Garmin 405 forerunner .. best GPS running watch around at the moment ..... D. Noades "Dave_N"
Cracking bit of kit.......
I really like this watch. Ok it's a bit ugly and it looks a bit big on the wrist .....Tom A (England)
the high cost means its barely even worth that..... Jack Hobartson
Don't waste your money this is just an over engineered gimic ...
AWESOME WATCH....I purchased this watch for my wife since she said she HAD TO HAVE IT. My only regret is I only bought one to start out with. I should of bought two ...
Garmin 405 forerunner Review
Serious Runner, 7th OctI have been running seriously since August 2005 and in that time have owned a Forerunner 101, a 301, a 305 and now the garmin 405 with HRM,, I have 900 runs/races uploaded to Motionbased, I have competed in 83 races this year wearing a 305 and for the last month a 405. Apologies for the long preamble but many reviews make me wonder whether the reviewer has actually used the device in anger. Firstly the 405 is a vast improvement on the 305 in three ways
1. The size (obviously), I only ever take it off in the bath or shower, if this was the only improvement that would be sufficient for me.
2. Connectivity to the PC/Laptop - the 305's USB cradle was a constant struggle with intermittent connections, the ANT stick has performed flawlessly for me.
3. Reduction of the button count, the 305 has seven (yes seven) external buttons, the 405 just having the two external buttons is ergonomically much better.
Now - the Bezel - it seems people fall into two camps, those like me who start running and concentrate on the job in hand and those who during a run or race have to explore every conceivable menu option on the Garmin. I don't have any Bezel issues because I don't mess about with it - I haven't seen the rain affect it either.
In summary I think this is a superb product, if I was being hyper-critical then I'd like a firmware revision to implement distance alerts (not laps, I don't want laps) as in the 305 but that's it.
Update - tonight I had some insight into why people find the device hard to use as I watched someone new to Garmins have a total nightmare with the device simply because he appeared to have not taken the time to find out how the thing works. You can't make up for that by simply hitting buttons and the bezel at random. I have worked as a computer programmer for 19 years and it still amazes me how people think they can win an argument with an electronic device. You won't, you have to work with it.
Update 2 - Software You can still use the old-style Motionbased as well as Garmin.Connect which I am hoping is a work in progress as its well short of being an improvement to its predecessor. As for Sporttracks being brilliant and light-years ahead of Training Centre, that's so obvious it amazes me that many people appear to need convincing of this.
Update 3 - I can't quite believe that I omitted to mention the time to satellite lock which is dramatically faster than the 305 and seems far more tolerant to being moved around during the process.
Update 4 - I was showing the 405 to a non-runner the other day and remarked on the bezel angst and he said "Presumably they [the critics] haven't ever seen an iPod".
by Dominic Shields Click here for more reviews
Forerunner 405 Watch GPS Review 3
Great Device, 26th JanI have just recently got a forerunner 405 and I have to say what a great piece of kit. I have never used a GPS running watch before, but what a difference for pacing etc. To date I've been using a Nike plus band which I have to say is very inaccurate when it comes to distance so this is great.
I don't find the bezel particularly hard to use or overly sensitive. Having read all the instructions it just takes a bit of getting used to! I've not had any problems downloading the software (I am only using the Garmin Training centre - not Connect) and my device has no problems connecting to the ANT stick. I certainly can't comment on the 405 compared to previous versions, but I would certainly recommend this.
By Ms. F. Jenkinson
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