Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS Watch (Black/Red)

• Display size, WxH:Black/Red: 0.98" x 0.94" Display resolution, WxH:55 x 32 pixels
• Water resistant:yes (50m)GPS-enabled:yesHigh-sensitivity receiver:yesHistory:7 activities
• Garmin Connect compatible:yesAuto Pause:yesAuto Lap:yesCustomizable screen(s):yesShock Resistant:yesSport watch:yes
• Additional:Virtual Pacer (compares current running pace to target): yes Personal Records: yes Run/walk feature: yes
• Battery:rechargeable lithium-ionBattery life:5 weeks in power save mode; 5 hours in training mode
• High sensitivity GPS receiver
• Records position, speed/pace, distance and calories
• Easy-to-use, button operated
• Virtual Pacer compares current pace to target
• Auto Lap and pause

Before this watch came on to the market, I had looked at other GPS watches from time to time, but they generally seemed too big/bulky and expensive. This is the first moderately priced GPS watch with the features I was looking for. I have been using it for 1 week and am happy to say that it operates as advertised. It is lightweight, not too bulky, and starts/stops with the push of one button. The main face is preset to display run time and total distance, but you can toggle to a second screen to see your pace. The watch notifies you as you complete each mile, and displays your average pace for the mile as well as your average pace at the end of your run. You can also set the watch for run/walk intervals, or use the "virtual pacer" to notify you if you are running slower or faster than your desired pace.

Battery life may be a big issue if you want to use the watch outside of running, but I have just used it during runs, and recharged while connecting to Garmin's website to download my run stats, so it hasn't been an issue for me. If you are looking for a basic GPS watch that tracks how far and how fast, this is a great choice! Note that it will not monitor your heart rate, so if that feature is important to you, you should like at a higher end version.

Buy Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS Watch (Black/Red) Now

What I want from a running watch is pretty simple. I want a watch that shows me my time, distance, and pace, in reasonably big font that I can read while running. I want decent battery life, so I don't have to charge every single run. I want a watch that doesn't make me wait for 5 minutes while it looks for satellites. And I want a watch that looks and feels like a watch rather than a small computer strapped to my arm.

For years, I've run with the Forerunner 305. It is a product I love to hate. It works well, and in a way it's been indispensable to me as a runner, but it is also a little bit deficient in nearly every respect mentioned above.

I've considered buying a new Garmin, such as the 410, but always decided not to after reading reviews. So when I heard about the 10, I was thrilled. Finally, Garmin had figured it out.

I've had it now for a couple weeks. The watch is a big improvement, but it also remains deficient in some critical respects. In fact, sadly, I am not sure I will keep it.

It is small. It looks and feels infinitely better than the 305. The display is easy to read. Big font means I can see and read it at a quick glance. The buttons are easy to find. The interface is simple and intuitive, making it easy to scroll around and program the watch. The battery life seems very good so far. Finally, it seems to pick up the satellites much quicker than the 305 does. In short, there are many things to love.

And yet...

1. The display is not fully customizable. There are only four things that it can display (1) pace, (2) distance, (3) time, (4) calories. You can display two and only two of those at any time, in pairs.

2. While running, I generally want to know three things -pace, distance, and time. On the 305, I can customize to view all three at once. On the 10, I can't. I understand the trade-off: if the watch displayed three things, then the font would be smaller, and so you couldn't see stuff at a glance. So I get why they made this choice. But it is nonetheless a drawback.

3. I could live with 1 and 2. But then there is the killer -it will not display lap pace. Instead, it will only show current pace.

Over the years, with my 305, I've come to rely on lap pace for the simple reason that it is much, much more accurate. "Current pace" jumps around a lot, even if you are running at a completely even pace. The reason, I suppose, is the watch only communicates with the satellite every few seconds, so then it makes a sort of quick estimation about your spot pace. Lap pace, by contrast, has a bunch more data points, everything in the last mile (if you have it set to auto-lap at one mile). So it is far, far more accurate.

Let's say you're running a 7:35 pace. Your lap pace will say 7:35. Your current pace, however, will jump around -7:20, then 7:40, then 7:30, etc.

I'm sorry, but if you are even a remotely serious runner, this matters a great deal. If you are running a race, you probably have a goal in mind. You therefore probably have a specific pace you need to run. Like you want to run a 1:50 half marathon, so you know you need to stay with a 8:23 pace. The Garmin Forerunner 10 will not help you very much -because you can't tell whether you are actually running an 8:23 as opposed to an 8:15 or an 8:30. Because all you get is the rough approximation of "current pace."

Now, if you have it set to auto-lap, then it will display your lap pace as a "lap banner" at the completion of each lap. So you have it set to auto-lap each mile, then at the end of each mile, it will show you your exact time. That's good, and to some extent, it helps to make up for the lack of constant lap pace display.

But in a way, that almost makes the whole thing more maddening. I know that my watch is calculating lap pace -it is in there somewhere. But I can't see it until the end of my mile. Why? WHY???

I understand that they made a choice to cut down on features to make a simpler watch. But this watch still has a few more elaborate features like "virtual pacer" (which I will never use). If they can have that, why can't they at least give you an option of viewing lap pace?

I am running a half marathon next weekend. I would like to wear my new pretty Forerunner 10, but I will probably end up wearing my old clunky 305, just so I can know what my actual pace is. And honestly, that is hugely depressing.

Read Best Reviews of Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS Watch (Black/Red) Here

As soon as I heard that the forerunner 10 would be hitting the market I did a ton of research on the thing to figure out if it was right for me or not. This is my first GPS watch so I wanted to familiarize myself with all the features and consider if indeed this was the one for me. In the past I was aware that Garmin watches are great but I must say, they are not very attractive (for most women's smaller wrists). This compared with their price point kept me away but the F10 is very affordable and cute in either pink/green. Note the black version is a bit larger than the pink or green. I got the watch about a week ago and so far I love it. The instruction manual it came with is barely needed (and lacks a lot of info anyways). It was super easy for me to figure out and lightweight on the run. I love how it has the run/walk feature, virtual pacer and is water proof as well. All I really wanted/needed was a watch that will tell me exactly how far I went, how fast, avg speed so any additional info for me was an xtra. It holds up to your last 5 runs showing you avg speed for each, total time, calories burned, date and distance. It has a break down for laps (each is 1 mile and no you can't change the lap distance) it will show your pace per lap as well. Syncing with Garmin connect was very simple and Wow, tons of information on there as well. For me, this will greatly enhance my runs whether I am training for an event or just going out running for fun. I enjoy being able to look back and compare my achievements over time. You can even set weekly or monthly goals on the garmin connect site. Before this watch I was using runkeeper to track my runs but it was not very precise at all. That combined with having to lug my phone on my arm was a drag. It's nice to look down on your wrist and see the info right there. I love this watch and highly recommend it for anyone who doesn't need all the bells and whistles of the more expensive and detailed Garmin GPS watches. Pros: Reliable, Easy to use, Waterproof, Lightweight, Nice size display w/light, Easy to sync w/Garmin connect Cons: 5 hour battery time (after 5 hrs you have to charge it via USB cable to your computer). Personally this doesn't bother me as I usually run for about an hour 5x a week. If you plan on going for runs longer than 5 hrs at a time, this is NOT the watch for you. If the watch is not in GPS mode it is said to last about 2 weeks.

*Update on 2/11/13* Due to a recent injury I've been unable to run but I still love my Garmin. I'm happy to report 4+ weeks without charging and it's still ON like a watch (not using GPS feature) a bonus!!

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I'm a long-time Garmin Forerunner user. My first was the 305 and I now use the 310XT as I do ultra-distance marathons and Ironman distance triathlons. I got the Forerunner 10 for my wife, which is about perfect for her. She's under 5 foot with small wrists so the size of the Forerunner 10 is perfect. The simplicity is also very welcome. Nothing fancy, just start, stop, just as she wants. The lime green color is also a huge bonus for her.

I used her Forerunner 10 a couple times and she's had it for a couple weeks now. Now for the problems, which there are only two.

First, the missing lap pace and average pace display. While the current pace is fairly accurate, but it doesn't replace the need to know your AVERAGE pace over the entire run and your average pace for the current lap. This is really vital information for any runner doing say a half marathon that's looking to finish at a certain time. I figured the virtual pacer would solve this problem. But, it still only shows your current pace vs. what you set for your virtual pace. It should show you how far ahead or behind you are compared to your virtual pacer. Basically, the virtual pacer is useless, as it just shows your current pace, just as the pace field does. The only time you can actually get an average pace is at the end of a mile (lap) where it displays the average for that mile. This dove-tales into the second problem...

Secondly, the beeper is VERY quiet. My wife cannot hear it at all while running unless she puts the watch against her ear. This is important because to know your average pace for the last mile, you need to catch it right at the time the mile (lap) ends. It only displays the lap time for a few seconds. If you can't hear it beep, you can't really get your mile pace. My hope is that she'll become accustomed to the beep frequency and be able to hear it. But, it's still really quiet and at a high frequency which is much more difficult to hear than my 305 or 310XT.

My hope is that Garmin will realize they missed a few things and a firmware update will address it. As it is now, I can't recommend this to anyone looking to run in any type of race where you're trying to hit a goal time. Or even training where you're trying to run at a specific average page, as you have basically no clue as to what your average pace is. And even with the Virtual Pacer, you have no idea if you need to slow down or speed up to hit your goal. All you know is your CURRENT pace, which is about worthless when trying to hit a goal time or pace. I'll change my review and rating if Garmin fixes things with firmware update.

** 11/27/12 UPDATE **

Still no firmware update from Garmin to fix the problems with this. Wife is okay with the limitations, but hopeful that Garmin will fix things. I've received many firmware updates to my other Garmin GPS watches, so I'm hopeful the problems will be addressed in fairly short order. Garmin, if you're reading this, here's what your new firmware should fix:

1) Beep for lap needs to be more like the beep for the Virtual Pacer. The lap beep is just too quiet to hear while running. The Virtual Pacer beep is obnoxiously loud, so I know it's possible.

2) Virtual Pacer is worthless. It doesn't show if you're ahead or behind your pace plan, just if you're CURRENTLY running faster or slower. This is the same information you get if looking at your current pace. The Virtual Pacer needs to show your current AVERAGE page from the start, and if you're behind or ahead of this AVERAGE pace. This is the way the Virtual Pacer function works for every other Garmin watch.

3) You can set to display pace on the display panels, but both of the pace options are instant pace. There's no lap pace or average pace option. You really have no idea what your average pace is till you're done with your run. Works fine for training, but try hitting a goal time in a half or full marathon if you have no idea what your average pace is till the race is over. Just a few quick water stops and you're never going to know what pace you should be running at. This dovetails with the Virtual Pacer, as that also doesn't show what you should be doing to hit your goal finishing time.

I'm a long time Garmin owner, owned the 205, 305, 310XT, and now the 10 (my wife's first Garmin). I'm an ultra marathoner (up to 50 miles) and Ironman, who does around 8 marathons or longer a year. I always wear my Garmin and have for several years. My point is that I know what I'm talking about. I've always been very happy with all my Garmin watches. This is the first time where it appears that whoever designed the watch software wasn't a runner. They added all the features requested, but not correctly. Feel free to contact me if you need any clarification.

I am writing this review under my husband's login. I have a 6" wrist circumference (really). This is my first GPS watch and I wanted a watch that didn't swallow me up. I read the reviews that indicated that this watch does not have average pace, and though I very strongly desired that feature, in the end, the features that the Forerunner 10 does have plus the price point and size won me over. I have had this watch for a few weeks and have used it for interval training with the run/walk feature, "regular runs," and timing a 5K. It is helpful to have an idea of how fast I am running in the moment, which is better than nothing. Turning auto lap on provides an average pace for the mile, which is a step in the right direction. The mile pace does display long enough for me to read it as I run. I can hear the timers over my run music, though I keep my run music at a moderate volume and wear only one earbud for safety. The watch has grabbed a GPS signal within 4 minutes on the cloudiest day, as quickly as 5-10 seconds under clear skies. The Garmin website is easy to use and provides solid information, including map of route; mile splits; elevation; average pace; best pace; calories; and personal records for 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, and longest run. Goals are easily created for time, distance, calories, and run frequency. The calendar allows for manual entry, which is great for documenting cross training, strength training, and other non-run workouts. Bottom line tons of features packed into a small and affordable package and a website that offers good functionality and useful tools. I do not regret the purchase for an instant and am very glad that I chose a Garmin product BUT if Garmin comes out with another small watch with average pace, I will not hesitate to replace the Forerunner 10.