Garmin 405 or 310XT? Advice required!

1 watcher
Jul 2012
10:47pm, 9 Jul 2012
2,874 posts
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rf_fozzy
Right, it looks like my trusty 205 is on the way out. Unfortunately the "menu" button seems to be perishing and only works with care or intermittently.

I'll see if Garmin will repair it, but if not, and I have to purchase a new one, which would people recommend - a 405 or 310? (or others) (I'd quite happily have a new 205 or 305 instead, but obviously since they've been discontinued, it's difficult to find them - and might be worth upgrading now anyway)

Obviously I've heard a lot about the touch screen bezel thing - is it really that bad? I don't use a HR monitor a the moment, but I might be interested in using one if a new Garmin happened to come with one.

Love my Garmin, so not really interested in another brand, and especially not Nike+ Sportband whatever ;-)
Jul 2012
10:50pm, 9 Jul 2012
2,875 posts
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rf_fozzy
Should say long battery life would be useful (absolute minimum is 10hrs, but really want something that lasts at least as long as 205).
Jul 2012
10:52pm, 9 Jul 2012
47 posts
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longwayround
I've just invested in a 310XT. Only £210 from Bourne Sports in Stoke-on-Trent, has buttons rather than touch screen and is waterproof rather than splash proof. There were other reasons but I can't remember them all right now.
.B.
Jul 2012
10:53pm, 9 Jul 2012
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.B.
I really love my 310xt. My OH had a 405 and hated it, I think it was a pain especially when it rained, anyway he ended up with a 310xt too. Really long battery life, longer than the 305.
If you are happy with the 305 then I have heard good things about Garmin's refurb deal - I think it might only be about £50 for a 205 or 305 and some people reckon they get sent new ones, so well worth a call to them.
Jul 2012
10:56pm, 9 Jul 2012
14,219 posts
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Stumpy
. The 405 seems to have little niggles that are annoying so unless you want a watch that looks like a 'watch'.....Another vote for 310xt
Jul 2012
11:07pm, 9 Jul 2012
757 posts
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SuperDave!
I replaced my 205 with a 410. It's ok in the rain, unlike the 405 because you can lock the bezel. £145 on amazon with premium heart rate strap meant it was cheaper than the 310.

I'm happy with it. The only minor downside is you can only see up to 3 fields, 205/310 has 4 fields and I liked that.
Jul 2012
11:11pm, 9 Jul 2012
758 posts
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SuperDave!
Oh and some decent garmin reviews on here dcrainmaker.com
Jul 2012
11:56pm, 9 Jul 2012
3,520 posts
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sprouty76
Love my 310xt. I know you're thinking of getting into triathlons, the 310xt and the 910xt are the only ones that will survive swimming (not counting the non-gps swim watch they're coming out with)

A friend has a 405, the bezel really is a pain in the wet. She's a fairly small girl though so something like the 310xt would look massive on her.
Jul 2012
12:56am, 10 Jul 2012
4,829 posts
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JamieKai *chameleon*
Loved my 405, had a couple of runs in the wet where the bezel played silly beggars, but it was lockable.

However, when it died, I upgraded to a 610 and haven't looked back. Great watch, seriously.
Jul 2012
5:30am, 10 Jul 2012
21,033 posts
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Velociraptor
I've got both and the 310xt is much better - long battery life, easy button-pushing operation, comfortable to wear. The 405 is OK but the bezel is a gimmick that doesn't improve the device.

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Maintained by rf_fozzy
Right, it looks like my trusty 205 is on the way out. Unfortunately the "menu" button seems to be ...

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