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: Very flexible training tool
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my 305 for about 3 weeks and have logged about 85 running miles on it doing a variety of workouts. I am very impressed with the flexibility of the unit and it's relative ease of use. For the casual user, you can basically turn it on out of the box and go. For users that do more structured training, it is a simple matter to set up interval workouts, target pacing or heart rate (with alarms), and it can provide a continuously updated pace monitor for tempo runs.
I find it much more useful than I envisioned, and I use it differently than I expected. While it is nice to be able to just go for a run and not have to figure out the distance to determine speed, or map out a course ahead of time to know where to turn to get to your target distance, I tend to use it more as a recorder. My post run analysis involves checking graphs of heart rate and pace over time, both within the context of a run as well as compared to previous runs. I've used other HRM devices, but haven't been able to correlate heart rate to pace or distance into a run. As a result, I have a better idea of how well I am staying within target zones and I can more easily track improvement. I was on the fence regarding the 305 versus the 205, but in the end I find the integrated tracking makes this well worth the upgrade price over the 205.
While it also allows tracking against elevation and grade, these elements are not very useful because it just isn't accurate in determining elevation. My elevation graphs from running on a track are neither as flat as they should be, nor are they even close to sinusoidal, i.e., at the same point during different laps, there is a large variation in elevation (much larger than my arm swing). Interestingly, there doesn't seem to be anywhere close to the same accuracy problem with distance measurement, at least as compared to a bike computer, car odometer, or google maps -- it seems to be spot on.
One other caveat is that it sometimes takes awhile when it is turned on to lock onto satellites (seems like it can take 2 minutes on a cloudy day) though on a clear day it locks on quickly. I end up turning it on and putting it outside while I change.
In summary, it has become an invaluable tool for collecting and tracking data about my workouts.
Customer Review: A Must Have! Training, Motivation, Entertainment!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am fairly new to the running lifestyle and as I train to add miles each week, the 305 has been an absolute necessity for training, motivation and entertainment.
I love that it does everything. I can save my courses and race against my last run of that course. I set it up to alert me at every mile and keep track of each miles stats (distance, pace, heart rate, etc). It alerts, and keeps me within my heart rate boundries. When I want to push myself, I use the Virtual Running Partner to stay at my desired pace. You will not believe the motivation of a little stick figure kicking your butt in a race, It's amazing how motivating that little guy is!
I have heard people talk about the signal strength, well all I can say is, the thing works even inside my house, so I'll say I've had zero problems with it.
I can't even pick out a best part of owning the Forerunner 305, but I really do enjoy analyzing my run each day when I get home. It comes with the program to put it on your computer then you just plug the watch in the cradle and it uploads all the stats of your run, cycle or other, workout and lists it for you.
Everthing you need to know about your heartrate, pace, distance, location, speed, and more...
It even shows you a gps outline of your run. When you are looking at a graph of your stats, you can click on it and it shows you where you were on your run when picked up your pace or stopped for a drink of water.
I am obviously amped about this thing and the cool part is, I haven't even tapped into all it can do.
I know this goes without saying, but I highly recommend all runners, walkers, cyclers, triathletes, and athletes in general get a Forerunner 305.
One more thing, I ordered mine off of Amazon.com from one of their stores and it took freaking forever to get here, like 2 weeks! So I got impatient about 10 days in and printed off the best price I could find on the internet then took that print out to Sports Chalet and they matched the price. I wish I would have done that before I ordered the one from the internet.
So I'll have a Forerunner 305 on Ebay soon I'm sure!
If you have any other questions about the Forerunner that I might be able to answer for you, feel free to drop me an email!
Heidi fmxheidi@hotmail.com
Customer Review: Perfect tool for runners, fun to use, powerful features - fast GPS lock
Summary: 5 Stars
The 305 is a huge improvement over earlier models. The GPS lock-time is significantly faster with the 305. I've gotten a GPS signal inside my house within 30 seconds. In addition, the smaller profile of the 305 makes it easier to use on a wrist. It looks and feels like a large wrist watch and not some monstrosity or rejected design for an ankle monitoring bracelet.
The software for Windows is excellent. Retrieving data from the 305 is a snap, and it is nice to overlay your running routes onto a map. I used to enter all my running data manually and it became cumbersome when I got lazy and forgot to record a year's worth of data. It tracks and monitors your heart rate data if you have the heart rate sensor strap. Speaking of the sensor, it is very cumbersome and uncomfortable to use. I had the strap fall down to my waist numerous times. I had it above my pectoral muscles, under my pectoral muscles, tightened it, and did almost everything short of duct tape it to my skin each time and it never failed to loosen up and fall down to my waist. The data that it collected was acceptable at times, but more often than not I got erroneous data and it didn't really contribute much to my running pattern. It is a great idea if the strap had been incorporated into the watch itself to monitor my pulse. I don't see why I need to strap a huge wireless antenna to my chest to get the data.
The display is very clear and easy to read. The buttons feel very mushy and it isn't just because of the silicone material that covers the buttons. There's no tactile response so I second guess whenever I try to push a button. I had to set up the 3 screens the way I wanted, but there's no speed display for joggers. You only get to see your pace, and speed is available only to bikers. However once you download the data to your PC, the speeds are available. In the older Forerunner, you could easily set it to display speed in MPH for jogging.
Pros: Easy to use once you spent the time to set it up, rechargeable internal Li-Ion pack that has great battery life, available sensors for heart rate and bicycle pedals, and is comfortable on the wrist.
Cons: Heart rate monitor is cumbersome and uncomfortable, buttons don't feel very tactile.
Overall: 4/5 stars
Customer Review: My running buddy
Summary: 5 Stars
It's hard to keep motivated when you are running - it helps to have a buddy.
The Forerunner 305 is my new buddy - and he keeps me on my toes.
It's a little bit big on the wrist, and can be a touch awkward to look at
the display when you are running (I once tripped over a root when running a
trail and checking my pace - lesson learnt!). But there are a couple of features
that really make this worth having:
1) "return to start". When I travel on business I find myself in new places,
wanting to go for a run. No problem - just run and get lost, then the Garmin
gets me home. If you were doing a loop and are close to home it will point you
"back to the path that will take you home" - not just back the way you came.
That has really made running while traveling much more fun
2) "virtual buddy" - you can set the pace you want (maybe the pace you did
in your last half marathon) and the device will let you know if you are on
schedule, ahead, or behind. Great way to stay motivated and get the PB.
3) Heart rate monitor. You learn how hard you are really pushing yourself.
4) Download information - simple maps included, you can sign up for various
fancier programs / websites to log, compare, share trails. It's really nice
to see what you've done - if you are training towards a big event, keeping
track of your workouts (including calories burned - can I have another slice
of pizza tonight?) shows that all the hard work is really working.
In all I love it. Could it be better? Yes:
- strap is not comfortable - not a good shape for my wrist
- angle to read is a bit awkward
- sometimes it takes a while after turning on before it "finds" enough satellites
once it has them, it is very good at keeping them
- There are small positioning errors - according to the map I once ran
through the ocean when I was on the beach - which seem larger than the
"error" it displays. And once I ran back over the same trail I came, but
the downloaded map showed the return was about 50 ft further South.
None of these bother me very much - for the money, I found it well worth having.
Customer Review: The Garmin 305 ROCKS!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok...I'm not much into writing reviews, but I feel compelled to chime in on this product. I have been an on-again, off-again runner for several years and have as my goal to run in 1 or 2 half-marathons each year. Getting under a 2 hour 1/2 marathon is always my goal. Up until the time of getting/using the Garmin 305 I have been using a standard running watch, the Timex Ironman. The Ironman has been a great watch in its own regard, but I really wanted to focus on heart-rate zone training to improve my overall conditioning and stamina in the later parts of my long training runs and in the events themselves. Literally within a couple of weeks of using the Garmin 305, I saw my overall level of conditioning improve approximately 10%, which as you know is pretty huge. With max VO interval work, I can now run a full minute faster per mile (from 10:00/mi down to 9:00/mi) quite comfortably and keep my heart rate high zone 3 and low zone 4 now. It actually feels "comfortable" to me in this range. I did a 14 mile training run yesterday and kept my BPM in this range through the 12 mile mark. The last 2 miles were zone 4 to low zone 5, but were do-able and I always felt "informed" about my heart health.
Other than being able to track real-time metrics during a run, probably the absolute coolest feature of this watch is through its software. It comes with Garmin Training Center (PC and Mac) and it allows you to usb-sync each of your runs (or biking or swimming) and view any of a dozen metrics throughout the run. You may also upload your runs to GarminConnect and view your run on satellite and google maps. Waaaayyyy cool!
Aside from the attendant bells and whistles, this GPS watch has performed rock solid in various weather conditions and has helped me bunches to get to the next level in my running regimen. I can't say enough about this product. At the price point (approx. 1/2 the $'s of the 310) I would highly recommend this watch to everyone who is looking to improve their times. I haven't used any of the competing manufacturer's product(s), so I can't provide any insight there, but with the performance I have seen from my Garmin 305 I guess I won't be looking at them any time soon. 5 *'s.