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David B.PRO
David B. Sendmail

Garmin Forerunner 610 - Worth the extra $150?

posted 11 months ago | Report

I want to replace my Garmin 405 and am deciding between the 410 and the 610. Are the additional features of the 610 worth the extra $150 over the cost of a 410?

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16 posts

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  • Medina
    Medina Sendmail

    Are you selling your 405??? :)

    posted 11 months ago

  • Medina
    Medina Sendmail
    in reply to what Medina said:Are you selling your 405??? :)

    Is it in good conditions?? :)

    posted 11 months ago

  • Sara R.
    Sara R. Sendmail

    I had the same problem choosing between the 410 and the 610. I would say go for the 610, it is worth the extra money.
    https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142&pID=83274 that's the 410, you can read the features on there if you're still not sure.
    https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142&pID=84374 and that's the 610 :)

    posted 11 months ago

  • David B.PRO
    David B. Sendmail

    The only thing that is wrong with it is that it won't record laps manually. Everything else works fine. I hadn't thought about selling it due to the manual lap issue, which for many people wouldn't be an issue at all.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Brad P.
    Brad P. Sendmail

    I have a 610 and LOVE it. The touchscreen interface is fantastic and it even works when you are wearing gloves or when the front face is covered in rain or humidity. I actually did a 2-1/2 hour run this past weekend with rain the entire time, and the touchscreen worked flawlessly. I also like that it calculates calorie burn based on actual HR value during the workout, rather than some of the other estimates that the older models use. The other advantages of the 610 over the 410 are that the 610 acquires satellite signal faster. I am amazed at how quickly it locks in, even when I am indoors. And finally, the 610 has vibration alerts, which the 410 does not. This can come in very handy if you are listening to music or if you are in a race and are in a crowd of people who all have garmins on an audible beeping alert. Check this chart for a REALLY good comparison of features between various models: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Wo8yCZ1eTVw/TaP_ec3iGdI/AAAAAAAAprQ/JoTReaGfMQs/s1600-h/image%5B53%5D.png

    posted 11 months ago

  • Frank P.
    Frank P. Sendmail

    I wouldn't care if I had to collect aluminum cans all summer to earn the extra $150 for the 610. Well worth it. My wife has the 405cx and I have the 610 both over a year now. She hates her watch when comparing to mine. Isn't the 410 nothing but the 405 just with a few add ons? 610 is a whole different monster. Everything is touchscreen, waterproof, more screens and customization. List goes on. I am a pretty critical person, especially when I shell money out for a product and I don't think I have any complaints about the 610. Actually 1......my wife's 405 seems to be able to turn off satellite for indoor runs in 2 steps and mine is 3.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Dan M.
    Dan M. Sendmail

    My 2ยข since you do HRM training, the 610 is probably worth it. It can be set up for FirstBeat R-R files and has a Training Effect calculation. Whether the extra expense of the FirstBeat software is worth it, at least you get a 2 week trial to make up your mind.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Morey B.
    Morey B. Sendmail
    in reply to what David B. said:The only thing that is wrong with it is that it won't record laps manually. Everything else works fine. I hadn't thought about selling it due to the manual lap issue, which for many people wouldn't be an issue at all.

    er... you mean when you press the lap button (the one at 4 oclock) it doesn't record it as a lap? My 405 does manual laps.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Morey B.
    Morey B. Sendmail
    in reply to what David B. said:The only thing that is wrong with it is that it won't record laps manually. Everything else works fine. I hadn't thought about selling it due to the manual lap issue, which for many people wouldn't be an issue at all.

    oops double post

    posted 11 months ago | edited 11 months ago

  • David B.PRO
    David B. Sendmail
    in reply to what Morey B. said:oops double post

    The first time I contacted Garmin support about the lap button issue I was told that I'd have to return it for repairs costing about $100 including shipping. I called them again the next day, having a hunch the problem was some kind of user error rather than the watch itself. I got a different rep, and he took the time to walk me through the process for recording manual laps. I was trying to do it in a training program, and it won't do manual laps in a training program. It will do manual laps when I just start the watch's timer. Lesson learned. I still however, would love to have the 610 from all I've heard about it.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Michael G.PRO
    Michael G. Sendmail

    YES (response in other thread)

    posted 11 months ago

  • Brad P.
    Brad P. Sendmail

    I would like to take back my previous recommendation (posted a few months back). Since that time, I have had NUMEROUS problems with dead battery on the garmin due to the horribly designed charging clip that they use. It doesn't matter to me if this GPS has the best features in the world if it is 100% dead and completely unusable when I wake up in the morning to go for a run. Look elsewhere and try to find a GPS that has a rock solid charging system AND the features that you need.

    posted 7 months ago

  • Stan H.
    Stan H. Sendmail
    in reply to what Brad P. said:I would like to take back my previous recommendation (posted a few months back). Since that time, I have had NUMEROUS problems with dead battery on the garmin due to the horribly designed charging clip that they use. It doesn't matter to me i... read more

    Brad, several months back I upgraded to the 310XT from the 305. I love it and have no issues at all with it evene with funky charging clip that comes with it. I am so sorry it looks like Garmin gave you a dud :(

    posted 7 months ago

  • Frank P.
    Frank P. Sendmail
    in reply to what Brad P. said:I would like to take back my previous recommendation (posted a few months back). Since that time, I have had NUMEROUS problems with dead battery on the garmin due to the horribly designed charging clip that they use. It doesn't matter to me i... read more

    I have owned the 610 for over a year and a half now and have never had a single charging issue. I have a friend that has one as well and never heard him mention a charging issue. My wife has the 405 and every time she has a charging issue, its a direct result of her not resting the contact points against each other properly. Not saying you arent doing that. Sounds like you just might have a lemon. Have you called Garmin? They are very good with helping out. In my mind Garmin 610 is leaps and bounds beyond a 410.

    posted 7 months ago

  • Brad P.
    Brad P. Sendmail

    I just called garmin after my 610 totally died on me today. They were very helpful and nice and gave me an RMA to send it back. I asked if they would repair or replace, and they said the would send me a new one as soon as they get mine back.

    I tried charging my 610 this morning (for 4+ hours) and it "de charged" all the way down to 0% and then after sitting at 0% for 25 minutes, it got stuck in a never ending reboot loop.

    I have previously tried EVERY different thing you could think of to make sure that my contact points are making good connection. I have cleaned the contacts with special electrical contact cleaner, I have held the charger connector with my fingers, I have used a chip clip, I've used a binder clip. In fact, I had the binder clip (which previously had been working) on the 610 last night when it failed to charge and got hosed up.

    I also asked the customer service guy about the possibility of this well-known (and very common) 610 problem still existing in the new one they are going to send to me. He told me an interesting tidbit I was not aware of. He said that even though the charging problem is not listed in any of the corrections/additions for the latest firmware release (I think it is 2.8), Garmin will commonly "roll other" fixes in with the firmware updates that address problems like this. It's ironic because I was about to update to 2.8 a few months ago and decided not to because all of the bug fixes that were LISTED were not any problems that I have experienced or features that I care about.

    posted 7 months ago | edited 7 months ago

  • Frank P.
    Frank P. Sendmail
    in reply to what Brad P. said:I just called garmin after my 610 totally died on me today. They were very helpful and nice and gave me an RMA to send it back. I asked if they would repair or replace, and they said the would send me a new one as soon as they get mine back. I ... read more

    Glad to hear Garmin took care of you.

    posted 7 months ago

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