Garmin 620

I bought a Timex to replace a Garmin and now I bought a Garmin to replace the Timex. Actually I bought 2 Garmin - the 620 and the 220. But I have only used the 620 to date whereas the 220 is being used by the sidekick.

Photo from Garmin website

The 620 cost much more than the 220 and after using it for more than 5 months, I felt quite stupid that I bought it instead of saving the extra money for something else. Not that the 620 is a bad watch. In fact it is a wonderful watch with a lot of features which was the problem. I never did use any of the extra features!

Anyway, here are some of the special features of the watch apart from the usual GPS, HRM, Interval, etc

• Touchscreen
• Customised screens
• Wi-fi
• Auto sync
• Foot pod
• Running Dynamics
• VO2 Max Estimator
• Recovery Advisor
• Race Predictor

And a whole host of other features which other than the customised screens I have not used to date. Read more in the Garmin's site

Initially GPS lock on was quite erratic but this seems to have settled down after a few software updates. Locked on is usually under 15 seconds. The touch screen is easy to scroll through. Customisation of the screens is a bit difficult to do in view of the small screen but the readings are easy enough to read through with a maximum of  4 displays per screen though I find that 3 is the optimum.

The strap looks replaceable unlike the previous 110 that I had previously. And it is waterproof which means I can bring it into the shower or even go for a swim in it.

So far I have no issue with it except for the auto pause feature. It will pause by itself even if I was running. I figured it could be because my arm was not swinging enough but it was irritating and consequently the distances were off. So I turned this feature off. 

But it is still early days. Just a few months and since I haven't been running a lot, have not really been making full use of it which is a pity considering that I paid so much for it. So for those who are looking for a super duper GPS running watch, this is highly recommended but if all you need is a watch to measure distances and time, the Garmin 220 or even FR10 will suffice.

For a super comprehensive review and a run down on all the features, go read DCRainmaker's review of the watch.