Love the Forerunners, but had to ditch the 405 and 410 for a 610 because the touch bezel (the ring around the screen) would absolutely freak out if it got enough sweat or rainwater on it. Kept misinterpreting the water as finger movements.

Just got this from Costco a few weeks back and I was very hesitant after reading so many reviews about the touch bezel but the price was too good not to buy.

Anyway, after using the watch for a couple of weeks I've learned to love it. Yes, the touch bezel can be very finicky at times, however, most of the time I don't need to use it. Once I start my run, I lock the bezel (press start/stop and lap/reset at the same time). The two buttons on the right will continue to work while the bezel is locked. After customizing my screens to show the exact data I want, coupled with the auto lap every 1 mile, I don't need any other buttons than start/stop.

One thing to keep in mind is that the touch bezel is almost useless with gloves on. As temperatures have been reaching below 25 where I am, gloves are necessary. But the problem is easily solved by starting GPS and then putting my gloves on. By the time I have my gloves on, the watch has already locked into all satellites. The initial time you use your watch it will take about a minute or two to locate the satellites but every subsequent time it only takes about 5-10 seconds.

Before I pulled the trigger on the FR410 I was heavily leaning towards the FR210 because of all of the criticism with the touch bezel. I feel that it's mostly negated with the ability to lock/unlock the bezel. The FR410 has so many features like virtual pacer, the ability to communicate with the foot pod and heart rate monitor (210 can do this as well), as well as communicate with the cadence sensor. So if you plan on using the watch with a bike there's a bit more functionality if you have or plan to buy the optional cadence sensor.

Been using the 410 about 3-4x a week since xmas, usually about 3mi. This thing is amazing, it really is. If you have trouble with the touch bezel you can always lock it using the two actual buttons.

I set what i want to see when i run and have it auto scroll. You get up to three pieces of information on up to four screens (if you use the HR monitor screen too). Mostly I just want to know my total time, pace and distance run. The virtual training partner is really helpful if you're like me and tend to overextend on your pacing. It gives you a little guy to run against and tells you how far ahead or behind you are. I'm shooting for a 9:50/mi pace, so that's what I set it at. For a while i had it show me heart rate but i turned that screen off although I still record it on the garmin connect website.

As for the extra parts, most notably the Garmin Connect website; it tracks pretty much everything. Time, distance, pace (average and instantaneous), HR, elevation and a whole mess of other things I haven't had time to delve in to. You can also use it to program exceedingly complex workouts and have them sent to the watch. You can do fairly simple ones on the watch itself too, but it's a bit of a PITA. Everything is transmitted via the ANT+ stick that plugs in to your USB port. Once you're within 30' it just does it automatically, no cables, no muss, no fuss.

The 610 is no doubt a better watch, but it also runs about $400. This selling for $130 is considerably cheaper than the lower models are selling for and is totally worth it if you ask me.

I was looking around and the cheapest place to get this refurbished is at Walmart.com, for 149.99 with free store pickup. I think this is a good deal, but if you want to wait you wouldn't pay that much more I guess.

Minimally water resistant...so I'll pass.

Accidental immersion in 1m of water for 30 minutes.

http://www8.garmin.com/footnotes/IEC_60529_IPX7.html

Here's the link to the Owner's Manual.

http://static.garmincdn.com/pumac/Forerunner410_OM_EN.pdf

I've had an FR60 for over a year (the spiffy blue one with the Premium Heart Rate strap and foot pod). However, if this is your first heart rate capable watch, I would recommend checking out the DC RainMaker site.

He posts a lot of tips on using the Garmin watches, and how to deal with heart rate sensor issues which you may run into after a while (erratic, drop outs, spikes, and so on).

You may also want to pick up some electrode gel (under $5 including shipping for the Spectra 360 gel on Amazon).

I bought one of these the last time they were up. I would not buy it again due to the finicky bezel inputs. Also my Android phone has free apps that will track my hikes and give me all the data that I need.

I got one of these for Christmas and have been using it five days a week since then. It has worked pretty much without a hitch -- I sweat a lot and haven't had any trouble with the touch bezel -- and the satellite lock is a big improvement over my Forerunner 305, which used to take a few minutes to lock on no matter what the conditions. This does it in seconds. Living in a cold Northern climate, though, I preferred the 305's discrete buttons.

Another thing to note if you're a previous 305 (or similar) user, is that this watch, while it offers many features, doesn't have nearly the ability to customize workouts, courses, etc. on-watch. You need to do anything complicated (beyond a simple time or distance workout) on your computer, and then upload to the watch. The 305 allowed significant programming without a computer, which I liked. In the future, this may mean having an Internet connection to log in to Garmin Connect, as Garmin has officially discontinued support and updates of their stand-alone Garmin Training Center software: https://forums.garmin.com/showthread.php?30950-Garmin-Training-Center-is-no-longer-maintained-or-supported-by-Garmin

I had one of these. Seriously awesome watch, easy to work while running. The software is a little plain compared to the Nike+ GPS watch, but its super accurate and can give you heart rate info as well if you get that product.

Was very happy with mine...until my dog ate it.

In for one. We bought a Timex Marathon GPS the day before the Chicago Marathon and it never worked well. It did not seem to report an accurate pace. Plus it did not do HR plus it did not upload data. It couldn't even calculate average pace (as noted in DC RainMaker's review) The real kicker is that it would reset during runs and wipe all data for that run. I sent it back to Timex for repair and 5 weeks later it came back. 2.99 miles into my first run it reset. > In the mean time we bought SWMBO a 410. The touch bezel is awkward but otherwise it works fine.

I can track all stats on my Android phone but wanted something on my wrist that I could use to monitor pace.

sithanas wrote:Love the Forerunners, but had to ditch the 405 and 410 for a 610 because the touch bezel (the ring around the screen) would absolutely freak out if it got enough sweat or rainwater on it. Kept misinterpreting the water as finger movements.

I've heard this. But a simple fix is to "lock" the bezel when it's raining. Beats going out and buying a new watch.

I have a 305 which is still working great after more than two years of constant use. I read about the quirks of the touch bezel over at DC Rainmaker in his outstanding review of this watch. Still, I just got one (thanks Woot) because I wanted something with a smaller "footprint" on my wrist. I would have gotten a 610, but this price with the heart rate strap is excellent, and I've heard too many horror stories about the 610's battery discharge problem to convince me to spend the extra $200 for one.

On the fence about buying it a couple weeks back here on Woot until I saw a new Forerunner 10 was around the same price. Bought it and run with it about every day. Agree with all the positive posts above. The touch bezel can be frustrating but you learn to live with it. Haven't used heart rate monitor. I have found that using my UnderArmour ColdGear tech gloves (for touch-screens) seems to work fairly well with the bezel. Numerous notches on band makes it secure yet comfortable to wear. Seems to hold up with rain and sweat. Fairly happy with getting it.

A little dated but a thorough review:

http://www.runtheline.com/1188/garmin-forerunner-410-review#

Anyone know if this gives current pace or just average pace? I know some of the Garmin watches only do average (some of the lower end ones).

Found it, it does current and average.

I'm excited about this because it can switch between a running mode and a biking mode (where pace is given in MPH). My primary workout is biking, but I get a run in every now and then. I'll point out it can also hook up to speed/cadence attachments for bikes, as well as "foot-pod" devices for running on a treadmill.

I have this..

I also had a 305 that didn't survive a kayak spill.

So, the 410 is great if you are looking for a waterproof replacement for the 305. I am not very actively on my watch while I'm running or kayaking, just start it, occasionally look down at how I'm doing, and review the event when I'm done. If you need to be more actively on the watch, I would get something with a better user interface, but this is perfect for those that just like to review after.

I've used the watch while running, hiking, kayaking, mountain biking and snowboarding.

CRAP. You run out first thing in the morning and replace it with a stupid baseball bat? :-(

ztrawhcs wrote:CRAP. You run out first thing in the morning and replace it with a stupid baseball bat? :-(

Yeah, I was debating all morning about buying one. Finally decided to buy and it was too late.