Which Garmin to Get?

T Miller wrote:This thread prompted me to make a call to Garmin for 2 things.
1. Wendy and I have the 610 and our watch band pins keep falling out. They are sending us a fix free of charge.
2. My refurbished 405 that I've had for a couple years got moisture in it and died. They are sending another refurb free of charge.

I love their tech support!

I was on a Garmin forum and there was discussion about the pins falling out after a certain amount of time. Guess you can keep getting replacements from them for free because at this point they haven't fixed the problem that makes them fall out. Odd.

Ran a 20 miler with the new 610. AWESOME!! The only hitch I had was I decided about mile 11 to loosen the watch one hole on the band and when I did I mistakenly turned off the watch. Lost 8 minutes, but then discovered the problem. The HRM is one of the most comfortable I've ever worn. Truly did not know it was there and never lost connection or do anything weird.

So far, I love this thang!

Just a heads up to anyone with an old Garmin and thinking of moving up. Buy the new watch before 8/31 and get a $50 rebate when you send your old one in.

I broke down and bought the 610 yesterday. I already had a HR strap so went for the $350 option. Got 10% off at REI, plus the $50 Garmin rebate so I figure it cost me $265 plus tax.

I set it up yesterday and like it so far. Paired with the HR monitor perfectly. Will do my first run with it tomorrow...

My 305 is starting to act funny so I am thinking about a new running watch. This thread is several months old but I was wondering if anyone is aware of any deals for the 610. I see Amazon has it for $299. It will be my Christmas gift to myself.

Those of you that have the 610, do you still think it is the best Garmin running watch? I know they have come out with the 910XT (a multisport watch) but I don't think I will do enough tri's to make it worth the extra money.

Jeff: I love my 610. I, too, got the $50 rebate so I paid $350 for mine since I bought the HRM. I absolutely love the new soft hm strap. Not sure if that is new with the 610, but I don't even know I have it on.

I haven't had any problems with it so far and it's not disappointed me at all.

I have had a 610 since this time last year. And I have had a couple of issues with it; however, both were solved immediately by Garmin - they sent me a new watch and then a new charge - for free! So I really cannot complain. Since I do not use even half of the features of the 610, I doubt I would need a 910 except that the altitude thing is rather cool.

Check sales here:

http://g.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/31168/Fitness-For-Runners-.html

Thanks everyone for the advice and information. Ended up ordering the 610 from Amazon for $299 with free shipping. It arrived yesterday...can you believe this, my wife is going to wrap it and put it under the tree and I can't use it until Christmas. Maybe I can sneak the 610 out of the box and put my 305 in without her noticing...she has no idea what they look like.

For what it's worth, I got the 610 a couple of months back and love it.

Jeff F wrote:Thanks everyone for the advice and information. Ended up ordering the 610 from Amazon for $299 with free shipping. It arrived yesterday...can you believe this, my wife is going to wrap it and put it under the tree and I can't use it until Christmas. Maybe I can sneak the 610 out of the box and put my 305 in without her noticing...she has no idea what they look like.

what's her email address?

Jeff F wrote:Thanks everyone for the advice and information. Ended up ordering the 610 from Amazon for $299 with free shipping. It arrived yesterday...can you believe this, my wife is going to wrap it and put it under the tree and I can't use it until Christmas. Maybe I can sneak the 610 out of the box and put my 305 in without her noticing...she has no idea what they look like.