Discussion: GPS watch with good battery life?

Looking for a recommendations on GPS watch to use in trail running/ultrarunning/orienteering/rogaining.
Currently use Garmin 610 but battery life is less than 6 hours, not enough. Also, have small wrists and end up with blisters after 2+ hours of any 'sweating' activity, even after replacing a rubber band with ribbon-type one.

I haven't tested it to failure, yet, but the 910XT claims to have 22h of battery life. I regularly leave it on all day while coaching at a race and get no low battery warnings.

I have small wrists, and the 910 fits much better than the 305, which used to give me blisters.

the 310xt goes 14-16 hours. don't know if it's still available. the 910 is the follow-on model.

The 310 is bulky. Don't know how it compares size-wise to the 910.

I have the chance to test Suunto Ambit and 910xt. both are quiet heavy.
The ambit give me blisters after intervals run. The 910xt fit my wrist a bit better but it is difficult to read the screen as the display orientation is on angle (better satellite view..), I need to deeply rotate the wrist each time I want to read the time, not easy during intervals or in mountain downhill.
I did not find yet a good gps watch, then I train just with a simple 40 euro stop watch with memory. waiting for a good light gps watch.
As advice you should try to test the gps watch before to buy, they are some good sport shop where you can try them.

Advice that you probably don't need - some folks find that the specifications for devices are best viewed as advertisement rather than factual. The 10 hr. spec of my watch (not named purposefully) turns out to be just over 3 hours in actual use. I hear similar things from other GPS watch users. If you develop a limited set of choices that look reasonable, I would suggest that you put out another thread asking for specific individuals who own those make/models.

The 305 does last 14 - 16 hours. Down to 10 - 12 hours with 3 ish year old battery.

I know the 305 records about 3 hrs 15 minutes on 1 point per second mode. How log will it record in "smart" mode? I'm guessing 3 or 4 times longer, so 10-13 hours maybe?

There are various GPS dataloggers out there without displays, or wrist mount, but which work well if worn fastened to the inside of a hat. My Holux m1000-c got just barely over 24 hours of life with its original 850mAh battery, but seems to get more like 30 hours with an 1100 mAh extended life battery for a Nokia cellphone that had the same dimensions. This is nice for conditions such as a rogaine where a display is not allowed anyway, but doesn't give the immediate feedback that you might be wanting for training purposes--have to wait until you get back to the computer!

Smart mode have more than 24 hours capacity for sure. I have not run into the watch overwriting data while in smart mode. even when not downloading my workouts for weeks. Had multiple 305s since 2008 - 2009.

I've been using the Suunto Ambit2 S here at the Arizona training camp these past few days and I've had absolutely no problem with the battery life. We were training for at least 4-6 hours every day and it never got below 50%. I love this watch its incraedible

The new Forerunner 220 and 620 are significantly lighter in weight than the 610, 310, 910, and 305. However, the battery life is probably similar to the 610.

Another Garmin option might be the Fenix, which is meant for longer uses (some settings allow up to 50 hours). It's not a running watch, so it doesn't have all of the fancy features like interval training and such.

Seems to me there is an obvious trade-off between weight on the wrist and battery charge life. For orienteering length races I find in the 620 a watch that I am actually happy with (after less than satisfactory experience with three previous models). I have not dropped below 73 per cent charge yet, with runs of up to 100 minutes. It is light enough to wear as my everyday watch. It outperforms the 610 in both criteria.

I've tested the 910 to failure a couple of times, and it comes out at 19-20 hours on smart mode. I find it to be quite a nice size (coming from a 305) and don't notice the weight at all, but I'm a rather big bugger anyway so all watches look small on me. :)

The 10 hr. spec of my watch (not named purposefully) turns out to be just over 3 hours in actual use.

If you're going to make sweeping statements like that then you probably should name the watch, because that's not been my experience with any Garmins.

If I were forced to buy right now I'd get a Garmin 620 or 910 XT; both are mentioned above.

Checking out detailed reviews at www.dcrainmaker.com is usually helpful for me.

Since a replacement announcement for the Garmin 910 XT is due any time now, I'm planning on waiting until that is unveiled before buying anything new. And note that I'm biased towards Garmin; have also owned Suunto and Polar offerings in the past but have been happiest with Garmin.

My $0.02.

I replaced my old 405cx with a 620 when it came out last fall, it is the only watch I use, I have it in 1sec logging mode and have never had any problems with low battery even in my longer xc training days.

Re. brand happyness: I had several Polar watches before I got the 405, GPS performance was far better in the forest than what the external GPS pods delivered to Polar.

OTOH I am probably predisposed to Garmin, their service have been outstanding since the very first time I bought a gps from them. They replaced the 405 free of charge twice, first because one of the watch band post sockets broke when I hit a branch the very first time I ran with it, the second time after a year or two when the battery developed recharging problems.

I use Polar RCX5 and love it. I really enjoy the concept of having GPS sensor as separate unit which charge last for about 22 hours straight ( I add juice to it on a go if needed for a longer time frame). The battery in the watch itself lasts for half of the year at least. Also I use it as regular watch for every day.
Before it I had Garmin 410 and after a couple of years I was too tired of constant worrying about charging, charge last etc, etc.

I love my new 220. It is nearly a perfect watch for me (although if it had 30 hours of battery life it would be even more perfect! :)), integrating ALL of my thoughts about "what I would do with my 305" if I could. It's insanely light (1.4 oz (40.7 g)), and is a great watch for skinny wrists: the strap has holes from end-to-end, and again the lightness really makes a huge difference (coming from the 305).

Garmin claims 10 hours of battery time in GPS mode, which should be enough for shorter ultra/rogaines. I haven't run it to exhaustion yet, so decided to start that test right now, with HR and GPS on. Go. See you tomorrow with an update on real-world battery life. :)

If I'm going longer than 8 hours, I'll bring my Holux M1000-C data logger instead of (or in addition to) the FR220.

My FR 305, at 1-second intervals, lasted about 3 hours before pooping out (it was several years old though), and lasted 6 or so hours in smart recording mode.

FR220 vs FR620 (620 is ~$150 more): I most likely wouldn't use any of the 620's additional features (from http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/11/garmin-forerunn...):

* wifi data transfer (USB > AP FTW! :))
* 'virtual partner' (ick)
* running dynamics (vertical oscillation, ground contact time, etc...) (interesting but TMI for me)
* vo2max estimation (again TMI)
* race predictor (hah, good luck)
* recovery advisor (I already spend too much time recovering ;))

620 features I would use if the 220 had them:
* 1-second intervals

Good luck in your search!

I've had two forerunner 305s and now on the second garmin 310xt. The latter due to they have stopped selling the former. I have done 7 hours with the 305, and 310xt claim to have double the battery life. I think its fairly accurate.

I will say though, if you are going to get Garmin, I wouldn't get the 910xt. The difference really isnt that big. I have run with it a couple of times, and although its a sweet watch, it really isnt worth the extra 200 bucks. If i had the choice i would still buy the 305. + Its still primitive technology, and they break all the time. Untill Samsung or Apple comes and out-innovates them, it will stay like that for some time.

I think the reason the 910XT is so popular is because of multisport athletes (triathletes mainly) who are interested in the swimming metrics and multisport modes. If you don't need that stuff, then the extra cost may not be worth it to you. Though I expect the price to drop shortly, because...

Coincidentally, just today www.dcrainmaker.com has posted an initial look at the upcoming Garmin Fenix2 watch. It'll be interesting for a lot of people (especially triathletes, probably myself included), mainly for the swim metrics, multisport mode, and power meter compatibility. But for many, those features may not be all that compelling. Plus, it's not exactly a tiny watch - so to the OP who mentioned small wrists, this may not be your cup of tea.

Anyway, thought I'd point it out. Worth a read if you're geeky and into GPS watches.

As promised, FR 220 'real time' with HR and GPS active: 10:28:38, so pretty close to their 10hr claim. I just started a 'GPS only' session after removing the HR device ... I'll report back time in that mode. I'll also do a HR + GPS + Bluetooth connection to my iPhone (for live tracking!). I'm hoping that's > 5 hours for my ultra reporting-to-friends-and-family plan.

Now you make me looking for a GPS ....
what about i-gotu 900pro, looks old and not really nice but seems to be 24h battery life GPS on, as it is charged via a standard micro usb 2.0, we can imagine to add an external light travel battery to extend it for another day. It includes compass, atmospheric altimeter. As it is a cheap watch, I would like to know how it works in deep forest... or in mountain path, did not found a way to test the watch ...

I've just found a comparison link:
http://www.studioblueplanet.net/~jorgen/u-gotme/ac...

FR220 no HR strap: 10:55:57.

Hugh, are you just turning the unit on and leaving got in the same place for a long time? If so, I wonder if the smart recording is taking GPS readings really infrequently because of lack of movement. I wonder if it would last the same amount of time during a rogaine or long hike, etc.

I was wearing it the whole time ... That said, I wasn't walking/driving/train riding the whole time, probably only 1.5 hrs. Take a look at the track:

http://www.attackpoint.org/sessiondata.jsp?session...

Dunno if more activity would translate to more 'work' for the battery, but it looks like Garmin is fairly to advertised spec on the 220.

I am fan of separate gps sensor concept too. It allows to have longer running times, external sensor can accommodate better GPS antenna because of less size constraints, you have freedom how to carry your GPS sensor for best results (armband, headstrap, backpack). And finally you can leave GPS sensor at home if you don't want to log yet another daily run around the same block/track with known length without carrying extra bulk.
Polar and Suunto both have such products.

Thank you everyone for their suggestions.
After reading all of them I decided to give Forerunner 220 a try.
Used it the first time during 6-hour Rogain on Sunday and could not be happier. Although the screen is large, it weights so little compare to 610 I kept forgetting I had it on! No blisters so far, no irritaion. Also, love that it's not touch screen, so the display does not change on you accidentaly if you are rolling up/down your sleeve etc.
Was able to use it for 10+ hours without problems as well.
Wanted to mention to eveyone that as I was reading 220 review on dcrainmaker site there was a link to buy it from Clever Training site with the 10% off coupon code. So I was able to save $25 compare to Amazon, and the shipping was free as well. I think 10% discount will be applies to all other items from dcrainmaker review.

Coming back to this as my FR405 seems to be coming to the end of it's life (on top of strap woes it now seems pretty unhappy when it rains). I think the Garmin options are:
FR 15
FR 220
FR 610

Had a look at dcrainmaker and not sure, so wondering what the latest orienteer thinking is.

All I pretty much want to do is have a gps trace by k of where I've been, and for the battery last more than 6 hours with gps on (so it lasts a 6 hr rogaine).

I had thought previously that in the cheaper models the trace wasn't so good under tree canopy but not sure that's still the case.

Anyone have any thoughts??

If your rain issues are that it spazzes out when wet, I don't think that has anything to do with age, it's the stupid touch bezel. Mine does that, and the key as far as I'm concerned is to get it into the mode you want before the water hits it, then lock the bezel. (I would not buy another watch with this horrible bezel interface.)

yeah, I think you're right that's what it is - it just beeps at me!

The Suunto Ambit 2 is phenomenal. I can use it for days without charging, and if I'm not using the GPS function it can go literally for weeks.

Garmin also has "non-running" GPS watches, like the Fenix2. You can specify how often you want it to receive GPS info, and it can supposedly record up to 2 days worth at 1-minute intervals.

I say "non-running" because it was developed by Garmin's outdoor division. But it has running functions like interval workouts and stuff. It even has biking, skiing, and other sports in there, too.

Curious... In what context would a 1-minute interval be useful? The track would be very approximate. Self-rescue while hiking in the woods, I suppose.

Do you know (can you tell?) if the Fenix2 is bigger than the 310/910 models?

Shorter interval would of course be more fun, but a 60 s interval would meet my needs for reviewing my 24-30 hour events, which are largely on 1:24k or worse. I'll still be able to see that I went off the wrong spur or incorrectly counted marshes.

In what context would a 1-minute interval be useful?

For us, longer events, rogaines, adventure races. Or if you want to use it for a long hike, backpacking, or kayaking trip.

The Fenix2 claims a 50-hour battery life at 1-minute intervals. In UltraTrak mode, you can specify what GPS interval you want (from 1 second to 99 hours, it defaults to 1 minutes). It also has the usual "1-second" and "smart" options like all of the other Garmins.

Previously, I've had the 405 and 610, and I wouldn't use either for an 8-hour nav race or a long dayhike.

Do you know (can you tell?) if the Fenix2 is bigger than the 310/910 models?

It's bigger than the 610 and 220/620. The form factor is a little different than the triathlon ones. The best bet would be to look at the comparison photos on this page.

My Ambit2 has lasted about 45 hours at a 1-minute GPS recording interval. It lasts about 14 hours with 1-second recording. Those aren't the official ratings; that is just my experience with a not-quite-new Ambit2. The 1-second recording is much more useful but the 1-minute recording interval is better than nothing if you're going to be out there that long.

+1 for Ambit2, it's good.

It doesn't have a display, but my Holux M1000C datalogger will go for just about 30 hours recording data at either 3 or 5 second intervals, which works very nicely for a 24-hour rogaine, and doesn't run into potential issues with legality for having it during a race, since it doesn't have the possibility for aiding your navigation during the race. Works quite nicely if worn in the top of a hat, or taped into the top of a small backpack. It was a little marginal for 24 hours with the original battery, but newer batteries with a compatible shape profile for a Nokia phone have more capacity and make the battery life more comfortable for a 24-hour event.