I'm looking to purchase a GPS come HR monitor to improve my training performance. I know a number of club members use these devices and would like some information as to what people think are the best options. The Garmin 310XT looks like it is suitable as it is waterproof and seems to have all the options I might require. Anyone using this or the 305 or 201 might be able to give me some feedback. Thanks JP

I have been using a Forerunner 305 (you probably should specify if you mean Forerunner or Edge 305) for 2 years now and it works well. It ban handle being submersed if you fall in. Though the new Forerunner 310XT does look like a better choice if I was buying one now.

The biggest drawback for the Forerunner models would be the smaller screen size. If you are not running or some similar activity where you need to have it mounted on your wrist they have the limit of 4 fields displayed at once. Which is enough for me but does limit the amount of data you can see at once while in use.

I know the Edge models are in theory cycling specific, however I think a few people use them for paddling and they do have larger screens.

Like Steve I have been using a Forerunner 305 for paddling (and running, cycling, rogaining, orienteering, etc) for a couple of years.

A couple of points:
* they don't float. Paddling in a Mirage I fasten it around the bungy cords across the deck in front of the cockpit where I can see it. In other boats I either strap it on my wrist if I occasionally want to glance at it or just to log the session I carry it inside a lightweight plastic jar (Village brand spice jar). I've seen reference to people buying or making a foam block with a bungy cord attached to go around the cockpit of kayaks. Definitely the way to go if you want to be able to see the readout at any time.

* display options - the 305 can do up to 4 fields (display is divided into 4 quarters with vertical and horizontal split), but in that mode for example the "Total time" field is too wide if you are doing a session over 1 hour - once it rolls over 59:59 it starts displaying 1:00 (no seconds). You could get around that by displaying lap time and setting up auto-lap for 60 minutes (why didn't I think of that before...). It depends how may fields you want to see. Time, speed and HR are pretty essential, and distance is very handy too. In 3 field mode the top half of the screen is full width, so time can go up to 10 hours (by which time the 305's battery would be flat). There is also "Auto-scroll" which will display each of 3 display screen setup options in turn for a few seconds each - i.e. there are 3 separately configurable displays which you can manually switch between at any time with a button press, or you can set it to auto-change every few seconds. It would be nice if you could display time as minutes:seconds up to 199:59 which would easily fit into the half width field but it doesn't do that

* there is a display backlight which is handy for early morning or evening paddle sessions when it's dark.

* the 310XT looks like the business being waterproof and 20 hours battery life - clearly targeted at the ironman triathlon crowd but good for paddling too. Definitely more streamlined and robust than the 305.

* the Edge models come with a mounting bracket to attach to bike handlebars. You'd have to rig up something similar to use on a boat. Display resolution is not much greater - 128x160 vs 160x100 for Forerunner. Much bigger - Edge 305 is 4.4 x 9.4 x 2.3 cm vs 5.4 x 5.6 x 1.9 cm for Forerunner 310XT, and no wrist mounting option. Very much tailored to bike use.