Garmin v?

hot to trot

I want a GPS watch that will not die after a few hours as I would like to do more very long runs and 12/24 hour events.

I saw a 310xt garmin on Ebay but was wondering if this is what I should go for and how much might be a reasonable offer for a one year unit.
Or is there anything else that might suit as i wouldn't use it for swim or bike.

Not familiar with other brands.

I dont bother looking back at uploads and usually just use the buttons on my garmin 405 currently for setting intervals and training runs.I havent managed to upload/download anything onto it so far anyway. I would likely use the 405 I have for speedworkouts and mainly want a long life battery for long outings.
Thanks

sconhome

You could go with a simple approach with the Polar RS300 with G3 GPS sensor. Sensor uses a AA battery so you could always carry a spare battery for the long events.

It won't do mapping but will give you realtime current pace & average pace over your intervals, auto laps or the whole event.

Krusty_Clown

Garmin Forerunner 405 - up to 8 Hours (theoretical)
Garmin Forerunner 305 - up to 10 Hours (theoretical)
Garmin Forerunner 310 - Up to 20 hours (theoretical)
Garmin Forerunner 910 - Up to 20 hours (theoretical)
Garmin Fenix - up to 50 hours (theoretical)

You could realistically drop the above numbers by around 10-20% in practical use. Unfortunately, there seems to be a correlation between battery life and price. The new Garmin Fenix has a stonking 50 hours battery life, but it a big (and expensive ($399)) watch because of it, aimed more at outdoorsy types. Probably doesn't have intervals etc. either, as it's aimed at the adventurer, rather than the runner.

spurscormac

Not sure if they're available over here yet, but the Magellan Switch Up is the only watch which can easily plug in an extra battery - in this case you can apparently get an extra 16 hours from one. :eek:

hot to trot

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Garmin Forerunner 405 - up to 8 Hours (theoretical)
Garmin Forerunner 305 - up to 10 Hours (theoretical)
Garmin Forerunner 310 - Up to 20 hours (theoretical)
Garmin Forerunner 910 - Up to 20 hours (theoretical)
Garmin Fenix - up to 50 hours (theoretical)

You could realistically drop the above numbers by around 10-20% in practical use. Unfortunately, there seems to be a correlation between battery life and price. .

Thanks Krusty... My 405 wont make it to the end of a 4.30 marathon most of the time, so I reckon I am looking practically at closer to a 50% reduction on what they claim.

Krusty_Clown

hot to trot wrote: »

Thanks Krusty... My 405 wont make it to the end of a 4.30 marathon most of the time, so I reckon I am looking practically at closer to a 50% reduction on what they claim.

The performance of the battery does deteriorate over time (you probably could've hoped for 6 hours at best, when it was new). With these types of batteries, it's best to charge them more frequently, rather than depleting them fully all of the time.

A second-hand or reconditioned 310xt might give you best value for money for a longer life battery, but if you want something that'll last you 24 hours on the go, you'll need to either charge it on the go, have two watches, or buy the expensive new one!