Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

If you want a device that gives you accurate time of day and date, this is it. If you want something to help with your efforts to train or keep fit, this is only marginally functional. My main interest in a GPS watch is to tell me how far I have run or cycled and give me some basic information about those workouts. In that respect, this has been a waste of money. In the past, I have had a Garmin 210, 610, and 910. I lost the 210. The 610 was the best one I had except the band kept falling off at the hinges and a few times the screen went completely black in the middle of a run. I still have the 610 and it works but I had a 910 which was pretty reliable until it completely died in the middle of a run about two months ago. Could not be revived so I resorted back to my old 610 with super-glued watch band while I researched another device. They all have mixed reviews so I settled on the Forerunner 35. Mistake. Measuring Distance. It is all over the place. I have tested it against my 610, several apps and marked courses like paths that are known to be accurately measured. Some days it is ahead by as much as .10 miles, some days behind, some days right on. Some days, it starts behind and "catches" up (how does that happen), other days the opposite. And no I am not running or biking in tunnels or underpasses where it will lose satellite connections. It just varies a a lot. Pace. I have two wearable device and set two apps and Forerunner 35 always gives me a different MPH during the activity. Even while the two devices are giving me the same elapsed time, the pace is different. Heart Rate. Way off. That does not surprise me since I think it is just about impossible to get an accurate heart rate from a device worn on the outside of my wrist. I get a higher heart rate when I take a pulse when I stop at a traffic light during a run even if it takes me about 20 seconds to start counting. Calories Burned. Way off. My typical week day morning bike ride is between 25 and 26 miles. It tells me I burn about 200 calories. Even apps that isn't measuring heart rate will give me about 700 calories for that distance. Step Count. Completely useless. This morning, I ran 6.1 miles by its measure. That is accurate base on other sources; the Forerunner 35 told me I had taken 0 steps. This happens regularly. Fitbit gives me about 10,000 steps for that distance. When I bike 25 miles, it gives me about 250 steps. Fitbit gives me about 10,000 steps here too. I don't count steps as part of my training but we have frequent step count competitions at work and I participate in those. In fact, my employer gives each interested employee a free fitness tracker. The bottom line is I am looking for a new device in which I can have some confidence. This one isn't it. Sadly, all the Forerunners seem to have the same issues. GARMIN, PLEASE BRING BACK THE 610. Update. August 16, 2018. I have had this watch only six months. Now it takes quite a bit of time to connect to satellites. The worse part is now it has problems with my bike rides. Two days ago, I rode for 25+ miles for about 1 hour 45 minutes and it recorded .58 miles at a pace of 2.3 miles/hour. Today, I rode for 23.2 miles and it recorded 17.53 miles. I use Strava app as well and I know the general distance of the courses I ride so I know this thing is completely malfunctioning. What a waste of money.