I've decided that Garmin products are generally crap. (Page 2)

I disagree.

My 310xt screen cracked when it got knocked off the coffee table onto a tile floor. This is poor design - neither lemon or user error. A GPS watch intended for regular use should be able to handle a 1.5 foot drop without issue. The 310xt also freezes up on me if I turn it on after traveling a long distance from the last place it was used. I tried all of the "user error" fixes like resets and wiping memory, and nothing helps. Garmin will replace it... for $99.

My 210 loses satellite reception under overpasses and will NOT pick them up again unless I stop moving. Again - not a lemon or user error. It's a simple watch by Garmin standards, but I still expect it to function under normal daily conditions.

Now, I'm not just knocking Garmin. I had a Timex Global Trainer where it would take FOREVER to pick up satellites. WAY longer than the 310xt.

I've purchased my Garmins used because I honestly can't see dropping $400 on something I know I won't be entirely satisfied with.

I have owned 3 garmin products.

Bought a 405 used.  It worked well for about 1 year, then it wouldn't hold a charge.  Considering I paid $100 for it...not that big a deal.  It worked well for the time I had it, and I used it for about 1000 miles.

Bought an edge 500 in 2010.  Just after a year of use, the quick release flaps broke.  It was a known issue, and garmin sent me a replacement for $60.  It was out of warranty, but I heard other people getting the replacement for free even if out of warranty.  I was a little upset that I had to pay an extra $60 (even though the warranty was up), but that 500 is still going strong after about 25k miles of use.

I also own a 910xt.  No problems with it.  OWS mode was a little wonky at first (swimming to Africa), but like Johnnyo mentioned, once I read some of the garmin support suggestions on doing a master reset, the issues went away.  I don't really look at elevation gain when using the 910 since I only care about elevation while biking (using my 500), but I haven't noticed any problems with the barometric altimeter in the 910.  Maybe I'm just lucky.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another garmin product.  While I do see a lot of Garmin complaints, I also understand that they sell millions of products.  Even if they have a 2% bad rate on their production line, that's going to be tens of thousands of upset customers.  So I do believe there is some truth that the minority of unhappy customers does outweigh the silent satisfied customers.  If it didn't...then nobody would buy garmin products.  The 910xt would end up just like the Timex Global Trainer.

Between my wife, kids, and I, we have been through many Garmin products over the years.  205, 305, 410, 910, etc. and overall I've been very happy.  Only problem I've had is poor current pace consistency but all the rest has been perfect for my needs. 

Edit:  Oh, I forgot, the 405 touch bezel was the worst idea ever.  I could not operate it properly and after much frustration took it back.

Garmin Etrex summit.  Had it for 12 years - works great.  That's when you basically had Garmin or Magellan to chose from.

Garmen forerunner 305.   Beat that to death.  After thousands of hours, the case finally started to crack.  Garmin gave me a refurbished one to replace it for something like 60 bucks.  Not I'm beating that one up without a hiccup...

I think Garmin is great.

I've had some issues here and there. Once it recorded an activity, but when I connected it to my computer it was gone. Last week, it had some of the datapoints with a date in 2024, so strava wouldn't let me upload it, but I edited the file manually and I was able to upload it fine. I also think it turned off on me yesterday in the middle of an activity, but I could be wrong. I might have forgotten to start the timer. I really remember starting it, but maybe I pushed it twice or something.

I don't know how many times I've used it. I have an Edge 500 by the way, so I'm going to say my error rate is < 1% but it is annoying when it errors. Especially since it can cause you to lose data. 

I've never used a Garmin HR strap so I can't compare that. Also, I don't really care about instantaneous speed, so haven't paid close attention to that.

I love when I answer the same thread twice.