What Is the Best GPS Watch?

When I was running the New York Marathon every year in the late '70's and early '80's, my running watch was a Casio that was little more than a stop watch. I pushed a button to turn the timer on at the start of a race or workout and pushed the same button to stop it when I crossed the finish line. Sports watches (as we called them then) have come a long way. Garmin - the acknowledged worldwide leader in GPS technology - introduced the first GPS enabled watches in 2003 with their models 101,201, and 301. All models (except the 101), and all subsequent models, include a way to upload training data to your home computer - now wirelessly.
Today, the Garmin Forerunner 110 is the basic GPS enabled watch of the Garmin line. It's MSRP (with heart rate monitor) is $229.99, but can be bought on Amazon for as little as $145.98 (without the heart rate monitor). It measures how far and how fast you have gone and wirelessly uploads the data to your computer and the free Garmin Connect™ website - allowing more detailed analysis. You can even see the route you traveled on a map. You can also get the optional heart rate monitor and have your heart rate displayed and later, in the analysis, actually track your calories burned in your workout.
The best GPS watch for the tri-athlete with an unlimited budget is probably the Garmin Forerunner 910XT with an MSRP of $449.99. This newest addition to the Garmin lineup does it all. It can monitor everything about your swimming, cycling, and running workouts. In the water - water resistant to 50 meters - it measures swim distance, stroke count, stroke identification, pool length, and, of course, the time of the swim. On the land, it measures your time, distance, speed, pace, and elevation data like ascent, descent and grade - using a built in barometric altimeter. The touch screen bezel allows for easy scrolling and selection of functions while on the move.
The ultimate answer to the title question, "What is the best GPS watch for you?" depends on your wants and needs and your pocket book. The Garmin Forerunner 110 is more than adequate for the weekend athlete who just wants a little more information about his/her workout. The Garmin Forerunner 910XT will give the serious athlete more information than they ever imagined they could have. Imagine checking your computer after a workout and tracking your body weight, body fat, body water and 6 other measurements when using the 910XT?