Garmin Forerunner 310XT v 910 XT?

Hi All,
My Garmin eTrex Legend recently died so I am now looking for an upgrade in my GPS arsenal.
Both the Forerunner 310XT ($299 AUD with HRM) or the 910XT ($395 AUD with HRM) are on the list.
I have read DC Rainmaker: Garmin Forerunner 910XT In Depth Review (www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/10/garmin-forer...in-depth-review.html) which is excellent but I can’t see any additional benefits for paddling.
Seeing that the device will spend most of its time on the boat and not on my wrist, can anyone offer any feedback or justification spending the extra $$ for the newer model?
Does anyone have any other models that they would recommend?
Thanks in advance

Hi, I have a 910XT, my 405 died well, stopped making noise so I replaced it. The wet bezel never worked anyway.

Wrt the 910 vs 310 there is very little between them except for the following:
- 910 is slightly lower profile, enought to make a difference if you wear it a bit
- 910 is black and could pass for a watch, 310 is a bit orange and big looking
- 910 can measure cadence but only if it's in swim mode ! Dumb huh because then heart rate does not work.

Note that the cosmetic aspects were comments from a paddling mate who has the 310.

Other than that the screen and functions seem to be identical. A great feature is being able to turn it off to save battery when not in use. The 405 was a pain because whenever I needed it it was flat.

I have access to the Garmin at wholesale pricing.
I could have had the 910 for $70 dearer than the 310.

I chose another 310 because it performs flawlessly on the ski and the 910 simply offers no extra functions for the ski.

The 910 has the twist mount built into the watch, helps make it lighter and lower profile, but ifthe plastic starts to wear, you can't do anything about it.

The 310 had a plate to attach to the pins that the strap normally goes, nd if the twist quick release wears, simply replace the plate.

It was an easy choice for me, save the money and put it toward a new boat.

No built in twist mount on my 910XT. It has a separate fitting that attaches to the strap pins but makes it quite a bit thicker. Attaches fine to the foot strap but seems to be a bit easy to unlock so I just strap it to the foot strap. No cadence function there of course....

Sick of waiting for this South African company MOBII to bring it's flash GPS to Australia, promised it would be around January but still no word, so now getting 310.

As a 310XT owner, on looks alone the 910XT is the winner .

I also agree there's little functional difference in choosing a 910XT over a 310XT.

DC Rainmaker is the GPS guru - check all his reviews before making a decision.

The biggest issue is Garmin reliability.

I'd also check the Suunto Ambit after about June when they upgrade the firmware to allow the backlight to stay on indefinitely, especially if you're going to use it for multisport. In Australia they are uber-exspensive ($600) compared to the Garmin, but the Suunto's have a build quality that puts Garmin to shame.

I've reviewed both - check:

sydneysurfski.com/2012/05/24/garmin-910xt-review-update/

sydneysurfski.com/2012/05/24/suunto-ambit-review/

sydneysurfski.com/2012/04/19/garmin-310xt-vs-garmin-910xt/

Cheers, Nat

I can't comment on the 910, but I purchased a 310XT this year after going through a few 205's (and finally losing the last one). The 310 has been excellent so far: easily programmable, lots of battery life, easy to read, and water-proof. Plus the strap works great by running it around the bungees in the front of my cockpit.

Has anyone tried or have any thoughts on the Timex Ironman Global Trainer GPS? It seems to be comparable to the Garmin 310XT, and I've found them new on Ebay and Amazon for under $150 USD.
I've been using the Garmin 310XT for 2 1/2 years or so. They are great but seem to give up the ghost after about a year, so I'm currently on my 3rd one. On the plus side, Garmin seems to know this and accept it, and have replaced my unit twice at no cost without question. As long as Garmin continues to stand behind their product like that I will keep using it.

Has anyone used Dawid Mocke's training programs that include files to download to your garmin for interval training?

Any thoughts on how effective the intermediate to advanced (20km race) program is and how easy is it to work with the garmin files?

Any program that gets you consistently paddling and a goal to achieve with an eye to not doing things wrong will help most people.

I have chatted with people that are using Mocke's program and it seems that there is a lot of personalisation for each person.

I haven't actually seen a program or quizzed far enough to get an idea of it's structure, but it seems on the surface and from word of mouth to be very good.

Loading a training program into a 310 is refreshingly simple, I make my own up on the laptop and then transfer it across.

We will have two big races in French Polynesia in september, the 1st and the 8th.
sept 1st : I Mua Nui channel race, from Tahiti to Moorea, 30 km.
sept 8th : Maraamu surfski race (part of Oceanpaddler world series), from Tahaa to BoraBora, 35 km.

I'd like to perform well, so was looking for a good training program. For my last race I did a 12 km/h avg speed on a 13 km race (mixed conditions, not 100% downwind).
connect.garmin.com/activity/175103303

So I think I'll buy the Mocke 12 Week Training Program for the Competitive Paddler who is training for a Marathon, and start training the first week of june... just a few days left !
www.kickmybutt.net/products/Mocke-12-Wee...for-a-Marathon..html

I'll let you knows how it goes.

PS: I'm using a garmin 310XT, but I need to get a heart rate strap. I didn't buy one because I tought the one from my old 305 would work with it but it doesn't seem to be compatible.

I just downloaded the Mocke 12 Week Training Program.
I got a MSWord Doc about training concepts ; a PDF file 12 week chart describing every session ; a .tcx and a .vsd file... you just have to print the first 2 files, and upload the .tcx file to Training Center on your PC, then you upload from tC to your GPS. Very easy... I just have to train now !

Hi, i think that if you just need a device for paddling neither of these watches might be for you, it seems they just have some many extra features you will never use. You'd be better of with a much simpler watch or device.

I am not a pro but i have read many reviews and the 310 xt was among the 5 watches i had on the top of my list. I wrote about why i chose it at www.squidoo.com/garmin-310xt-review-and-why-i-chose-it

Been using 310s for a while, work great. Tried a 910 but returned it since the 4 display screen font was smaller then the 4 display screen font on the 310. Made a difference for my 50 year old eyes looking at the display This was an earlier 910 unit, they may have changed in later SW updates. Like others have said, IMHO 310 does all we need for paddling.