Garmin Forerunner 50 Water Resistant Running GPS With Heart Rate Monitor and Foot Pod
by Garmin
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List Price: Our Price: $115.00 You Save: $84.99 (42%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: GPS or Navigation System See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin Forerunner 50 Water Resistant Running GPS With Heart Rate Monitor and Foot Pod
Customer Review: Very Accurate but not easily sync'd to computer
Summary: 4 Stars
I also have the GPS enabled 205 but do a lot of indoor track running during the winter months. I compared the foot pod to the GPS & there was only a 40 yard difference on the mile (97% accurate). It seemed less accurate though if I was walking vice jogging/running. It's about only about 90% accurate jogging/running on the treadmill compared to the treadmill's stats and horrible when walking on the treadmill (~80%). Sometimes I wear both watches running outside because the 205 is more accurate & communicated well with the computer (& Google Earth, which is cool) and the 50 has a heart rate monitor & the pacekeeping is a lot smoother.
Two complaints:
1. Heart rate monitor strap is weak, don't force it, it WILL break. replacements are ~$13 on Amazon (I'd order another two)
2. Not really hassle free when downloading to the computer, the watch has to communicate wirelessly with the USB adapapter & sometimes it takes a while for the adapter to recognize the watch. You also cannot upload workouts to the Garmin 50 like you can with the 205.
If I could start over, I would have bought ONLY the 305 because you can get GPS, heartrate, & foot pod for indoor running. I would have spent less overall. I may trade up eventually.
Customer Review: Great watch but foot pod battery dead on arrival
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this watch with the heart rate monitor and foot pod a few weeks ago. I had seen several other reviews mention problems with the foot pod but figured I'd try it out.
Sure enough, when the package arrived, the foot pod didn't work! Battery was dead! It's pretty disappointing to buy a "new" product and not even have it work. I'm not sure what the problem is, but speculate that Garmin may have made an error in setting the foot pod to go into inactivity after 30 min. Why so long? That might mean that the foot pod is burning energy for 30 min every time it is used, before going inactive, thus burning through a small battery.
Anyway, finally I got organized, sucked up my pride, and went to buy a new battery for the foot pod for $2.75, and now I'm in business. Ran with it the other day (after a quick sync with the watch- directions are easy and battery was easy to change) and it worked great! So fun to have the mileage and speed of my run calculated for me!
Other than that, the watch and HRM are great. the manual is very simple and user friendly, the watch intuitive to use. I would highly recommend this watch, but just be ready to change the foot pod battery regularly, if you decide to get it.
Customer Review: Nifty
Summary: 4 Stars
It works pretty much as described. I used it on the treadmill today just to test out its accuracy, and it recorded a 3 mile run as being 3.2 miles. I'm thinking the treadmill must be the more accurate of the two, but I could be wrong. At any rate, you can calibrate the device so it's not a big deal. The heart rate monitor agreed with the monitor on the treadmill, and the end calorie calculation was within 2 calories of what the treadmill reported.
The sync feature is pretty cool, but the software feels a little "old". It's good, but it looks and feels like it was written in 1995. Getting the 405 would probably make the software a little more useful because with the GPS you can view your route on a map and it tracks not only distance but elevation.
Overall I'd say it's fun to use and that it's helping my workouts.
Customer Review: Garmin forerunner 50
Summary: 4 Stars
The watch is complicated to set up and begin using but now that it is working correctly it is wonderful. The data downloads easily and is easy to read and interpret. The help desk gets a 50% rating. The first guy was rude but the second guy (Aaron) was wonderful.He walked me through a bunch of steps and he determined the problem was a dead battery. He even emailed the directions for pairing up the devices to use after replacing the battery. Two of the 3 batteries needed to be replaced immediately and the watch battery needed to be replaced only one week after receiving the watch. That seemed weird.
The watch was a birthday present from my husband. It is important to note that I am over 60 and I love the watch. If i can figure it out, anyone can! Keep running!
Customer Review: Excellent entry level runner's tool
Summary: 4 Stars
At the ripe old age of 61 I decided to do my first triathlon. I needed to improve my running skills and needed data to let me know how I was doing. The forerunner 50 was easily programed to link to the chest strap I use with my 305 Garmin on my bicycle. I have found it to be very helpful in my training especially when downloading results to the Garmin Training Center. It is easy to see progress and to compare the training to where I was a week or a month ago. This does not have GPS, but seems to be relatively accurate with distances and very accurate with heart rate. It is not something to wear swimming (although Garmin now has a watch that can be used from start to finish on a triathlon) or hiking as the GPS would be a better way to go. I recommend it.