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The {{Garmin 620}} is wonderful running watch. It's much smaller than many comparable watches, but it packs in more features while retaining great usability. It's my top pick for most runners, though if you're on a tight budget, there are other contender's such as the [[Garmin 310XT]] or the [[Suunto Ambit2]] that offer better value for money. For a simple evaluation of a GPS watch, I look at how well it can answer some basic questions:
* '''How far did I run?''' This is the most basic question, and the 620 has somewhat reasonable, but not great GPS accuracy, so its estimate of how far you've run needs to be treated with a little caution.
* '''How fast am I running? ''' Knowing how fast you're running can be a nice to know, or it can be vital for your training or race performance. Because of the nature of GPS, watches that rely on GPS signal alone tend to have serious problems with current pace. Without the ability to display current [[Pace From A Footpod]] while getting all other data from GPS, the 620 can't answer this question. The mediocre GPS accuracy exacerbates this issue, and I've seen the pace estimate wildly wrong on the 620. The 620 would be my top pick for marathon runners, but I firmly believe that this is a killer feature, as accurate pacing is essential for a good marathon performance.* '''Where am I? '''The 620 has no navigation features. If you're lost, the 620 won't be much help. * '''What's my cadence? '''[[Cadence]] ''' '''is one of the most critical and often overlooked aspects of running. If you get your Cadence right, many other things naturally fall into place. Not only does the 620 get [[Cadence]] from a [[Footpod]], it will also get it from the Garmin Run Heart Rate monitor. There is also support for Cadence from the internal accelerometer, though I find that's not as accurate. The Cadence alerts are especially useful for keeping you on track.
The 620 is not a good choice for ultrarunners, as its battery life is too short. See [[Shoes#Watches for Ultrarunning| Watches for Ultrarunning]] for more details.
[[File:Garmin620.jpg|thumb|none|200px|The {{Garmin 620}}, showing the display of Cadence, Vertical Oscillation and Ground Contact Time. Note that the display is color, but I found the colors muted and not always easy to distinguish. ]]
=What's Missing=
While I don't consider these missing features as 'cons', it's worth understanding the features that are missing compared with other watches.
* '''Altimeter. '''GPS is far less accurate vertically than horizontally, so a barometric altimeter can provide a much better idea of your ascent and descent. It can also be useful for navigation if you're ascending or descending a mountain. In some races I've been far more interested in how much ascent is left rather than the distance to the top.* '''Navigation. ''' The navigation capabilities are useful if there is a risk of getting lost. I've made good use of this feature when running in an unfamiliar city, or when running remote trails.* '''Downloadable Apps'''. Smart watches have got is used to the idea of a device that can be extended with new functionality, and this concept is being introduced to running watches.* '''Extended battery life'''. Some porches can extend the battery life by turning the GPS reception off for short periods. This can dramatically reduce GPS accuracy, but it's a useful trade-off for some ultramarathons.* '''Graphs'''. Instead of simply displaying a numeric value for things like heart rate, some watches will display a graph of the value over time, giving you a sense of how things are progressing.* '''Web Configuration'''. Some watches allow you to setup the configuration via a web site, and then download your changes. This is vastly easier than fiddling with the watch.
{{BuyAmazon|AZID=B00FBYYC90|AZN=Garmin 620}}
=Visual Comparison=
|[[File:Garmin 620-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 620 top]]
|[[File:Garmin 620-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 620 side]]
|[[File:Suunto Ambit2-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit2 top]]
|[[File:Suunto Ambit2-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit2 side]]
|[[File:Suunto Ambit3-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit3 top]]
|[[File:Suunto Ambit3-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Suunto Ambit3 side]]
|[[File:Polar V800-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar V800 top]]
|[[File:Polar V800-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Polar V800 side]]
|[[File:TomTom Cardio Runner-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|TomTom Cardio Runner top]]
|[[File:TomTom Cardio Runner-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|TomTom Cardio Runner side]]
|[[File:Garmin Epix-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin Epix top]]
|[[File:Garmin Epix-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin Epix side]]
|[[File:Garmin 920XT-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 920XT top]]
|[[File:Garmin 920XT-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Garmin 920XT side]]
|[[File:Leikr 1-top.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Leikr 1 top]]
|[[File:Leikr 1-side.JPG|none|thumb|150px|Leikr 1 side]]