed to last about 20 hours – or essentially enough for a 17hr Ironman finisher (the time limit for the Ironman event).
However, it’s quite understandable that you may want to go for an activity longer than that. In fact, two years ago I did just that with a FR310XT, where I had it recording for over a day, during a long journey on a boat to a remote island where Great White Sharks were (trip report here). At the time, I used a simple AC adapter with the FR310XT, which worked well. As long as you started the activity, it would keep it recording in the background.
Well, the same is true of the FR910XT. Except now I’ve anteed up the stakes and used Garmin’s solar power charger and extra battery (single bundle). Technically, Garmin actually uses a system from PowerMonkey, and rebrands it. Either way, it works well. Now, in order for it to work with the FR910XT (or FR310XT), you need one minor sub-$5 item – a USB mini to regular adapter. This is the one you want.
Once you’ve got that and the external battery/solar power system, here’s what you’ll have:
(Above: FR910XT, Solar Panel, Battery Pack, FR910XT Charger, USB adapter)
Now that you have it all out, you’ll connect the pieces. They really only fit one way, so it’s pretty self-explanatory:
Note that the solar panel charges the external battery pack. The external battery pack in turn provides power to the FR910XT. You can either charge the battery pack, or charge something from it. You can’t do two at the same time. Though, since the FR910XT’s battery lasts 20 hours, that’s plenty of time to refill your solar charger.
With that, you’ll be set to go for just about…forever. Once you clip the charging clip on the unit will show the normal charging screen. But if you simply press the mode button you’ll be back to the regular display fields. It’s not super easy to manipulate the unit since the buttons are covered, but you can attach/detach the charger as often as need be.
Also note that again, you don’t need the solar piece there. That’s like the cherry on top. You can simply have the battery pack hanging out in your bag (or elsewhere), charging the FR910XT. I don’t see this as particularly useful for runners, but I’ve long since learned that people use the Forerunner devices for numerous other activities – hence why this will definitely appeal to someone.
Downloading FR910XT to iPhone/iPod/iPad without computer:
Finally, last but not least I’ll show off how to use the Wahoo Fitness iPhone dongle to download your FR910XT workouts directly from your watch to any number of online services (or just e-mail the results to yourself).
First you’ll need the Wahoo Fitness dongle, which works with just about all the iDevices. That’s the little white thing hanging off the bottom of my phone. It simply plugs into the dock connector like a power cord.
Then you’ll go into the pairing menu (seen above) to get the watch paired. This only takes a second and doesn’t affect your computer’s pre-established paired relationship with your FR910XT.
Once that’s done, it’ll list out the available workouts for you to download from the watch. You need only tap to select which workout(s) you want and then click download.
It’ll download the workout to the phone, by grabbing the .FIT files. Once it’s done that, it’ll allow you to upload to pretty much all of the major services from Garmin Connect to Training Peaks to Nike+ to MapMyFitness and more.
Or you can just e-mail the files to yourself (including CSV versions). Pretty cool.
Today you can do this on a handful of Garmin watches, including the FR60, FR310XT and FR610. You can read more about this in my past post on it here.
Summary & Overview:
The FR910XT represents an update to the previous generation triathlon focused FR305 and FR310XT. The goal of all of the multisport watches that Garmin makes has been to offer a watch that ‘does it all’ – and in the case of the FR910XT – it really does seem to deliver here, covering the major asks/gaps of past watches.
Without question, the biggest changes in the FR910XT boil down to the addition of an indoor swim mode – effectively making the watch a complete swim/bike/run watch as opposed to just a bike/run watch. For the cyclists and ultra runners, they’ve added in a barometric altimeter. And for the runners, they’ve added in walk/run mode – becoming more and more common for longer distance endurance pacing.
Of course, the FR910XT isn’t necessarily for everyone, as I believe it’s important to identify your rough category of watch needs and find a product that fits. So looking at watch recommendations, you’ve got a few different basic categories:
1) The Triathlete: No question, if you’re a triathlete – this is the watch if you want a single device that does it all. There’s simply no other product on the market today that can do recording in all three sports with respect to distance and recorded data, especially in the pool. The only advantage the Polar RCX5 has is that it can record heart rate in the pool (the FR910XT can’t). But the RCX5 can’t do distance in the pool, nor does it have an integrated GPS, ANT+, or power meter support.
2) The Casual Runner: The casual runner should probably look at the cheaper FR210. In general the FR210 is probably a better entry level watch in that it’s simplified enough where you can just go out and run. By the same token, I still believe that for 95% of runners, the FR210 is a perfect fit. As for the FR910XT and casual runners, bringing the FR910XT to the table for a casual runner is like bringing a gun to a knife fight.
3) The Advanced Runner: The FR610 is really aimed at this market. But if you want the additional barometric altimeter (such as an ultra running in the mountains) – then clearly the FR910XT is your best (and only) bet.
4) The Pure Cyclist: You probably want the Edge series of devices, so check out the Edge 500 – it’s the best bet here. If you need mapping, then check out the Edge 800. Of course, if you dabble between running and cycling, then that’s where the FR910XT really shines. The only thing you really lose coming from the Edge 500 to the FR910XT is 8 concurrent data fields down to 4 concurrent fields.
The FR910XT will be available later this year for $399US without a heart rate strap, and $449US with a heart rate strap.
Comparison Chart:
Over time this comparison chart has slowly grown. You’re best to simply click it and view it in all its full screen glory. The goal here being to compare the most popular GPS based multisport watches that I’ve reviewed thus far. You can click on it to expand it and make it readable.
Finally, no review would be complete without the infamous pro’s and con’s section. The reality here is that the previous generation FR310XT was and is fairly well liked, and the FR910XT simply built on that and tried to rectify the most common requests. Thus, there are very few big ticket ‘Cons’ left for the FR910XT without getting to personal preference items:
Pro’s:
– Added indoor lap swimming mode, recording distance/speed/strokes
– Added barometric altimeter
– Added Run/Walk reminder feature (which can be used for all sorts of other things, like nutrition)
– Added Virtual Racer feature, ability to race past performances/others
– Now supports TrainingPeaks Metrics (TSS/IF/NP), also pedal based power meters
– Accurately tracks distance, heart rate, pace and a ton of other metrics
– Connects to ANT+ foot pods, power meters, speed/cadence sensors
– Connects to ANT+ weight scales and gym equipment
– Wirelessly downloads workouts via ANT+ to computer
Con’s:
– Doesn’t record/display heart rate while underwater
– Doesn’t really work as a normal day to day non-sports watch (battery only 20hrs)
– Openwater mode is good, but still not fully solving openwater distance to high degree of accuracy
– Only supports one person at a time on watch, can’t split between husband/wife
– [Update]: Current bug in firmware version 2.70 makes multisport mode less useful – recommend staying off that firmware version
As always, thanks for reading, I appreciate it. If you have any questions – feel free to post them below, I try to answer as often as possible. Thanks!
Found this review useful? Or just want a sweet deal?
Hopefully you found this review useful. At the end of the day, I’m an athlete just like you looking for the most detail possible on a new purchase – so my review is written from the standpoint of how I used the device. The reviews generally take a lot of hours to put together, so it’s a fair bit of work (and labor of love). As you probably noticed by looking below, I also take time to answer all the questions posted in the comments – and there’s quite a bit of detail in there as well.
I’ve partnered with Clever Training to offer all DC Rainmaker readers exclusive benefits on all products purchased. You can read more about the benefits of this partnership here. You can pickup the FR910XT through Clever Training using the link below. By doing so, you not only support the site (and all the work I do here) – but you also get to enjoy the significant partnership benefits that are just for DC Rainmaker readers. And, since this item is more than $75, you get free US shipping as well.
Additionally, you can also use Amazon to purchase the unit or accessories (though, no discount). Or, anything else you pickup on Amazon helps support the site as well (socks, laundry detergent, cowbells). If you’re outside the US, I’ve got links to all of the major individual country Amazon stores on the sidebar towards the top.
As you’ve seen throughout the review there are numerous compatible accessories for the unit. I’ve consolidated them all into the below chart, with additional information (full posts) available on some of the accessories to the far right. Also, everything here is verified by me – so if it’s on the list, you’ll know it’ll work. And as you can see, I mix and match accessories based on compatibility – so if a compatible accessory is available at a lower price below, you can grab that instead.
Thanks for reading! And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. Further, you can always e-mail me at the address on the sidebar. And lastly, if you felt this review was useful – I always appreciate feedback in the comments below. Thanks!
Finally, I’ve written up a ton of helpful guides around using most of the major fitness devices, which you may find useful. These guides are all listed on this page here.
Great review, big fan of all of them and very insightful,
I just had one question of ambiguity, can you set the 910XT as a watch for the rest of the day after training and hence extend its battery life? Or does it remain at 20 hours no matter what?
Thanks again for the great reviews!
Ray – is there a combination of keys that locks the buttons on the 910 and also how long does it take for a firmware update to install = seems like it takes forever when it finally pairs with ANT+.
So I bought one, with a bunch of accessories, since my Suunto T6c is having a pretty hard time these days (it won’t download data any longer. Bummer). I guess I like it, mostly. I mean, it is giving me valuable information and whatnot. But a watch that doesn’t have watch functions? How stupid is that? I mean, seriously… Add “watch mode” which will show the time and date and won’t look for GPS. You see, I keep my gear for different sports in different geographical locations. The only piece of equipment that is common to all of them is the watch so I need to carry it with me at all times. So I do so – on my arm. The funny thing is that I look at it all of the time to get the time/date. Because, hello, it’s a watch. With no date.
I don’t think that it needs to be cracked, per se. Rather, Garmin just needs to give (some of) us access to the source code. I volunteer to be one with the code. I promise not to share it with anyone (but my coworkers – who do more embedded than I do). In fact… If they released the code to the world (and not just to me) we would see all kinds of REALLY COOL development happen – people would come up with completely new and novel uses for the watch. Why, they might add lower-power watch mode! Or games or who knows? But, yeah, of course they won’t release the code. Ha ha ha ha ha. I mean, really. They’ll say it might give a competitor an edge. People in marketing can be so dumb sometimes!
Thanks for a very nice and thorough review.
I have a question I hope you can help me with – do you know if you can (and how you can) change the sport in “Other”?
On my watch the “other” sport is skiing, but I would like to change it to e.g. fitness, golf or sailing.
Hi Ray,
first, thanks a lot for all your comprehensive reviews and inputs on all the geekeries available, these are helpful inputs when time is to choose one.
I plan to buy a 910XT (or a Suunto Ambit, depends if it’s the “trailer” in me or the “runner that fiercly wants to begin triathlon” wins…even if I think that the Garmin will do just fine in trailing, event for 85km/ 18hrs trails).
I just have a question about the different data pages that you can display when, let say, you are running. Is it possible, during an activity, to set a page to display a virtual partner?
The scenario I have is for example while running a 10K, with a specific goal. You’ll have your usual data fields (HR, Pace, distance, time), and a page where you can easily see if you’re ahead or behind your goal, thanks to the virtual partner.
Thanks in advance for your answer :)
(perhaps one day we’ll see each other at La Ferme de Gally, as I live in the countryside nearby :) )
Jeremy the virtual partner is a page in addition to the pages you set up, so when you are out on your run you have the 4 pages set up by you, plus the virtual partner page, plus a map page.
Hope this helps
Yup, you can have the Virtual Partner display as a separate page (that’s how it shows up). What you describe about having HR/Pace/Distance/Time is pretty much exactly how I do it, with a secondary page or the VP.
Hi,
Loved the review, I’ve been using my new 910XT for a few weeks now and have found the following functionality has not been propogated from the FR305.
1) you can’t display the current pace/speed zone on the display during workouts
2) you can’t give pace/speed zones custom names
3) you can’t use non consective pace/speed zones…
i.e all in min/mile
Thanks so much for your extensive reviews. One question, I have 2 bikes that each have their own quarq (2 bikes, 2 quarqs). Is there a bike 1, bike 2 function so I can easily use it with 2 bikes?
OK, I recently got this watch for christmas and so far I’m a bit disappointed. I’ve been using Polar for years and recently wanted to go with an integrated GPS solution. Finding your site back in September, I pulled the trigger on a Timex Runtrainer w/ HR as I was mostly running. Now that I want to get into doing tri’s I asked for and got this watch from santa. Maybe I just need to be trained on it?
I’ve been used to being able to set all funtctions of a watch/trainer via computer app. However, it seems like Garmin only uses GC and by the looks of things I can only have access to a limited subset of functions via GC. Is there any other way to configure these watches besides GC and/or the watch itsself?
Hmm, I’m looking to write something up on that in mid-February following a weeklong Alps ski trip. Both my brother and I are former ski racers (we grew up in the Pacific Northwest and race pretty competitively).
In general, when I ski with it, I switch the settings over to focusing on things like Ascent, Descent, and elevation. Along with max speed (woot!), and current speed and distance.
Thx for the Review this is very helpful. I have two questions:
1) Is there a way to turn off GPS so the next time you turn on the watch it does not starts searching for satellites automatically. It is kind of annoying that every time you turn it on it searches and it takes couple minutes until the message “Are you indoors?” appears.
2) Is there an option for auto power down? I haven’t found it yest and my feeling is that there is no one. It will be nice to have it so you can power down the device automatically like if you are not in any training mode after 10 or 20 min.
1) Sorta. You can’t set it to always have GPS off. But, as soon as the ‘Finding Satellites’ screen comes up, simply tap enter (lower right button), and then it’ll instantly ask if you want to disable GPS. :)
Thank you for the excellent in-depth review. I am seriously considering this for multi-sport use and as part of that, I am keen on using it while rowing.
From your discussion of paddleboarding it appears to have some capacity to measure stroke rate using the accellerometer that is built in but when I asked Garmin about this recently I received a simple “no”. Are you aware of anyone having tested this either mounted on the boat or the shaft of the ore?
Hi Rainmaker
I love your reviews man… while a lot of what you say goes over my head, they also contain all the information that I need for someone completely new to training gadgets – I’ve just been swimming blind all my life and riding blind since taking up cycling a year ago.
None of my sports are competitive aside from the occasional open water swim or “fun ride”. Swimming is my main sport, which I do 98% of at an indoor pool. The other 2% is open water, the day before and the day of an event.
Cycling is secondary, which is 100% outdoors. (I don’t run – with a history of stress fractures, I don’t push my foot any harder than normal gym work)
I’d love to ask for your advice:
– is the Garmin 910 the only device on the market with both GPS and accelerometer?
– does the accelerometer only work on flip turns, or does it work by an open turn as well? (The terrible flip turns I do use more energy than they’re worth) And is this the case with all swim watches?
– Given only 2% of my swimming is open water, given that I don’t run, and given the new release Garmin cycling GPS’, would you suggest that someone in my position go for the 910? Or would I be better off with a dedicated unit for each activity? (Say, a Garmin Swim/Finis Swimsense and a Garmin 500 w/ HRM and Spd/Cad?) The prices that I’m looking at in Australia indicate that 2 dedicated units will be about 30 bucks cheaper, and means I can get the Swim now and the 500 later (maybe they’ll get cheaper?) – but I’d hate to regret not waiting the extra month and spending the extra 30 bucks if there’s going to be something that I’m missing out on. (Swim metrics are one of the things I don’t understand…)
I hope you get a chance to reply with all your overseas adventures :)
1) Technically the Suunto Ambit has an accellerometer too, but it’s not used for much today. And, so does the Motoactv. The Motoactv uses theirs for more activity sensing, whereas the Ambit uses it for ‘fused speed’ (questionable).
2) It works on both flip and open turns
3) That’s tough. A Garmin Swim/500 combo would work well, but at the same time that’s probably pretty close to the price of the FR910XT anyway. Indeed, the Edge 500 probably will get cheaper over the course of the year, but not anytime before summer I’d bet.
This is an awesome review, thank you so much for posting. I have a couple of questions.
If I still want the functionality of my Edge 800, how do you “pair” these devices? If I’m wearing the HR monitor, or getting PM data, which device gets the data? Or do they both acquire it?
Since you also have both how do you do it? When importing all your data is it possible to merge data? Does it even make sense to?
I currently have an RCX5 that I will probably get rid off and get the 910xt, seems to be much better. Especially since I don’t care to know my HR when I’m swimming. The only time that I would use this would be during a race since the strap won’t stay up unless you have a wetsuit. I’m upset that my RCX5 GPS didn’t record 50% of the beginning of my bike during my last IM.
Yes, you can pair sensors to multiple devices (I do it daily in devices testing).
You can’t easily merge data together on any Garmin site, but you can with some sites like Training Peaks. The challenge is getting the two data sets lined up JUST perfectly. It’s more difficult than you think if you’re trying to do it every.single.day.
Does anyone know if you can use different measurement units for different sports? eg All my training for cycling/running is done in miles but all my swim stuff is done in metres
Excellent reviews as always Ray. It seems I can upload to Garmin Connect the activities and all, but I cannot send to unit the courses / workouts I create in GC. Any idea why?
Thanks
Having the same issue. However, I only noticed it after I switched to my Windows 8 Laptop, but never tried sending info (courses/workouts) to my older Windows 7 laptop so I’m not sure if that is the issue.
My garmin 910 XT is about 8 months old and although fully charged (shows 100% on display when on charger) it will not power up, ie turn on. Is there a battery that needs replacing frequently? or have I other major probs. I have reviewed the manual but cannot find an easy solution. I live in Sth pacific so not easy access to agents. any idea?
Try doing a ‘soft reset’, that should fix it up. And failing that, try a ‘hard reset’. A hard reset will cause loss of data, whereas a soft reset won’t.
Unfortunately not. The footpod uses a different ANT+ ‘Device Profile’. A device profile is a category of ANT+ sensors, such as heart rate straps, cycling speed/cadence sensors, running footpods, cycling power meters, etc…
In this case, the footpod is running specific from a data structure standpoint. So even though technically the guts could be used to determine cadence, the connectivity/communications layer is focused on running.
I am pretty much sold on the 910xt however, there are two functionalities missing for me, particularly the ability to show your exact location in lat/long coordinates. I run, swim, ride and also spend a lot of time hiking and mountain climbing. The ability to “call up” lat/long coordinates is essential, to simply verify my location when required. Given the 910 has GPS it should be a relatively simple function to show your current location. Also, the addition of a compass would complete the picture. Are these ever likely to be available at some point?
You can call up the lat/long, via the GPS menu. It’s a bit wonky, but if you go to ‘Save Position’, it then shows you current lat/long. You can also then go down to navigate to a given location and/or lat/long as well. Not perfect, but sorta functional.
That seals it then in terms of my 910/Ambit decision-making. As far as the compass goes, I would never leave home on a hiking trip without my protractor compass so that’s not essential. Yes, the Ambit has that super-cool 3D compass but overall with my sporting lifestyle the 910 seems to now tick (almost) all the boxes, thanks to your knowledge of the functions. On a final note, thanks for the speedy reply, awesome site!
In many of your product reviews, you mention testing the HR while swimming. I know the HR soft strap is fine in the water (because that’s how I wash it), but is the actual electronic HRM that snaps onto the strap safe in the water? I would have never thought it was waterproof or even resistant.
Thank you so much for your in-depth reviews of Garmin, Polar and Suunto – triathlete watches!! I ended up purchasing this Garmin 910 XT triathlon bundle from Clever Training and thank to you, I got 10% off!!
After reading your review, I thought this watch was going to be the greatest thing ever.
It isn’t. I wanted to tell your readers a bit more.
– I live in an urban area. The length of time it takes to find and “attach to” a satellite is ridiculous, and takes a lot longer than a Garmin Edge. (With that said, everything else about this watch as it relates to cycling is very good).
Where my real problems lie are with the swimming, and I don’t believe you’ve done a great job of telling people about the perils – other than suggesting we can buy a $10 plugin for an unrelated program to fix the date. I only ever do freestyle, and I have a very good technique:
– you cant manually set a stroke. Even with my very good swimming technique, none of the 3 swims I’ve done with this watch were close to accurate. More than half of the swimming I’ve done with this watch appears as backstroke, and another 10% is breastroke. They’re pretty different to freestyle! One would half the watch under the water the whole time, the other I would be moving my arm in the opposite direction. Given that I’m in a lane by myself, I think one of the issues relates to advice you gave me previously in these comments – this watch doesn’t like open turns.
– Again, I’m in a lane by myself (so no traffic going the other way). And yet a 500 metre swim became 600. In 10x50m + 10x100m “sprintervals”, I ended up with a distance of 1625m.
– Open turns aren’t the only problem though. Sometimes it just decides that a lap ends. As I said, I have a good stroke – but I’m certainly not swimming a 13 second lap followed by an 18 second lap! This was actually one 31-second lap that the watch inexplicably cut in half.
– The lack of an autopause is mentioned in your review – but just how much this sucks isn’t adequately covered. The action of having to hit start, lap when you’re resting, then hit lap, start when you take off again is annoying, and it isn’t conducive to getting accurate data.
Finally – you may have covered this elsewhere on your site… But Garmin Connect SUCKS. As I said, I don’t think I should have to use a separate program, pay $10 for a plugin, and have to mess around with uploading, transferring, then editing just so I can have accurate data. This is crazy, and it defies belief.
Further, I don’t know whether it’s just my unit, my computer, or me – but transferring data is far from seamless. As I type this, my computer and watch have been trying to transfer data for around an hour, with repeated fails. I guess if there’s a question buried within this review of my own, it’s whether you know what might be causing this, and what I need to review to fix it – I can open the ANT agent, I can see the data transferring, then it gets to 100% and fails. So I still cant see the data from the run that I completed about 90 minutes ago. Disappointing, and infuriating.
I saw an advertisement for Garmin devices not long ago – “‘I love my Garmin’ said everyone who ever owned one.”
Unfortunately, I don’t. It’s the only thing on the market that catered to my needs of pool swimming, ow swimming and cycling, but this thing is still so far from perfect nearly 2 years and at least 7 software updates since it’s release, I can’t believe the horrific amount that they’re still charging for it.
I’m seriously considering returning this to the place of purchase, because I can’t justify the $400 I paid for it if it can’t give me an accurate swimming distance and when I can’t edit the data.
Both your slow-sat problem, and your slow-transfer problem are typically resolved by doing a soft-reset. Usually the slow-sat problem is due to the unit incorrectly holding onto a specific GPS satellite that it can’t really find anymore.
By soft-resetting you don’t lose any data, but you clear out that cache.
On the long-transfer times, that’s often a single activity that’s causing it, and the soft resets tends to help there as well.
For swimming, I totally agree with you. I think he needs to improve in swimming just is much to be called bad.
They could at least let configurable for Auto / Manual Lap and style.
Hi, this product is great in many ways. But the swimming part is not the best. Swimming in 25m pool seems to be much better, but in 50m pool there is a huge differents between the real values and “garmin” values. For example 2,5km and 3,2km. Hope next generation will be such good in swimming like the rest of garmin 910XT :)
so, given some relatively consistent feedback that the 910xt is not great for swimming – is it safe to assume that given it uses the same technology as the Garmin Swim, that the Swim is no better?
because i was initially looking at a Garmin Swim/Edge 500 combo, because I don’t really run – and because if i start running, a running-specific watch isn’t that expensive. i’d quite happily return the 910 and get the Swim and the 500 if the Swim does a better job.
with all that said though – i went for a swim today, i was a lot more conscious of “bumping” the accelerometer. and despite the fact that my tumble turns are rubbish, i did shorter reps using tumble turns just so i could get a comparison. as i suspected, the majority of my false readings where coming from open turns.
20×50 metre reps in a 25m pool using tumble turns gave me a perfect reading – 1000m, all with freestyle.
ray – perhaps that’s the feedback and advice that i’d give to you. your reviews are awesome, and i spend a ridiculous amount of time on your site reading up on products that i have no intention of buying just cos i love all the info. but as i hinted at yesterday, the advice that this watch doesn’t care whether you tumble or open turn, in my experience, just isn’t right. the accuracy between open turns and my rubbish tumble turns is like chalk and cheese – it’s the difference between useful data and a $400 paperweight that, this time yesterday, i was considering returning.
I don’t doubt you’re having problems with your unit on the difference between open and flip turns. Unfortunately, I just don’t see those issues with my unit and/or my swimming style. I’ve literally done all combinations of tests in this area from doing 500y sets all-open, and then 500-flip. And then 500 where every length I’d alternate between open and flip. No difference.
As noted above in the ‘Tips for getting good swim data’ section, there’s a lot that folks can do to improve performance. Given the FR910XT is an accelerometer based unit (like the Garmin Swim), it’s susceptible to your turns and directional changes.
I wish I had a better answer. Ultimately, there are no doubt folks that have troubles with it (and not their fault), but there are far more folks that seem to be happy with it, especially after taking into consideration ways to minimize issues.
So I finally bought a 910xt the other day after months of reading your site and others and deliberating. I am a runner and sometimes hiker, but with the 610, fenix, and 910xt all about the same price the 910 seemed like a no-brainer for the combo of running features, true waterproofness, and battery life. (I wish I had it for my Mount Whitney hike last summer.)
So far so good with setup and a nice hilly test run. I like the automatic wireless data upload; it kind of surprised me, actually, and worked like champ. The initial firmware update was kind of a pain, though, but oh well.
Thanks for all your awesome reviews and info. It was a huge help.
Just noticed eBay now has “manufacturer refurbished” 910xt’s for $319.95. Seems like a pretty good deal (although it does not include the ANT+ USB stick). But, if you have a USB stick, then you have yourself a good deal….
After much deliberation and obsessively reading reviews on your site I decided that the 910xt would be the best for me to use running year round with occasional snorkelling, kayaking and open water swimming in summer months. The large footprint, fully customisable four fields display and waterproofing were major factors for me. The timex run trainer 2.0 looked like a great second choice, but with only a us warranty available from timex on clevertraining sale I have now just taken the plunge and got an unboxed new 910xt with hr strap off ebays uk site for equivalent of $330 which is less than the TRT 2.0 would have worked out at to get to me here in Ireland from clevertraing with import duties.
Rainmaker!
Do you know if this or the 310XT is compatible with a Chromebook? I have a Chromebook, and it works well with my Edge 800. I am thinking of getting the 310 or 910, but I’m not sure if the Chromebook will pick up the USB as a mounted drive.
Any hope that Garmin might introduce a Forerunner 910XT type of device with the added ability to record HR under water? If not, is there a device from another manufacturer that comes with the ability to support lap-swimming (record distance, speed, strokes, AND HR)?
Unfortunately, there’s nothing like that on the market today. I’d suspect we’ll see Garmin probably go the route of Suunto with a memory belt like device, that records HR to the HR strap, and then syncs it later. It’s been rumored for a while.
Do you know that memory belt of Suunto is becoming a discontinued product? I was told by the Suunto rep for my country. The remaining belts are sold with a huge discount, but I did not buy knowing the lack of ANT+.
Thanks for your reply Rainmaker. I bought the 910XT anyway.
If you (or anyone else) come up with a solution – integrating in sync HR data to 910XT pool swims – I sure appreciate if you can share the info here. I won’t mind if the solution requires some additional effort like file parsing etc.
I’ve just bought the 910XT, and although I agree that it’s not a day-to-day watch (due to battery life), I would like to see the current date/time displayed before a race. How do I get the watch to display time and date so that I can at least get to the starting line in time.
Since I don’t use all four data pages in my run profile on the 910, I set up the fourth page fr three data items with “time” in the big slot and “sunrise” and “sunset” in the smaller two. Putting it on page four keeps it one page change away from my main page whether I have my heart-rate or cadence pages on or not.
I guess making it page two would do the same thing… :)
Hi DC, thanks for that reviews, and congratulations for your great idea of doing and enjoying what you like. I’ve got one 910xt and still learning about it. I’ve the review and I found it more usefull than the owners manual.
About the HR straps and the registers: comparing Polar vs Garmin which is more accurate. Historically, Polar’s been used more for its HR precision registers. What about Garmin’s?
When in a triathlon, how could you split for transitions?
Thanks.
From a strap standpoint, Polar tends to make better straps. If the strap doesn’t have any issues for you, then both units are really equal in that area. It’s just a case of whether you get spikes/dropouts on the strap itself, which while the Polar certainly isn’t immune to – it does tend to be slightly better.
I got the 910xt today. My 310xt which I had for two years died last week.
Besides the similarities on the menu, shape etc and differences on the specs which can be found easily doing a google search I noticed the following difference on the display.
The illumination of the 910xt is brighter in the middle of the upper part of the screen. The 310xt has a more uniform illumination light. This can be noticed if you look closely at the pics of this blog
Also the large fonts on the 910xt don’t look so smooth as on the 310xt.
First I thought this had to do with the screen size or screen resolution but it didn’t because these specs are identical.
Then I noticed that it has to do with the type of the fonts.
The 910xt uses more round fonts which due to the resolution of the screen don’t appear so smooth.
The 310xt uses fonts that look more like the digital fonts and look a lot smoother on that screen resolution.
I hope the quality of the electronics on the 910xt is a lot better than the 310xt.
My 310xt at some point couldn’t aquire the sattelites. It was out of warranty so I repair it myself.
After a couple of months and a lot km of running and open water swimming it suddendly died.
I returned from my training, switch it off, set it to charge, nothing! Tried every button combination, nothing!
Battery was OK, something on the motherboard died, so end of the road.
Thank you for your great reviews! Very good job! It really helped me a lot on making my decision between 910xt and the Ambit.
Hi Ray,
do u know if it’s possible to pair the 910xt with the lemond revolution powermeter? I know lemond use a particular ant+ protocol (maybe closed) so it seem that is not possible to pair.
Unfortunately not. The LeMond today transmits everything in a closed-ANT variant as opposed to open-ANT. Wish it wasn’t that way. :( Even with the PowerPilot, no love.
Have you noticed any difference in battery life between the 310XT and the 910XT? My 310XT runs out of juice after about 15 hours (smart gps recording intervals, backlight off, hr enabled). I know they’re both supposed to work for 20 hours straight, but I never got anywhere near that. Even if the 910XT would hold out for two or three hours longer, that would be a bonus. It’s either that or get faster and finish the damn 100-120K trail race before the battery runs out. I’ve looked at the Fenix as an alternative, but as far as I can gather, that one only goes beyond 15 hours with 15-second gps recording intervals. Which is just not practical when you’re running trails with lots of sharp turns and you use Courses a lot.
So, the Fenix is not an alternative, but the 910 could be if the battery life would be closer to its specified 20 hours. Can you shed any light on this?
I haven’t done any super-precise tests between the FR310XT and FR910XT from a battery standpoint. Usually I end up charging a few times a week when downloading.
You could however go the route of a Magellan Switch Up with extra battery packs…might be worth a look.
Thanks, Ray! The Magellan is an interesting option, but I don’t want to mess about with batteries when I’ve already got to pay attention to nutrition, hydration, blisters, course markers, timing and such. It gets in the way of having fun.
A friend of mine uses his 910XT during 24 hour (looped track) races. He just told me a full battery usually gets him to the 22 hour mark, which is good enough for me at the moment, so I’ll probably go get one. We’ll know more by april 21st.
P.S.: In case you were wondering, some people really do read your entire reviews, not just the conclusion. Just to say your extensive writeups are much appreciated!
i am thinking about to move all my stuff from polar (cs500 and rcx) to garmin. just bought the edge 510 for time trial bike and now thinking about buying an 910xt to have all my data centralized. Do you think it is worth the change or would you wait for the successor? I am doing triathlon and own a garmin swim as well (only for the indoor pool)
The actual running speed is very important to me. If I would buy a 910xt I would buy the foot pod as well. Is there the possibility to measure the km via gps and only display the actual speed via foot pod? Is there the possibility to calibrate it for every pair of shoe (i created a profile on the polar to every pair)? Reason – every pair is different and needs different settings. A good sideeffect is, that I can control the total distance I ran with the shoe and replace it after about 600km.
is there a possibility to see the time per heart-rate-zone in the garmin connect tool? is there a funcitonality of training intensity view compared to polar?
Thanks a lot in advance for your help
Best regards
Paolo
910XT seems to be released in early 2010.
Next model will be released because the three years has passed.
Buy a 910XT?, or do I have to wait for The sequel ?
wonder the rumors of the next model.
The FR910XT was announced in October 2011. It became available in the January-April 2012 timeframe (very limited availability initially). So effectively, one year old.
I wouldn’t expect to see any new hardware this year to replace the FR910XT. Typically Garmin operates on a 2-year cycle, but I see little value in releasing/announcing a triathlon watch in the fall (of 2013) ,when they could work on it for another 4-6 months and announce for spring (like they did with the FR310XT).
Awesome review…. Just got a 910XT primarily due to this review.
A couple of questions… Is there any way to get Live Track working with a 910 ?
1) Given that the 910 can talk to an iPhone via the ANT+ dongle, shouldn’t it be feasible to get the same Live Track functionality via ANT+ connectivity that you can get for the Edge 810 via Bluetooth? Hopefully this is a matter of patience (not my strong point) before this comes along.
2) If all I want is for my wife / friends to tell where I am on a course will the “Find my friends” app do the job anyway? No real data other than position – but at least it should allow them to know I am about to come around the corner.
1) In theory with the iPhone ANT+ dongle if Garmin were to actually innovate with that and add such functionality both in the FR910XT firmware and in the Garmin Connect app software. I see that as highly unlikely. Actually, virtually zero chance.
Love the review….really thorough. I do have a couple of questions, of course.
1. When you set up a course running or biking. Is there a function that gives a count down? ie., if mantaining pace of _____mph then ____minutes/hrs to completion?
2. I have Garmin 800 bike computer, will this mess up HR monitor not going to one or the other?
I am in Afghanistan at the time and dont have resources here to try this out. I am leaning towards getting this, but the 800 is so freakin awesome, I dont want duplicate results on bike bike portion, although I dont have anything for the swim or run now, other then Nike+ pod in my shoe.
1) No, not today. That’s similar to what the Magellan Switch has (like an ETA timer), really cool.
2) Nope, you can send to both concurrently. I do this on almost every ride, as I’m always testing 1 (or 7) devices. One HR strap to all devices at once.
I’ve ordered a Garmin 910xt based on the information in your review and I know my decision has been based on sound (and impressive) information. Thank you.
Could you please advise me: I use my watch for hiking, both for urban and bushland training walks and for treks (Nepal in a couple of weeks). Which sports mode should I choose, “running” or “other”, or something else?
For hiking and walks I’d use ‘Running’. The primary difference is that it’s showing your pace as minutes/mile (or kilometers), versus showing it as speed (i.e. MPH or KPH).
Sorry boss for disagreeing, but if TE is important for you, you should avoid running for walking and hiking, since 910XT has a learning curve and if you make lots of walks it will strongly influence this learning process based on Firstbeat algorithm.
Not wrong, but I’d wager that less than 1% of people use either TE or Firstbeat. I do realize it’s important to some (including yourself) – and not discounting that, but most don’t use it. I was merely answering the question as to which profile settings to use for general use.
tAnd what about the calorie calculation of 910XT? It has nothing to do with any learning curve? I am not fully sure, but my intuition says that you face the same influence. Unfortunately i dont remember all the white paper stuff I have read about it.
Thanks for the big review, very helpful.
But at the moment, I still can’t choose between the Garmin 910XT or the Bryton 60R.
To bad you haven’t included any information about the Bryton.
Off-course the Garmin is the better machine (because of the pool swimming abilities), but the Bryton offers some bang for the buck (almost the same, for about 30% less).
Have you got any idea about this difficult choice?
I haven’t tested out the Bryton 60 yet. I’ve been talking with them, but it won’t realistically hit my radar until later this spring or early summer. Just a bit jammed up right now.
I’ve heard mixed things on the Bryton, so it’s hard for me to offer an opinion here at this point. Sorry!
I wonder why you, in pro’s and con’s, write “- Doesn’t really work as a normal day to day non-sports watch (battery only 20hrs)”
when you, earlier in your review, write “In short though, the answer is on a single charge the device will last approximately 55 hours with multiple ANT+ streams (heart rate, power, speed/cadence) feeding data to it.”
For two reasons. One, a ton of people complained that I didn’t list that it really isn’t used as a day to day watch. It doesn’t show the date, which many people want for day to day use.
And two, the 20hrs is with GPS, whereas the 55hr comment is in reference to GPS off.
Does CleverTraining no longer offer the tri bundle? I just see 910xt + HR, and speed/cadence separate. But I also want the mount and misc. goodies I see included in the amazon tri bundle.
I got impatient and found the quick release kit there, and ordered the 3 items separately. I think that’s the same as the tri bundle. Looks like I paid $16 more. :( Ah well, still got your discount, and got to support you.
Hi Ray,
Thanks for the excellent review as always.
I’m planning to get a 910XT soon, but was wandering if Garmin has any plans to release a new version of this multisport watch. You probably have more idea of their product cycle and how when they roll out new updates.
I would not expect an hardware update before the end of this triathlon season. The FR910XT is really only about a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but didn’t really become truly available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframe. Typically Garmin refreshes on a product cycle no less than every 2 years (the FR910XT was about 32 months).
Fantastically thorough Rainmaker…..Regarding SUP and paddle rate, I am hoping to do something similar for an outrigger canoe. Both have the problem that the top hand is almost stationary compared to the bottom hand and also swimming strokes, so the stroke is unlikely to be measured when your watch hand id the top hand.
Do you think a foot Pod may work strapped to the lower end of the paddle? Might it also indicate stroke length?
Indeed, using the watch alone doesn’t work too well for kayaking (I tried here): link to dcrainmaker.com
I haven’t had a chance to glue on a footpod, and now that I’ve moved to Paris, I left my kayaks with some friends. :(
That challenge with the footpod though is that it isn’t used in swimming mode, so even if it was used, you wouldn’t get the stroke-length aspects that way. Sorry!
Largely based on Ray’s review, I went out and bought a 910XT and took it for a 84 kilometer (52 mile) trail run yesterday. Strangely, it exhibited the exact same bug as my deceased 310XT: after about 6 hours, it just shut itself off. Like with the 310XT, I was following a course drawn with Garmin Connect, using smart recording and HR strap and the display was set to map view. I turned it back on, pressed Start and it just continued recording. This unit was delivered to my local running store straight from Garmin, so I doubt it’s an older revision. It came with the latest (2.70) firmware.
On a positive note, battery usage seems to be right where it should be: 64 percent remaining after 8:45 of continuous use, which comes down to a little over 4 percent per hour.
Apart from the shutting down issue, I really like it. Compared to the 310XT, the edges are a little more rounded, the strap is more comfortable, the display is much more crisp and it has some useful extra data fields (like sunset, sunrise). It’s not without its flaws: the backlight is rather poorly distributed, the buttons on the side are harder to operate and the barometric altimeter is accurate nor consistent. I ran 4 consecutive 21k laps, so the resulting graph should show the same pattern repeated 4 times. It doesn’t. Not by a long shot.
Thanks for the intensely thorough review. I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into producing these informative pieces and the attention you continue to pay to your reader’s comments.
You’ve definitely sold me on the 910XT but when I went to Clever Training to purchase the Triathlon Bundle using your discount code I noticed 2 things…
1. They do not sell a Triathlon Bundle
2. The discount no longer works.
Eek, sorry on the code! I just shot over a quick note to them after I saw your message to see what’s up. I can confirm the code wasn’t applying the discount.
As for the triathlon bundle, here’s the link once the code works: link to shareasale.com
Should have the code sorted out here in a few hours.
Great review and lots of useful comments too!
I just bought the 910XT because my 310XT have shown some odd freeze issues lately. I have now been running with the 910XT for two weeks.
For running, it does not feel different whatsoever. Basically the same functions and the same display. I do look forward to utilize the new swimming functions and not having to count lanes anymore :-)
I agree with previous readers. Buttons are less accessible and backlight looks a bit cheap/flawed. Battery time does go beyond 20 hours compared compared to approx. 15 hours on the 310XT.
One function I have never seen covered in depth anywhere is the “Back To Start”. Since I occationally loose my way on very long trips, it was the major selling point purchasing my first GPS running watch (310XT).
Two times in the past, I have really needed to use “Back To Start”, but it only made things worse. (Later on, I discovered that it does NOT point you towards start but somehow tries to backtrack your previous route.)
Today after running beyond 30km, I realised I was further from my starting point than anticipated and decided to try out “Back To Start” on the 910XT. The watch then spent the next 5 minutes “processing track”! (during which I was running in the wrong direction most of the time).
Am I the only one user with the impression that “Back To Start” is close to useless?
Ray,
Do you know if you can somehow prevent the watch from going into “processing track” state and just give you the orientation and distance to the starting point? Thanks!
Unfortunately not. I’ve only used it a few times, and never with a lot of speed. And half the time (on various firmware variants) it’d just crash completely. I think I posted somewhere about a trail run where I used it (or planned to), and it crashed…leaving me completely hosed. I ran so many more miles than I expected to (I think it was about an extra 90 minutes or so). Sigh…
You mention your experience with several models crashing while doing “Back To Start”. I too experienced odd behaviour:
While doing the “processing track” stuff, my 910XT suddenly started searching for sattelites (no trees or buildings near) for no reason. For a moment, all numbers went blank, but then everything returned to normal again.
Maybe you could suggest to Garmin that they implement a “Point To Start” as a simple fix?
– All the information it needs to provide is a compas arrow pointing towards start and the distance to start in line-of-flight. No hazzle, no confusion :-)
Thanks for the outstanding review (and blog) Ray. Quick question – I’m almost 100% sure the Forerunner is the watch I want – just curious as to how soon you think Garmin might choose to upgrade this product line? Or do you think the 910 will be their flagship multi-sport product for some years to come?
You mention your experience with several models crashing while doing “Back To Start”. I too experienced odd behaviour:
While doing the “processing track” stuff, my 910XT suddenly started searching for sattelites (no trees or buildings near) for no reason. For a moment, all numbers went blank, but then everything returned to normal again.
Maybe you could suggest to Garmin that they implement a “Point To Start” as a simple fix?
– All the information it needs to provide is a compas arrow pointing towards start and the distance to start in line-of-flight. No hazzle, no confusion :-)
I don’t expect an update to the FR910XT this season. It’s really only barely a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but wasn’t available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframes. Given there’s no real competition right now (with all three sports covered), there’s little reason for them to update it this season.
I’m a runner/cyclist (fitness, not competition). I picked up a 910xt at the regular price from REI (with tax, $435-ish). It’s pretty amazing. I saw the 310xt on sale for $195 (at Clever), essentially a savings of $240!!! I am not really interested in the swimming function. Not on a budget, but I’m curious if the 310 would be the better choice for this scenario?
In my opinion it’s well worth the cost saving of $240 to go with the 310xt over the 910xt. I’ve had both and the 310xt worked perfectly fine for me. I did switch to the 910xt because of the swimming features, but if I wasn’t doing lap swimming (remember the 310xt has open water function) I might have been tempted to stay with the 310xt. If you can live with the slightly taller profile and less robust wrist strap of the 310xt then it’s probably worth the cost saving.
Any rumors, leaks, educated guesses on an announcement of release of an updated 910xt. It’s coming up on two years, and before I spend $400, it would be nice to know if a new version will appear in the next couple of months. Thank you in advance for any thoughts
I don’t expect an update to the FR910XT this season. It’s really only barely a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but wasn’t available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframes. Given there’s no real competition right now (with all three sports covered), there’s little reason for them to update it this season.
Awesome review. I bought a 610, and thought that I would be happy with it. I am. Ecstatically so. But I am more into cycling than running, and your comments in here about cycling have sold me on the 910, so the 610 is going to the GF, and the 910 has just been ordered through your CT link. Both of these are probably more than I need, but the extra features are actually encouraging me to make use of them. I thought I would be happy having all my miles from road and trainer combined, and foregoing my mtb stats.
Not so. The multi bike functionality of the 910 was kew. And the barometric altimeter. I talked myself into being ok that the 610 didn’t have it, but I really want it.
I was never really into running, but I do love to (power)hike. The Garmin’s features have motivated to get out an run.
There is a software bug you need to know about. It might affect the 910XT. It does for my 310XT and Garmin Swim. Makes transferring impossible and thus the products useless. I have a Mac, as an aside.
I did a 70.3 race last weekend and recorded it as a multisports on my 910XT.
When I uploaded the data I noticed that the open water swim was recorded as a pool event. Argg! When using multisports, 910XT didn’t prompt me for which kind of swim. It just kept the setting of my last swim workout.
I asked Garmin if they can transform the file so I can read my open water swim stats.
Also a multisports enhancement would be to prompt user to choose swim type just like it does for a swim only workout.
I knew about this problem from training but there are lots of things to think about before a race and it escaped me.I don’t race often and I would like to get good race data. At a race last year, I hit the lap button by mistake at the halfway bike mark (I blame the high level of lactate in my blood) so I’m not recording my races correctly. Anyone has good trick to avoid these kind of problems?
For me I use a little printed and laminated checklist that I have with me in transition pre-race – that lists a lot of these little things. It’s about the only way I can remember on race morning.
After the day 01/05/2013 all “log” made with Garmin F910XT are with “HR” 100% error in Firstbeat Athlete. But the HR and R-R are shown in Movescount and Garmin connect.
Hello
I have used the 910xt for about a year, and I have been a little frustrated with the accuracy for distance while running. It always shows a longer distance than the actual race. The latest occurrence was yesterday when I missed a sub3 at the Orange County marathon because I paced based on the Garmin, but ended up with 26.45. I am very careful at running the tangents, and I usually place in the top 5-10% of runners so I dont do much weaving around other runners. So despite running what I consider relatively optimal tangents/trajectories, it always measures long. In your experience, do you think that the 910 is less accurate than other Garmins? Or can this be fixed by switching to 1s data recording mode? Thanks for helping.
I bought a 910XT last week and had it returned because the unit froze while transferring data using the ANT agent and then on the third day, i believe the data was corrupted and so the transfer process would constantly fail at the same percentage. My previous polar would never do this. I am surprised no one has mentioned this already.
Another great DC Rainmaker review. I am wondering how this watch would work with cross-country skiing? Also – comparing it to the 310XT and Edge 500 I am curious if money was no object whether this is really worth the extra cash outlay.
I used it for cross-country skiing twice last Feb and it went fine. I set it as “other” so it wouldn’t be counted as a run or a bike ride. It recorded GPS, HR,… link to connect.garmin.com
I am pretty impressed with the detailed review that you provide that too without any bias. Facts as facts. Thank you for the same. I do need your advice though.
Now that the Suunto Ambit 2 and 2 S are out (and I read through your review on the same). Where should we bet our money for an Ironman training and race (first attempt)? Would it be the Garmin 910XT or a Suunto Ambit 2 or 2 S? Whichever watch I invest in, I would keep this for at least the next 3 years (without looking back).
Now to the confusion:
I like the ability to create apps on the Suunto models which is something that 910XT lacks currently. From that perspective, the Suunto has the ability to become a better watch than 910XT.
However, I am worried about the battery, which will definitely not last for 17 hours for which the only work around I see it to charge it while on the cycle. Can we keep the watch charging while it is recording data? Is the charging that easy or will it fall off?
Speaking of charging clips, that’s where the fenix really shines. It would be great if the secure charging arrangement on the fenix made it over to other watches that were catering to the long distance runners/hikers etc.
Hi! Great review. I’m on the verge of buying one of these but have heard of some odd issues with how it reports instant pace while running. This is one of the most useful features on my 205 so I want to make sure it works correctly on the 910xt before I buy it. Does it jump around for you like others claim? I don’t fully understand what the issue is but half the people out there say it has been patched and fixed and the other half say it’s still busted. What has your experience been?
It’s mixed. I don’t have any problems, and many others don’t. There are some that do, and for those, I don’t really have a good answer (and neither does it seem, does Garmin). I would guess that the number of people is in the small minority, but of course – for those that have the issue it’s undoubtedly annoying.
Just got a quark and I’m wondering if the power averages calculate the “zero” power for when you are coasting as part of the whole average or if those don’t “count against you”. Same question for cadence?
You can control this via the Data Averaging settings menu. If you select ‘Yes’ to include Zeros for both Power and Cadence (two separate settings), it will.
The general ‘rule’ for cycling stats is to select ‘Yes’ to include zeros.
Hi, great review once again!!
I brought my 210 thanks to your review and it was perfect for what I needed it for, but…. now I’m moving up to Ultras and need a watch that will last me at least 15hrs.
Do you think the 910XT will be the one, or will the 310XT will do the trick? or even any others you could recommend.
I only need the basics Pace, time distance etc. But I reckon the compass would be pretty handy but its not essential.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
The 910XT will definitely last 22 hours, even with all the bells and whistles enabled (except backlight). It tried it during a 100k+ trail race a few weeks ago and the battery was still 44 percent full after 12.5 hours. A 310XT would probably get you about 16 hours of recording, judging from past experience, maybe a little more if it was brand new. There comes a point for every ambitious ultra runner where no Garmin Forerunner will get you to the finish line, but up to a full day of racing you’re golden with the 910.
Thanks for your advice, my race is a 100km trail in September and I’m hoping to finish before I need the backlight :) so I reckon the 910XT is gonna be the one!
It is for most people. I have heard of some folks that still see the problem. I don’t have a clear answer on why it’s fine for some, but that there exists a small chunk that it’s still not as stable.
It may just be possible that they have not updated their firmware to the latest, but if that is documented that it is solved in a firmware then I dont see any issue.
Hey, awesome site and reviews – thank you. I had a quick question though, do you know if they’ve “fixed” the pool size problems? Can you specify a 20m pool now with newer firmware? Seems a weird thing not for them to address if not! :-)
I have got a response from our software develpoement team regarding this
issue: “This is by design and will not be changed due to limitations of the algorithm used. ”
I am afraid that we wont be able to fix this for you.
Just stumbled on your site the other day and I am so glad that I did. Very impressive work!
I am just into running and I need vibrating alerts (because I listen to music) – That narrows it down to Garmin 310XT, Garmin 910XT, Garmin 610 and Timex Run Trainer GPS 2.0.
The Garmin 310XT is 169.99 and half the price of the 910XT, but doesn’t have run/walk. I’m wondering if that can be worked around by creating time based intervals as this site suggests? link to swikun.com. Same question for Timex Run Trainer GPS 2.0.
Or in other words, it’s not clear what I will lose by leveraging time intervals to configure run/walk.
Yup, you could do that. it wouldn’t be perfect, but it would fit the bill. The one challenge folks tend to have with that is that you have to ‘pre-create’ it for the right distance/time that you plan to run – otherwise you may run out of intervals. Make sense?
In the swimming mode is there any way to get a live count of the number of sets/intervals done? On the 310 I used the “other” function for swimming and then used the lap button as a counter to help me remember. For example, when doing 10X100’s I could use the lap button as a counter rather than having to remember which rep I am on.
Hmm, that’s a good point. As of now I don’t believe there’s a data field available in swimming mode with just the ‘Interval’ count. I can check a bit later tonight (FR910XT isn’t handy at the moment).
For this I’ve set up the screen so it shows me the total distance, and lap distance. That way I can always see where I’m at on the workout.
For example if I would swim 300m warmup and after that 10x100m. I would know that when I hit total distance of 1300m that specific set is done and I move on to next one.
Have read most of the review but I was just wondering if you could help me. I want a sport watch that I can calculate calories, but use it to mainly work out in the gym. I was looking at both the RCX3sd-run or the forerunner 910XT. I want to be able to swim as well. Can you recommend which one would be better? Or even if there is a better watch out there!!!!!!!!!
If you want to swim, the FR910XT is pretty much your best bet. The RCX3 doesn’t do swimming. For a triathlete, the FR910XT is the best all-around watch out there that captures data across all three sports whether indoors or out. At present, the only other watch to do that is the Suunto Ambit2/2S, though it lacks some of the more advanced FR910XT features (and costs more).
a question according the fabric strap:
I have very small wrists, so I used a fabric strap with my FR305 already and liked it for the comfy feeling. Do you think the fabric strap of the 910xt will be fixed tough enough for an openwater swim start at the Roth Challenge? Or will it loosen while swimming or when pulling off the wetsuite? I would prefer mounting it at my bike with the fabric strap so I don’t have anything at my wrist during biking…
Thanks so much for your thorough reviews. And thanks for flagging the current Garmin Sale at the top of the review for each product included in the sale, including the link to your blog post regarding the sale. I primarily run with a Forerunner 405 but do some cycling with the Edge 200 and some swimming with a no-frills sports watch that just records time and lap splits. Two weeks ago I tripped while running and the 405 took the brunt of the impact. Some of the plastic pieces along the pins broke in such a way that I can’t functionally attach it to a strap, thus putting me in the market for a replacement. The upside here is that I am convinced that I would have had a pretty major injury (broken bone??) had my wrist taken the impact of the fall directly.
In looking for a replacement your reviews were helpful in deciding between upgrading to the 610 and keep my current 3 device set-up, or to upgrade to the 910. My main hesitation regarding the 910 was size as I have rather small wrists. I plan on swapping out the watch strap for the fabric/velcro version. Do you know if it possible to swap out the plastic bands on the quick release system for the fabric/velcro version? They all seem to use the same pin system, but from the photos above I can’t tell if it might be possible to do this.
For starters, I just wanted to say this post, like all of your others, is incredibly in depth and incredibly useful. I stumbled across your site through some Google searching, and now it’s a consistent stop for my role as “equipment manager” for my wife.
She started doing triathlons last year and is currently training for her first Ironman this fall. As a part of that training we got her the 310xt, which (of course) she loved the functionality of, but despised how massive the watch was and that she couldn’t use it for pool swims. We live in MN, so suffice to say a lot of her swimming is done in the pool. So when I came across your review of the 910xt (and when I found it on a major sale at REI through 5/27), I thought it was the perfect solution – and it is… for the most part.
The only complaint I/she have thus far is the lack of a “Pace” data field in the biking mode. Am I missing something here? I’ve updated the firmware, checked under every location possible, but all remnants of pace data (current, average, lap and last lap) that was available in the 310xt, are nowhere to be found on the 910xt. I can get to average pace by setting the lap to auto update every 1 mile, but no sign of current pace anywhere. If it’s there and I’m missing it, please let me know. If it’s legitimately not present, that’s the only gripe thus far about the 910xt. I also might recommend calling out in your review that it’s disappeared, as it currently isn’t mentioned.
Thanks for all the hard work on the reviews and in advance for any assistance!!
Pace is a running metric (expressed as minutes per mile, or minutes per kilometer – i.e. 7:10/mile). Whereas speed is a cycling metric (expressed as MPH/KPH, as in 25MPH – or 25 miles per hour).
Any prospect of nutrition alerts, or separate alert settings (sound/vibrate) across alert types? I want to set up like this but I don’t think it’s possible currently:
Swim: no alerts
Bike: time alert every 30 minutes (for nutrition), sound and vibrate. Auto-lap every 10km, no alert
Run: time alert every 30 minutes (for nutrition), sound and vibrate. Auto-lap every 1km, no alert.
The auto-lap is so I can get an idea of how fast I’m run/riding, as the current pace smoothing is so bad. I don’t want to get over-alerted and miss a nutrition alert thinking it’s an auto-lap.
Also have you or anyone else noticed that it’s easy for the watch to get dislodged while in the QR strap? I’ve had it drop off twice while pool swimming after hitting a lane rope with it and it rotating and dropping off. I’m very worried it will happen in my Ironman swim and it will end up at the bottom of the sea.
Just FYI, I’ve had to get the quick release strap replaced under warranty as the pin of the watch strap snapped, luckily while not in use.
I don’t have my unit on me at the moment, but I’m not aware of a way to set differenting alert types per sport (differing alerts is no problem of course).
As for the QR strap – I’ve heard mixed results there. A few folks whacking it on the lane rope like yourself – though I hit my FR910XT on the lane ropes semi-frequently and have never had it dislodge.
By the same token, I don’t constantly take it out of the quick release kit htat much (other than charging) – so that may help some.
Hey, I got the 910xt and when i plug in my ant stick to my computer it just recognizes that it is a ant stick, but under the Garmin ant Agent it says “not active”. So i cant get to my data.. any thoughts?
In almost every case, changing to a different USB port will fix it (strange, I know). Failing that, if you haven’t restarted the computer once since installing the ANT Agent, try that. The reason is that during the installation you elevate to Admin credentials (if on Windows) and then it’ll leave the ANT Agent running within the administrator account, which I’ve occasionally seen cause problems until you either close out the ANT Agent from the taskbar and restart it – or just restart the computer.
Are the selling this for the promotional price because there is either a new competitor model released or that they will be releasing a new updated version of the 910xt soon?
No, it was just a sale – there isn’t a new FR910XT coming out (it’s only a year old). They are likely trying to lock people in’ to the FR910XT before other competitors come out over the course of the summer – such as the Tom-Tom watch, and the Ambit 2/2S becoming more widely available.
I hate to bother you with a, what will probably be stupid question, but — I have had my 910xt for a few weeks, but ended up doing indoor treatmill runs for the entire time – worked great with the footpod. Then I finally had the chance to run five miles outdoors yesterday, however, my watch which had a good satellite lock, (I made sure it got a lock before I hit start) – didn’t record any distance. I noticed the entire time I was running it said nothing but some dashes in distance. The footpod recorded cadence. If I recall reading correctly, the watch was supposed to rely on GPS for distance, and the footpod for speed/cadence. I set the footpod (speed source) correctly, or so I thought. Is there an issue with the watch (Software 2.7) recording distance while using the footpod – or am I just an idiot and set something wrong? Thanks for the help. And I really love your site. Great reviews.
Did you remember to press start? A few times I’ve forgotten because it was displaying speed/cadence but it won’t record anything unless you press the start button.
1. After running I switch to open water swimming and it stops counting stokes after reaching number 3.
If I turn it off and on strokes counting works fine!
2. After swimming, I switch to other hit start but doesn’t record any distance.
Rich also mention such an issue comment # 799
So I turn off and on the watch it records the distance again.
I hope that Garmin will come up with a firmware upadate soon that will solve these problems and hopefully won’t create any new.
I started using my watch while biking about several months ago. About 1 month ago, I got a new bike. When I got my new bike, I reset bike 1 so that the bike odometer matched the mileage I was actually putting on my new bike. But, the bike function total under my activities history reads the total miles have used the watch for both bikes added together (as it should). I’m wondering if I can manually adjust the bike activity total. I don’t want to reset it because then I’ll lose the miles on my original bike (which I want to lose) AND the miles on my new bike (which I don’t want to lose). Any ideas?
Not an ideal answer to your question Aaron but:
Why not track them independently of the unit?
TrainingPeaks and Strava both have tracking for different equipment and you wouldn’t lose the data if your headunit is lost or damaged.
I know they’ve certainly thought about it. How that enumerates itself as a product is a different question. I think at this point we probably won’t a HR strap variant come out (again, I could very well be wrong). I say this for two reasons. First is that if they were to have done it, they would have done it 1-2 years ago when ANTfs first came out (sorta like Suunto’s design).
Second is that given the rise of optical HR systems on the wrist, it would make more sense to focus on nailing that for swimming rather than a HR strap which doesn’t work for half the population (most men*).
*The reason is doesn’t work is that unless you wear something over it, the strap will slide down to your waist within a few wall pushoffs/flips, due to the water pressure.
ANT+ doesn’t work under water I thought?! any new receiver in the watch would require a full redesign. Any other modification to the watch (eg build in wrist sensor) would require a full re-design. I just wear a REALLY old polar s720 at the same time as the 910 every now and again to check HR
It doesn’t have to work underwater (as you noted, it doesn’t) in a HR strap. The idea is to ‘sync’ the data post-activity. This is what Suunto was doing with their Memorybelt idea. So you’d basically get data afterwards (with the HR strap idea).
With the optical side, then there’s no actual transmission, so that can work just built into the watch itself.
Ray, hope you don’t mind me publicising this link to a poll asking what we all would like to get sorted in the next 910XT firmware (or the one after in reality): link to the5krunner.com
Great site! i’ve been reading almost everything you put up. I am new to ultra-running and wanted a watch that would last the hours I would run on the trail. Settled on the 910xt for its battery life (among all the other features) based on your reviews. Bought it by pushing the amazon button on your website. Thanks for all the help and keep up the blogging.
I’m not sure if this problem has already been posed to you. I recently bought the 910xt and completed an aquabike race today using the multisport mode. The swim was recorded okay, however the bike didn’t track distance and it actually showed that I ended up off the coast of west Africa (I’m in the states). I hit all the right buttons and used the device properly…so I can’t explain why the watch didn’t record data properly. Any clues?
I just bought 910xt last week using Ray’s link & discount from clevertraining. Fast & great delivery (through comgateway proxy in US to SG).
– Using it already for 60km bike race yesterday.
– A few days ago, the date and time was off, but after getting a good gps signal, it corrected properly.
– the gps distance was somehow inaccurate as it showed me 52.61mil, exported to TP also showed the same, but exported to runkeeper, showed the correct 37.76 (around 60km)
– I use these accessories: speed/cadence, power meter, HR (wahoo soft Ant+), and I will get a footpod as well
Questions to the experience 910xt users:
– can we smooth or correct the mistakes in gps as above by either software or by combining it with speed sensor for cycling or combining it with footpod (after calibrating footpod) for running ?
– can we use the distance by gps and pace by speed sensor (cycling) or by footpod (running)? As we know the gps-based pace measurement could be a bit jump sometimes.
Did the unit have full signal prior to starting? If not, that may lead to what you noted. Looking at those distances, it should never be that far off. Typically you’ll see within 0-2% being the norm.
On Garmin’s, the speed sensor won’t override the GPS unless the GPS is set as off. However, it will override the display during the ride itself (but not recorded speed/distance). Footpods however can be set to override speed/distance of GPS.
Hi! I am considering 910 (and 610) for almost only for running.
I read somewhere else that it has perfect instant pace for running with inertial sensor (comparing to GPS eg. in 610). Is it THAT good and worth spending 100$ extra or it’s just an urban legend?
I cant’t borrow any unfortunately.
BTW: Now I have 305.
Thanks in advance.
No Garmin units today have internal inertial sensors in them used within GPS smoothing (the FR910XT has an accelerometer used for swimming, and the Fenix has one as well – but it’s not used today for smoothing).
That said, the FR610 on the whole generally has better GPS pacing than 910XT. However, whether or not the FR910XT pacing issues is visible seems to oddly vary between units. Some units are perfectly fine, and some still report issues. It’s not clear to me why there’s variation.
Here’s one for the unofficial 910XT knowledge base this thread has become:
After some experimenting, I think I’ve uncovered the source of the bug which causes the watch to power off (effectively crash) while following a course by using the map view. It seems the combination of the Auto Lap function and the use of courses is the culprit. I had it set to Auto Lap every 1 kilometer and the 910 would crash repeatedly at any run from 15 to 100 kilometers, at least while the display was set to map view.
With the Auto Lap function switched off, no more crashes. At least not on courses compiled with Garmin Connect up to 45 kilometers or 3,5 hours. I usually have the scale set to 120m, course direction up. It still blanks every now and then, taking a few seconds to redraw the screen, but nothing major.
I’ll try a more complex running route of ~78k soon and I expect it to work fine.
Hi Ray,
Reading your very interesting 910XT in depth review and especially the “Nutrition alert” (Run/Walk Alert).
Simple question: Is this “Nutriation alert” only available in running mode (I guess yes, but want to be sure…). Is there any equivalent for the bike mode?
I’m in Nice IM on 06/23/13 (next Sunday). Would be good to have something reminding me to eat/drink on the bike.
See you
No, the run/walk alerts are not available in cycling mode. But you can just use repeating time alerts instead – so you could set a 15min repeating time alert in cycling mode.
Great review, and having deomed an Edge at the weekend, I think I’d like to purchase one! Do we know if and when an updated Garmin Forerunner 910 XT will be released? Nearly two years old now…
An updated unit wont be available for a while yet…have a look at Ray’s reply
Rainmaker replied
May 28, 2013 at 3:54 am #801
No, it was just a sale – there isn’t a new FR910XT coming out (it’s only a year old). They are likely trying to lock people in’ to the FR910XT before other competitors come out over the course of the summer – such as the Tom-Tom watch, and the Ambit 2/2S becoming more widely available.
When running against a virtual Racer does the 910 keep me on track ?
When loaded a 42.915km course and ran against it, is my distance then exactly 42.195 km ?
This because my 405 never measures the distance exactly in towns and i want to now my pace during the race by race distances, not my real distance (extra for sanatary stop or corners or inacurate gpx fixes)
Thanks a lot for a superb site. I’ve been looking for this type of in depth reviews of training products for a long time.
It seems like 910XT is the best one for me as runner/triathlete, but my questions is if you have any idea on which plans Garmin has on a follow up to the 910? I mean, it has been out for 2 years now, so perhaps there is a new one in the pipe just around the corner? Do you have such inside information?
I don’t expect an update to the FR910XT this season. It’s really only barely over a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but wasn’t available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframes. Given there’s no real competition right now (with all three sports covered), there’s little reason for them to update it this season.
Ray – Just used my 910xt for the first time in a race in multisport mode. It worked great, but I was wondering if there is any way to get the unit to record heart rate info during the transitions? I’m always interested to see just how hard I’m working when I come out of the water. Seems like it would be easy for Garmin to implement (perhaps they already have, and I just don’t know how to access it).
Thanks for reviewing this product, I am in seriously considering one of those watches does GPS logging and maybe extra like cycling and swimming. It is still out of my budget, but I am saving up for it.
Hi Ray, Thanks for all the hard work, you have the best views I have ever found. I use the 910xt for everything, including strapping it to my longboard for surf specific wo’s. Is the an iPhone/android (i have both) App thats allows programming and uploading WO’s to the 910? I always have my phone and rarely have my laptop handy. thanks again!!!
Hi Ray, just wondering if you or anybody here is aware of upcoming replacement / newer model of the 910?
I’m planning a purchase but ever since I got an ipad 2 weeks before the ipad2, I’m cautious of laying out cash.
It seems the 910 has been around a while and with the Ambit2 challenging, maybe Garmin have something up there sleeve?
I don’t expect an update to the FR910XT this season. It’s really only barely over a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but wasn’t available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframes. Given there’s no real competition right now (with all three sports covered – except the Ambit 2/2S, but even that isn’t as feature complete as the FR910XT), there’s little reason for them to update it this season.
Thanks for the great reviews. Bought my wife a FR305 right when they came out. Recently the glue failed and it popped-apart on a bike ride and got run over. With some detail work to make connections where pins were snapped off and such I was able to put it back together. However, with dead lines in the display, a non-functional up button, and shipping tape holding it together – it is time for a new one.
Your reviews helped me understand what has come out since the 305. Today I bought the 910XT and a foot pod (accessory she’s never had) through Clever Training.
I finally got the Garmin 910 XT, however just cant install the garmin connect ANT software from the website, it keeps saying this will take a few minutes and just does not progress! my computer is a 6 month old Dell so the issue cant be that of compatibility. Any suggestions?
It could be a number of items. I’d check the Garmin Support Forums (forums.garmin.com) and then also ring up Garmin Support, they are usually pretty quick to help.
is there a way to see the battery status in % without putting the watch on the charging unit?
All i see is by turning off the watch the 4 bars which is not very accurate at all.
FYI, my 910XT arrived with the new smaller ANT+ USB dongle.
Also, you missed one of the best “new” features. When you power the 910XT off it displays the battery level for a short time letting you know if you need to charge it before the next workout.
In the past with the 310XT I could download time based workouts for open water swims. Nice as it meant I didn’t need to look at the watch, just wait for the vibration to tell me an interval is done.
Hi DC,
I was wondering if it’s possible that when you’ve done a triathlon using the especific program, you can get all the partial in just one file. I could only get it in five separate files swim, T1, bika, T2, run. And I find it so uneasy to analyze, don’t you?
A friend of mine is enjoying a brand new bryton60 and I’m getting so gealous, much more easy to use, quick in finding satellites, easy to analyze results and of course cheaper. If I just could arrange that data problem (if it’s possible) I would be happy, and my credit card, of course.
Hi Everyone, thanks I’m using %HR max now.
For bike cadence, I usually use wahoo CS combo sensors and it works fine, but I have a crank power meter too.
How do I use the cadence from the power meter instead of wahoo CS combo ?
In wahoo fitness app in my iphone, I could choose speed from CS combo and cadence from power meter crank.
But in 910xt, which of these should I choose in ANT+ Spd/Cad menu to use power meter crank as cadence ?
– spd/Cad sensor (this works fine with wahoo CS combo)
– Spd Sensor (I pointed to CS combo id, but it wasnever detected)
– Cad sensor (I pointed to power meter crank id, but it was never detected either)
– Spd and Cad Sensors (I pointed to both wahoo CS combo and power meter crank, but never detected)
Power meter cadence is always used over spd/cad cadence when available: True.
I doubted this statement before, but I just tried to remove the magnet in crank from spd/cad combo so that it will only send spd, but not cadence. 910xt uses the power meter cadence. Option in 910x: “spd/Cad sensor”. Thanks.
I have a Powertap paired to 910XT, and separated speed and cadence sensors, from which only the latter is paired.
My test was pedalling backward, which evidently means zero watt for PT, so zero cadence calculated by PT. Cadence was displayed as not zero, so cad sensor has bigger priority than the cade data of a hub based power meter, namely PT.
Hi, does anyone know how to get the number of steps to show in a program like Sport Tracks? The 910XT has a data field that shows # of steps (yes, this is an expensive pedometer), but I can’t figure out how to see this value once the data is uploaded from the watch. Thanks!
Ask OMB to add steps to his GFD plugin. I needed fat calorie, which the core ST3 does not import, but having asked it OMB added fat calorie to the import process.
Hi Ray-
I just purchased the 910xt and wanted to say THANKS for the outstanding review and also for the discount through Clever Training. Both are much appreciated!! Today I used the watch to swim for the first time and had a couple of questions. I swam in a 25m pool for 1/2 mile, but I only had two intervals on the watch — one for 150m and one for 700m. Is there a way I can set an interval to equal a lap? Also is there a way I can change the average pace to 50m instead of 100m? Thanks.
Fantastic review! I would like to know if I run a marathon and I would like to know what was my time at the half marathon? I can’t see it at the history. I just see the time of the lap itself it would be great to check the lap time but the total time at that lap also. Hope to hear your comments. Thank you!
There isn’t a way to do this on the device itself. However, on Garmin Connect you can look at the 13.1 mile marker (or wherever the lap or line is), and then look at the times there.
What is the rule of thumb for running with a foot-pod. Really only for indoors running, useful for outdoor running (to get cadence – is that something people care about?) but stick with default settings of still use GPS for speed, or something else?
Am I right when I say that using the automatic lap function has not the same effect as physically pushing the ‘lap’ button?
When you push the ‘lap’ button while running, you can see certain information on your user defined fields for that sport, eg. distance run in the new lap, time in the new lap, average heart rate in the new lap AND also information about the previous lap. But to get all of this information while running, you must push the ‘lap’ button every mile/kilometre.
When you use the automatic lap function, the lap and lap time are registered automatically (along with some other info which you can check afterwards), BUT you don’t get the information about the new lap while still in action, the information I mentioned earlier (time in the new lap, distance ran in the new lap, etc).
Is there really no way that you can get to see all this information also when you have the ‘automatic lap’ function on?
And if you have the automatic lap function on and after a mile, you manually push the lap button while the automatic lap function also registers the lap, don’t you end up with two laps (with very short interval) at the same time?
Can anyone help me please since this really does limit the ability to automatically have ‘in-the-action’ information about the old and the new lap/split.
There’s no way to change the ‘pop-up’ display information that occurs. However, what you can do is create a new data page that instead has ‘Last Lap’ type information. I do this sometimes for interval workouts, where I’ll have a data page with four screens with all my last lap data information.
Since I’m a non-native English speaker, I think I must make thinks a bit clearer.
I don’t want to change the ‘pop-up’ display.
The fact is that when you create an extra data page with ‘last lap’ and ‘current lap’ information, and you use the ‘automatic lap’ function, the lap gets not actually ‘registrated’, so the ‘old’ lap doesn’t stop and the ‘new’ lap doesn’t start. It does in the software you can check afterwards, BUT when you’re still running, and you check those data fields while running, you’ll see that eg. lap time will just be the time since the start of the run and not the time since the automatic lap created a second lap.
If you don’t use the automatic lap function and you push every lap (eg every mile) yourself on the lap button, you’ll have data fields with all the info on the previous and current lap you want. But that means you have to push the lap button every mile or so yourself… and certainly not forget to do it…
Yes, it looks like that when you use the automatic lap function, the lap does go from lap 1 to lap 2 in the system itself (checkable afterwards with the software), BUT the ending of lap 1 and starting of lap 2 is not visible in the datafields on your watch when still running. So you can’t see how far you are in your second lap (time, distance) etc.
The only way to have that actual info is by not using the automatic lap function BUT by pushing the lap button every mile…
I use version 2.6. After all the comments on the newer versions, I am afraid to make the update. Have you updated to version 2.8? Any probs?
I also sometimes run with the Polar RCX5, and also with this watch I have the same problem with the automatic lap function.
Since I have a lot of problems with distance accuracy of my GPS running watches (especially in wooded areas) , I decided to do some serious testing this week.
I ran the same flat wooded track five times this week with the following GPS watches:
– Garmin Forerunner 910XT
– Garmin Forerunner 310XT
– Polar RCX5 GPS
Also, each time, I changed the preferences of the watches to ‘no GPS’, before turning the GPS back on.
This way, the watches had to find the satellites again.
I then waited until the accuracy of the watches was below 10 meters.
After the run, I imported the GPS data to Rubitrack (since I have a MAC) and checked the track I ran on the satellite map.
The results were unbelievable!
Both of the Garmin watches were way out of course, which gave me a totally wrong distance measuring!
Even at the starting point, in some cases, on the map I was up to 50 meters away from the actual start, even when eg the 910XT told me at the starting position that the accuracy was 6 meters…
(I tested the Garmin also a few weeks ago in an area with NO trees, and in some cases, I had the same terrible result!)
On an 8 km track with a lot of trees I had differences in final distance up to 400 meters (310XT).
With the 910 XT I had differences up to 100 meters in total distance.
With the Polar I had a difference of max 40 meters in total distance!
But the difference between Garmin and Polar were up to 400 meters!
After checking very precisely the track I ran on a satellite map, I could very easily see that it were the Garmin watches that were way out of the track I ran.
Best watch was the Polar RCX5! Very surprisingly since Polar is known for its HRM and not for its GPS.
I can really not believe how this is possible. I am so disappointed!
In my accuracy testing, I’ve generally found that all three units have done quite well (FR310XT/910XT/RCX3 with G5 pod). You can check those out below.
A couple of thoughts….
– Using a map afterwards isn’t actually a really good indicator of distance ran. While it may seem so at first glance, there’s a lot of reasons it’s not. I discuss them here: link to dcrainmaker.com
– When comparing those units, you need to be sure that all units have the same recording rate (1s) turned on, you may have done this, but it’s worthwhile noting. That will have an impact on things.
– Different software suites actually analyze the results differently. For example, if you load up the same track in Rubitracks, it will likely look different than in TrainingPeaks, and different than in Garmin Connect, and different in Strava. Each site/app tends to add their own special sauce to the mix.
i have seen, that someone already posted the question – but no one responded, so i’ll try it again ;)
does anyone have a recommendation for a travelling/transportation case?
it should have enough space to fit in the watch, HR strap, charging cable (in the best case without the wall adapter) and the ant+ USB stick. i’m looking forward for your tips ;)
Dominik…I’m not sure why any small bag would not suffice for all those accessories (Crown Royal bags are perfect for just such an occasion), but if you need protection for your watch & accessories, nothing beats a Pelican case.
basically i like to have everything in order ;) otherwise things are likely to get lost, especially when you are travelling. (i don`t know how often i had to look for the USB stick because i always packed it somewhere else…) i have already tried some spare camera cases i had at home, but it did not really satisfy me.
The new ANT+ USB stick can be left in the laptop, which will keep you from having to pack it away then search for it later. The price seems a little steep though.
Overall I’ve been very happy with my 910 but I’ve had an issue that is now reoccurring. A few months ago my unit started giving me crazy elevation readings. Like altitude 30000 ft and 25000 ft elevation gain on a 30 mile ride. I live in Kentucky and the hills aren’t that big here. I called Garmin and told them the issue and they were great and sent me a replacement unit. Problem solved until last week the same thing started happening. I recently downloaded their firmware update but the problem has persisted. I’d rather not have to ship my unit back to garmin and wait for a replacement (assuming they would do it for me again). Have you heard of this issue happening and do you know of a way to fix it?
I also like my 910XT and also was replaced in April / 2013. However this “new” started having altitude = 20 km, all the time.
Also do not know what to do.
thanks DC RAINMAKER for this and all the other great reviews!!!
one question…most people wouldn’t mind but I’m curious: I’ve been using the 910xt for about 2 weeks now; what I noticed (in comparison with the 305) is that the watch seems to make my runs faster when viewing it afterwards in WKO+ software; on my long run yesterday I finished the 12th kilometer after exactly 56minutes = 4:40min/km pace; in WKO+ it shows for that split: 56:00minutes – 12,002km – pace 4:36
how is that possible (it happens every run)? I mean 4sec per km faster is good, but… I suspect my watch to lie to me in order to make me happier ;-)
Hi Ray, The 910xt can’t send my workouts to my droid phone like the 805 and 505 can via bluetooth can it? If not, will garmin possibly be coming out with a watch that will? Since they have pushed their cycling computers in that direction.
And thanks for the awesome reviews!
Tyler
Hi Tyler
Your question hits a fundamental issue, about the possibility/probability that the 910XT will join the biking 810 et al capability of downloading to garmin connect via an iPhone or android.
Ray, with your Garmin connections do you have an insight? I’m holding off purchasing a 910 until this is understood. I’m guessing its a hardware issue and not simply a software or firmware update.
I must add to everbodys congratulations on your terrific reviews
Not going to happen on FR910XT. It is indeed a hardware issue, specifically lack of Bluetooth (or, perhaps eventually 3G). I’d fully expect something in a future product, but nothing triathlon specific this year for sure.
I’m hoping you can answer whether it is possible to upload workouts from the FR910xt to Garmin Connect or Training Peaks or Sport tracks, etc., using only a Chromebook. I saw this question has been asked but I have yet to see an answer.
Love your detailed review. I actually bought a Forerunner 910 based on this review.
I have a question about map notification that I hope, you might be able to answer:
I create a map on the Garmin website and send it to my watch which works great. But when I follow the map during exercise the watch constantly beeps and vibrates as I get slightly off course and then back on course.
Is there some way to disable map notifications without disabling other notifications (like beep and vibrate every mile)?
ONLY JUST STUMBLED UPON YOUR WEBSITE!
Fantastic review I was stumbling around trying to decide which Garmin to purchase (I’m in love with the Garmin Edge 810 purely for it’s mapping facility as I’m always getting lost on my rides out in the country lanes not fun when the lactic acid is telling it’s to get home!) so your review has swayed me to stump up for this gorgeous gadget and at a bargain price off EBAY (I’m in the UK) of £239 from seller save4com I’ve been able to purchase the foot pod, bike sensor and bike mount as well all for £324!!! Hopefully this great gadget will shave minutes off my sprint tri times and help me home my training plans!
It seems as though you are in contact with Garmin engineers. The frustrating thing with the quick release mount is it would be so easy to add a tether loop to the back plate. A slight change to the injection moulding tool for the screw-on back plate would give you an area/loop that you could add some form of tie etc round. May not be quite so quick release in T1, but a lot better than loosing it altogether… Is there any chance they would change this in the future – it’s about all you read about it on Amazon.
Wow! Great review!
I was wondering if there is a way to export the swim data that has been edited in the SportTracks Pool Swimming plugin back to Garmin Connect. Seems that I can’t import FITLOG files to GC…
Problem with new 910( firmware,2.80, up to date) recording correct time but not all the distance in open water swim. Three out of ten OWS recorded the correct distance other times stopped around 10-15 % of the actual distance. Showed lost satellite message. Used 310 many times in same areas, no problem.( No problem with 910 on bike and run.) Anyone having same problem? Suggestions?
I think I was unclear in my explanation of the problem.
Specific example is on an 800m OWS course the distance recording stops at 200m.
That is a distance error of 600m. My 310 would come within 10m +- error.
The timer keeps going and is correct.
After reading your review, I’m almost certain to upgrade from my old 310 to the 910 – thanks for such a comprehensive research!
I just have a couple of questions that may finally convince me!
(i) Accrued time at lap splits disappeared from the 310 (it was available on the 205). I contacted Garmin about this, but no response. This feature is really important for me, do you know if it’s back in the 910?
(ii) Virtual Partner really disappointed in the 310 as I believed I could perform a ‘live’ race against one of my previous routes. But loading a previous course seems to just use its total time and use the average speed, which was pointless, as I could enter that manually anyway. Your review suggests that the VP performs in the way I expected the 310 to…..hope so!!
(iii) Can you use the autolap feature in the pool? eg. Record a split for every 8 lengths? Or would I have to use an ‘alert’ every 8 lengths, and hit the lap button each time?
Cheers and all the best for your future gadget reviews!,
Phil
1) Lap split time is available on the FR910XT, it’s how I do intervals. You’ve got both current lap and last lap.
2) The FR910XT Virtual Racer is what you’re looking for (it’s ‘new’ in the FR910XT)
3) There’s no autolap in indoor mode, but you can do alerts based on distance or time (and vibration is an option). And then you’d have to hit the lap button.
I use the Multisport Mode when participating in triathlons. When in multisport mode, the display does not include heart rate during bike and run legs, even though I’ve customize my Bike and Run workout mode displays to include heart rate. Is there a way to edit/add heart rate to the bike and run legs of the Multisport Mode?
Thanks for this great review. I have a question about the 910XT and I haven’t found it in the manual, maybe you could help me. Does the unit allow to add multiple custom sport modes. Because I’m running, cycling and swimming, but I like doing other sports, and each other sport needs a different setup.
For instance I would like to have a cross-fit sport mode, golf sport mode, skiing sport mode, hiking sport mode, rowing sport mode, and as many as I want sport mode ! And of course I don’t want to reconfigure the “other” sport mode each time I’m doing another sport than running, cycling, or swimming.
The Polar RXC5 allow me to create custom sport mode, but the Polar unit isn’t as complete as the Garmin 910XT.
So my quesiton is, does the Garmin 910XT can do that without having to each time re-configure the “other” sport mode ?
Chris,
Very interested in the answer to your question as I too would like to have crossfit, and tactical fitness mode if possible. Do you know what metrics would be captured, is calories burned a possibility?
No, there’s only one ‘Other’ mode in the FR910XT. No method to create additional sport modes, like the Polar (or like Garmin’s new cycling focused Edge 510/810 with ‘Activity profiles’. Sorry!
Ray
I’ve been using my 910 with a Stages power meter. I noticed from the beginning that there were many data drops. I spent time with Stages trying to figure this out and they pointed here: link to forums.garmin.com (basically saying its the 910’s issue).
I recently borrowed a Edge 500 and road with them head to head. The 500 worked instantly while the 910 did not.
Another read was e-mailing about a similiar issue – FR910XT with Stages, just this weekend.
The challenge is actually one of figuring out who’s at fault. Meaning is it a transmission strength issue, or a unit reception issue. One could say it’s either. For example, the other readers Edge unit picked it up just fine. Meanwhile, his FR910XT picked up his PowerTap just fine. :-/
I wish I had a better answer there.
He was going to play around with wrist locations a bit and see if that helped.
Ray
Thanks for the quick reply (it ended in my Junk Mail). By way of follow-up, my Stages started chewing through batteries and finally died. The new one they sent me has 0 drops over the past month. Knowing what I know now, I should not have accepted Stages’ answer that it was the Garmin’s fault. That said, they were super nice and fast with the replacement unit and will definitely buy from them again (mtn bike crank)!
I was wondering if there were any other tri watches that are going to be released soon? I still would like the swim bike and run features with a GPS and HRM included – AND is there any chance of getting some girly colour options? cheers
I just bought a 910XT to replace a 310XT I have happily used for the past three years (I only use it for running). I found that the 910 was measuring short every time to an extent that it was showing paces that were way slower than actual (sometimes more than a minute per mile). I use pacing extensively for training and racing purposes, and for me this is a critical feature. For both watches I used 1 sec data measuring and use lap pace to monitor it (1 mile auto lap for training and 0.5 mile auto lap in races.
To demonstrate how consistently off the 910 is, I had run 56 USATF certified races with the 310 and every single one measured longer than the race distance (as of course they would be expected to in the real world). Similarly I ran three races (two 5K’s and a 10K) with the 910 and all three measured short (impossible in the real world). For two of those races (a 5k and the 10K) I ran the exact same races the previous two years using the 310. With the 310, both courses measured long relative to the race distance and varied by only hundredths of a mile from year to year. With the 910, the exact same courses measured short.
Correspondence with Garmin Support was extremely frustrating because they kept explaining to me that I should always expect the distance to measure longer because of tangents, etc. which (a) I kept explaining I am aware of as an experienced Garmin user and that is what I expected to see and (b) was not my problem to begin with – it was measuring SHORTER 100% of the time!
Finally this weekend I did a run on bike trails that I measured in advance using MapMyRun thinking the trails would be more accurate since they are narrow and I can run right down the middle. I took the 910 and my iPhone for comparison. MMR measured it at 4.88 mi. The iPhone measured 4.75 and the 910 measured 4.63. That did it for me. I returned the 910 and bought another 310 (I had given my old 310 to my son). First run out of the box the pacing was dead on and I am happy again, at half the cost. I hope they get the 910 straightened out because overall I liked it better, but for serious running it was totally unusable.
I would question the accuracy of a smart phone’s gps before Garmin. And I know from experience that some apps “adjust” the distance and elevation. I used my 910 on our multi use path where they have mileage marked at 3, 4 and 4.12 miles. I zeroed/reset at the 3, and when I got to 4.12, my 910 was reading 4.13. I stuck to far right edge of the path while riding.
And when I look at the lines drawn by the apps on a map afterwards, they are all over the place. Many spikes to the left and right of the actual path. Garmin is always trye to the path.
Sorry, Pauper66, I didn’t mean to imply that I expected the phone to be accurate. I only used it because I had it with me and just for fun thought I would see how it compared to the 910XT. I thought it would be terrible but it actually tracked much closer to where I ran than the 910XT did.
I think my 910 must have been defective. I am an experienced runner, racer, and GPS user and know how to use it and what its limitations are. My old 310 tracked very close to how I ran, but the 910 never did, not once, on any run. It was all over the place.
I should also add that, relative to “That would certainly add distance to your runs,” that was the problem. The 910 was allover the place to the left and right of the actual path yet still came up short, not longer, every single time.
I was out for a run and the footpod low battery warning popped up on my 910xt. Which was cool because I had never seen it before. The issue was that I was unable to clear this warning and therefore unable to see much if anything that was on the screen. I assume the warning will go away now that I have replaced the battery in the pod, but the real question is how do I dismiss/silence this battery warning when I am in the middle of a critical workout/race without stopping to replace the battery?
Hi Ray, do you have any chance to asses the ANT+ transmission bug related to wattage between the 910XT (fw 2.8) and Rotor Power (fw 0.80)?
that still an issue giving at the moment unreliable training data when on the bike
Have you had any experience with the barometric altimeter failing and getting stuck at 22 thousand feet? My second unit just showed this issue, and the Garmin 910XT forum has a number of people complaining about the same issue on multiple units. It would be very interesting to hear Garmin’s take on this.
I haven’t seen mine stuck at 22K. Though, I have seen the issues noted in the forums, but don’t have an idea if it’s widespread (I don’t believe it is based purely on lack of comments here about it).
Thanks for the reply. I got an email from Garmin that they would take care of it under warranty, even though I bought my first unit when it just came out. From my experience, and comments on the forums, it appears to affect mostly folk who swim with their Garmins. Hopefully it will be third time lucky for me.
Think I may have fixed this altimeter issue on mine – having sent it back for replacement under warranty 4 times already, a simple wash seems to have done the trick this time:
Hi Ray,
Love your in-depth reviews – best out there! Apologies for a non-product related question (which may have aleady been asked, but I don’t have the time to scroll through almost 1000 comments): where were the holiday pics taken?! Thanks, Nick!
Thanks for yet another fantastic review Ray! You do a great service.
A couple of questions about the 910XT. First of all, does Garmin have any plans for a new unit in the near future? I hate to upgrade to the 910 only to have a new unit available in the next 6 months or so!
Secondly, will it record power from my Kinetic iRide?
There are no FR910XT replacement plans this calendar year. The earliest I’d expect to see something would be next spring/summer – at absolute earliest.
The FR910XT won’t read power from the inRide, as that’s Bluetooth Smart only, and the FR910XT doesn’t have any Bluetooth in it unfortunately.
Here the support reply: About the .fit file I see that are from garmin 910xt, this garmin have very bad connection with Rotor power, garmin know about that and they are looking for a solution but have difficulties with double powermeter.
Yeah, it’s hard to say without having a unit (Rotor power). However, Rotor made a decision to sorta complicate the pairing process rather than handle it internally (such as Brim and Vector), which may be impacting other things. Connectivity-wise though, there should be no differences between a Rotor unit and any other power meter on the market. What it sounds like it something else is contributing to it.
I stumbled across your website whilst researching the 910xt and just wanted to say a massive thank you for such an in-depth review! In fact I think I’ve read most of the entire site now so please don’t stop!
Barometric failure for 910 xt is quite frequent. A lot of people in garmin forum have this issues; I had 2 unit with these problem. Both I get unit replacement for free. When my warranty is out (in Italy is 2 years) do I have to pay for repair this problem, for a so widespread issues? Is there someone that can help us? maybe is a water related problem? (not so waterproffing barometer?).
Do remember that the only time (most) people go to forums is when they have a problem. Thus, 95% of forum posts are folks with issues, and 95% of people without issues don’t post about them.
That said, I’m really not seeing any trends on bad barometric altimeters. Certain software versions which rendered the data useless…yes, but the unit physically broken, no.
As far as post-warranty goes, typically Garmin has flat-rate repair fees. Generally full-swap of an out of warranty unit is around $80US (i.e. unit somehow dead).
Think I may have fixed this altimeter issue on mine – having sent it back for replacement under warranty 4 times already, a simple wash seems to have done the trick this time:
I bought one. Thank you for all the advice. Its an amazing bit of kit but incredibly complex and the instructions are hopeless. I would not have got it set up without help from this site and Youtube. The wheel sensor wouldn’t fit my bladed wheels but this is an easy fix. Making the watch tell the time is a mission and the ant+usb was a major pain to getworking on my 4year old lapotop.
During last IM70.3 WC, I lost my garmin from the quick release kit without any cause, I just looked at it 50 meters before getting out of the water and then it disappeared in the crystal clear water of the lake..
I do understand that it’s my problem but may be it’s not the first time it happen and I wanted to underline that may be the quick release is not a good idea even if it’s the best solution for a tri race.
Interesting, I’ve never heard of issues with the units (910’s) falling off without some sort of interaction with others (banging, etc…). I wonder if something wasn’t quite set right, or got bonked earlier.
Serious bummer though, sorry to hear that. :(
As an FYI, I’ve heard that Garmin can sometimes help folks out in that situation, so try ringing up support…
I liked your reviews! Great Write-up. I recently bought 910xt for my training. Most of the time, it was to record my run sessions but I do weekly bike trainer sessions. I have no problems with connecting my garmin to my ANT+ (Powertap Hub) to get the power readings. However, on the 2 occasions that I used it for my bike trainer sessions, I could not download the data at all into Garmin Connect even though I could see my wattage and heart rate readings during the session. I reset it (before switching off) on the first session and left it open activity (before switching off) on the second time. Both times, there were no activities recordings on the bike. What should I do?
Hello DC,
Your reviews are really thorough and helpful.
I wanted to know whether I can have different screen customization for different bikes. E.g., on my road bikes I want to have speed and cadence data. On the mountain bikes I do not need the cadence data
(in fact, I do not have the sensor at all – speed by GPS is accurate enough for me on the mountain bikes). Right now I have two bikes defined, road and mountain, but I cannot get different screen customizations for them.
Best,
Joseph S.
Although I am (just) a runner and do not need much of the features of the watch, I was about to get a 910xt because it has the barometric altimeter, which is very useful in trail running, not to mention its larger power capacity and the buttons (instead of the not-quite-perfect-touch-screen of the 610).
Then, I have just realized that Garmin has launched a new FR 620 (and also a new and much expected FR 220) which, from what I have read, are pretty much impressive.
When can we expect one of those super detailed and much appreciated in-depth reviews of yours of these new Garmin GPS watches?
I made a workout on the garmin connect website for my 910xt. How do I transfer the workouts to the watch from the Calender? Or do you have to put each workout on the watch individually?
Great in-depth review!! I believe someone asked this question, but I never found an answer posted. I currently have a women’s Polaris, but I can’t read the small screen. It’s especially difficult when I’m wearing my polarized sunglasses. Are all of the numbers on the 910XT large enough for those of us 40+ who normally wear readers can actually read the screen? Also, is the screen/numbers easy to read while wearing polarized sunglasses?
Yup, you can if needed go with single-data-field displays to get the biggest visibility out of it. No problems with sunglasses, polarized or otherwise.
I’m 47. I have tired old eyes. I wear glasses to read (1.5x if that matters), and I have no trouble reading the screen and I have my data fields set to show 4 stats. Never tried with polarized glasses though. Everyone is different though, so your results may vary.
re #349
I’m on my 4th or 5th 910xt…they all have had the instant pace problem.
still not fixed in v3 firmware apparently.
I reckon the watches’ chip just can’t handle it (even tho it’s the same? as the earlier models) it must have too much to do on this watch?
PS I heard from Garmin UK that a replacement to the 910xt is being worked on but won’t be released “any time soon”..you can probably get that info better than most of us
oh well off to buy my 6th 910xt…brilliant for my use apart form the instant pace.
Look at when the 910xt was released in comparison to the 610. Also notice the 910xt was released before it was ready in that mass market availability was delayed from when it was supposed to be out. So if that pattern holds up (delay after the 620 release and learn from 910xt so don’t plan a rushed release) you can guess when the 910xt replacement comes out. (this is all a guessing game)
when running with my Forerunner 910XT I always use the automatic lap feature (1 kilometer).
But unfortunately, during running, using the automatic lap feature makes that the following fields don’t show any information when going to the next lap (automatically):
– current lap time
– current lap distance
– current lap speed
– any information on the previous lap
and many other fields that are just not filled with information.
Afterwards you get all the info, but I would really like to know during my run, using automatic lap, what is my actual running time and distance in the new lap I am running.
Is there a way around this, or do you really have to push the lap button every kilometer/mile (with the possibility you forget to push the button …)
Where I work, there is a Finnish track of exactly 2 km.
There are no trees or buildings blocking satellite reception.
Today, I ran 5 laps of 2 km and the Garmin 910XT gave me exactly 10 km!
Last week I ran 4 laps and the Garmin gave me exactly 8 km!
That is really an unbelievable precision, knowing there are a lot of turns on the track.
I ran 4 laps of 2 km on the same track with my Polar RCX5 last week and it gave me 7,820 km (instead of 8,0 km). That is an error of 180 meters on a distance of 8 km. The following day I ran 3 laps of 2 km and it gave me 5,860m (instead of 6 km).
I immediately put my Polar in my closet and now I only run with my Garmin 910XT!
Unfortunately, when running in the woods, I will get some error in distance reading, but I will surely give my trust to the Garmin 910XT.
In the past, I always thought that Polar was much more precise… Boy, was I wrong!
Great review and very detailed & informative. I am a cyclist, but recently started running and completed my 1st tri a few weeks ago and running NYC Marathon in nov. I currently have Edge305 but it’s reaching it’s life expectancy due to wear & tear. I hold it in my hand when running which is not ideal. I am leaning towards 910. If I am not mistaken, the 910 is about 2 yrs old. Anything you can share about a next generation unit and when? Maybe I would hold off if a new unit is imminent. I would love the live tracking capability that the 510 has and ability to upload to Garmin Connect from anywhere.
As you know, every site will give elevation differences when loading…but my question is about the fr910. Do I trust the barometric altimeter, or the elevation correction on GC? My 910 almost always tells me I’m 40-60 feet higher than I am and sometimes more…( I live at 20ft above sea level). And on rides, ascent and descent never match. Sometimes with difference of 100 feet, and I always start and end at the same point. GC’s elevation correction always matches, but that data can be significantly different than what the 910 tells me.
Your site has been a huge help over the last few years in selecting great products and figuring out how to get the most out of them in racing and training. Now I’m hoping you can help with some some tech support. I just got home from Kona last night and when I downloaded the race file from my 910xt found that it only shows the swim and first transition on Garmin Connect. I’ve never had any issues with multi-sport downloads before so decided not to upgrade firmware in fear of something going wrong before the race. Of course, the problem shows up for my first (and likely last for quite some time) time to the big dance.
The activity on the watch shows the full 10:11 and 141 miles on the first screen but once I click through to laps it only shows the swim splits. There is no “show legs” option which as I recall is how I normally toggle between sports/transitions on a multi-sport activity. I’m hoping there is still some way to access the bike and run data since the full time and distance was recorded.
I called Garmin Support. They were very nice but once they heard I hadn’t updated the firmware they basically said the data must be lost. Can you work some of your techie magic here or am I just totally out of luck?
Thanks for any help with this and also for all the great info everyday!
There’s a few options. The first thing though is get a copy of the .FIT file from the directory* and put it aside for safe keeping.
In Windows XP: C:\ Drive > Documents and Setting > username > Application Data > GARMIN > Devices > numbered folder > Activities (History)
In Windows Vista/7/8/8.1, C:\ Drive > users > username > Application Data > Roaming > GARMIN > Devices > numbered folder > Activities (History)
Actually, double-check that you have both the .FIT file uploaded as well as ensuring there isn’t another .FIT file in the BadFit folder (a folder literally called BadFit in the directory next to Activities.
Then, you can try some of the .FIT file correction tools, like: link to garmin.kiesewetter.nl & link to monosujet.com – also, the Garmin Forums have tons of folks that if you post that file can usually work some magic.
Until you’ve exhausted all options – definitely don’t update the firmware yet.
Wow! Thanks for the fast reply. I honestly don’t know how you do it. I can barely juggle training and my day job. You do all that plus write one of the best blogs around and still manage to be super responsive to reader comments.
I’ll save the file now and try posting to the Garmin forums.
thinking of getting a 910XT but — has the pool size minimum been updated to go shorter than 22m? my local pool is a shortish 17m and if it can’t go down that size, i think i would be better off with a 310XT.
Ray – any chance you can work out an Amazon-type commission deal with REI? Your website made a big difference in my decision to get the 910xt but I couldn’t pass up on REI’s return policy/member discount…
Yup, I do have a deal with them. I don’t put the link on every page as it gets a bit messy, but here’s the page with the link to REI. Once you use that link you can navigate off to whichever product you’d like on REI: link to dcrainmaker.com
No plans from my discussions with them. Basically at this point consider the FR910XT ‘feature complete’. You’ll likely still see the random bug fix, but no new features should be expected going forward.
I love your website and all the great info it contains. I love your attention to detail. I am so excited my new Garmin FR910XT triathlon bundle (unit + HR strap + speed/cadence sensor + quick release kit) just shipped from Clever Training today (using your exclusive 10% partner discount). I can’t wait to begin using it and report back. One thousand thank you’s!!! PS I landed here reviewing TomTom and decided to spend the extra $ after seeing your reviews and comparisons. Even if I never see a podium this device will help me train and feel like a pro.
I am a cyclist and I recently purchased an SRM and Power Control 7. I am interested in the Garmin 910XT because of the running feature as well. I cross train with running. Do you know what the main differences are between Power Control 7 and the Garmin 910XT? Is the power display the same? Is it more advanced in the SRM power control? I am mainly concerned witht the 910XT recording and display of power metrics while riding. I really like to have distance &speed, duration, power, and avg power displayed (especially during intervals).
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You probably stumbled upon here looking for a review of a sports gadget. If you’re trying to decide which unit to buy – check out my in-depth reviews section. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! I aim to leave no stone unturned.
I travel a fair bit, both for work and for fun. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. I’ve sorted it all by world geography, in an attempt to make it easy to figure out where I’ve been.
The most common question I receive outside of the “what’s the best GPS watch for me” variant, are photography-esq based. So in efforts to combat the amount of emails I need to sort through on a daily basis, I’ve complied this “My Photography Gear” post for your curious minds (including drones & action cams!)! It’s a nice break from the day-to-day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it!
Many readers stumble into my website in search of information on the latest and greatest sports tech products. But at the end of the day, you might just be wondering “What does Ray use when not testing new products?”. So here is the most up to date list of products I like and fit the bill for me and my training needs best! DC Rainmaker 2024 swim, bike, run, and general gear list. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? If that’s the case (but certainly not saying my choices aren’t good for women), and you just want to see a different gear junkies “picks”, check out The Girl’s Gear Guide too.
What about Vector pedals?….they’re suppose to be available finally jan ’13
I’d guess just in time for the TdF (summer).
Great review, big fan of all of them and very insightful,
I just had one question of ambiguity, can you set the 910XT as a watch for the rest of the day after training and hence extend its battery life? Or does it remain at 20 hours no matter what?
Thanks again for the great reviews!
You can display time of day. With GPS off, it’ll get about 55 hours of battery life.
Ray – is there a combination of keys that locks the buttons on the 910 and also how long does it take for a firmware update to install = seems like it takes forever when it finally pairs with ANT+.
Great info Bro!
mode+arrow up locks and unlocks keys
mode+arrow down does nothing…a feature space waiting for something useful to be added :-)
Thanks 5KRunner for helping!
So I bought one, with a bunch of accessories, since my Suunto T6c is having a pretty hard time these days (it won’t download data any longer. Bummer). I guess I like it, mostly. I mean, it is giving me valuable information and whatnot. But a watch that doesn’t have watch functions? How stupid is that? I mean, seriously… Add “watch mode” which will show the time and date and won’t look for GPS. You see, I keep my gear for different sports in different geographical locations. The only piece of equipment that is common to all of them is the watch so I need to carry it with me at all times. So I do so – on my arm. The funny thing is that I look at it all of the time to get the time/date. Because, hello, it’s a watch. With no date.
i wonder how hard is it to crack into the current firmware and add some custom screens – like the date screen ;-)
Maybe you are from Central Europe. :-)
I don’t think that it needs to be cracked, per se. Rather, Garmin just needs to give (some of) us access to the source code. I volunteer to be one with the code. I promise not to share it with anyone (but my coworkers – who do more embedded than I do). In fact… If they released the code to the world (and not just to me) we would see all kinds of REALLY COOL development happen – people would come up with completely new and novel uses for the watch. Why, they might add lower-power watch mode! Or games or who knows? But, yeah, of course they won’t release the code. Ha ha ha ha ha. I mean, really. They’ll say it might give a competitor an edge. People in marketing can be so dumb sometimes!
Hi Ray
Thanks for a very nice and thorough review.
I have a question I hope you can help me with – do you know if you can (and how you can) change the sport in “Other”?
On my watch the “other” sport is skiing, but I would like to change it to e.g. fitness, golf or sailing.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards – Frank
No, unfortunately it’s just ‘other’.
Hi Ray,
first, thanks a lot for all your comprehensive reviews and inputs on all the geekeries available, these are helpful inputs when time is to choose one.
I plan to buy a 910XT (or a Suunto Ambit, depends if it’s the “trailer” in me or the “runner that fiercly wants to begin triathlon” wins…even if I think that the Garmin will do just fine in trailing, event for 85km/ 18hrs trails).
I just have a question about the different data pages that you can display when, let say, you are running. Is it possible, during an activity, to set a page to display a virtual partner?
The scenario I have is for example while running a 10K, with a specific goal. You’ll have your usual data fields (HR, Pace, distance, time), and a page where you can easily see if you’re ahead or behind your goal, thanks to the virtual partner.
Thanks in advance for your answer :)
(perhaps one day we’ll see each other at La Ferme de Gally, as I live in the countryside nearby :) )
Regards,
Jeremy
Jeremy the virtual partner is a page in addition to the pages you set up, so when you are out on your run you have the 4 pages set up by you, plus the virtual partner page, plus a map page.
Hope this helps
Yup, you can have the Virtual Partner display as a separate page (that’s how it shows up). What you describe about having HR/Pace/Distance/Time is pretty much exactly how I do it, with a secondary page or the VP.
Hello Robert && Ray,
thanks for your answers, this is great. I think I’ve made up my mind for the Garmin.
Next step, convincing the wife.
Hi,
Loved the review, I’ve been using my new 910XT for a few weeks now and have found the following functionality has not been propogated from the FR305.
1) you can’t display the current pace/speed zone on the display during workouts
2) you can’t give pace/speed zones custom names
3) you can’t use non consective pace/speed zones…
i.e all in min/mile
Base Pace 11:29 – 10:34
Marathon 10:05 – 09:54
1/2 Marathon 09:42 – 09:37
10k 09:19 – 09:09
5k 08:58 – 08:48
3k 08:44 – 08:34
1.6k 08:19 – 08:09
etc … 800m, 400m, 200m
Why is Garmin seem intent on removing useful features/functions?
Thanks fro all your great work I really appreciate the efforts you go to!
Cheers,
Wes
HI. No one have issues about battery life after 2.70 firmware upload?
It seems to work some hours less…
Thanks so much for your extensive reviews. One question, I have 2 bikes that each have their own quarq (2 bikes, 2 quarqs). Is there a bike 1, bike 2 function so I can easily use it with 2 bikes?
No problem, you can have multiple bikes – each with their own ANT+ sensor set.
OK, I recently got this watch for christmas and so far I’m a bit disappointed. I’ve been using Polar for years and recently wanted to go with an integrated GPS solution. Finding your site back in September, I pulled the trigger on a Timex Runtrainer w/ HR as I was mostly running. Now that I want to get into doing tri’s I asked for and got this watch from santa. Maybe I just need to be trained on it?
I’ve been used to being able to set all funtctions of a watch/trainer via computer app. However, it seems like Garmin only uses GC and by the looks of things I can only have access to a limited subset of functions via GC. Is there any other way to configure these watches besides GC and/or the watch itsself?
I really need to see some in-depth, snow ski-specific discussion. I’m not much of a techie, but I ski fast.
Hmm, I’m looking to write something up on that in mid-February following a weeklong Alps ski trip. Both my brother and I are former ski racers (we grew up in the Pacific Northwest and race pretty competitively).
In general, when I ski with it, I switch the settings over to focusing on things like Ascent, Descent, and elevation. Along with max speed (woot!), and current speed and distance.
Thx for the Review this is very helpful. I have two questions:
1) Is there a way to turn off GPS so the next time you turn on the watch it does not starts searching for satellites automatically. It is kind of annoying that every time you turn it on it searches and it takes couple minutes until the message “Are you indoors?” appears.
2) Is there an option for auto power down? I haven’t found it yest and my feeling is that there is no one. It will be nice to have it so you can power down the device automatically like if you are not in any training mode after 10 or 20 min.
Hi Javier-
1) Sorta. You can’t set it to always have GPS off. But, as soon as the ‘Finding Satellites’ screen comes up, simply tap enter (lower right button), and then it’ll instantly ask if you want to disable GPS. :)
2) No to auto power off.
Thank you for the excellent in-depth review. I am seriously considering this for multi-sport use and as part of that, I am keen on using it while rowing.
From your discussion of paddleboarding it appears to have some capacity to measure stroke rate using the accellerometer that is built in but when I asked Garmin about this recently I received a simple “no”. Are you aware of anyone having tested this either mounted on the boat or the shaft of the ore?
Great review, thanks.
I love the 910XT. It has attitude, and despite being larger I wear it to work on Fridays and it is stylish. Very accurate and responsive.
The quick option when switching on when using indoors (without satellites) makes the battery last a long time when wearing as watch.
Where did you go on holiday? The swim around the island looks idyllic.
Where did you go on holiday? The swim around the island looks amazing. Great review. This will be my next watch.
That’s from Bora Bora, here’s the post with all the details:
link to dcrainmaker.com
And Part II:
link to dcrainmaker.com
Hi Rainmaker
I love your reviews man… while a lot of what you say goes over my head, they also contain all the information that I need for someone completely new to training gadgets – I’ve just been swimming blind all my life and riding blind since taking up cycling a year ago.
None of my sports are competitive aside from the occasional open water swim or “fun ride”. Swimming is my main sport, which I do 98% of at an indoor pool. The other 2% is open water, the day before and the day of an event.
Cycling is secondary, which is 100% outdoors. (I don’t run – with a history of stress fractures, I don’t push my foot any harder than normal gym work)
I’d love to ask for your advice:
– is the Garmin 910 the only device on the market with both GPS and accelerometer?
– does the accelerometer only work on flip turns, or does it work by an open turn as well? (The terrible flip turns I do use more energy than they’re worth) And is this the case with all swim watches?
– Given only 2% of my swimming is open water, given that I don’t run, and given the new release Garmin cycling GPS’, would you suggest that someone in my position go for the 910? Or would I be better off with a dedicated unit for each activity? (Say, a Garmin Swim/Finis Swimsense and a Garmin 500 w/ HRM and Spd/Cad?) The prices that I’m looking at in Australia indicate that 2 dedicated units will be about 30 bucks cheaper, and means I can get the Swim now and the 500 later (maybe they’ll get cheaper?) – but I’d hate to regret not waiting the extra month and spending the extra 30 bucks if there’s going to be something that I’m missing out on. (Swim metrics are one of the things I don’t understand…)
I hope you get a chance to reply with all your overseas adventures :)
Hi Andy-
1) Technically the Suunto Ambit has an accellerometer too, but it’s not used for much today. And, so does the Motoactv. The Motoactv uses theirs for more activity sensing, whereas the Ambit uses it for ‘fused speed’ (questionable).
2) It works on both flip and open turns
3) That’s tough. A Garmin Swim/500 combo would work well, but at the same time that’s probably pretty close to the price of the FR910XT anyway. Indeed, the Edge 500 probably will get cheaper over the course of the year, but not anytime before summer I’d bet.
Hope this helps!
This is an awesome review, thank you so much for posting. I have a couple of questions.
If I still want the functionality of my Edge 800, how do you “pair” these devices? If I’m wearing the HR monitor, or getting PM data, which device gets the data? Or do they both acquire it?
Since you also have both how do you do it? When importing all your data is it possible to merge data? Does it even make sense to?
I currently have an RCX5 that I will probably get rid off and get the 910xt, seems to be much better. Especially since I don’t care to know my HR when I’m swimming. The only time that I would use this would be during a race since the strap won’t stay up unless you have a wetsuit. I’m upset that my RCX5 GPS didn’t record 50% of the beginning of my bike during my last IM.
Thank you!
Yes, you can pair sensors to multiple devices (I do it daily in devices testing).
You can’t easily merge data together on any Garmin site, but you can with some sites like Training Peaks. The challenge is getting the two data sets lined up JUST perfectly. It’s more difficult than you think if you’re trying to do it every.single.day.
Does anyone know if you can use different measurement units for different sports? eg All my training for cycling/running is done in miles but all my swim stuff is done in metres
Excellent reviews as always Ray. It seems I can upload to Garmin Connect the activities and all, but I cannot send to unit the courses / workouts I create in GC. Any idea why?
Thanks
Having the same issue. However, I only noticed it after I switched to my Windows 8 Laptop, but never tried sending info (courses/workouts) to my older Windows 7 laptop so I’m not sure if that is the issue.
My garmin 910 XT is about 8 months old and although fully charged (shows 100% on display when on charger) it will not power up, ie turn on. Is there a battery that needs replacing frequently? or have I other major probs. I have reviewed the manual but cannot find an easy solution. I live in Sth pacific so not easy access to agents. any idea?
Hi Polly-
Try doing a ‘soft reset’, that should fix it up. And failing that, try a ‘hard reset’. A hard reset will cause loss of data, whereas a soft reset won’t.
Hope this helps!
am afraid that the same thing happened with mine, also after 8 months.
Garmin replacing this with a new one.
Hi Rainmaker
All your “IN DEPTH REVIEWS” are states of the art.
Please informe me
Is there a way to see the time which i spend in every zone?
Thanks
Hey Ray –
Can the Garmin footpod be used on the bike to measure cadence?
Thanks!
Unfortunately not. The footpod uses a different ANT+ ‘Device Profile’. A device profile is a category of ANT+ sensors, such as heart rate straps, cycling speed/cadence sensors, running footpods, cycling power meters, etc…
In this case, the footpod is running specific from a data structure standpoint. So even though technically the guts could be used to determine cadence, the connectivity/communications layer is focused on running.
Probably more info than you wanted..
I am pretty much sold on the 910xt however, there are two functionalities missing for me, particularly the ability to show your exact location in lat/long coordinates. I run, swim, ride and also spend a lot of time hiking and mountain climbing. The ability to “call up” lat/long coordinates is essential, to simply verify my location when required. Given the 910 has GPS it should be a relatively simple function to show your current location. Also, the addition of a compass would complete the picture. Are these ever likely to be available at some point?
You can call up the lat/long, via the GPS menu. It’s a bit wonky, but if you go to ‘Save Position’, it then shows you current lat/long. You can also then go down to navigate to a given location and/or lat/long as well. Not perfect, but sorta functional.
Pressing on the Enter button when you are on the map screen will show your current Lat/Long position.
That seals it then in terms of my 910/Ambit decision-making. As far as the compass goes, I would never leave home on a hiking trip without my protractor compass so that’s not essential. Yes, the Ambit has that super-cool 3D compass but overall with my sporting lifestyle the 910 seems to now tick (almost) all the boxes, thanks to your knowledge of the functions. On a final note, thanks for the speedy reply, awesome site!
Ray,
In many of your product reviews, you mention testing the HR while swimming. I know the HR soft strap is fine in the water (because that’s how I wash it), but is the actual electronic HRM that snaps onto the strap safe in the water? I would have never thought it was waterproof or even resistant.
Thanks. Dumb question I know, but thanks.
Yup, totally fine there as well. No problems at all. It won’t transmit very well (as noted above), but, the actual electrical part is good too.
Thank you so much for your in-depth reviews of Garmin, Polar and Suunto – triathlete watches!! I ended up purchasing this Garmin 910 XT triathlon bundle from Clever Training and thank to you, I got 10% off!!
After reading your review, I thought this watch was going to be the greatest thing ever.
It isn’t. I wanted to tell your readers a bit more.
– I live in an urban area. The length of time it takes to find and “attach to” a satellite is ridiculous, and takes a lot longer than a Garmin Edge. (With that said, everything else about this watch as it relates to cycling is very good).
Where my real problems lie are with the swimming, and I don’t believe you’ve done a great job of telling people about the perils – other than suggesting we can buy a $10 plugin for an unrelated program to fix the date. I only ever do freestyle, and I have a very good technique:
– you cant manually set a stroke. Even with my very good swimming technique, none of the 3 swims I’ve done with this watch were close to accurate. More than half of the swimming I’ve done with this watch appears as backstroke, and another 10% is breastroke. They’re pretty different to freestyle! One would half the watch under the water the whole time, the other I would be moving my arm in the opposite direction. Given that I’m in a lane by myself, I think one of the issues relates to advice you gave me previously in these comments – this watch doesn’t like open turns.
– Again, I’m in a lane by myself (so no traffic going the other way). And yet a 500 metre swim became 600. In 10x50m + 10x100m “sprintervals”, I ended up with a distance of 1625m.
– Open turns aren’t the only problem though. Sometimes it just decides that a lap ends. As I said, I have a good stroke – but I’m certainly not swimming a 13 second lap followed by an 18 second lap! This was actually one 31-second lap that the watch inexplicably cut in half.
– The lack of an autopause is mentioned in your review – but just how much this sucks isn’t adequately covered. The action of having to hit start, lap when you’re resting, then hit lap, start when you take off again is annoying, and it isn’t conducive to getting accurate data.
Finally – you may have covered this elsewhere on your site… But Garmin Connect SUCKS. As I said, I don’t think I should have to use a separate program, pay $10 for a plugin, and have to mess around with uploading, transferring, then editing just so I can have accurate data. This is crazy, and it defies belief.
Further, I don’t know whether it’s just my unit, my computer, or me – but transferring data is far from seamless. As I type this, my computer and watch have been trying to transfer data for around an hour, with repeated fails. I guess if there’s a question buried within this review of my own, it’s whether you know what might be causing this, and what I need to review to fix it – I can open the ANT agent, I can see the data transferring, then it gets to 100% and fails. So I still cant see the data from the run that I completed about 90 minutes ago. Disappointing, and infuriating.
I saw an advertisement for Garmin devices not long ago – “‘I love my Garmin’ said everyone who ever owned one.”
Unfortunately, I don’t. It’s the only thing on the market that catered to my needs of pool swimming, ow swimming and cycling, but this thing is still so far from perfect nearly 2 years and at least 7 software updates since it’s release, I can’t believe the horrific amount that they’re still charging for it.
I’m seriously considering returning this to the place of purchase, because I can’t justify the $400 I paid for it if it can’t give me an accurate swimming distance and when I can’t edit the data.
Both your slow-sat problem, and your slow-transfer problem are typically resolved by doing a soft-reset. Usually the slow-sat problem is due to the unit incorrectly holding onto a specific GPS satellite that it can’t really find anymore.
By soft-resetting you don’t lose any data, but you clear out that cache.
On the long-transfer times, that’s often a single activity that’s causing it, and the soft resets tends to help there as well.
For swimming, I totally agree with you. I think he needs to improve in swimming just is much to be called bad.
They could at least let configurable for Auto / Manual Lap and style.
Hi, this product is great in many ways. But the swimming part is not the best. Swimming in 25m pool seems to be much better, but in 50m pool there is a huge differents between the real values and “garmin” values. For example 2,5km and 3,2km. Hope next generation will be such good in swimming like the rest of garmin 910XT :)
so, given some relatively consistent feedback that the 910xt is not great for swimming – is it safe to assume that given it uses the same technology as the Garmin Swim, that the Swim is no better?
because i was initially looking at a Garmin Swim/Edge 500 combo, because I don’t really run – and because if i start running, a running-specific watch isn’t that expensive. i’d quite happily return the 910 and get the Swim and the 500 if the Swim does a better job.
with all that said though – i went for a swim today, i was a lot more conscious of “bumping” the accelerometer. and despite the fact that my tumble turns are rubbish, i did shorter reps using tumble turns just so i could get a comparison. as i suspected, the majority of my false readings where coming from open turns.
20×50 metre reps in a 25m pool using tumble turns gave me a perfect reading – 1000m, all with freestyle.
ray – perhaps that’s the feedback and advice that i’d give to you. your reviews are awesome, and i spend a ridiculous amount of time on your site reading up on products that i have no intention of buying just cos i love all the info. but as i hinted at yesterday, the advice that this watch doesn’t care whether you tumble or open turn, in my experience, just isn’t right. the accuracy between open turns and my rubbish tumble turns is like chalk and cheese – it’s the difference between useful data and a $400 paperweight that, this time yesterday, i was considering returning.
Hi Andy-
Thanks for the comment!
I don’t doubt you’re having problems with your unit on the difference between open and flip turns. Unfortunately, I just don’t see those issues with my unit and/or my swimming style. I’ve literally done all combinations of tests in this area from doing 500y sets all-open, and then 500-flip. And then 500 where every length I’d alternate between open and flip. No difference.
As noted above in the ‘Tips for getting good swim data’ section, there’s a lot that folks can do to improve performance. Given the FR910XT is an accelerometer based unit (like the Garmin Swim), it’s susceptible to your turns and directional changes.
I wish I had a better answer. Ultimately, there are no doubt folks that have troubles with it (and not their fault), but there are far more folks that seem to be happy with it, especially after taking into consideration ways to minimize issues.
Thanks for reading!
So I finally bought a 910xt the other day after months of reading your site and others and deliberating. I am a runner and sometimes hiker, but with the 610, fenix, and 910xt all about the same price the 910 seemed like a no-brainer for the combo of running features, true waterproofness, and battery life. (I wish I had it for my Mount Whitney hike last summer.)
So far so good with setup and a nice hilly test run. I like the automatic wireless data upload; it kind of surprised me, actually, and worked like champ. The initial firmware update was kind of a pain, though, but oh well.
Thanks for all your awesome reviews and info. It was a huge help.
Just noticed eBay now has “manufacturer refurbished” 910xt’s for $319.95. Seems like a pretty good deal (although it does not include the ANT+ USB stick). But, if you have a USB stick, then you have yourself a good deal….
After much deliberation and obsessively reading reviews on your site I decided that the 910xt would be the best for me to use running year round with occasional snorkelling, kayaking and open water swimming in summer months. The large footprint, fully customisable four fields display and waterproofing were major factors for me. The timex run trainer 2.0 looked like a great second choice, but with only a us warranty available from timex on clevertraining sale I have now just taken the plunge and got an unboxed new 910xt with hr strap off ebays uk site for equivalent of $330 which is less than the TRT 2.0 would have worked out at to get to me here in Ireland from clevertraing with import duties.
Rainmaker!
Do you know if this or the 310XT is compatible with a Chromebook? I have a Chromebook, and it works well with my Edge 800. I am thinking of getting the 310 or 910, but I’m not sure if the Chromebook will pick up the USB as a mounted drive.
Thanks!
RD
Any hope that Garmin might introduce a Forerunner 910XT type of device with the added ability to record HR under water? If not, is there a device from another manufacturer that comes with the ability to support lap-swimming (record distance, speed, strokes, AND HR)?
Unfortunately, there’s nothing like that on the market today. I’d suspect we’ll see Garmin probably go the route of Suunto with a memory belt like device, that records HR to the HR strap, and then syncs it later. It’s been rumored for a while.
Do you know that memory belt of Suunto is becoming a discontinued product? I was told by the Suunto rep for my country. The remaining belts are sold with a huge discount, but I did not buy knowing the lack of ANT+.
Thanks for your reply Rainmaker. I bought the 910XT anyway.
If you (or anyone else) come up with a solution – integrating in sync HR data to 910XT pool swims – I sure appreciate if you can share the info here. I won’t mind if the solution requires some additional effort like file parsing etc.
I’ll definitely let folks know if that integration occurs – it’d be a front-page post!
I’m sorry if this question has already been asked but, does my old garmin HR strap from my Garmin 201 work with the 910xt?
thank you
Marco
If it has an ANT+ logo on the back of it, you’re good. I’m trying to remember if the FR201 was ANT+ enabled or not.
I’ve just bought the 910XT, and although I agree that it’s not a day-to-day watch (due to battery life), I would like to see the current date/time displayed before a race. How do I get the watch to display time and date so that I can at least get to the starting line in time.
You can add the ‘Time’ data field to one of your data pages, which will show you your current time.
Since I don’t use all four data pages in my run profile on the 910, I set up the fourth page fr three data items with “time” in the big slot and “sunrise” and “sunset” in the smaller two. Putting it on page four keeps it one page change away from my main page whether I have my heart-rate or cadence pages on or not.
I guess making it page two would do the same thing… :)
Ray (or anyone else), do you know if the 910 (or the Swim, for that matter) will pick up sidestroke?
Hi John. No, it doesn’t – it just does Back, Fly, Breast, Free, Mixed.
Hi DC, thanks for that reviews, and congratulations for your great idea of doing and enjoying what you like. I’ve got one 910xt and still learning about it. I’ve the review and I found it more usefull than the owners manual.
About the HR straps and the registers: comparing Polar vs Garmin which is more accurate. Historically, Polar’s been used more for its HR precision registers. What about Garmin’s?
When in a triathlon, how could you split for transitions?
Thanks.
From a strap standpoint, Polar tends to make better straps. If the strap doesn’t have any issues for you, then both units are really equal in that area. It’s just a case of whether you get spikes/dropouts on the strap itself, which while the Polar certainly isn’t immune to – it does tend to be slightly better.
I got the 910xt today. My 310xt which I had for two years died last week.
Besides the similarities on the menu, shape etc and differences on the specs which can be found easily doing a google search I noticed the following difference on the display.
The illumination of the 910xt is brighter in the middle of the upper part of the screen. The 310xt has a more uniform illumination light. This can be noticed if you look closely at the pics of this blog
link to dcrainmaker.com
link to dcrainmaker.com
Also the large fonts on the 910xt don’t look so smooth as on the 310xt.
First I thought this had to do with the screen size or screen resolution but it didn’t because these specs are identical.
Then I noticed that it has to do with the type of the fonts.
The 910xt uses more round fonts which due to the resolution of the screen don’t appear so smooth.
The 310xt uses fonts that look more like the digital fonts and look a lot smoother on that screen resolution.
link to dcrainmaker.com
link to dcrainmaker.com
I hope the quality of the electronics on the 910xt is a lot better than the 310xt.
My 310xt at some point couldn’t aquire the sattelites. It was out of warranty so I repair it myself.
link to georgekelaidis.wordpress.com
After a couple of months and a lot km of running and open water swimming it suddendly died.
I returned from my training, switch it off, set it to charge, nothing! Tried every button combination, nothing!
Battery was OK, something on the motherboard died, so end of the road.
Thank you for your great reviews! Very good job! It really helped me a lot on making my decision between 910xt and the Ambit.
Hi Ray,
do u know if it’s possible to pair the 910xt with the lemond revolution powermeter? I know lemond use a particular ant+ protocol (maybe closed) so it seem that is not possible to pair.
thank you
Unfortunately not. The LeMond today transmits everything in a closed-ANT variant as opposed to open-ANT. Wish it wasn’t that way. :( Even with the PowerPilot, no love.
Hi Ray,
Have you noticed any difference in battery life between the 310XT and the 910XT? My 310XT runs out of juice after about 15 hours (smart gps recording intervals, backlight off, hr enabled). I know they’re both supposed to work for 20 hours straight, but I never got anywhere near that. Even if the 910XT would hold out for two or three hours longer, that would be a bonus. It’s either that or get faster and finish the damn 100-120K trail race before the battery runs out. I’ve looked at the Fenix as an alternative, but as far as I can gather, that one only goes beyond 15 hours with 15-second gps recording intervals. Which is just not practical when you’re running trails with lots of sharp turns and you use Courses a lot.
So, the Fenix is not an alternative, but the 910 could be if the battery life would be closer to its specified 20 hours. Can you shed any light on this?
Thanks!
I haven’t done any super-precise tests between the FR310XT and FR910XT from a battery standpoint. Usually I end up charging a few times a week when downloading.
You could however go the route of a Magellan Switch Up with extra battery packs…might be worth a look.
Thanks, Ray! The Magellan is an interesting option, but I don’t want to mess about with batteries when I’ve already got to pay attention to nutrition, hydration, blisters, course markers, timing and such. It gets in the way of having fun.
A friend of mine uses his 910XT during 24 hour (looped track) races. He just told me a full battery usually gets him to the 22 hour mark, which is good enough for me at the moment, so I’ll probably go get one. We’ll know more by april 21st.
P.S.: In case you were wondering, some people really do read your entire reviews, not just the conclusion. Just to say your extensive writeups are much appreciated!
Hallo Ray,
i am thinking about to move all my stuff from polar (cs500 and rcx) to garmin. just bought the edge 510 for time trial bike and now thinking about buying an 910xt to have all my data centralized. Do you think it is worth the change or would you wait for the successor? I am doing triathlon and own a garmin swim as well (only for the indoor pool)
The actual running speed is very important to me. If I would buy a 910xt I would buy the foot pod as well. Is there the possibility to measure the km via gps and only display the actual speed via foot pod? Is there the possibility to calibrate it for every pair of shoe (i created a profile on the polar to every pair)? Reason – every pair is different and needs different settings. A good sideeffect is, that I can control the total distance I ran with the shoe and replace it after about 600km.
is there a possibility to see the time per heart-rate-zone in the garmin connect tool? is there a funcitonality of training intensity view compared to polar?
Thanks a lot in advance for your help
Best regards
Paolo
Thank you for the great review.
910XT seems to be released in early 2010.
Next model will be released because the three years has passed.
Buy a 910XT?, or do I have to wait for The sequel ?
wonder the rumors of the next model.
The FR910XT was announced in October 2011. It became available in the January-April 2012 timeframe (very limited availability initially). So effectively, one year old.
I wouldn’t expect to see any new hardware this year to replace the FR910XT. Typically Garmin operates on a 2-year cycle, but I see little value in releasing/announcing a triathlon watch in the fall (of 2013) ,when they could work on it for another 4-6 months and announce for spring (like they did with the FR310XT).
Awesome review…. Just got a 910XT primarily due to this review.
A couple of questions… Is there any way to get Live Track working with a 910 ?
1) Given that the 910 can talk to an iPhone via the ANT+ dongle, shouldn’t it be feasible to get the same Live Track functionality via ANT+ connectivity that you can get for the Edge 810 via Bluetooth? Hopefully this is a matter of patience (not my strong point) before this comes along.
2) If all I want is for my wife / friends to tell where I am on a course will the “Find my friends” app do the job anyway? No real data other than position – but at least it should allow them to know I am about to come around the corner.
Regards – Jim
Thanks.
1) In theory with the iPhone ANT+ dongle if Garmin were to actually innovate with that and add such functionality both in the FR910XT firmware and in the Garmin Connect app software. I see that as highly unlikely. Actually, virtually zero chance.
2) For that, you’ll need the phone with you.
Love the review….really thorough. I do have a couple of questions, of course.
1. When you set up a course running or biking. Is there a function that gives a count down? ie., if mantaining pace of _____mph then ____minutes/hrs to completion?
2. I have Garmin 800 bike computer, will this mess up HR monitor not going to one or the other?
I am in Afghanistan at the time and dont have resources here to try this out. I am leaning towards getting this, but the 800 is so freakin awesome, I dont want duplicate results on bike bike portion, although I dont have anything for the swim or run now, other then Nike+ pod in my shoe.
Thank you.
1) No, not today. That’s similar to what the Magellan Switch has (like an ETA timer), really cool.
2) Nope, you can send to both concurrently. I do this on almost every ride, as I’m always testing 1 (or 7) devices. One HR strap to all devices at once.
Enjoy!
Dear Ray,
I’ve ordered a Garmin 910xt based on the information in your review and I know my decision has been based on sound (and impressive) information. Thank you.
Could you please advise me: I use my watch for hiking, both for urban and bushland training walks and for treks (Nepal in a couple of weeks). Which sports mode should I choose, “running” or “other”, or something else?
Peter
For hiking and walks I’d use ‘Running’. The primary difference is that it’s showing your pace as minutes/mile (or kilometers), versus showing it as speed (i.e. MPH or KPH).
Sorry boss for disagreeing, but if TE is important for you, you should avoid running for walking and hiking, since 910XT has a learning curve and if you make lots of walks it will strongly influence this learning process based on Firstbeat algorithm.
Am I wrong?
Not wrong, but I’d wager that less than 1% of people use either TE or Firstbeat. I do realize it’s important to some (including yourself) – and not discounting that, but most don’t use it. I was merely answering the question as to which profile settings to use for general use.
tAnd what about the calorie calculation of 910XT? It has nothing to do with any learning curve? I am not fully sure, but my intuition says that you face the same influence. Unfortunately i dont remember all the white paper stuff I have read about it.
Hi,
Thanks for the big review, very helpful.
But at the moment, I still can’t choose between the Garmin 910XT or the Bryton 60R.
To bad you haven’t included any information about the Bryton.
Off-course the Garmin is the better machine (because of the pool swimming abilities), but the Bryton offers some bang for the buck (almost the same, for about 30% less).
Have you got any idea about this difficult choice?
With regards,
Rowan (The Netherlands)
I haven’t tested out the Bryton 60 yet. I’ve been talking with them, but it won’t realistically hit my radar until later this spring or early summer. Just a bit jammed up right now.
I’ve heard mixed things on the Bryton, so it’s hard for me to offer an opinion here at this point. Sorry!
Hi!
I wonder why you, in pro’s and con’s, write “- Doesn’t really work as a normal day to day non-sports watch (battery only 20hrs)”
when you, earlier in your review, write “In short though, the answer is on a single charge the device will last approximately 55 hours with multiple ANT+ streams (heart rate, power, speed/cadence) feeding data to it.”
For two reasons. One, a ton of people complained that I didn’t list that it really isn’t used as a day to day watch. It doesn’t show the date, which many people want for day to day use.
And two, the 20hrs is with GPS, whereas the 55hr comment is in reference to GPS off.
Does CleverTraining no longer offer the tri bundle? I just see 910xt + HR, and speed/cadence separate. But I also want the mount and misc. goodies I see included in the amazon tri bundle.
Here ya go (just add the DCR10BTF coupon code once at checkout): link to shareasale.com
Thanks for the support, I appreciate it!
I got impatient and found the quick release kit there, and ordered the 3 items separately. I think that’s the same as the tri bundle. Looks like I paid $16 more. :( Ah well, still got your discount, and got to support you.
Thanks for the support, I appreciate it!
Hi Ray,
Thanks for the excellent review as always.
I’m planning to get a 910XT soon, but was wandering if Garmin has any plans to release a new version of this multisport watch. You probably have more idea of their product cycle and how when they roll out new updates.
Thanks.
I would not expect an hardware update before the end of this triathlon season. The FR910XT is really only about a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but didn’t really become truly available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframe. Typically Garmin refreshes on a product cycle no less than every 2 years (the FR910XT was about 32 months).
Fantastically thorough Rainmaker…..Regarding SUP and paddle rate, I am hoping to do something similar for an outrigger canoe. Both have the problem that the top hand is almost stationary compared to the bottom hand and also swimming strokes, so the stroke is unlikely to be measured when your watch hand id the top hand.
Do you think a foot Pod may work strapped to the lower end of the paddle? Might it also indicate stroke length?
Thanks – Mark
Indeed, using the watch alone doesn’t work too well for kayaking (I tried here): link to dcrainmaker.com
I haven’t had a chance to glue on a footpod, and now that I’ve moved to Paris, I left my kayaks with some friends. :(
That challenge with the footpod though is that it isn’t used in swimming mode, so even if it was used, you wouldn’t get the stroke-length aspects that way. Sorry!
Largely based on Ray’s review, I went out and bought a 910XT and took it for a 84 kilometer (52 mile) trail run yesterday. Strangely, it exhibited the exact same bug as my deceased 310XT: after about 6 hours, it just shut itself off. Like with the 310XT, I was following a course drawn with Garmin Connect, using smart recording and HR strap and the display was set to map view. I turned it back on, pressed Start and it just continued recording. This unit was delivered to my local running store straight from Garmin, so I doubt it’s an older revision. It came with the latest (2.70) firmware.
On a positive note, battery usage seems to be right where it should be: 64 percent remaining after 8:45 of continuous use, which comes down to a little over 4 percent per hour.
Apart from the shutting down issue, I really like it. Compared to the 310XT, the edges are a little more rounded, the strap is more comfortable, the display is much more crisp and it has some useful extra data fields (like sunset, sunrise). It’s not without its flaws: the backlight is rather poorly distributed, the buttons on the side are harder to operate and the barometric altimeter is accurate nor consistent. I ran 4 consecutive 21k laps, so the resulting graph should show the same pattern repeated 4 times. It doesn’t. Not by a long shot.
I’d say 9 out of 10.
Hi Ray,
Thanks for the intensely thorough review. I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into producing these informative pieces and the attention you continue to pay to your reader’s comments.
You’ve definitely sold me on the 910XT but when I went to Clever Training to purchase the Triathlon Bundle using your discount code I noticed 2 things…
1. They do not sell a Triathlon Bundle
2. The discount no longer works.
Am I just too late?
Thanks!
Eek, sorry on the code! I just shot over a quick note to them after I saw your message to see what’s up. I can confirm the code wasn’t applying the discount.
As for the triathlon bundle, here’s the link once the code works: link to shareasale.com
Should have the code sorted out here in a few hours.
Enjoy!
The coupon code should be all good again. Sorry for the troubles!
Great review, thank you.
Great review and lots of useful comments too!
I just bought the 910XT because my 310XT have shown some odd freeze issues lately. I have now been running with the 910XT for two weeks.
For running, it does not feel different whatsoever. Basically the same functions and the same display. I do look forward to utilize the new swimming functions and not having to count lanes anymore :-)
I agree with previous readers. Buttons are less accessible and backlight looks a bit cheap/flawed. Battery time does go beyond 20 hours compared compared to approx. 15 hours on the 310XT.
“Back To Start” function – a bad joke…
One function I have never seen covered in depth anywhere is the “Back To Start”. Since I occationally loose my way on very long trips, it was the major selling point purchasing my first GPS running watch (310XT).
Two times in the past, I have really needed to use “Back To Start”, but it only made things worse. (Later on, I discovered that it does NOT point you towards start but somehow tries to backtrack your previous route.)
Today after running beyond 30km, I realised I was further from my starting point than anticipated and decided to try out “Back To Start” on the 910XT. The watch then spent the next 5 minutes “processing track”! (during which I was running in the wrong direction most of the time).
Am I the only one user with the impression that “Back To Start” is close to useless?
Ray,
Do you know if you can somehow prevent the watch from going into “processing track” state and just give you the orientation and distance to the starting point? Thanks!
Unfortunately not. I’ve only used it a few times, and never with a lot of speed. And half the time (on various firmware variants) it’d just crash completely. I think I posted somewhere about a trail run where I used it (or planned to), and it crashed…leaving me completely hosed. I ran so many more miles than I expected to (I think it was about an extra 90 minutes or so). Sigh…
Thanks for the update Ray!
You mention your experience with several models crashing while doing “Back To Start”. I too experienced odd behaviour:
While doing the “processing track” stuff, my 910XT suddenly started searching for sattelites (no trees or buildings near) for no reason. For a moment, all numbers went blank, but then everything returned to normal again.
Maybe you could suggest to Garmin that they implement a “Point To Start” as a simple fix?
– All the information it needs to provide is a compas arrow pointing towards start and the distance to start in line-of-flight. No hazzle, no confusion :-)
Cheers,
Lasse
Thanks for the outstanding review (and blog) Ray. Quick question – I’m almost 100% sure the Forerunner is the watch I want – just curious as to how soon you think Garmin might choose to upgrade this product line? Or do you think the 910 will be their flagship multi-sport product for some years to come?
Thanks for the update Ray!
You mention your experience with several models crashing while doing “Back To Start”. I too experienced odd behaviour:
While doing the “processing track” stuff, my 910XT suddenly started searching for sattelites (no trees or buildings near) for no reason. For a moment, all numbers went blank, but then everything returned to normal again.
Maybe you could suggest to Garmin that they implement a “Point To Start” as a simple fix?
– All the information it needs to provide is a compas arrow pointing towards start and the distance to start in line-of-flight. No hazzle, no confusion :-)
Cheers,
Lasse
I don’t expect an update to the FR910XT this season. It’s really only barely a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but wasn’t available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframes. Given there’s no real competition right now (with all three sports covered), there’s little reason for them to update it this season.
I’m a runner/cyclist (fitness, not competition). I picked up a 910xt at the regular price from REI (with tax, $435-ish). It’s pretty amazing. I saw the 310xt on sale for $195 (at Clever), essentially a savings of $240!!! I am not really interested in the swimming function. Not on a budget, but I’m curious if the 310 would be the better choice for this scenario?
In my opinion it’s well worth the cost saving of $240 to go with the 310xt over the 910xt. I’ve had both and the 310xt worked perfectly fine for me. I did switch to the 910xt because of the swimming features, but if I wasn’t doing lap swimming (remember the 310xt has open water function) I might have been tempted to stay with the 310xt. If you can live with the slightly taller profile and less robust wrist strap of the 310xt then it’s probably worth the cost saving.
Thanks for the input Gunnar. I’ve heard some complaints about the strap on the 310. I’ll see how the 310 is later this week when I get it.
Any rumors, leaks, educated guesses on an announcement of release of an updated 910xt. It’s coming up on two years, and before I spend $400, it would be nice to know if a new version will appear in the next couple of months. Thank you in advance for any thoughts
I don’t expect an update to the FR910XT this season. It’s really only barely a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but wasn’t available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframes. Given there’s no real competition right now (with all three sports covered), there’s little reason for them to update it this season.
Awesome review. I bought a 610, and thought that I would be happy with it. I am. Ecstatically so. But I am more into cycling than running, and your comments in here about cycling have sold me on the 910, so the 610 is going to the GF, and the 910 has just been ordered through your CT link. Both of these are probably more than I need, but the extra features are actually encouraging me to make use of them. I thought I would be happy having all my miles from road and trainer combined, and foregoing my mtb stats.
Not so. The multi bike functionality of the 910 was kew. And the barometric altimeter. I talked myself into being ok that the 610 didn’t have it, but I really want it.
I was never really into running, but I do love to (power)hike. The Garmin’s features have motivated to get out an run.
Awesome, thanks for the support of the site via Clever, I appreciate it! Enjoy!
There is a software bug you need to know about. It might affect the 910XT. It does for my 310XT and Garmin Swim. Makes transferring impossible and thus the products useless. I have a Mac, as an aside.
Feel free to simply post it here. That way it’s public and known (plus, Garmin does watch this).
Does the 910XT have the HR tables you can alter based on your level of fitness?
Yep, you can change the zones through garmin connect
I did a 70.3 race last weekend and recorded it as a multisports on my 910XT.
When I uploaded the data I noticed that the open water swim was recorded as a pool event. Argg! When using multisports, 910XT didn’t prompt me for which kind of swim. It just kept the setting of my last swim workout.
I asked Garmin if they can transform the file so I can read my open water swim stats.
Also a multisports enhancement would be to prompt user to choose swim type just like it does for a swim only workout.
I knew about this problem from training but there are lots of things to think about before a race and it escaped me.I don’t race often and I would like to get good race data. At a race last year, I hit the lap button by mistake at the halfway bike mark (I blame the high level of lactate in my blood) so I’m not recording my races correctly. Anyone has good trick to avoid these kind of problems?
For me I use a little printed and laminated checklist that I have with me in transition pre-race – that lists a lot of these little things. It’s about the only way I can remember on race morning.
I wrote about it a bit here: link to dcrainmaker.com
Enjoy!
Hi Rainmaker,
After the day 01/05/2013 all “log” made with Garmin F910XT are with “HR” 100% error in Firstbeat Athlete. But the HR and R-R are shown in Movescount and Garmin connect.
Could you please help me with this.
Example on the link below.
” link to connect.garmin.com ”
” link to movescount.com ”
Thank you in advance.
Hello
I have used the 910xt for about a year, and I have been a little frustrated with the accuracy for distance while running. It always shows a longer distance than the actual race. The latest occurrence was yesterday when I missed a sub3 at the Orange County marathon because I paced based on the Garmin, but ended up with 26.45. I am very careful at running the tangents, and I usually place in the top 5-10% of runners so I dont do much weaving around other runners. So despite running what I consider relatively optimal tangents/trajectories, it always measures long. In your experience, do you think that the 910 is less accurate than other Garmins? Or can this be fixed by switching to 1s data recording mode? Thanks for helping.
Yes, you should absolutely turn on 1s recording.
However, 26.45 is actually quite good for a marathon – even for the top 5-10% of runners. Read this post to see why: link to dcrainmaker.com
(Realizing that you may know some of it)
I bought a 910XT last week and had it returned because the unit froze while transferring data using the ANT agent and then on the third day, i believe the data was corrupted and so the transfer process would constantly fail at the same percentage. My previous polar would never do this. I am surprised no one has mentioned this already.
Another great DC Rainmaker review. I am wondering how this watch would work with cross-country skiing? Also – comparing it to the 310XT and Edge 500 I am curious if money was no object whether this is really worth the extra cash outlay.
I used it for cross-country skiing twice last Feb and it went fine. I set it as “other” so it wouldn’t be counted as a run or a bike ride. It recorded GPS, HR,… link to connect.garmin.com
I am pretty impressed with the detailed review that you provide that too without any bias. Facts as facts. Thank you for the same. I do need your advice though.
Now that the Suunto Ambit 2 and 2 S are out (and I read through your review on the same). Where should we bet our money for an Ironman training and race (first attempt)? Would it be the Garmin 910XT or a Suunto Ambit 2 or 2 S? Whichever watch I invest in, I would keep this for at least the next 3 years (without looking back).
Now to the confusion:
I like the ability to create apps on the Suunto models which is something that 910XT lacks currently. From that perspective, the Suunto has the ability to become a better watch than 910XT.
However, I am worried about the battery, which will definitely not last for 17 hours for which the only work around I see it to charge it while on the cycle. Can we keep the watch charging while it is recording data? Is the charging that easy or will it fall off?
Or just leave the looks and go for the 910XT?
I would expect the Ambit2 (and 2S) to keep growing, I would not expect any further functional updates to the FR910XT (perhaps bug fixes).
The charger as it is today will fall off with really any movement, so it just won’t work for mid-race charging (without a lot of duct-tape).
Speaking of charging clips, that’s where the fenix really shines. It would be great if the secure charging arrangement on the fenix made it over to other watches that were catering to the long distance runners/hikers etc.
Hi! Great review. I’m on the verge of buying one of these but have heard of some odd issues with how it reports instant pace while running. This is one of the most useful features on my 205 so I want to make sure it works correctly on the 910xt before I buy it. Does it jump around for you like others claim? I don’t fully understand what the issue is but half the people out there say it has been patched and fixed and the other half say it’s still busted. What has your experience been?
It’s mixed. I don’t have any problems, and many others don’t. There are some that do, and for those, I don’t really have a good answer (and neither does it seem, does Garmin). I would guess that the number of people is in the small minority, but of course – for those that have the issue it’s undoubtedly annoying.
Hello!
Just got a quark and I’m wondering if the power averages calculate the “zero” power for when you are coasting as part of the whole average or if those don’t “count against you”. Same question for cadence?
Thanks for your help!
You can control this via the Data Averaging settings menu. If you select ‘Yes’ to include Zeros for both Power and Cadence (two separate settings), it will.
The general ‘rule’ for cycling stats is to select ‘Yes’ to include zeros.
Hi, great review once again!!
I brought my 210 thanks to your review and it was perfect for what I needed it for, but…. now I’m moving up to Ultras and need a watch that will last me at least 15hrs.
Do you think the 910XT will be the one, or will the 310XT will do the trick? or even any others you could recommend.
I only need the basics Pace, time distance etc. But I reckon the compass would be pretty handy but its not essential.
Thanks and keep up the good work.
The 910XT will definitely last 22 hours, even with all the bells and whistles enabled (except backlight). It tried it during a 100k+ trail race a few weeks ago and the battery was still 44 percent full after 12.5 hours. A 310XT would probably get you about 16 hours of recording, judging from past experience, maybe a little more if it was brand new. There comes a point for every ambitious ultra runner where no Garmin Forerunner will get you to the finish line, but up to a full day of racing you’re golden with the 910.
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for your advice, my race is a 100km trail in September and I’m hoping to finish before I need the backlight :) so I reckon the 910XT is gonna be the one!
hey ray,
any news on if or when the drill mode is coming to the 910xt. i thinks it’s the only thing i really miss during swim workouts.
thanks, alex
I asked about this last month while in Kansas, it doesn’t sound like it’s on the radar right now. :(
Is the real time pace fixed in the current version of the firmware?
It is for most people. I have heard of some folks that still see the problem. I don’t have a clear answer on why it’s fine for some, but that there exists a small chunk that it’s still not as stable.
It may just be possible that they have not updated their firmware to the latest, but if that is documented that it is solved in a firmware then I dont see any issue.
Thanks again.
Hey, awesome site and reviews – thank you. I had a quick question though, do you know if they’ve “fixed” the pool size problems? Can you specify a 20m pool now with newer firmware? Seems a weird thing not for them to address if not! :-)
Still the same.
I use pool 20m in length, without any problem.
I swim in an 18 meter pool. The miniumu custom length is still 20 meters. I’ve spoken to support today and had this response.
From: ProductSupport@garmin.com [mailto:productsupport@garmin.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 12:42 PM
Subject: Garmin (KMM28615596I15977L0KM)
Dear Aymsley,
I have got a response from our software develpoement team regarding this
issue: “This is by design and will not be changed due to limitations of the algorithm used. ”
I am afraid that we wont be able to fix this for you.
Just stumbled on your site the other day and I am so glad that I did. Very impressive work!
I am just into running and I need vibrating alerts (because I listen to music) – That narrows it down to Garmin 310XT, Garmin 910XT, Garmin 610 and Timex Run Trainer GPS 2.0.
The Garmin 310XT is 169.99 and half the price of the 910XT, but doesn’t have run/walk. I’m wondering if that can be worked around by creating time based intervals as this site suggests? link to swikun.com. Same question for Timex Run Trainer GPS 2.0.
Or in other words, it’s not clear what I will lose by leveraging time intervals to configure run/walk.
Thanks!
Yup, you could do that. it wouldn’t be perfect, but it would fit the bill. The one challenge folks tend to have with that is that you have to ‘pre-create’ it for the right distance/time that you plan to run – otherwise you may run out of intervals. Make sense?
It’d be similar on the TRT2.
In the swimming mode is there any way to get a live count of the number of sets/intervals done? On the 310 I used the “other” function for swimming and then used the lap button as a counter to help me remember. For example, when doing 10X100’s I could use the lap button as a counter rather than having to remember which rep I am on.
Hmm, that’s a good point. As of now I don’t believe there’s a data field available in swimming mode with just the ‘Interval’ count. I can check a bit later tonight (FR910XT isn’t handy at the moment).
For this I’ve set up the screen so it shows me the total distance, and lap distance. That way I can always see where I’m at on the workout.
For example if I would swim 300m warmup and after that 10x100m. I would know that when I hit total distance of 1300m that specific set is done and I move on to next one.
Hi
Have read most of the review but I was just wondering if you could help me. I want a sport watch that I can calculate calories, but use it to mainly work out in the gym. I was looking at both the RCX3sd-run or the forerunner 910XT. I want to be able to swim as well. Can you recommend which one would be better? Or even if there is a better watch out there!!!!!!!!!
Hi Jennifer-
If you want to swim, the FR910XT is pretty much your best bet. The RCX3 doesn’t do swimming. For a triathlete, the FR910XT is the best all-around watch out there that captures data across all three sports whether indoors or out. At present, the only other watch to do that is the Suunto Ambit2/2S, though it lacks some of the more advanced FR910XT features (and costs more).
Based on your review I just purchased 910XT through Clever Training! The discount code still works!!
Hi Ray,
a question according the fabric strap:
I have very small wrists, so I used a fabric strap with my FR305 already and liked it for the comfy feeling. Do you think the fabric strap of the 910xt will be fixed tough enough for an openwater swim start at the Roth Challenge? Or will it loosen while swimming or when pulling off the wetsuite? I would prefer mounting it at my bike with the fabric strap so I don’t have anything at my wrist during biking…
Thanx!
Tanja
Hmm, that’s a tough one. Personally I’d be a bit hesitant to use the fabric band in a rough openwater swim start.
Thanks so much for your thorough reviews. And thanks for flagging the current Garmin Sale at the top of the review for each product included in the sale, including the link to your blog post regarding the sale. I primarily run with a Forerunner 405 but do some cycling with the Edge 200 and some swimming with a no-frills sports watch that just records time and lap splits. Two weeks ago I tripped while running and the 405 took the brunt of the impact. Some of the plastic pieces along the pins broke in such a way that I can’t functionally attach it to a strap, thus putting me in the market for a replacement. The upside here is that I am convinced that I would have had a pretty major injury (broken bone??) had my wrist taken the impact of the fall directly.
In looking for a replacement your reviews were helpful in deciding between upgrading to the 610 and keep my current 3 device set-up, or to upgrade to the 910. My main hesitation regarding the 910 was size as I have rather small wrists. I plan on swapping out the watch strap for the fabric/velcro version. Do you know if it possible to swap out the plastic bands on the quick release system for the fabric/velcro version? They all seem to use the same pin system, but from the photos above I can’t tell if it might be possible to do this.
Thanks!
Hmm, I’m not 100% sure on that (swapping fabric over to 910XT) – my initial hesitation is no, only because of the width of the band. :-/
For starters, I just wanted to say this post, like all of your others, is incredibly in depth and incredibly useful. I stumbled across your site through some Google searching, and now it’s a consistent stop for my role as “equipment manager” for my wife.
She started doing triathlons last year and is currently training for her first Ironman this fall. As a part of that training we got her the 310xt, which (of course) she loved the functionality of, but despised how massive the watch was and that she couldn’t use it for pool swims. We live in MN, so suffice to say a lot of her swimming is done in the pool. So when I came across your review of the 910xt (and when I found it on a major sale at REI through 5/27), I thought it was the perfect solution – and it is… for the most part.
The only complaint I/she have thus far is the lack of a “Pace” data field in the biking mode. Am I missing something here? I’ve updated the firmware, checked under every location possible, but all remnants of pace data (current, average, lap and last lap) that was available in the 310xt, are nowhere to be found on the 910xt. I can get to average pace by setting the lap to auto update every 1 mile, but no sign of current pace anywhere. If it’s there and I’m missing it, please let me know. If it’s legitimately not present, that’s the only gripe thus far about the 910xt. I also might recommend calling out in your review that it’s disappeared, as it currently isn’t mentioned.
Thanks for all the hard work on the reviews and in advance for any assistance!!
Pace is a running metric (expressed as minutes per mile, or minutes per kilometer – i.e. 7:10/mile). Whereas speed is a cycling metric (expressed as MPH/KPH, as in 25MPH – or 25 miles per hour).
Love this watch, great review Ray.
Any prospect of nutrition alerts, or separate alert settings (sound/vibrate) across alert types? I want to set up like this but I don’t think it’s possible currently:
Swim: no alerts
Bike: time alert every 30 minutes (for nutrition), sound and vibrate. Auto-lap every 10km, no alert
Run: time alert every 30 minutes (for nutrition), sound and vibrate. Auto-lap every 1km, no alert.
The auto-lap is so I can get an idea of how fast I’m run/riding, as the current pace smoothing is so bad. I don’t want to get over-alerted and miss a nutrition alert thinking it’s an auto-lap.
Also have you or anyone else noticed that it’s easy for the watch to get dislodged while in the QR strap? I’ve had it drop off twice while pool swimming after hitting a lane rope with it and it rotating and dropping off. I’m very worried it will happen in my Ironman swim and it will end up at the bottom of the sea.
Just FYI, I’ve had to get the quick release strap replaced under warranty as the pin of the watch strap snapped, luckily while not in use.
Thanks,
Paul
I don’t have my unit on me at the moment, but I’m not aware of a way to set differenting alert types per sport (differing alerts is no problem of course).
As for the QR strap – I’ve heard mixed results there. A few folks whacking it on the lane rope like yourself – though I hit my FR910XT on the lane ropes semi-frequently and have never had it dislodge.
By the same token, I don’t constantly take it out of the quick release kit htat much (other than charging) – so that may help some.
Hey, I got the 910xt and when i plug in my ant stick to my computer it just recognizes that it is a ant stick, but under the Garmin ant Agent it says “not active”. So i cant get to my data.. any thoughts?
In almost every case, changing to a different USB port will fix it (strange, I know). Failing that, if you haven’t restarted the computer once since installing the ANT Agent, try that. The reason is that during the installation you elevate to Admin credentials (if on Windows) and then it’ll leave the ANT Agent running within the administrator account, which I’ve occasionally seen cause problems until you either close out the ANT Agent from the taskbar and restart it – or just restart the computer.
Ray,
Are the selling this for the promotional price because there is either a new competitor model released or that they will be releasing a new updated version of the 910xt soon?
Thanks so much!
No, it was just a sale – there isn’t a new FR910XT coming out (it’s only a year old). They are likely trying to lock people in’ to the FR910XT before other competitors come out over the course of the summer – such as the Tom-Tom watch, and the Ambit 2/2S becoming more widely available.
I hate to bother you with a, what will probably be stupid question, but — I have had my 910xt for a few weeks, but ended up doing indoor treatmill runs for the entire time – worked great with the footpod. Then I finally had the chance to run five miles outdoors yesterday, however, my watch which had a good satellite lock, (I made sure it got a lock before I hit start) – didn’t record any distance. I noticed the entire time I was running it said nothing but some dashes in distance. The footpod recorded cadence. If I recall reading correctly, the watch was supposed to rely on GPS for distance, and the footpod for speed/cadence. I set the footpod (speed source) correctly, or so I thought. Is there an issue with the watch (Software 2.7) recording distance while using the footpod – or am I just an idiot and set something wrong? Thanks for the help. And I really love your site. Great reviews.
Rich
Did you remember to press start? A few times I’ve forgotten because it was displaying speed/cadence but it won’t record anything unless you press the start button.
2 questions :
How the 910 could be recognized by Basecamp (the ant+ driver don’t work) ?
How could we transfer data without the Ant+ appliance ?
Ultimately you need some sort of ANT+ connection to get data on and off the FR910XT. It’s just the way the watch works.
However, beyond a computer, you can use the Wahoo Fitness adapter for getting workout data off of it (but not transferring other items).
Basecamp isn’t designed to work with the FR910XT.
Hi I have found the following bugs…
1. After running I switch to open water swimming and it stops counting stokes after reaching number 3.
If I turn it off and on strokes counting works fine!
2. After swimming, I switch to other hit start but doesn’t record any distance.
Rich also mention such an issue comment # 799
So I turn off and on the watch it records the distance again.
I hope that Garmin will come up with a firmware upadate soon that will solve these problems and hopefully won’t create any new.
George.
The multisport one was introduced in the latest firmware.
I started using my watch while biking about several months ago. About 1 month ago, I got a new bike. When I got my new bike, I reset bike 1 so that the bike odometer matched the mileage I was actually putting on my new bike. But, the bike function total under my activities history reads the total miles have used the watch for both bikes added together (as it should). I’m wondering if I can manually adjust the bike activity total. I don’t want to reset it because then I’ll lose the miles on my original bike (which I want to lose) AND the miles on my new bike (which I don’t want to lose). Any ideas?
Not an ideal answer to your question Aaron but:
Why not track them independently of the unit?
TrainingPeaks and Strava both have tracking for different equipment and you wouldn’t lose the data if your headunit is lost or damaged.
Will Garmin ever come out with a heart rate sensor for swimming? My guess is that a serous market share is lost to Polar because of this?
I know they’ve certainly thought about it. How that enumerates itself as a product is a different question. I think at this point we probably won’t a HR strap variant come out (again, I could very well be wrong). I say this for two reasons. First is that if they were to have done it, they would have done it 1-2 years ago when ANTfs first came out (sorta like Suunto’s design).
Second is that given the rise of optical HR systems on the wrist, it would make more sense to focus on nailing that for swimming rather than a HR strap which doesn’t work for half the population (most men*).
*The reason is doesn’t work is that unless you wear something over it, the strap will slide down to your waist within a few wall pushoffs/flips, due to the water pressure.
ANT+ doesn’t work under water I thought?! any new receiver in the watch would require a full redesign. Any other modification to the watch (eg build in wrist sensor) would require a full re-design. I just wear a REALLY old polar s720 at the same time as the 910 every now and again to check HR
It doesn’t have to work underwater (as you noted, it doesn’t) in a HR strap. The idea is to ‘sync’ the data post-activity. This is what Suunto was doing with their Memorybelt idea. So you’d basically get data afterwards (with the HR strap idea).
With the optical side, then there’s no actual transmission, so that can work just built into the watch itself.
Ray, hope you don’t mind me publicising this link to a poll asking what we all would like to get sorted in the next 910XT firmware (or the one after in reality): link to the5krunner.com
Great site! i’ve been reading almost everything you put up. I am new to ultra-running and wanted a watch that would last the hours I would run on the trail. Settled on the 910xt for its battery life (among all the other features) based on your reviews. Bought it by pushing the amazon button on your website. Thanks for all the help and keep up the blogging.
David
I’m not sure if this problem has already been posed to you. I recently bought the 910xt and completed an aquabike race today using the multisport mode. The swim was recorded okay, however the bike didn’t track distance and it actually showed that I ended up off the coast of west Africa (I’m in the states). I hit all the right buttons and used the device properly…so I can’t explain why the watch didn’t record data properly. Any clues?
Yes, the latest firmware introduced a bug that has broken the display of distance in multisport mode after the swim. Sigh…
I just bought 910xt last week using Ray’s link & discount from clevertraining. Fast & great delivery (through comgateway proxy in US to SG).
– Using it already for 60km bike race yesterday.
– A few days ago, the date and time was off, but after getting a good gps signal, it corrected properly.
– the gps distance was somehow inaccurate as it showed me 52.61mil, exported to TP also showed the same, but exported to runkeeper, showed the correct 37.76 (around 60km)
– I use these accessories: speed/cadence, power meter, HR (wahoo soft Ant+), and I will get a footpod as well
Questions to the experience 910xt users:
– can we smooth or correct the mistakes in gps as above by either software or by combining it with speed sensor for cycling or combining it with footpod (after calibrating footpod) for running ?
– can we use the distance by gps and pace by speed sensor (cycling) or by footpod (running)? As we know the gps-based pace measurement could be a bit jump sometimes.
Thanks
A few thoughts…
Did the unit have full signal prior to starting? If not, that may lead to what you noted. Looking at those distances, it should never be that far off. Typically you’ll see within 0-2% being the norm.
On Garmin’s, the speed sensor won’t override the GPS unless the GPS is set as off. However, it will override the display during the ride itself (but not recorded speed/distance). Footpods however can be set to override speed/distance of GPS.
Hi! I am considering 910 (and 610) for almost only for running.
I read somewhere else that it has perfect instant pace for running with inertial sensor (comparing to GPS eg. in 610). Is it THAT good and worth spending 100$ extra or it’s just an urban legend?
I cant’t borrow any unfortunately.
BTW: Now I have 305.
Thanks in advance.
No Garmin units today have internal inertial sensors in them used within GPS smoothing (the FR910XT has an accelerometer used for swimming, and the Fenix has one as well – but it’s not used today for smoothing).
That said, the FR610 on the whole generally has better GPS pacing than 910XT. However, whether or not the FR910XT pacing issues is visible seems to oddly vary between units. Some units are perfectly fine, and some still report issues. It’s not clear to me why there’s variation.
Here’s one for the unofficial 910XT knowledge base this thread has become:
After some experimenting, I think I’ve uncovered the source of the bug which causes the watch to power off (effectively crash) while following a course by using the map view. It seems the combination of the Auto Lap function and the use of courses is the culprit. I had it set to Auto Lap every 1 kilometer and the 910 would crash repeatedly at any run from 15 to 100 kilometers, at least while the display was set to map view.
With the Auto Lap function switched off, no more crashes. At least not on courses compiled with Garmin Connect up to 45 kilometers or 3,5 hours. I usually have the scale set to 120m, course direction up. It still blanks every now and then, taking a few seconds to redraw the screen, but nothing major.
I’ll try a more complex running route of ~78k soon and I expect it to work fine.
Hi Ray,
Reading your very interesting 910XT in depth review and especially the “Nutrition alert” (Run/Walk Alert).
Simple question: Is this “Nutriation alert” only available in running mode (I guess yes, but want to be sure…). Is there any equivalent for the bike mode?
I’m in Nice IM on 06/23/13 (next Sunday). Would be good to have something reminding me to eat/drink on the bike.
See you
No, the run/walk alerts are not available in cycling mode. But you can just use repeating time alerts instead – so you could set a 15min repeating time alert in cycling mode.
Hi Ray, had a great time in Nice! Wanted to thank you for your information, it helped a lot!
Great review, and having deomed an Edge at the weekend, I think I’d like to purchase one! Do we know if and when an updated Garmin Forerunner 910 XT will be released? Nearly two years old now…
An updated unit wont be available for a while yet…have a look at Ray’s reply
Rainmaker replied
May 28, 2013 at 3:54 am #801
No, it was just a sale – there isn’t a new FR910XT coming out (it’s only a year old). They are likely trying to lock people in’ to the FR910XT before other competitors come out over the course of the summer – such as the Tom-Tom watch, and the Ambit 2/2S becoming more widely available.
When running against a virtual Racer does the 910 keep me on track ?
When loaded a 42.915km course and ran against it, is my distance then exactly 42.195 km ?
This because my 405 never measures the distance exactly in towns and i want to now my pace during the race by race distances, not my real distance (extra for sanatary stop or corners or inacurate gpx fixes)
No, you’re going to see variations within the parameters of the GPS units themselves (so generally budget about 1%).
Hi!
Thanks a lot for a superb site. I’ve been looking for this type of in depth reviews of training products for a long time.
It seems like 910XT is the best one for me as runner/triathlete, but my questions is if you have any idea on which plans Garmin has on a follow up to the 910? I mean, it has been out for 2 years now, so perhaps there is a new one in the pipe just around the corner? Do you have such inside information?
Regards
/Magnus
I don’t expect an update to the FR910XT this season. It’s really only barely over a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but wasn’t available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframes. Given there’s no real competition right now (with all three sports covered), there’s little reason for them to update it this season.
Ray – Just used my 910xt for the first time in a race in multisport mode. It worked great, but I was wondering if there is any way to get the unit to record heart rate info during the transitions? I’m always interested to see just how hard I’m working when I come out of the water. Seems like it would be easy for Garmin to implement (perhaps they already have, and I just don’t know how to access it).
Thanks for reviewing this product, I am in seriously considering one of those watches does GPS logging and maybe extra like cycling and swimming. It is still out of my budget, but I am saving up for it.
Perfect for a guy who want make a debut in tri
Perfect watch that I want and need, but the price is out of my budget!
Hi Ray, Thanks for all the hard work, you have the best views I have ever found. I use the 910xt for everything, including strapping it to my longboard for surf specific wo’s. Is the an iPhone/android (i have both) App thats allows programming and uploading WO’s to the 910? I always have my phone and rarely have my laptop handy. thanks again!!!
Yup, here’s how to do it: link to dcrainmaker.com
And here’s a general how-to on Android: link to dcrainmaker.com
Enjoy!
Hi Ray, just wondering if you or anybody here is aware of upcoming replacement / newer model of the 910?
I’m planning a purchase but ever since I got an ipad 2 weeks before the ipad2, I’m cautious of laying out cash.
It seems the 910 has been around a while and with the Ambit2 challenging, maybe Garmin have something up there sleeve?
I don’t expect an update to the FR910XT this season. It’s really only barely over a year old. It was announced in Oct 2011, but wasn’t available until the Jan-Apr 2012 timeframes. Given there’s no real competition right now (with all three sports covered – except the Ambit 2/2S, but even that isn’t as feature complete as the FR910XT), there’s little reason for them to update it this season.
Thanks for the great reviews. Bought my wife a FR305 right when they came out. Recently the glue failed and it popped-apart on a bike ride and got run over. With some detail work to make connections where pins were snapped off and such I was able to put it back together. However, with dead lines in the display, a non-functional up button, and shipping tape holding it together – it is time for a new one.
Your reviews helped me understand what has come out since the 305. Today I bought the 910XT and a foot pod (accessory she’s never had) through Clever Training.
Eek, car vs Garmin never works out well…
That said – thanks for the support via Clever Training – I appreciate it!
Was run over by bike, not car. I think if car I wouldn’t have been able to get it mostly working again.
Hi!
I finally got the Garmin 910 XT, however just cant install the garmin connect ANT software from the website, it keeps saying this will take a few minutes and just does not progress! my computer is a 6 month old Dell so the issue cant be that of compatibility. Any suggestions?
It could be a number of items. I’d check the Garmin Support Forums (forums.garmin.com) and then also ring up Garmin Support, they are usually pretty quick to help.
Try to run IE as administrator (same as you have to do to update the firmware).
/J
When I hit the reset button for a couple of seconds on my Garmin, it does tell me that it will reset in 3… 2… 1… and then nothing happens.
Am I doing it right or am I missing something.
It should just go back to zero at that point (essentially, nothing).
Hi,
is there a way to see the battery status in % without putting the watch on the charging unit?
All i see is by turning off the watch the 4 bars which is not very accurate at all.
Thanks in advance,
Robert
Is there a way to display the HR as % rather than BPM? I tried to change the BPM to % in HR setting, but during exercise it still shows BPM.
Change the data field(s) in the sport you want to see the HR %. Either % of max or % of “reserve” (max-resting)
FYI, my 910XT arrived with the new smaller ANT+ USB dongle.
Also, you missed one of the best “new” features. When you power the 910XT off it displays the battery level for a short time letting you know if you need to charge it before the next workout.
In the past with the 310XT I could download time based workouts for open water swims. Nice as it meant I didn’t need to look at the watch, just wait for the vibration to tell me an interval is done.
On the 910XT this feature is gone. Bummer.
I lost my USB stick and HR monitor. I wanted to know if I could replace them with different one. If i can’t do that what should I do?
Tnx,
Tomer.
You can pickup replacements from the accessories section above – they’ll work no problem.
Tnx for the immediate help.
Hi DC,
I was wondering if it’s possible that when you’ve done a triathlon using the especific program, you can get all the partial in just one file. I could only get it in five separate files swim, T1, bika, T2, run. And I find it so uneasy to analyze, don’t you?
A friend of mine is enjoying a brand new bryton60 and I’m getting so gealous, much more easy to use, quick in finding satellites, easy to analyze results and of course cheaper. If I just could arrange that data problem (if it’s possible) I would be happy, and my credit card, of course.
Thanks a lot.
Miquel.
Hi Everyone, thanks I’m using %HR max now.
For bike cadence, I usually use wahoo CS combo sensors and it works fine, but I have a crank power meter too.
How do I use the cadence from the power meter instead of wahoo CS combo ?
In wahoo fitness app in my iphone, I could choose speed from CS combo and cadence from power meter crank.
But in 910xt, which of these should I choose in ANT+ Spd/Cad menu to use power meter crank as cadence ?
– spd/Cad sensor (this works fine with wahoo CS combo)
– Spd Sensor (I pointed to CS combo id, but it wasnever detected)
– Cad sensor (I pointed to power meter crank id, but it was never detected either)
– Spd and Cad Sensors (I pointed to both wahoo CS combo and power meter crank, but never detected)
Ay advice ?
Firmware 2.80 is out. Let’s enjoy. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad …. :-)
Power meter cadence is always used over spd/cad cadence when available: True.
I doubted this statement before, but I just tried to remove the magnet in crank from spd/cad combo so that it will only send spd, but not cadence. 910xt uses the power meter cadence. Option in 910x: “spd/Cad sensor”. Thanks.
My contribution to the priority order of sensors:
I have a Powertap paired to 910XT, and separated speed and cadence sensors, from which only the latter is paired.
My test was pedalling backward, which evidently means zero watt for PT, so zero cadence calculated by PT. Cadence was displayed as not zero, so cad sensor has bigger priority than the cade data of a hub based power meter, namely PT.
Hi, does anyone know how to get the number of steps to show in a program like Sport Tracks? The 910XT has a data field that shows # of steps (yes, this is an expensive pedometer), but I can’t figure out how to see this value once the data is uploaded from the watch. Thanks!
Ask OMB to add steps to his GFD plugin. I needed fat calorie, which the core ST3 does not import, but having asked it OMB added fat calorie to the import process.
Hi Ray-
I just purchased the 910xt and wanted to say THANKS for the outstanding review and also for the discount through Clever Training. Both are much appreciated!! Today I used the watch to swim for the first time and had a couple of questions. I swam in a 25m pool for 1/2 mile, but I only had two intervals on the watch — one for 150m and one for 700m. Is there a way I can set an interval to equal a lap? Also is there a way I can change the average pace to 50m instead of 100m? Thanks.
Hi, new firmware is comming out! FW 2.8
Fantastic review! I would like to know if I run a marathon and I would like to know what was my time at the half marathon? I can’t see it at the history. I just see the time of the lap itself it would be great to check the lap time but the total time at that lap also. Hope to hear your comments. Thank you!
There isn’t a way to do this on the device itself. However, on Garmin Connect you can look at the 13.1 mile marker (or wherever the lap or line is), and then look at the times there.
What Sampling time of GPS reading for running in the forest not on the routs? For orieteering used.
Always using 1-second. Always.
What is the rule of thumb for running with a foot-pod. Really only for indoors running, useful for outdoor running (to get cadence – is that something people care about?) but stick with default settings of still use GPS for speed, or something else?
Am I right when I say that using the automatic lap function has not the same effect as physically pushing the ‘lap’ button?
When you push the ‘lap’ button while running, you can see certain information on your user defined fields for that sport, eg. distance run in the new lap, time in the new lap, average heart rate in the new lap AND also information about the previous lap. But to get all of this information while running, you must push the ‘lap’ button every mile/kilometre.
When you use the automatic lap function, the lap and lap time are registered automatically (along with some other info which you can check afterwards), BUT you don’t get the information about the new lap while still in action, the information I mentioned earlier (time in the new lap, distance ran in the new lap, etc).
Is there really no way that you can get to see all this information also when you have the ‘automatic lap’ function on?
And if you have the automatic lap function on and after a mile, you manually push the lap button while the automatic lap function also registers the lap, don’t you end up with two laps (with very short interval) at the same time?
Can anyone help me please since this really does limit the ability to automatically have ‘in-the-action’ information about the old and the new lap/split.
Thank you all.
There’s no way to change the ‘pop-up’ display information that occurs. However, what you can do is create a new data page that instead has ‘Last Lap’ type information. I do this sometimes for interval workouts, where I’ll have a data page with four screens with all my last lap data information.
Hi Ray,
thx a lot for your very fast reaction.
Since I’m a non-native English speaker, I think I must make thinks a bit clearer.
I don’t want to change the ‘pop-up’ display.
The fact is that when you create an extra data page with ‘last lap’ and ‘current lap’ information, and you use the ‘automatic lap’ function, the lap gets not actually ‘registrated’, so the ‘old’ lap doesn’t stop and the ‘new’ lap doesn’t start. It does in the software you can check afterwards, BUT when you’re still running, and you check those data fields while running, you’ll see that eg. lap time will just be the time since the start of the run and not the time since the automatic lap created a second lap.
If you don’t use the automatic lap function and you push every lap (eg every mile) yourself on the lap button, you’ll have data fields with all the info on the previous and current lap you want. But that means you have to push the lap button every mile or so yourself… and certainly not forget to do it…
I hope this is a bit clearer.
Greetings from Belgium.
Ahh, interesting. I get it now, so you’re talking about what appears to sound like a bug in that it’s not correctly setting the display fields.
I’m travelling this week and don’t have my FR910XT with me. So I can’t double-check it right now. :-/ Which firmware version are you running?
Hi Ray,
you’re unbelievable :)
Yes, it looks like that when you use the automatic lap function, the lap does go from lap 1 to lap 2 in the system itself (checkable afterwards with the software), BUT the ending of lap 1 and starting of lap 2 is not visible in the datafields on your watch when still running. So you can’t see how far you are in your second lap (time, distance) etc.
The only way to have that actual info is by not using the automatic lap function BUT by pushing the lap button every mile…
I use version 2.6. After all the comments on the newer versions, I am afraid to make the update. Have you updated to version 2.8? Any probs?
I also sometimes run with the Polar RCX5, and also with this watch I have the same problem with the automatic lap function.
Thx once more!
I haven’t updated from 2.6 to 2.8 yet, but at last look in the Garmin Forums, things didn’t look bad on 2.80 – no additional/new bugs.
Brilliant Review.
Just wanted to ask a stupid question.
If the 910XT measures heart rate then why would you want to purchase the HR monitor soft strap version.
Thanks.
Nitin C
The FR910XT requires the heart rate strap to measure the heart rate. Without the HR strap, it won’t get that data.
Has Garmin upgraded the firmware on the 910 for accurate stroke counts for Stand Up Paddleboarding? Thanks.
No, nothing there. Wish there was.
Hi everybody.
I’m from Belgium, so my English is not perfect.
Since I have a lot of problems with distance accuracy of my GPS running watches (especially in wooded areas) , I decided to do some serious testing this week.
I ran the same flat wooded track five times this week with the following GPS watches:
– Garmin Forerunner 910XT
– Garmin Forerunner 310XT
– Polar RCX5 GPS
Also, each time, I changed the preferences of the watches to ‘no GPS’, before turning the GPS back on.
This way, the watches had to find the satellites again.
I then waited until the accuracy of the watches was below 10 meters.
After the run, I imported the GPS data to Rubitrack (since I have a MAC) and checked the track I ran on the satellite map.
The results were unbelievable!
Both of the Garmin watches were way out of course, which gave me a totally wrong distance measuring!
Even at the starting point, in some cases, on the map I was up to 50 meters away from the actual start, even when eg the 910XT told me at the starting position that the accuracy was 6 meters…
(I tested the Garmin also a few weeks ago in an area with NO trees, and in some cases, I had the same terrible result!)
On an 8 km track with a lot of trees I had differences in final distance up to 400 meters (310XT).
With the 910 XT I had differences up to 100 meters in total distance.
With the Polar I had a difference of max 40 meters in total distance!
But the difference between Garmin and Polar were up to 400 meters!
After checking very precisely the track I ran on a satellite map, I could very easily see that it were the Garmin watches that were way out of the track I ran.
Best watch was the Polar RCX5! Very surprisingly since Polar is known for its HRM and not for its GPS.
I can really not believe how this is possible. I am so disappointed!
From now on, I will rely completely on my Polar.
Hi Troy-
Thanks for the comments.
In my accuracy testing, I’ve generally found that all three units have done quite well (FR310XT/910XT/RCX3 with G5 pod). You can check those out below.
A couple of thoughts….
– Using a map afterwards isn’t actually a really good indicator of distance ran. While it may seem so at first glance, there’s a lot of reasons it’s not. I discuss them here: link to dcrainmaker.com
– When comparing those units, you need to be sure that all units have the same recording rate (1s) turned on, you may have done this, but it’s worthwhile noting. That will have an impact on things.
– Different software suites actually analyze the results differently. For example, if you load up the same track in Rubitracks, it will likely look different than in TrainingPeaks, and different than in Garmin Connect, and different in Strava. Each site/app tends to add their own special sauce to the mix.
Accuracy tests: link to dcrainmaker.com
Did Garmin pull the 2.80 update? I can’t seem to get it from the MyGarmin site.
Still there for me as of two minutes ago.
i have seen, that someone already posted the question – but no one responded, so i’ll try it again ;)
does anyone have a recommendation for a travelling/transportation case?
it should have enough space to fit in the watch, HR strap, charging cable (in the best case without the wall adapter) and the ant+ USB stick. i’m looking forward for your tips ;)
Dominik…I’m not sure why any small bag would not suffice for all those accessories (Crown Royal bags are perfect for just such an occasion), but if you need protection for your watch & accessories, nothing beats a Pelican case.
link to pelicancases.com
basically i like to have everything in order ;) otherwise things are likely to get lost, especially when you are travelling. (i don`t know how often i had to look for the USB stick because i always packed it somewhere else…) i have already tried some spare camera cases i had at home, but it did not really satisfy me.
The new ANT+ USB stick can be left in the laptop, which will keep you from having to pack it away then search for it later. The price seems a little steep though.
New Garmin Stick:
link to shareasale.com
Suunto has a slightly-cheaper alternative:
link to shareasale.com
Hello,
Overall I’ve been very happy with my 910 but I’ve had an issue that is now reoccurring. A few months ago my unit started giving me crazy elevation readings. Like altitude 30000 ft and 25000 ft elevation gain on a 30 mile ride. I live in Kentucky and the hills aren’t that big here. I called Garmin and told them the issue and they were great and sent me a replacement unit. Problem solved until last week the same thing started happening. I recently downloaded their firmware update but the problem has persisted. I’d rather not have to ship my unit back to garmin and wait for a replacement (assuming they would do it for me again). Have you heard of this issue happening and do you know of a way to fix it?
I also like my 910XT and also was replaced in April / 2013. However this “new” started having altitude = 20 km, all the time.
Also do not know what to do.
thanks DC RAINMAKER for this and all the other great reviews!!!
one question…most people wouldn’t mind but I’m curious: I’ve been using the 910xt for about 2 weeks now; what I noticed (in comparison with the 305) is that the watch seems to make my runs faster when viewing it afterwards in WKO+ software; on my long run yesterday I finished the 12th kilometer after exactly 56minutes = 4:40min/km pace; in WKO+ it shows for that split: 56:00minutes – 12,002km – pace 4:36
how is that possible (it happens every run)? I mean 4sec per km faster is good, but… I suspect my watch to lie to me in order to make me happier ;-)
Hi Ray! Thanks for the great review! Bought 910xt as a result and never looked back! Keep up the great work!
Hi Ray, The 910xt can’t send my workouts to my droid phone like the 805 and 505 can via bluetooth can it? If not, will garmin possibly be coming out with a watch that will? Since they have pushed their cycling computers in that direction.
And thanks for the awesome reviews!
Tyler
Hi Tyler
Your question hits a fundamental issue, about the possibility/probability that the 910XT will join the biking 810 et al capability of downloading to garmin connect via an iPhone or android.
Ray, with your Garmin connections do you have an insight? I’m holding off purchasing a 910 until this is understood. I’m guessing its a hardware issue and not simply a software or firmware update.
I must add to everbodys congratulations on your terrific reviews
Sweety
Not going to happen on FR910XT. It is indeed a hardware issue, specifically lack of Bluetooth (or, perhaps eventually 3G). I’d fully expect something in a future product, but nothing triathlon specific this year for sure.
I’m hoping you can answer whether it is possible to upload workouts from the FR910xt to Garmin Connect or Training Peaks or Sport tracks, etc., using only a Chromebook. I saw this question has been asked but I have yet to see an answer.
Hi Ray
Love your detailed review. I actually bought a Forerunner 910 based on this review.
I have a question about map notification that I hope, you might be able to answer:
I create a map on the Garmin website and send it to my watch which works great. But when I follow the map during exercise the watch constantly beeps and vibrates as I get slightly off course and then back on course.
Is there some way to disable map notifications without disabling other notifications (like beep and vibrate every mile)?
Thank you :-)
Regards,
Claus
ONLY JUST STUMBLED UPON YOUR WEBSITE!
Fantastic review I was stumbling around trying to decide which Garmin to purchase (I’m in love with the Garmin Edge 810 purely for it’s mapping facility as I’m always getting lost on my rides out in the country lanes not fun when the lactic acid is telling it’s to get home!) so your review has swayed me to stump up for this gorgeous gadget and at a bargain price off EBAY (I’m in the UK) of £239 from seller save4com I’ve been able to purchase the foot pod, bike sensor and bike mount as well all for £324!!! Hopefully this great gadget will shave minutes off my sprint tri times and help me home my training plans!
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK DC! :o)
It seems as though you are in contact with Garmin engineers. The frustrating thing with the quick release mount is it would be so easy to add a tether loop to the back plate. A slight change to the injection moulding tool for the screw-on back plate would give you an area/loop that you could add some form of tie etc round. May not be quite so quick release in T1, but a lot better than loosing it altogether… Is there any chance they would change this in the future – it’s about all you read about it on Amazon.
Wow! Great review!
I was wondering if there is a way to export the swim data that has been edited in the SportTracks Pool Swimming plugin back to Garmin Connect. Seems that I can’t import FITLOG files to GC…
Thanks a lot in advance.
Luc
I couldn’t import the modified swimming data (in SportTracks) to the Garmin Connect either. :( Has anybody a solution about this?
Problem with new 910( firmware,2.80, up to date) recording correct time but not all the distance in open water swim. Three out of ten OWS recorded the correct distance other times stopped around 10-15 % of the actual distance. Showed lost satellite message. Used 310 many times in same areas, no problem.( No problem with 910 on bike and run.) Anyone having same problem? Suggestions?
Keep in mind that the FR910XT will rarely be perfect on distance. 10-15% is pretty normal for the device, as noted above.
Thanks for your reply.
I think I was unclear in my explanation of the problem.
Specific example is on an 800m OWS course the distance recording stops at 200m.
That is a distance error of 600m. My 310 would come within 10m +- error.
The timer keeps going and is correct.
After reading your review, I’m almost certain to upgrade from my old 310 to the 910 – thanks for such a comprehensive research!
I just have a couple of questions that may finally convince me!
(i) Accrued time at lap splits disappeared from the 310 (it was available on the 205). I contacted Garmin about this, but no response. This feature is really important for me, do you know if it’s back in the 910?
(ii) Virtual Partner really disappointed in the 310 as I believed I could perform a ‘live’ race against one of my previous routes. But loading a previous course seems to just use its total time and use the average speed, which was pointless, as I could enter that manually anyway. Your review suggests that the VP performs in the way I expected the 310 to…..hope so!!
(iii) Can you use the autolap feature in the pool? eg. Record a split for every 8 lengths? Or would I have to use an ‘alert’ every 8 lengths, and hit the lap button each time?
Cheers and all the best for your future gadget reviews!,
Phil
1) Lap split time is available on the FR910XT, it’s how I do intervals. You’ve got both current lap and last lap.
2) The FR910XT Virtual Racer is what you’re looking for (it’s ‘new’ in the FR910XT)
3) There’s no autolap in indoor mode, but you can do alerts based on distance or time (and vibration is an option). And then you’d have to hit the lap button.
Great review and user guide DC Rainmaker
I use the Multisport Mode when participating in triathlons. When in multisport mode, the display does not include heart rate during bike and run legs, even though I’ve customize my Bike and Run workout mode displays to include heart rate. Is there a way to edit/add heart rate to the bike and run legs of the Multisport Mode?
Just press the up/down buttons on the right side to change from the triathlon page to one of your custom data pages (while cycling/running/etc…).
Enjoy!
Thanks for this great review. I have a question about the 910XT and I haven’t found it in the manual, maybe you could help me. Does the unit allow to add multiple custom sport modes. Because I’m running, cycling and swimming, but I like doing other sports, and each other sport needs a different setup.
For instance I would like to have a cross-fit sport mode, golf sport mode, skiing sport mode, hiking sport mode, rowing sport mode, and as many as I want sport mode ! And of course I don’t want to reconfigure the “other” sport mode each time I’m doing another sport than running, cycling, or swimming.
The Polar RXC5 allow me to create custom sport mode, but the Polar unit isn’t as complete as the Garmin 910XT.
So my quesiton is, does the Garmin 910XT can do that without having to each time re-configure the “other” sport mode ?
Thanks
Chris,
Very interested in the answer to your question as I too would like to have crossfit, and tactical fitness mode if possible. Do you know what metrics would be captured, is calories burned a possibility?
No, there’s only one ‘Other’ mode in the FR910XT. No method to create additional sport modes, like the Polar (or like Garmin’s new cycling focused Edge 510/810 with ‘Activity profiles’. Sorry!
Can the 910 be paired with multiple cadence sensors at once for multiple bikes? (training bike and race bike)?
Yup, that’s what bike profiles are for. Enjoy!
Ray
I’ve been using my 910 with a Stages power meter. I noticed from the beginning that there were many data drops. I spent time with Stages trying to figure this out and they pointed here: link to forums.garmin.com (basically saying its the 910’s issue).
I recently borrowed a Edge 500 and road with them head to head. The 500 worked instantly while the 910 did not.
Have you noticed this problem?
Another read was e-mailing about a similiar issue – FR910XT with Stages, just this weekend.
The challenge is actually one of figuring out who’s at fault. Meaning is it a transmission strength issue, or a unit reception issue. One could say it’s either. For example, the other readers Edge unit picked it up just fine. Meanwhile, his FR910XT picked up his PowerTap just fine. :-/
I wish I had a better answer there.
He was going to play around with wrist locations a bit and see if that helped.
Ray
Thanks for the quick reply (it ended in my Junk Mail). By way of follow-up, my Stages started chewing through batteries and finally died. The new one they sent me has 0 drops over the past month. Knowing what I know now, I should not have accepted Stages’ answer that it was the Garmin’s fault. That said, they were super nice and fast with the replacement unit and will definitely buy from them again (mtn bike crank)!
I was wondering if there were any other tri watches that are going to be released soon? I still would like the swim bike and run features with a GPS and HRM included – AND is there any chance of getting some girly colour options? cheers
There’s no other tri watches planned to be released soon.
At this point, it’s sorta a bad time of year to release (running watches are traditionally released shortly).
I just bought a 910XT to replace a 310XT I have happily used for the past three years (I only use it for running). I found that the 910 was measuring short every time to an extent that it was showing paces that were way slower than actual (sometimes more than a minute per mile). I use pacing extensively for training and racing purposes, and for me this is a critical feature. For both watches I used 1 sec data measuring and use lap pace to monitor it (1 mile auto lap for training and 0.5 mile auto lap in races.
To demonstrate how consistently off the 910 is, I had run 56 USATF certified races with the 310 and every single one measured longer than the race distance (as of course they would be expected to in the real world). Similarly I ran three races (two 5K’s and a 10K) with the 910 and all three measured short (impossible in the real world). For two of those races (a 5k and the 10K) I ran the exact same races the previous two years using the 310. With the 310, both courses measured long relative to the race distance and varied by only hundredths of a mile from year to year. With the 910, the exact same courses measured short.
Correspondence with Garmin Support was extremely frustrating because they kept explaining to me that I should always expect the distance to measure longer because of tangents, etc. which (a) I kept explaining I am aware of as an experienced Garmin user and that is what I expected to see and (b) was not my problem to begin with – it was measuring SHORTER 100% of the time!
Finally this weekend I did a run on bike trails that I measured in advance using MapMyRun thinking the trails would be more accurate since they are narrow and I can run right down the middle. I took the 910 and my iPhone for comparison. MMR measured it at 4.88 mi. The iPhone measured 4.75 and the 910 measured 4.63. That did it for me. I returned the 910 and bought another 310 (I had given my old 310 to my son). First run out of the box the pacing was dead on and I am happy again, at half the cost. I hope they get the 910 straightened out because overall I liked it better, but for serious running it was totally unusable.
I would question the accuracy of a smart phone’s gps before Garmin. And I know from experience that some apps “adjust” the distance and elevation. I used my 910 on our multi use path where they have mileage marked at 3, 4 and 4.12 miles. I zeroed/reset at the 3, and when I got to 4.12, my 910 was reading 4.13. I stuck to far right edge of the path while riding.
And when I look at the lines drawn by the apps on a map afterwards, they are all over the place. Many spikes to the left and right of the actual path. Garmin is always trye to the path.
That would certainly add distance to your runs.
Sorry, Pauper66, I didn’t mean to imply that I expected the phone to be accurate. I only used it because I had it with me and just for fun thought I would see how it compared to the 910XT. I thought it would be terrible but it actually tracked much closer to where I ran than the 910XT did.
I think my 910 must have been defective. I am an experienced runner, racer, and GPS user and know how to use it and what its limitations are. My old 310 tracked very close to how I ran, but the 910 never did, not once, on any run. It was all over the place.
I should also add that, relative to “That would certainly add distance to your runs,” that was the problem. The 910 was allover the place to the left and right of the actual path yet still came up short, not longer, every single time.
Is this product appropriate for gym workouts and classes? To help me keep track of my heart rate and calories burned?
Yup, you can simply place it in indoor mode, and with a HR strap it’ll track calories correctly.
I was out for a run and the footpod low battery warning popped up on my 910xt. Which was cool because I had never seen it before. The issue was that I was unable to clear this warning and therefore unable to see much if anything that was on the screen. I assume the warning will go away now that I have replaced the battery in the pod, but the real question is how do I dismiss/silence this battery warning when I am in the middle of a critical workout/race without stopping to replace the battery?
Yup, all you’ve got to do is press the enter/ok button (lower right button on side of unit).
Hi Ray, do you have any chance to asses the ANT+ transmission bug related to wattage between the 910XT (fw 2.8) and Rotor Power (fw 0.80)?
that still an issue giving at the moment unreliable training data when on the bike
Unfortunately it’s a bit tough right now, primarily because I don’t have a ROTOR PM on hand to test with. Sorry!
Thanks, I tought you were still at Eurobike having a chance to ask Garmin/Rotor :-)
No, I left Thursday night.
Have you had any experience with the barometric altimeter failing and getting stuck at 22 thousand feet? My second unit just showed this issue, and the Garmin 910XT forum has a number of people complaining about the same issue on multiple units. It would be very interesting to hear Garmin’s take on this.
I haven’t seen mine stuck at 22K. Though, I have seen the issues noted in the forums, but don’t have an idea if it’s widespread (I don’t believe it is based purely on lack of comments here about it).
Thanks for the reply. I got an email from Garmin that they would take care of it under warranty, even though I bought my first unit when it just came out. From my experience, and comments on the forums, it appears to affect mostly folk who swim with their Garmins. Hopefully it will be third time lucky for me.
Think I may have fixed this altimeter issue on mine – having sent it back for replacement under warranty 4 times already, a simple wash seems to have done the trick this time:
Fixing the Altimeter on my Garmin Forerunner 910XT
Good luck.
Al.
Hi Ray,
Love your in-depth reviews – best out there! Apologies for a non-product related question (which may have aleady been asked, but I don’t have the time to scroll through almost 1000 comments): where were the holiday pics taken?! Thanks, Nick!
The vacation shots were taken in Bora Bora. Here’s the posts on it: link to dcrainmaker.com
Thanks for yet another fantastic review Ray! You do a great service.
A couple of questions about the 910XT. First of all, does Garmin have any plans for a new unit in the near future? I hate to upgrade to the 910 only to have a new unit available in the next 6 months or so!
Secondly, will it record power from my Kinetic iRide?
Thanks again!
There are no FR910XT replacement plans this calendar year. The earliest I’d expect to see something would be next spring/summer – at absolute earliest.
The FR910XT won’t read power from the inRide, as that’s Bluetooth Smart only, and the FR910XT doesn’t have any Bluetooth in it unfortunately.
This sound good IF they’ll provide a fix for ANT+ power drop issue that user are having with Rotor Power
Not to ask the obvious – but any chance it’s actually a ROTOR issue? Right now I’m not hearing enough evidence one way or the other.
Here the support reply: About the .fit file I see that are from garmin 910xt, this garmin have very bad connection with Rotor power, garmin know about that and they are looking for a solution but have difficulties with double powermeter.
Yeah, it’s hard to say without having a unit (Rotor power). However, Rotor made a decision to sorta complicate the pairing process rather than handle it internally (such as Brim and Vector), which may be impacting other things. Connectivity-wise though, there should be no differences between a Rotor unit and any other power meter on the market. What it sounds like it something else is contributing to it.
I stumbled across your website whilst researching the 910xt and just wanted to say a massive thank you for such an in-depth review! In fact I think I’ve read most of the entire site now so please don’t stop!
Keep up the amazing work!!
Barometric failure for 910 xt is quite frequent. A lot of people in garmin forum have this issues; I had 2 unit with these problem. Both I get unit replacement for free. When my warranty is out (in Italy is 2 years) do I have to pay for repair this problem, for a so widespread issues? Is there someone that can help us? maybe is a water related problem? (not so waterproffing barometer?).
Do remember that the only time (most) people go to forums is when they have a problem. Thus, 95% of forum posts are folks with issues, and 95% of people without issues don’t post about them.
That said, I’m really not seeing any trends on bad barometric altimeters. Certain software versions which rendered the data useless…yes, but the unit physically broken, no.
As far as post-warranty goes, typically Garmin has flat-rate repair fees. Generally full-swap of an out of warranty unit is around $80US (i.e. unit somehow dead).
My first gave fault at 6 months. Was replaced by a new one. The new fault has also, now 3 months. Now I’m waiting for a return of Garmin.
Think I may have fixed this altimeter issue on mine – having sent it back for replacement under warranty 4 times already, a simple wash seems to have done the trick this time:
Fixing the Altimeter on my Garmin Forerunner 910XT
Good luck.
Al.
I bought one. Thank you for all the advice. Its an amazing bit of kit but incredibly complex and the instructions are hopeless. I would not have got it set up without help from this site and Youtube. The wheel sensor wouldn’t fit my bladed wheels but this is an easy fix. Making the watch tell the time is a mission and the ant+usb was a major pain to getworking on my 4year old lapotop.
Teething problems over though and I LOVE IT
During last IM70.3 WC, I lost my garmin from the quick release kit without any cause, I just looked at it 50 meters before getting out of the water and then it disappeared in the crystal clear water of the lake..
I do understand that it’s my problem but may be it’s not the first time it happen and I wanted to underline that may be the quick release is not a good idea even if it’s the best solution for a tri race.
Your thoughts Ray?
Interesting, I’ve never heard of issues with the units (910’s) falling off without some sort of interaction with others (banging, etc…). I wonder if something wasn’t quite set right, or got bonked earlier.
Serious bummer though, sorry to hear that. :(
As an FYI, I’ve heard that Garmin can sometimes help folks out in that situation, so try ringing up support…
Thanks for your suggestion.
Honestly I used to have it during every training session, in the pool it happened but just because of banging against somebody.
I was by myself in the last part of the swim and that’s why I’m surprised myself.
I love this product but may be just a bad coincidence.
Hi DC,
I liked your reviews! Great Write-up. I recently bought 910xt for my training. Most of the time, it was to record my run sessions but I do weekly bike trainer sessions. I have no problems with connecting my garmin to my ANT+ (Powertap Hub) to get the power readings. However, on the 2 occasions that I used it for my bike trainer sessions, I could not download the data at all into Garmin Connect even though I could see my wattage and heart rate readings during the session. I reset it (before switching off) on the first session and left it open activity (before switching off) on the second time. Both times, there were no activities recordings on the bike. What should I do?
Assuming you’ve updated your firmware to the most recent, you can check the BadFit folder, which is located here: link to support.garmin.com
Hello DC,
Your reviews are really thorough and helpful.
I wanted to know whether I can have different screen customization for different bikes. E.g., on my road bikes I want to have speed and cadence data. On the mountain bikes I do not need the cadence data
(in fact, I do not have the sensor at all – speed by GPS is accurate enough for me on the mountain bikes). Right now I have two bikes defined, road and mountain, but I cannot get different screen customizations for them.
Best,
Joseph S.
Hello Ray,
Although I am (just) a runner and do not need much of the features of the watch, I was about to get a 910xt because it has the barometric altimeter, which is very useful in trail running, not to mention its larger power capacity and the buttons (instead of the not-quite-perfect-touch-screen of the 610).
Then, I have just realized that Garmin has launched a new FR 620 (and also a new and much expected FR 220) which, from what I have read, are pretty much impressive.
When can we expect one of those super detailed and much appreciated in-depth reviews of yours of these new Garmin GPS watches?
All the best,
Pedro.
Will the 920 be compatible with the last sensors (Tempe too)?
The FR910XT is not compatible with Tempe, nor is it compatible with the Garmin HRM-Run.
sorry, I was talking about the next FR the 920, not the 910
A FR910XT replacement hasn’t been announced, so I don’t really know what’s going to go into it.
Hi Ray,
Very through review. Thankyou. Does it display HR as % of max HR? I have been using the Polar RS800 for a few years and I am used to the %MHR display.
Thanks,
Chris
I made a workout on the garmin connect website for my 910xt. How do I transfer the workouts to the watch from the Calender? Or do you have to put each workout on the watch individually?
Great in-depth review!! I believe someone asked this question, but I never found an answer posted. I currently have a women’s Polaris, but I can’t read the small screen. It’s especially difficult when I’m wearing my polarized sunglasses. Are all of the numbers on the 910XT large enough for those of us 40+ who normally wear readers can actually read the screen? Also, is the screen/numbers easy to read while wearing polarized sunglasses?
Yup, you can if needed go with single-data-field displays to get the biggest visibility out of it. No problems with sunglasses, polarized or otherwise.
I’m 47. I have tired old eyes. I wear glasses to read (1.5x if that matters), and I have no trouble reading the screen and I have my data fields set to show 4 stats. Never tried with polarized glasses though. Everyone is different though, so your results may vary.
re #349
I’m on my 4th or 5th 910xt…they all have had the instant pace problem.
still not fixed in v3 firmware apparently.
I reckon the watches’ chip just can’t handle it (even tho it’s the same? as the earlier models) it must have too much to do on this watch?
PS I heard from Garmin UK that a replacement to the 910xt is being worked on but won’t be released “any time soon”..you can probably get that info better than most of us
oh well off to buy my 6th 910xt…brilliant for my use apart form the instant pace.
Look at when the 910xt was released in comparison to the 610. Also notice the 910xt was released before it was ready in that mass market availability was delayed from when it was supposed to be out. So if that pattern holds up (delay after the 620 release and learn from 910xt so don’t plan a rushed release) you can guess when the 910xt replacement comes out. (this is all a guessing game)
so more or less when? June?
Hi,
when running with my Forerunner 910XT I always use the automatic lap feature (1 kilometer).
But unfortunately, during running, using the automatic lap feature makes that the following fields don’t show any information when going to the next lap (automatically):
– current lap time
– current lap distance
– current lap speed
– any information on the previous lap
and many other fields that are just not filled with information.
Afterwards you get all the info, but I would really like to know during my run, using automatic lap, what is my actual running time and distance in the new lap I am running.
Is there a way around this, or do you really have to push the lap button every kilometer/mile (with the possibility you forget to push the button …)
Greetings
Tony
Hi, a full reset did the job. The watch is working just fine now :)
Where I work, there is a Finnish track of exactly 2 km.
There are no trees or buildings blocking satellite reception.
Today, I ran 5 laps of 2 km and the Garmin 910XT gave me exactly 10 km!
Last week I ran 4 laps and the Garmin gave me exactly 8 km!
That is really an unbelievable precision, knowing there are a lot of turns on the track.
I ran 4 laps of 2 km on the same track with my Polar RCX5 last week and it gave me 7,820 km (instead of 8,0 km). That is an error of 180 meters on a distance of 8 km. The following day I ran 3 laps of 2 km and it gave me 5,860m (instead of 6 km).
I immediately put my Polar in my closet and now I only run with my Garmin 910XT!
Unfortunately, when running in the woods, I will get some error in distance reading, but I will surely give my trust to the Garmin 910XT.
In the past, I always thought that Polar was much more precise… Boy, was I wrong!
Great review and very detailed & informative. I am a cyclist, but recently started running and completed my 1st tri a few weeks ago and running NYC Marathon in nov. I currently have Edge305 but it’s reaching it’s life expectancy due to wear & tear. I hold it in my hand when running which is not ideal. I am leaning towards 910. If I am not mistaken, the 910 is about 2 yrs old. Anything you can share about a next generation unit and when? Maybe I would hold off if a new unit is imminent. I would love the live tracking capability that the 510 has and ability to upload to Garmin Connect from anywhere.
Thanks
link to dcrainmaker.com
As you know, every site will give elevation differences when loading…but my question is about the fr910. Do I trust the barometric altimeter, or the elevation correction on GC? My 910 almost always tells me I’m 40-60 feet higher than I am and sometimes more…( I live at 20ft above sea level). And on rides, ascent and descent never match. Sometimes with difference of 100 feet, and I always start and end at the same point. GC’s elevation correction always matches, but that data can be significantly different than what the 910 tells me.
Hi Ray,
Your site has been a huge help over the last few years in selecting great products and figuring out how to get the most out of them in racing and training. Now I’m hoping you can help with some some tech support. I just got home from Kona last night and when I downloaded the race file from my 910xt found that it only shows the swim and first transition on Garmin Connect. I’ve never had any issues with multi-sport downloads before so decided not to upgrade firmware in fear of something going wrong before the race. Of course, the problem shows up for my first (and likely last for quite some time) time to the big dance.
The activity on the watch shows the full 10:11 and 141 miles on the first screen but once I click through to laps it only shows the swim splits. There is no “show legs” option which as I recall is how I normally toggle between sports/transitions on a multi-sport activity. I’m hoping there is still some way to access the bike and run data since the full time and distance was recorded.
I called Garmin Support. They were very nice but once they heard I hadn’t updated the firmware they basically said the data must be lost. Can you work some of your techie magic here or am I just totally out of luck?
Thanks for any help with this and also for all the great info everyday!
Jayson
There’s a few options. The first thing though is get a copy of the .FIT file from the directory* and put it aside for safe keeping.
In Windows XP: C:\ Drive > Documents and Setting > username > Application Data > GARMIN > Devices > numbered folder > Activities (History)
In Windows Vista/7/8/8.1, C:\ Drive > users > username > Application Data > Roaming > GARMIN > Devices > numbered folder > Activities (History)
Actually, double-check that you have both the .FIT file uploaded as well as ensuring there isn’t another .FIT file in the BadFit folder (a folder literally called BadFit in the directory next to Activities.
Then, you can try some of the .FIT file correction tools, like: link to garmin.kiesewetter.nl & link to monosujet.com – also, the Garmin Forums have tons of folks that if you post that file can usually work some magic.
Until you’ve exhausted all options – definitely don’t update the firmware yet.
Wow! Thanks for the fast reply. I honestly don’t know how you do it. I can barely juggle training and my day job. You do all that plus write one of the best blogs around and still manage to be super responsive to reader comments.
I’ll save the file now and try posting to the Garmin forums.
Thank again,
Jayson
thinking of getting a 910XT but — has the pool size minimum been updated to go shorter than 22m? my local pool is a shortish 17m and if it can’t go down that size, i think i would be better off with a 310XT.
No, no change there (and it won’t happen from what I’m hearing now). Fwiw, the Garmin Swim can do 18Y/17M TO 150Y/M.
Ray – any chance you can work out an Amazon-type commission deal with REI? Your website made a big difference in my decision to get the 910xt but I couldn’t pass up on REI’s return policy/member discount…
Yup, I do have a deal with them. I don’t put the link on every page as it gets a bit messy, but here’s the page with the link to REI. Once you use that link you can navigate off to whichever product you’d like on REI: link to dcrainmaker.com
Thanks for the support!
Just read your preview of the 620. Any plans for Garmin to add the VO2 max estimation to the 910XT? Without the bike mode, the 620 is a no-go for me.
No plans from my discussions with them. Basically at this point consider the FR910XT ‘feature complete’. You’ll likely still see the random bug fix, but no new features should be expected going forward.
Bummer
I love your website and all the great info it contains. I love your attention to detail. I am so excited my new Garmin FR910XT triathlon bundle (unit + HR strap + speed/cadence sensor + quick release kit) just shipped from Clever Training today (using your exclusive 10% partner discount). I can’t wait to begin using it and report back. One thousand thank you’s!!! PS I landed here reviewing TomTom and decided to spend the extra $ after seeing your reviews and comparisons. Even if I never see a podium this device will help me train and feel like a pro.
Thanks for the support, I appreciate it!
I am a cyclist and I recently purchased an SRM and Power Control 7. I am interested in the Garmin 910XT because of the running feature as well. I cross train with running. Do you know what the main differences are between Power Control 7 and the Garmin 910XT? Is the power display the same? Is it more advanced in the SRM power control? I am mainly concerned witht the 910XT recording and display of power metrics while riding. I really like to have distance &speed, duration, power, and avg power displayed (especially during intervals).
DC,
1) Does alerts work while a multi sport activity? ie a tri race.
2) It is possible to use auto-lap while in multi sport activity?
Thx in advance.