Garmin 910 XT review

yes, being the spoiled brat tri-geek that i am, i already have this highly anticipated piece of garmin bling on my wrist. and i have had some time to put it through the paces. what follows, is my review of the new Garmin 910 XT.

first, i would like to direct you to this this very detailed review if what you are looking for is a meticulous account of the watch's functions and features.

 you might also want to refer to my review of the 310 xt vs. the timex GT which can be found here. the rest will make more sense that way.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

i am struggling with my own propensity towards grandiosity; hence i am trying not infer that the folks at garmin read my review of the 310 xt, but...it seems they have.

everything i didn't like about that watch has been addressed. it is thinner, more stealthy looking, sturdier, the buttons are easier to push.  cool. i write it down and it appears a year later.

and swim metrics, let's not forget those...in the pool, in the open water. what more could i want? swimming was the last au-natural sport for me, no data to analyze. now that my swimming can be digitally analyzed, everyone better watch out, cause i am gonna become a better swimmer because of this...front of the pack here i come...really

the big question for many will be whether or not the new features of the 910 xt will be worth the 100 dollar jump in price. with HR monitor, mine came out at 450 smacks.

ASTHETICS:

this is a better looking watch than the 310 xt. it is smaller and thinner. it looks more like a watch and less like you are wearing a 1970's TV on your wrist. i like the simple black and white color scheme.

i can wear this watch to work and no-one really notices. and this is where the trouble is too. it sorta looks like a 5 dollar watch you get at the check out in the drug store. it is really understated. maybe too understated. to the un-trained eye, it will look no different than all those casio, rock shok cheapo, disposable watches.

i don't want to bitch, and there is alot of the subjective in here, but, even though the 910 is a less flashy, easier to wear watch than its predecessor, garmin still has a long way to go before they have a piece of jewellery on their hands. i mean a stud, 007 time piece would be nice for the rather hefty price tag wouldn't it?  and, in this regard, i would say that sunnto has them beat with the ambit:

007 would probably rather wear this watch over the garmin

FUNCTIONALITY:

i am not sure that functionality is a word, but i think you know what i mean here. basically, this watch is no different than the 310 xt. you will find things in all the same places. there are a few small differences to highlight however.

the buttons are smaller but also get triggered much more easily than the previous version. this is both good and bad, but what it means is that i use the key freeze option on this watch and i never really did on the 310 xt. it is easier to inadvertently create a multi-sport workout when you don't want one. lean on it, and you have started a new workout. the buttons are uber-sensitive.

data transfer seems to have all the kinks worked out and the ant + works better than on the last version for getting your data onto your pc.

the screen is also somewhat smaller and the numbers are correspondingly a little bit smaller. one thing i really liked about the 310 was the nice, big numbers.oh well.

the strap is one area of huge improvement. it is quite solid. i don't anticipate the kind of catastrophic failure that resulted in my 310 becoming the world's first pocket gps watch. (i have carried the watch through races because the freakin strap failed on me). and, the 910 even comes with an extender for those days when you need the extra length to get the watch over tons of winter clothes and gloves. kudos to garmin on this.


the watch will be much easier to wear during a whole race and will not present any problems with getting your wetsuit off. this is a big improvement over the 310 xt.


i am not going to comment on the bike functions. i have the edge 800 and it is an amazing bike computer. my view, is that if you like toys, get them all. if you are looking for one computer that does everything then the 910 will probably work, but, you don't get full gps function and i don't know about you, but i ride far and adventurously enough that getting lost has happened and having the gps has saved my arse more than once. personally, i would not buy the watch hoping that it will replace my bike computer.


while running, i find that, with the new accelerometer present, the moment to moment pacing data jumps around alot more than before. i still trust the avg. pace. it picks up satellite function well. its just that with-in 2 seconds it can read 6m per k and then jump to 4 something per k. it is jumpy, more than the 310 xt was.


SWIM FUNCTIONS:


this is the major attraction of the 910 xt. it allows you to be as data obsessed about swimming as you are about running and biking.


it is cool to see your pace and stroke rate after a set, that type of instant feedback makes time go by in the pool alot faster, and this may be the major benefit of it.


i am not sure how much help it will be over the long haul to view fancier swim metrics (such as SWOLF and AVG. EFFICIENCY) i am not convinced that these will help me be a better swimmer the same way that say having a power meter helps with biking.


my major beef with the new swim metrics, is that they don't always work that smoothly. i have had several swims where the watch simply fails to keep track of any distance data for no obvious reason. i have learned that i must swim a test lap to make sure it is working before i go on. if not, usually turning it off and on again does the trick, but this is a major pain in the ass, and i imagine a serious software glitch that garmin is only now aware of. i have not been offered any updates so far.


furthermore, the watch is pretty cool in that it can tell what kind of stroke you are using, but it fails to keep any distance data for kick sets, so that, if you are as anal as i am, you need to log in to training peaks or wherever and add in that data to your workout. at present, also, tp does not seem to fully support all of the swim data, none of it gets through and all your workouts appear as "other" and not as swim. this is an issue with TP and not with garmin, but it is a pain nevertheless.

garmin has a great idea in that they allow you, in theory, to tell the watch what size pool you are swimming in. i do swim in 25 yard and 25 meter pools, so it is cool to be able to compare swims in different pools. i was also excited to use this function on a recent trip to florida where i was training in a strange, 15 m pool at our condo complex. unfortunately, the watch does not allow truly customized inputs, it stops at 22 yards. so if you are hoping to use it on business trips in hotel pools forget it. i don't understand this. why carry a good idea only half way?


i have yet to test the open waters. lake ontario is still pretty cold.


SUMMARY:


the 910 xt is the most complete watch that a triathlete could hope for. it has improved in several important ways over its predessor and these will make it more useful in the pool, and easier to race and train with. however, i am not jumping up and down about it and raving to all my friends. there are many things that, in my opinion, could have made this upgrade more complete if not compelling.


one major down side is that, as of now, the swim functions have not been 100% reliable for me. nor is the pool size truly customizable in a fully useful way.  i hope that these are just  software issues that garmin will sort out and offer updates on their site. however, these new swim functions are what everone is really looking forward to, it is the major marketing theme of the watch, and frankly, it kinda sucks that they are not 100% reliable or fully customizable.


my personal wish list might have included items such as: touch screen, color screen, full gps functionality with maps, an alarm would be nice, maybe a less boxy, more expensive looking design. add these to truly customizable and reliable swim functions and you have the perfect watch.