Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $234.99 You Save: $65.00 (22%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $150.00 (click here) Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor
Customer Review: Where has this been all my life?
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this 305 for a couple of months and I love the thing.
Three of the routes I use have been measured with a surveyor's wheel and I've run the three routes many times since purchasing the Forerunner 305 and in all cases the 305 has been within 20 feet, often within 10 feet, of the measured finish line. One course is the perimeter of a school, another is an out and back, and the third course is a loop through a neighborhood.
There are those owners speaking of problems when running under trees but I cannot address that; there aren't enough trees to worry about in my part of the world. Once, when the weather was really bad, heavy overcast with rain and snow, the 305's distance function was off by about 100 feet. I don't know if that was caused by the weather or because it was under the sleeve of a thick sweater I was wearing that day. (Maybe it was a combination of the weather and the sweater.)
The Heart Rate Monitor is fantastic. My previous monitor was a Polar and I had constant problems with it, even when I didn't run with my cell phone. The Forerunner's monitor has been problem-free even when I purposely put my cell phone in a shirt pocket next to the chest band. Cool.
The software though is a bit simplistic and has a minor bug. The graphing function is okay but I prefer more complexity. Transferring data from the 305 to the software is kind of buggy. There are three ways to transfer the data: automatic transfer when the 305 is connected to a computer and two methods within the software. Often all the data does not transfer when I connect the 305 to my computer and I may have to try both methods in the software. It's kind of annoying.
The really, really great thing about this thing is I no longer have to worry about measuring distances. I work in the oil fields of eastern New Mexico and western Texas. If I am going to be far enough from home that I must live on site for a while, it's always been something of a pain in the ass to measure a distance with my vehicle. Now, with this GPS device, I just set out on my run, get to the turn around point, and return, with complete confidence I've run my desired distance. Very cool.
If you are considering this product, get it. I'm not a techie, having to get the latest and greatest. I am only interested in items that actually do the job for which they were designed and the Garmin Forerunner 305 does exactly that. I highly recommend it.
Note: I don't participate in any sport other than running so I cannot address the additional functions of the 305.
Customer Review: Amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this product with some trepidation, after reading the mixed reviews on Amazon.com, so I made sure that my supplier had a good return policy. However, I have to say that it is an amazing piece of equipment, and kudos to the people that developed it. Sure it has some kinks that I am prepared to put up with, bearing in mind that this technology is in its infancy (especially at this size). I am training for my first marathon and I have found the forerunner to be great for logging and keeping track of my runs and my overall progress. Sure the real-time pace is not hugely accurate, but I feel very confident that it keeps very good track of my distances and overall pace for each of my runs (if I do an out-and-back run, the plotted course and calculated distances are very close). As I do most of my weekday running in boring suburban DC neighborhoods, it is liberating that I don't have to do the same measured route every time to keep track of my pace. I can wander at will, and head towards home when I am getting close to my desired number of miles. The virtual running partner is a great motivator. How else can you get a running partner to start the run at the same time and place as you and to run at a constant pre-set pace? It was a little annoying when I was ahead of him/her and needed to wait to cross the road; meanwhile I watched him/her passing me out!! I tried the auto-stop function for the first time this weekend, it worked ok, but did have some kinks...maybe it was because of very heavy rain and lightening we were having. The heart rate monitor seems to work fine. I have found signal strength to be no problem (I live in DC area, not sure it that makes any difference). My neighborhood has plenty of trees and the parks that I run in are heavily forested (its summer here). As I drove into the park this weekend during the storm my satellite radio kept losing signal under the (very wet) tree cover, but the forerunner seemed to work fine (except for the autostop). I wish their maps were more detailed, they just have the major streets, I guess Garmin chose to provide a stripped down version.....they should have done a better job there. Overall, as a technophile, I love this piece of equipment, and look forward to seeing how they improve it in the future. You do need to understand the limitations of this device though (e.g. somewhat accurate real-time pace information, undercounting overly twisty routes). I guess I am lucky that I have had no problems with it so far (it has only been a month), but I will update this if I need to call their customer service.Customer Review: Superb Product, Excellent Design, Exceeded My Expectations!
Summary: 5 Stars
Just an absolutely superb product!
I bought mine from Amazon.com, and it arrived in record-breaking speed, packaged extremely well.
Regarding the watch unit itself, I did research for a very long time on all the models that are currently available in the United States, from pretty much all of the manufacturers, not just Garmin. My search included a price-point from $69 up to $650.
I could say many things, but in the end, I just want to say if you are on the fence, go ahead and get the 305. You definitely will not regret it!
I love this product!
Pros:
1. I find the slightly larger size of the face to be PERFECT FOR READING WHILE RUNNING. Any smaller and I might not be able to comfortably read the screen.
2. The heart rate monitor is actually very comfortable, as is the watch itself.
3. I liked how quickly and easily the heart rate monitor synced with the wrist unit. I basically put the HRM strap on, and turned on the watch, and it synced.
4. The data interfaces seamlessly with Google Maps- even on Windows 7 64 bit. You just select from a "drop down" menu, "View in Google Maps", and then Google Maps opens up with your data plotted right on the screen. You can hover your mouse over the waypoints (updates every 1 second), and view what your time, distance, heart rate, and pace was.
5. EXTREMELY simple to get started with the basic features, and be working out in minutes (except for one thing, which I'll mention below- which is barely a "con", but it should be said).
6. I got a GPS fix on the 305 in about 25 seconds right out of the box. That is faster than my $300 automobile GPS unit.
Cons:
1. Needs to be charged for 3 hours out of the box when it first arrives! GAAHHHH! I wanted to just strap it on and go running, but I had to wait. I know, this isn't really a complaint, but I can't think of any negative things to say about this thing.
2. Alright, maybe just one thing that is SLIGHTLY negative: It is just a little bit complicated to master all the features. But as I said above, it is extremely simple to start using its most simple features. After the 3 hour charge, you can go on your first run in 3 to 10 minutes of shuffling through the manual- including using the heart rate monitor, the GPS feature and course tracking.
On a scale of 1 to 100, I would give this a 99. It would be a 100 if I could have selected or modified the color scheme.
Customer Review: Fantastic Workout Tool
Summary: 5 Stars
This watch is great for anyone that wants to get more out of their workout. I purchased one, and within a week, had to purchase a second one because my wife was jealous and wanted one for her workouts. We really like getting back and seeing the map of where we've gone and how fast we went. Of course, you can get the optional foot pod (for runners) or cadence sensor (for bikers) to do indoor training with the GPS turned off.
The watch is a larger than a standard Timex, but it fit my arm just fine. My wife had a harder time because of her smaller wrist and ended up getting a Velcro watch band for it at REI that works better than the rubber one that comes with the device for her. It does come with a longer band for those with bigger wrists, as well as a tool for removing/installing the band.
Garmin bought MotionBased.com and is transitioning user accounts to Garmin Connect, which should speed up the website. I had some trouble with the MotionBased.com site (I'm a free-edition user) being sluggish and not responding, but Garmin Connect responds immediately. These websites provide great information about your workouts that can be shared with anyone on the internet. The included Garmin Training program provides some information that the MotionBased site does not (including calorie count), so it will be neat to see what happens when the two are integrated.
Satellite acquisition does take a little longer than I would like, even standing in the middle of an open field, but I do enjoy watching the acquisition screen to see all of the available satellites as they connect - a la the old Garmin GPS III, IV, and V systems in the early days of GPS.
I use it for cycling, and my wife uses hers for running. The watch does well with distinguishing between the two. She sets hers up for heart rate zone training and gets a warning if she exceeds her target HR. I, on the other hand, just take off, anxious to get back and see all of my date downloaded on to the computer.
The price seems to have come down because of the new Forerunner 405, but I bought the 305 because of negative reviews on the 405. There is a new 300-series watch being released that is about twice as much as the 305, but it works well for triathletes and has better water resistance. Overall, the Forerunner 305 works great for any athlete that wants to get a handle on their workout data -- it's like having all of the information of a treadmill computer combined with GPS tracking on your wrist.
Customer Review: I'm in love....
Summary: 5 Stars
I need to preface this by stressing I rarely (shame on me) take the time to review the many many items I purchase from Amazon. That's how much I'm in love w/this product!
I bought this on a whim when it was a Gold Box special. I'd been knowing I needed a heart rate monitor to make me accountable for my workout intensity, yet, at the same time, not really yet ready to be held accountable for my workout intensity (I'm kind of lazy, what can I say...). When I saw it offered in the Gold Box, I decided to give it a closer look. I spent quite a bit of time reading the reviews and product specs. Most seemed overwhelmingly favorable. For mere dollars more than a quality heart rate monitor, I could add all of the cool features of the Garmin, so i decided to pull the trigger and order one.
Boy, am I ever glad I did! I must admit, my husband did the initial set up (he was more excited about it when it arrived than I was...), so I can't comment personally on ease of set up, but I know it only took him minutes. The first time I used it, I hadn't customized the display and was worried I would hate it because the HR display was so tiny. I relayed my concern to my husband when I got home from my run and he promptly set my display to show total time, HR, distance, and pace. Love it!
I haven't played with many of the features yet (courses, virtual running partner, etc) simply because, right now, it's motivating me as is. I'll save the *bells and whistles* for when I need to mix it up a bit.
PROS:
*Easy to customize and read display
*Seems super accurate for distance
*HR strap is as comfortable as any I've ever worn
*Easy to download to computer (we use a Macbook Pro)
*If you're dressing up as Lindsay Lohan for Halloween it can double as a SCRAM bracelet
CONS:
*It kind of hurts, a bit. I have smaller wrists (my thumb overlaps the nail on my middle finger when circled around my wrist) and it's actually bruised me a bit on both sides of my wrists. I don't notice it if I'm walking, but I do when I'm running. However, I like it so much, I'm willing to deal w/the discomfort. I do play to buy some padding to adhere to the back to see if that helps (like lambskin).
I've barely scratched the surface of what this bad boy can do and I'm LOVING it! If you're considering it at all, just do it!