Which running watch?

[The Boosh]

Hi there,

I'm in need of a running watch and unsure which one to buy as it is a bit of a minefield out there...

My current #1 is the Garmin Forerunner 15.


I would have bought a 10, however a reported 5 hour battery life on GPS is putting me off.

Should I be considering any alternatives? My budget is around ~£100 and it only needs to have GPS, a +6 hour battery life with GPS on, plus the usual basic functionalities. I'm only a novice runner but am currently working myself up to running the London Marathon at the end of April.

Thanks for your help.

Edited by The Boosh on Tuesday 13th January 12:11

[addey]

I've just been researching this myself the last few days! The main rivals seem to be

Garmin FR15

TomTom Runner

Polar M400

Undecided yet but head over to http://www.dcrainmaker.com/ for all the info and reviews

[Willy Nilly]

Phone app and an arm band?

[FreeLitres]

I just ordered the Forerunner 610 with HRM. On Amazon for £140 but getting low on stock

[FreeLitres]

I went for my first run with my new Garmin Forerunner 610 today.

I think it's fantastic! I wish I had got one ages ago. Only £140 on Amazon too.

[Rich_W]

I've got a Garmin Forerunner 210, superseded now to a 220

It's OK. But it can take an age to find satellites. Even worse if you get impatient and start going before it's found lock. Also the current pace can be hard to judge since it's an average of the kilometre. I'd rather it just gave a real time speed that updated every few seconds.

[TeaNoSugar]

Rich_W said:

I've got a Garmin Forerunner 210, superseded now to a 220

It's OK. But it can take an age to find satellites. Even worse if you get impatient and start going before it's found lock. Also the current pace can be hard to judge since it's an average of the kilometre. I'd rather it just gave a real time speed that updated every few seconds.

Agreed, I've got a FR110. It does what t needs to do, but in terms of user-friendliness it's not great. The time taken to lock onto the satellite signal is by far the biggest gripe, but also it has a habit of crashing from time to time, and it can take ages to get it to reset itself. Also, after 2 years, the seal on mine has failed I think, because it gets condensation inside the face when it's wet.

Most of the people I run with have Garmins, but some have Suunto watches, they really rave about them, and I get the impression they're a lot better.