HomeExerciseExercise EquipmentGarmin Forerunner 405 Wireless GPS-Enabled Sports Watch with Heart Rate Monitor |
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 GREAT FEATURES Jul 21, 2010
My husband bought this watch for running. It is full of great features and he loves it but the functionality is another story. I think the price is a little steep for a weekend watch. I disagree with the advert that this watch is sleek enough for everyday wear; it really cannot be considered a dress watch.
This watch excels at heart monitoring, pace, calories burned, run time and distance. It even keeps track of your information by allowing you to wirelessly connect to your pc when within range. We had some issues with this part but it is great when you get it to work properly since it allows you to track your progress and workouts are available for download. This watch also tracks your position using GPS and although it takes a while to lock your position, warming up before a run easily takes care of the time needed. Simply tap on the watch face to access the information needed. How cool is that? We looked at lower priced versions which have buttons instead but most of the same features Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor.
Bottom line, my husband has tried many different types of devices and loves this one despite some quirks. There are cheaper versions of this watch and I wish he had purchased one of them since he only uses it when he runs. When I questioned the purchase, he reminded me of all my shoes. He won that argument.
Making the transition Jul 21, 2010
Being a long time polar user i have struggled a bit learning to use the Garmin. Now that i am starting to get the hang of it i like the overall benefits of being able to map your workouts and the automatic measurements for distance and altitude.
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Great purchase so far! Jul 20, 2010
Background:
I've been thinking about getting a GPS running watch for quite some time and finally got tired of estimating my speed/distance using a regular watch and Map-My-Run (MMR). I did some relatively brief online research and quickly focused down to the Garmin 305 and Garmin 405. All the reviews seemed to point to the Garmin 305 (users just raved about it), but when I visited a local sports store, I couldn't get over the size factor of the 305 and so I decided to get the 405. This was even after a friend of mine (a 305 user) said not to get the 405.
Note: My greatest concern about purchasing the 405 was the "bezel". Many reviewers complained that it was difficult to use and that if it gets wet (i.e. from sweat), it is nearly impossible to activate.
Setup:
Out of the box, it took a little while (40 min) for me to learn about the majority functionality and tweak all the setting. This includes the time it took to figure out how to install the software and get it synced with the computer. It wasn't that difficult, but rather just needed to devote the time to doing it.
My Experience:
This all this said, so far, the Garmin 405 has exceeded my expectations and I am extremely happy with the purchase. My focus for getting the watch was to be able to monitor my speed, distance, and heart rate while running. The watch had delivered perfectly for this. I am also really enjoying the ability to quickly upload a workout to an online website (I prefer the online capabilities b/c I can access from both work and home).
As for the bezel, while it is a bit cumbersome to use, I STRONGLY recommend that when you run, you set the AUTO SCROLL function to "ON". This way, you don't need to even touch the bezel during your run. As an example, I have two data screens that are enabled:
1) Field #1: Time, Lap Pace, Distance
2) Heart-Rate: Heart Rate
(you can customize a bunch of fields and there are tons of different data that you can display)
By putting the auto scroll on, the watch display simply alternates between the two screens which is perfect for me. For an added benefit, you can "lock" the bezel so you don't inadvertantly change the display.
Other Thoughts:
The watch has a lot of functionality that I have still figuring out / exploring. As an example, I created a run using MMR and have been able to export it to the watch. This is a pretty neat feature (as it actually gives you directions on how to follow the track you mapped out). There is also a "Virtual Parnter" feature (haven't yet used), but also seems interesting.
In terms of battery, it's not bad (can used a few times before requiring a charge).
Overall:
Highly recommend it. Reasons why I didn't give it 5 stars was because complexity of setup...
 strap failure Jul 18, 2010
I owned the product for about a year and half when (in normal use) one of the straps completely snapped off the body of the device. This was caused by a failure of the internal plastic hinges that hold the strap to the device--they completely snapped in two. When I reported this to Garmin, they sent me a replacement strap, but this was of course completely useless, because there were no longer any hinges to attach the new strap to the device.
With the inability to re-attach the strap, the entire $300 device is now worthless. to me as a runner.
Because Garmin offers only a one-year warranty, I am apparently our of luck. Beware.
 Outsanding features Jul 14, 2010
My sport is trekking and nearby my city I've from rather small hills to over 20,000 feet high mountains. I wanted a device that could keep track of my trekking activities during weekends and also the training (running and biking) needed during the week to prepare for long mountain journeys. The outdoor GPS aren't designed for running or biking especially because they lack heart rate monitors. So I bought the Garmin 405 with high expectations.
My doubts were not only the mixed reports I saw, but also if it would perform reasonably for the trekking activities.
My experience has been:
1.Accuracy: The GPS is very accurate, both in the city and mountains when you see afterwards the tracks in Google Earth it shows perfectly the streets, routes were you have been. Also compared to other devices the coordinates and altitude have been within a reasonable margin (difference below 5 meters). Also I have tested the heart rate monitor accuracy comparing it with other devices and also with a simple watch and always had precise measures.
2.Bezel: Takes some time to getting use to it. You have to attempt different pressures, changing finger can help too. Also try with different sensitivity settings until you find the way through. However, is not easy to maneuver while running or biking, but also in my opinion not necessary. Most of what you need can be set previously. I put the scroll feature in slow and set the information I needed in the screens using 2 fields (so they are easier to read). In training 1 I set actual time and timer time, training 2 I put distance and elevation, in HR I set heart and average lap heart rate and in training 3 I set it off, but there are multiple fields still to choose from. Also I set the watch with autolap every 500 meters. While actually doing my sport activity I manage the bezel locked to prevent unwanted view switching, and can watch all my relevant data while it scrolls. I highly recommend taking time at home in the setup stage of the device to avoid maneuvers during the activity.
3.Battery life: This has been an issue for me. The Garmin has performed exactly as it was advertised, about one week if used as a common watch (energy saving); 8 hours with GPS and heart monitor on. While this is O.K. for most biking and running activities as long as you remember to charge it completely after the activities is not enough for trekking activities, since many mountain journeys can be up to 10 or 12 hours. Could be better, but you get what is advertised.
4.Size: Great, is a big watch men can wear all the time. For women the same is not quite true.
5.Connection: I needed some patience, it took a few attempts until I had the devices paired and working and not any trouble after that.
6.Software: The Training Center works has the basic features to view your results, set workout and route. If you want a detailed comparison of the performance and hopefully your progress in you training I have found that exporting the track from Training Center as a .TCX file and then read it from excel. It brings all the necessary fields and then you have all the excel tools to analyze the files, draw your own, compute correlation ratios between variables, etcetera.
Ease of use is matter of finding the way though, features you either have them or not, I think the garmin 405 has the right features for all my sport activities.
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