Garmin 920 XT vs. Garmin 910 XT Review
I get asked about my Garmin 920 XT a lot, especially in with athletes I coach wanting to know what tool they should use for tracking their workouts. These workouts are eventually uploaded to Training Peaks and eventually analyzed by me, the coach.
I’ve found it helpful to compare and contrast the Garmin Forerunner 920XT with the Garmin Forerunner 910XT, given that I’ve owned both. In general, the Garmin 920XT fixes everything I hated about the Garmin 910 XT. There are four major changes I’d like to highlight:
(1) The 920XT is lighter than the 910 XT. This makes it less cumbersome to wear all day as a watch. Actually, the 910XT was so heavy that during open water swims whichever arm I had the watch on would get significantly more fatigued than the other. Sometimes I would even switch it to the other arm in the middle of the lake!
(2) In addition, the 920XT is built to function as a watch! Once the power save mode kicks in a watch function is displayed.
(3) This is a big one – no need to use the stupid ANT+ dongle! The Garmin 920XT auto uploads to your smartphone using bluetooth. It can also use your wireless network connection and then transmit to Garmin Express. The intermediary device of the ANT+ Agent has been eliminated.
(4) The time it takes to locate Sattelites has been drastically reduced. I don’t know about you but when I am ready to hit my first stride I don’t want to have to wait for 2 minutes for my device. I am ansy to get the workout started!
There are a couple other minor things I have noticed that seem better with the 920. One is that the face plate seems less likely to get scratched, and I have also had less errors and less workout files being corrupted with the 920. Durability is always a concern with Garmin products. So far my 920XT has had zero issues after 10 months of heavy use.
Lastly, the 920XT does act as a smartwatch, so you can get notifications on the watch. I don’t really want to see emails and texts coming in while I am out on a run or ride, nor have I met many athletes that want this, so I don’t consider this to be a big advantage, but you might!
If you’ve found this review helpful and you’re ready to buy a Garmin 920XT, you can do so using my Amazon Affiliate link. It’s likely you’ll want the Garmin heart rate monitor strap to go along with your unit, so I’ve listed that option first.
Garmin Forerunner 920XT Black/Blue Watch with HRM-Run
Garmin Forerunner 920XT White/Red Watch With HRM-Run
Here is the Garmin 920 XT without the HR strap. Basically you’re looking at $40 to buy as a bundle. It’s a negligible cost savings to buy as a bundle so you can always add the HR strap later if you’re unsure you want it.
Garmin Forerunner 920XT Black/Blue Watch
Garmin Forerunner 920XT White/Red Watch
Thinking about the Garmin 920 XT Triathlete Bundle? 
Garmin 010-01174-40 Forerunner 920XT Tri-Bundle
Since everyone has gotten so much value out of this post, I decided to create an online tutorial to go along with the review. I hope this helps you get accustomed to the 920XT. Enjoy!
Until we ride (or run, or swim) again,
Matt
My Final Rating
[Matt Sheeks is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com]
I have had the 910xt for several years and was looking to your review for insight into the 920xt. I train 5 to 6 days per week, and coach soccer. I wear the xt during training and at soccer games (for the timer). I never considered wearing it as a regular watch.
It appears from your review that the Ant Dongle is something new. Using a third party App, Ant2 netpro, My 910 xt uploads through my smartphone just fine. It populates data on both Garmin and Strava websites simultaneously. I threw my dongles out years ago.
I’m glad to here Garmin has built in proprietary systems to do the same. Will info be shared with Strava as well?
Does the improved metrics on the run really effect the way you train? The swim? The ride?If so how?
If I’m not planning to wear the 920 xt as a watch is it worth the $300-500 to upgrade.
Hi Georg,
1. I was not aware that the 910 worked without the ANT stick. It makes sense that they provided an ANT+ dongle with the 910XT but gave you both options.
2. Yes, your info can be shared to Strava just as with the 910 XT. This is how I review my training immediately after completing a workout.
3. Does it affect the way I train? It certainly can! For me, it’s mostly an indirect relationship. Because it is so easy to record my training, I’m more likely to review it and draw conclusions from it later, which would affect future training decisions. As far as direct applications, having the 920 track my distance in the pool is really handy. I like the built in rest-interval timer. The 920 also tracks your cadence while running without having to use a footpod. Then there is the weight issue for swimming which is a primary issue for me.
I like to tell people you can certainly get fast without all the new technology. But…it can be useful to have the additional information to draw from.