Garmin Forerunner 405

Officer Giggles

hey everyone i want to get something that can tell me how fast i am running at a particular time, how far i have run and when im finished what my average speed was, i searched the forum and the garmin forerunner 405 seems to be the one to get but just want to make sure, do i even need the 405 or would a cheaper one do exectly what i want

menoscemo

There are much cheaper options if this is all you require, but they may not be as accurate and the Garmin, since it works by GPS.
For what you require a pedometer and watch would be enough, they work by measuring your steps while running to calculte distance/speed.They can be inaccurte though and need to be calibrated regularly
I had a nike+ watch and chip in the shoe which i got in a running shop for €50. Go to your local running shop and I am sure there are many similar options that won't break the bank like the FR 405.

Officer Giggles

i was looking on the web for the different items i could get and i saw the likes of the nike pedometer, i would prefer to get something very accurate that wouldnt need to be calibrated the whole time as i would end up geting sick of it thats why i was looking at the garmin, if there is a cheaper alternative to the 405 that does the 3 or 4 things i need then i would get it if anyone has any other ideas

plodder

Officer Giggles wrote: »

i was looking on the web for the different items i could get and i saw the likes of the nike pedometer, i would prefer to get something very accurate that wouldnt need to be calibrated the whole time as i would end up geting sick of it thats why i was looking at the garmin, if there is a cheaper alternative to the 405 that does the 3 or 4 things i need then i would get it if anyone has any other ideas

the 305 has the same features as the 405 but is a lot chaeper

Highway_To_Hell

the Timex Ironman watch comes in a good bit cheaper then the 405 but it has a separate GPS and Data units so it is bulkier then the 405. I used one before I got a 405 and it worked fairly well, I had bought it back in 2004 and the GPS unit was a bit temperamental in cloudy weather and runing in woody areas. Apparently this issue is now resolved but having to strap on the GPS and data units would steer me towards the 405.

Sub430

I also had the nike+ thingy and it served a purpose but I have just ordered the 405. It seems like a natural progression, my view is that if you enjoy running (and gadgets) you might as well save up and get the 405 rather than spend money on the ipod+ and then buy the 405 in the future in any case.
Keep an eye on adverts.ie - 2 sold recently for €200. Otherwise handtec.co.uk or amazon/ebay for the best prices

osnola ibax

Listen for what it's worth, I think you are better going for the 405, it's very very good for what you r looking for - accuracy, no callibrating etc,, and worth the initial outlay, I see it's a bit cheaper on amazon now, down about 20 quid, you could go without hrm aswell because hrm has come down on amazon aswell so u could get it later, handtec.co.uk is also good value and where I got mine, or how about the 305, that's not much more than forerunner 50 with footpod and seems to get good reviews, it's about 50 quid cheaper than 405 if a little bigger, I've seen several reviews from people who got 405 going back to 305, I personally like the 405

Also I've only had mine about a week

osnola ibax

Boards should receive some kind of commission / gift from
Garmin, the amount of good publicity it gets here, amadeus, one for the sponsorship thread

Sub430

+1.
I hadn't heard of the Garmin until I started read the ART forum.

Stupid_Private

So we're saying there's a link between computer geeks who run and computer gadgets for running.... interesting!!

Officer Giggles

thanks for the replies, the 405 is €210 on elara without the hrm, the 305 is only 20 quid cheaper, was looking on ebay and the prices are crap, none as cheap as elara

Rusty Cogs 08

The Garmin can give a lot of different information when running/racing. I wonder what people find most useful. Essentially, I'm trying to programme in the best settings for both Training and Racing and leave it at that. I've been messing around with it lately and now I've lost some of the settings I liked (like the screen that shows time/distance/pace all on one screen).

So what information do you have yours set to show for training and/or racing ?

Training
Distance
Time
Average Lap Pace
Heart Rate

Racing
Time
Lap time
Average Lap Pace

Peterx

The 405 is a great yoke but the battery time is short and if I was buying again would put me off it. I've had several long cycles this year and the feckin thing dies after about 6 hours go-time leaving a nasty non loop on the fancy download map website thing.


In fairness most of the time it's great as I'm only out for an hour or two.

My usual settings are;

Run training - lap time, average pace/km, distance
cycling - speed, time of day, distance
Hillrun racing - lap time, distance, altitude

William72

so if your requirements are limited to those listed by OP would you not just got for the Garmin 50? Just wondering cos I am in a similar boat...

scottreynolds

William72 wrote: »

so if your requirements are limited to those listed by OP would you not just got for the Garmin 50? Just wondering cos I am in a similar boat...

TBH. I'd generally recommend a 405 as your going to end up wanting some of those features like downloading to Mac (or heaven forbid a PC). The GPS recording features are cool as well so you can see where you went -- cool when your away from home. There's not much difference in cost -- there's a new 405CX which is the same with a few tweaks. The 305 has also been replaced by the 310XT

aero2k

It's still possible to get hold of the 305 if it's what you want. Got mine for €170 from Amazon about 3 weeks ago.

Vinny Mulvey

I have been using the garmin 405 since last Oct/Nov and I absolutely love it. I use it every day with and without the heart monitor. Its really brilliant for judging pace and not going too fast or too slow when out on runs, particularly long runs and tempo runs. I'd highly recommend it to anyone thinking of getting one. On my display I have overall time, pace and distance and the heart rate is just a tap of the bezel. I find its very useful too for when i'm training other people as I can keep account of their fitness, their progress and everything is measured properly for runs. Another thing which I love about the watch is that you can upload your runs straight away onto a computer and look at the pace, the heart rate and the splits and the elvation too. Well worth buying if you're in 2 minds about it!

osnola ibax

I have the 405cx, it's a fantastic piece of kit. As vinny was saying above, you can check out the elevation profile on the pc after the run. That's a brilliant tool. The other day I wanted to see the difference between a 10 mile training run I did and the 5 mile lap of the Phoenix park in July.

I just opened two tabs in ie7 and could toggle between the two easy. The training run had overall elevation gain of 1100 feet and the park has an overall elevation gain of 360 x 2 I suppose for the 10 miler.

It's also great for logging runs and seeing tangible improvements in efficiency with the hrm. Would recommend it highly. Just in terms if choosing, the 305 looks a fair bit bulkier than the 405 in my opinion.

Izoard

Ummm...

I was sold on the 405CX and now I see the 310XT.

I'm not a gadget freak, so am looking for something simple-ish that would cover for all things tri.

THe 405CX looks nice and compact, but I guess it wouldn't stand up to a trip into the nearest body of water?

Anybody got a view on one over the other?

Gringo78

Izoard wrote: »

Anybody got a view on one over the other?

I was strongly thinking of upgrading my 305 to a 305XT until I read that that although the XT is waterproof to 50m, the GPS will not work in the water so it will not give all the stats I thought it would (and I love stats). But if you were using it for triathlons, I suppose being able to wear it from the off and time your swim would be fairly good even if it will not actually give you feedback on the speed/distance.

The 405 is smaller and neater, the 305XT has double the battery life though so if you were going doing ironmans or ultra running I'd say you'd want the 305XT but otherwise the 405 would be better. All boils down to whether you want to wear the watch while swimming, what battery life you need and whether you can live with the 'larger' 305 v's 405.

TJC

Is there much difference between the 405 and 405cx. Or is the CX just a more advanced watch?
Excuse my ignorance, but thinking about getting one of these myself and have only read a few reports on them..

Krusty_Clown

TJC wrote: »

Is there much difference between the 405 and 405cx. Or is the CX just a more advanced watch?
Excuse my ignorance, but thinking about getting one of these myself and have only read a few reports on them..

405cx comes with a soft strap (that you can now actually buy separately for the 405), and it has a new (more accurate) algorithm for calculating calorie information, taking into account heart rate. That's it, as far as I know.

jlang

Does anyone actually take any notice of the calorie figure? (Any runner, I mean)

TJC

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

405cx comes with a soft strap (that you can now actually buy separately for the 405), and it has a new (more accurate) algorithm for calculating calorie information, taking into account heart rate. That's it, as far as I know.

Doesnt seem to be too different. not too worried bout the calorie info..
Thanks for that

osnola ibax

Think kc is pretty spot on, not worth the extra outlay for cx, and soft strap gets fairly smelly from shvetting

Rusty Cogs 08

Didn't someone post that the 405cx doesn't lose the plot when it starts raining like the 405 tends to do (when you don't lock the bezile). Given the choice I'd probably go for the 405cx but not if it meant much difference in price.

mithril

osnola ivax wrote: »

I have the 405cx, it's a fantastic piece of kit. As vinny was saying above, you can check out the elevation profile on the pc after the run. That's a brilliant tool. The other day I wanted to see the difference between a 10 mile training run I did and the 5 mile lap of the Phoenix park in July.

I just opened two tabs in ie7 and could toggle between the two easy. The training run had overall elevation gain of 1100 feet and the park has an overall elevation gain of 360 x 2 I suppose for the 10 miler.

.

How accurate is the elevation data? On my Forerunner 305, the elevation data is much less accurate than the flat distance values. Wonder whether this has improved? Run a lap of the same course multiple times and you see a different elevation profile each time.

gizmo73

hey guys, if you get a watch without the HRM, can you use any HRM strap with it?? i have monitors from old watch and want to purchase

Krusty_Clown

No. The 405 accessories use ANT+ wireless technology to communicate with the watch, so an older HR monitor from another device will not work. You can use a HRM from a previous Forerunner model though, or you can buy it separately at a later stage.

asimonov

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

No. The 405 accessories use ANT+ wireless technology to communicate with the watch, so an older HR monitor from another device will not work. You can use a HRM from a previous Forerunner model though, or you can buy it separately at a later stage.

So when does that new job with garmin start?

Krusty_Clown

asimonov wrote: »

So when does that new job with garmin start?

Oh, I forget to mention, the Forerunner comes in a range of colours, to suit every outfit and occasion. The question isn't whether you can live with a Forerunner, the question is, how have you managed to live without one?

I'm actually starting back to work on Monday after a layoff of 7 months, however it's far less glamorous than a job in Garmin. So if you're a Garmin representative reading this thread, please offer me a job, or just send me free stuff. I have no scruples.