is the Garmin water proof???

cyclenut64

A while ago I was caught in a down pour and my new Garmin 810 ended up getting water under the lens. I called Garmin and they instructed me to place the device in a bowl of rice, however I informed them that the device was performing strangely since the event. After describing the problems, the customer service person gave me the instruction to send the device in for a replacement. After getting back from my vacation the new replacement device was waiting for me. Overall I was happy with Garmin on the service I received. I did ask about the water proof warranty and why my device failed (concerned that this will happen again). He informed me that the device is indeed water poof to some extent but a heavy rain could cause a moisture issue. I am glad this happened to me while my device was under warranty. If this happened after the warranty expired I would probably be dealing with the problems that developed after the moisture issue.

I would recommend that Garmin users carry a plastic bag with them for the occasion when you get caught I a heavy rain.

TheBigYin

my Garmin 705 had a very strange problem - if it rained the barometric altimeter went bananas. I could be riding (well grunting) up a 10% upgrade and it'd be showing that I was going on something like a 4% DOWNHILL. Strangely enough, in the dry it was fine, but within a hour or so of rain/spray on it, the mis-readings would reoccur. The 800's been good however - I DO make sure that the USB covers are firmly in place and wrap a little clingfilm around the unit before putting it in the rubber outer-jacket if i'm setting out in the rain, or if it's forecast to rain heavily during my ride. I also generally have a suitable sized ziplock bag in my saddlepouch to drop the garmin and mobile in, should I be caught out in the - all too common recently - unforseen biblical deluges!

Unless an electrical unit uses specific waterproof connectors (which standard USB ones most resolutely AREN'T) then the unit is NOT going to be properly waterproof - while the Garmin Edge series are far better than mobile phones and so forth, it's asking a bit much of them to be completely waterproof. I wish that they WOULD do a completely waterproof one - maybe using the "charging stud" options that some of their watches use, and maybe bluetooth for data transmission - so they could make a properly sealed unit. Of course, that'd still need some form of sealed port on the system to plug in memory cards - I doubt Garmin would want to throw away that revenue stream...

mdstamand

A few weeks ago I road a brevet (200k) during which it rained for the first 160k. While my Garmin 800 survived the rain well I have to say the barometric altimeter performed very poorly. The ride route was approx. 6000 ft of elevation gained including one hill with grades exceeding 15%. My Garmin 800 only registered 3119 ft and no grades anywhere near 15%. This was the second ride in steady rain and both times the altimeter recorded about 50% of actual elevation gain. I suspect water is blocking the altimeter port and thus preventing the sensor from detecting the small pressure changes occurring during the hill climbs and descents. I wonder if placing my device in a plastic bag would help or hurt the performance of the barometric sensor.

In very light, short rains/rides the device has performed fairly well. It has only really been affected by heavier rains during longer rides. I have another century in two days with a 50% chance of rain. If it rains hard during any of this ride I may test the plastic bag response of the 800. I wish there was a case for my 800 that performed as well in rain as my Castelli Gabba jersey.

Scudder76

The 810 is marketed as being compliant to the IPX7 international standard, which requires the device to endure 30 minutes under 1 meter of water with no limit to functionality. Any damage due to rain exposure is a produce failure that Garmin should (and did) cover. Hopefully this is a limited issue, and not a broader production issue.

The wackiness of Garmin's altimeter (which go beyond weather issues) is a long-standing issue they just have never been able hack.

Oh... I sold marine electronics for 10 years, including the full Garmin line, and had direct relationships with sales and technical support staff in Wichita.