Thinking about buying a Garmin: But which one should I buy?
I am seriously thinking purchasing a Garmin. Up to now I have been using the nike +, and as I previously posted it has worked well for me. But my husband offered to buy me a Garmin, so I am considering it, I do enjoy new toys and new ways to track my runs and running progress. I also think it will be interesting comparing the accuracy of the nike plus and the Garmin gps watch. One of the main things that made me consider buying is the Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor is 45% off list price on Amazon. The only thing holding me back right now is that it is not the newest one, GARMIN 010-00658-10 Forerunner 405 With Ant+Sport Wireless Technology (Black) I was wondering if there are any advantages to the 405. One major disadvantage of course is the price, it is almost $200 more. After reading the reviews, it seems that many people who have had both actually prefer the 305, and say that the changes in the 405 are not worth the extra money and the functionality of the 305 is better. So what is your experience with Garmin watches? has anyone used both? I love to hear some opinions.
Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor
GARMIN 010-00658-10 Forerunner 405 With Ant+Sport Wireless Technology (Black)
Update: Click here to see my decision.
Slow and Steady Still Finishes the Race
-Middalia Wayman
Filed under: My Gear
Love my 305. A friend of mine has the 405 and complains about satellite connectivity. But, maybe he runs under lots of tree coverage, if that’s an issue. Note that all of my runs are very open (suburban streets).
I got my 305 for $149.60 on Amazon a month ago (1/21). Looks like it has gone up in price slightly. Maybe because of the popularity/demand?
The disadvantage of the 405 is the touch bezel, which when wet, doesn’t really work. Both my wife and I love the 305, although we both have stopped wearing the heart rate monitor, effectively meaning that we could have just gotten the 205.
I am about to hit 1000 miles total on my Garmin 305 and if it ever dies, I will be happy to replace it with another 305. I have come to rely on it mostly during training for mileage and pace. My wife’s Nike + has never been as accurate as her 305, but she still uses both, so I don’t think it is necessarily an either/or decision. (She really just likes it when Lance Armstrong tells her how good she is doing.)
Love my 305. It is big and you can’t wear it as a watch as I understand you can do with the 405. My brother in-law loves the touch bezel. I think it is because of the similarity to the Ipod. Wish the beep on my 305 was louder for my intervals.
i have the 405 and i love it. although i have read about other people having issues with the touch bezel on the 405, i have never found that to be an issue personally. you can lock the bezel during a workout to stop inadvertent touches.
I cannot tell you anything on either the 305 or 405. My Garmin 205 does all I want it to do and I love it. Still, if you are interested in an integrated heart rate monitor, you will definitely go for one of the X05 series.
My 205 (same size as 305) is rather large-ish. That is fine if your wrists are wide, but it would be too large for the Missus’ wrist…
It might be wise to go to a store and try them both on your wrist.
I would think that comfort is very important, especially on long runs.
Good luck with your decision.
I have the 205 and love it :0) It suits all of my needs, and I don’t think I miss having a heart rate monitor. Let us know what you get. I love it! There are so many things I didn’t know about at the beginning, like I just figured out how to set laps fir every mile so I know what pace I’m running each mile lol. Ah well, better late than never :0)
I love my 205 except for the battery life – it’s good for 5-7 hours which means I can’t use it during a century (or even during some marathons). I didn’t want a heart rate monitor. It is definitely clunky on smaller wrists, but the 405 isn’t very small either. My Nike+ never worked right, gave me different distances depending on my pace that day. If it broke, I think I’d replace the 205 with another 205.
I love gadgets too. I’ve thought about moving from my Polar footpod to a Garmin, though I will probably wait until my polar watch dies.
My friends that have used the 305 and 405 mentioned the same thing that Geoffrey commented–that the touch bezel on the 405 is more sensitive than the 305. One friend gets around it by locking the screen. I havent’ heard any complaints about the 305.
Go with the 305. I have had mine for over a year and a half and have never lost a signal running on the trails in Michigan. I have small wrists but didn’t feel that it was too bulky at all. A couple of people i know have had trouble regarding the batteries on their 405.
Go for the 305. It’s durable, full-featured, and has big buttons that are easy to use while running. And get SportTracks for your training log. It’s the best. I have some info on my blog if you want to see how to use heart rate monitor and GPS for training.
I love my 405 and if you get a Garmin heart belt or the GSC 10 you can track your workouts on the iPhone.
Last year when I had to replace my 305 due to a mechanic problem. I was taking to the Tech guy at Garmin, he really thought the 305 was better. I forget why now, but since I got such a good deal on the replacement, i did not work about the other at all after that conversation. You might give the tech guys a call!
I surely enjoy using my Garmin Forerunner 305 .
It’s bigger on your wrist, but much easier to see day or night with a bigger screen. You can scroll through 3 screens with up to 4 sets of data on each one. Currently, I scroll through 2 screens with 7 sets of data. The 3rd screen shows me the time of day and elevation if I decide to check that.
So far, I haven’t ever lost a signal, like I used to when I owned the 201. It’s a keeper!
Have you thought about a Polar? I have tried them all – most recent the 405 and Polar FT80.. 10 times out of 10 I would go with a Polar. i see them more like a training device – rather than navigational. The sw and interface is more exercise oriented. The 405 touch bezel was horrible – wouldn’t even work if it broke a sweat.