The Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS is the most popular of Garmin’s Forerunner range. At around £120 it is an affordable entre into GPS sports watches, with a rich array of features that you don’t get on non-GPS heart rate monitors. Below is the BurnTech.TV Garmin forerunner 110 review
Forerunner 110 quick overview
The Forerunner 110 is targeted at the male running market, boasting sleek grey and red styling; it enables you to quickly and easily track your running performance over time. It has been designed for simplicity, with scarcely any set up required. The 110 works out of the box, un-package it, slip on the HR monitor and you’re good to run. The simplicity theme continues with the devices clear and concise display, which presents the vital stats with no wasted, unnecessary data showcased as default.
As a default, the Forerunner 110 tracks in MPH, giving you data around your current pace and split times as you run. You are also presented with your average pace, distance, time or heart rate, with 1,000 splits or 100 locations stored in the devices memory. If desired, you can easily switch the calculations over the KPH, which many Europeans will find more consistent with their norms.
The 110 utilises Garmin’s ANT+ heart rate tracking technology. What’s smart about ANT+ is that it doesn’t just measure your heart rate; it actually measures your performance temporally in order to tell you if you’re actually getting fitter. Additionally, a calorie counter is included, which gives a reasonably accurate reading.
The Garmin HotFix GPS system is quick and accurate, with precise and speedy satellite lock allowing you to waste no time kicking your workout off.
Forerunner 110 performance
This GPS watch boasts many of the features found on its bigger brother models, the 405 and the 310XT. This means that you are getting features such as the Garmin virtual partner, interval workouts and multisport modes, as you do on the more expensive models. One of the main differences here though, is that the Forerunner 110 presents these features in much less fussy way. Styling wise, the 110 differs from the other models in as much as it actually looks like a sports watch, rather than a mini-computer which straps to your wrist.
It is worth noting that the heart rate belt does not come as standard with this watch, it is an optional extra which will cost you in the region of £35. This is a virtual requirement to get anything close to maximum utility out of the watch, and frankly, it is ridiculous that the belt is sold separately. Features like HR rate zone training, calorie burn and fitness tracking over time require your heart rate data.
The 310XT is probably the closest comparison watch within the Garmin stable to the 110, with the 110 acting like a slightly watered down version of the 310XT. Where the 310XT has a definite edge is in the water, as the 110 cannot track open water swim distances. Triathletes beware.
The Forerunner 110 will run for eight hours on one charge, which is a slightly disappointing result comparative to some of the newer spec models on the market. Bear in mind that incarnations of the Forerunner 110 have been around since 2010, and in the booming fit tech space, that’s a virtual lifetime. However, its age is an advantage to the price sensitive consumer, as you are still getting an awful lot of watch for around £120.
For example, you still benefit from Garmin Connect, which enables automatic data uploading to your computer when your watch gets within Bluetooth distance of your computer. This saves a lot of time over other models, where data input is manual (if you choose to do it, as many don’t bother when the device doesn’t do it automatically). Garmin Connect is a wonderful fitness software suite, which features a logging database and a wider training community. The community feel is notable around Garmin, and a lot of serious athletes use their technology and are willing to share some great titbits of information through this service.
What we love about the Garmin Forerunner 110
- Great value for money – it has lots of features which you would normally pay a lot more for
- Styling – the 110 is visually pleasuring in a sleek grey shell with an easy to read monitor.
What’s not so hot about the Forerunner 110?
- The lack of open water distance counting is a shame, as it virtually rules the 110 out for triathletes
- The 8 hour battery life is not awful, but we have seen better