Soleus GPS watch vs Garmin?

Timex is better than either. Buttons are easier to use and overall more user-friendly. Better built 'watch'.

Which models are you comparing? In browsing the web sites of the two companies, both have several models with somewhat overlapping price points.

I only own a Garmin (FR10, cost me $130) but I have heard the Soleus 1.0 (which is ~$100) has some issues with calculating average pace properly, and can be slow to acquire a GPS signal. You also can't download data to your computer like you can with a Garmin. Other Soleus models (2.0, 3.0) do allow this though, but they're more expensive. I'm pretty happy with my Garmin, FWIW.

garmin is the best out there imo. I have owned the nike and suunto gps watches. i know nobody that owns a timex or soleus gps watch.

I had a first generation Soleus 1.0. I liked it because it was my first GPS watch and for the time (~3 years ago) it was pretty small. It had the 3 fields a view I wanted to see and it was very bare bones. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles. I didn't like the fact that it took a really long time to get a satellite. The numbers were very hard to read at times too. I didn't notice anything weird with accuracy or pacing. It all felt pretty accurate to me. It also wasn't very user friendly and the buttons were confusing on how you deleted runs or the entire memory on the watch. It also didn't have very much storage so if you finally got a satellite and tried to leave for a run and the watch was full it wouldn't start. You would have to go back through all the menus and delete runs which was time consuming.

This past May I purchased a Garmin Forerunner 220. I cannot believe what I was missing! I do not have a single complaint. It is easy to read. The menus scroll fast. The watch has a nice color face. If you sync the watch with Garmin Connect every once in awhile to keep the software updated the watch connects within seconds of being outside. Sometimes I will start it in my apartment when I'm putting my shoes on and it connects before I can walk out the door. It is not a bulky watch either. I wear it as a casual watch during the day too.

I will never run with a different watch. If you can afford it go with the 220. The FR10 is also an excellent budget watch.

Timex gets my vote wrote:

Timex is better than either. Buttons are easier to use and overall more user-friendly. Better built 'watch'.

I'm not sure which models you're comparing. I recently went from the Timex Ironman to the Garmin FR220. I feel like a fool for not doing it sooner. Using the Timex and the crappy software behind it was like using a sundial and sextant compared to the Garmin. A really, really ugly sundial too.