Any suggestions for GPS?

I am looking for a GPS to se speed and distance when I am done. Any suggestions for a gps for V10S?

Garmin 910XT and Sunto Ambit are the popular top shelf models.
Overkill if you just want to keep it in a drybag and look at it when done though.

Phones are good cheap option these days, GPS capable models only $50. Wont get the all day battery life of the premium watches, but are fine for normal paddles spanning a few hours. Keep in drybag.
Advantage is you can view far more detailed graphs and maps instantly.
Also means you are carrying a phone for emergency use. It can be a cheapo phone so you arent risking a better model.

Hi
I got a smartphone in my pocket if needed, but are looking for a simple gps i can read speed during the run. I was planning to mount the gps in front of the foot rest.

How about this:
www.wiggle.com.au/garmin-edge-200-gps-cycle-computer/

I'm thinking it's just what I need, will work on bike as well and relatively cheap too

The Garmin 310XT is still the most popular GPS watch I see on paddlers boats.

Although Garmin brought out the 910XT with a couple of upgrades the 310XT (which became cheaper as a result) is more than enough for paddlers needs.

www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/09/garmin-forer...in-depth-review.html

910xt perfect, can fit on paddle wrist or foot strap. Edge 200 has bigger screen but I doubt it would cope with water immersion constantly.

+1 for 310XT I use it on Surfski on the footstrap slowly rolling through speed, HR, time screens

Also have a little suction mount (backed up with string) to hold on the front deck of K1

I use it alongside a Vaaka to watch cadence....

Good for running and other sports as well, can get mounts for cycling.

Agreed on the Garmin 310 XT. I've used one for several years now. Easy to use and set up, nice variety of display options, etc... Had 2 go bad on me, both outside of the one year warranty, and Garmin replaced them both at no charge. Tough to beat that.

Garmin. I started with a Forerunner 305 but upgraded to the 910XT when I managed to drop it in the ocean on a paddle (floating is not a feature)!

The 305 had all the features I needed for paddling (speed distance, heart rate, ability to program training sets etc) and the 910XT (and I assume the 310XT) don't really deliver anything over and above.

For me the only advantages the 910XT has over the 305 is for running and swimming - the slightly smaller size is more comfortable on the wrist and the swim functions (I think the 310XT has similar functionality) have changed the way I train in in the pool.

I've had 3 Garmin 910xt in the past 3 months. the first 2 were replaced under warranty because the hrm didn't work - my primary reason for buying it was so I can train consistently in the appropriate zones. the current (3rd) one still only works "most" of the time. Some of my mates don't bother wearing the hrm any more because it's so unreliable. The Garmin website, Garmin blogs & Garmin's own FAQ section are covered with "solutions for hrm problems", so it's obviously a well known issue, & for A$450 the 910xt kit, it's not good enough.

The 'waypoints' on the 910xt are actually only locations - you can only enter 1 "go to" at a time & if you want another, you have to stop paddling & enter another location. Garmin Customer emailed me "We would like to inform you that you cannot enter waypoints on your device because it doesn't have any pre-loaded base map on it. Primarily it is designed for fitness". But they call them waypoints...

The "heading" feature on the 910xt only has 45º increments - ie: it reads N. NE, E, SE etc. More a boy scout feature than a usable navigation feature. probably useful for orienteering.

The compass arrow sometimes indicates accurate direction. Against the same marker(s) on another day, not always. The arrow takes up just 1/2 the screen & although you can adjust the contrast, I find it too small/difficult to read in sunny/spray/typical downwind conditions. The other 1/2 of the screen is info regarding distance travelled, time remaining, etc. A nice feature would be to enable the arrow to cover the entire screen & be able to scroll that screen with other readouts. You can scroll up to 4 readouts now, but not with the "go to" arrow.

worst 910xt feature for me is when an alert, eg, "low battery" warning, appears on the screen, you have to stop paddling to press "enter" to remove it. until you do that you can't see any other info on the screen. I suggested to Garmin that may be ok for runners. It would be better for paddlers if the alert disappeared after 5 seconds, even if it appeared again every 5 minutes.

In my view, as a GPS/fitness tool for paddling, the 910xt is just an expensive toy right now, but with a few minor software upgrades it could be very good. the basic framework is there.

I got a Garmin Forerunner 10 watch. A 3rd of the price of the 305 and 910xt at $140. Does everything I want. Speed, distance,workout settings, down-loadable etc. I'm happy with it!

Thanks for good feedback.
It seems like I am able to get the garmin fenix to lower price then the 310. So I guess I have a look at it and check out the garmin 10.

My Garmin HRM strap died and I replaced it with the Polar one, just the strap not the module.
I still haven't got around to dissecting it to find the exact cause, but I suspect layers under the conductive rubber pads have delaminated or disintegrated.

The Polar strap has been performing better than the Garmin one ever did. But is still plays up when soaked, yet to discover its longevity.

Also you need to unclip and reclip the module before each use because one of the clips contacts gets rusty and a bad connection.

Garmin have something against paddling. Don't know why they hate it, but its obvious they do. Perhaps its owner fell out of a kayak as a kid and is now traumatised by all paddle sports?
Garmin connect has plenty of stupid obscure categories but no Surfski etc. And their altitude just doesn't understand the concept that there are no altitude changes on a lake. And their courses don't seem to understand that you can travel on water not just roads.

I have had my 305 for many years now, works flawlessly. Except the elevation, which tells me I've been paddling some gnarly 70' waves on my local protected bay

It does actually allow you to create a route with waypoints, each of which is based on coordinates. Load the route and you can see when paddling if you are on it off it. This helped me in a 20 mile race on an unfamiliar course - I knew from the GPS where to point my ski towards the finish across a busy bay without being able to see across the bay visually. I had nailed a perfectly straight line to the finish when I examined my track later.

The HR function has always worked 100% and has never disconnected on me for bike or kayak/ski.

Just this week I picked up a new sending unit for my Garmin 310xt, I had been using a polar strap but occasionally still god unreliable readings, there was some rust on the pin of the chest unit so I replaced it when I was passing a PC outlet that had the units for sale. The unit came with a "new" new style soft strap. I already had the new soft strap from recent years but this one is different and I notice this one has a different material around the sending unit, its a different color and has 3 areas that they recommend you dampen, one further around the side of your chest, the old soft strap had just the two areas in front, so be interesting to see how these perform to eliminate reliability issues. I have not tried the new strap yet as replacing the sending unit and using my polar strap has been flawless to date and I will wait until I have problems with the Polar strap (my second one of these).

My last Garmin 310 would fog, making it difficult to read when on the water. Returned after a year to REI (USA) and replaced with a Garmin 910, paying only the price differance for the upgrade. Great features, but never used as a navigation tool. Nice to see the map data after workouts or races. Also used for cross country skiing and hunting. Nice to see how much country I've traveled after a day afield. Quality is never cheap.

Garmin Dakota 20 waterproof hiking GPS has a HR function with an optional chest strap (can use the one from other HR monitors). Groupon has a deal for $139 USD for refurbished units going on now. Touch screen and real navigation and waypoints.

I have not used that one so can't tell how good it is.

If it's for speed & distance after why not just use smartphone in small dry bag ? Or if wanting to save some $ how about a simple inexpensive handheld GPS unit ? Like a super common garmin etrex ? Many handhelds are waterproof too. You could see info while paddling. You didn't mention need for HR so could be a nice option as many have nice big screens, long battery life, good mounts, etc.

Note our household has both 310XT & 910XT