Garmin Forerunner 305 replacement suggestions?

MiketheMechanic

It's time to replace my 7 year old Garmin Forerunner 305.
It has been a great watch, and served me well, but the battery life is getting shorter and shorter.
I will probably get the battery replaced and keep it as a second/spare watch, but in the meantime, I am on the lookout for an upgrade.

The watch is used for running only - I don't swim or cycle with it.

What I like on the 305:
Up to 4 programmable fields visible at same time - e.g time elapsed, pace, distance, heart rate.
press 1 button on side to get 4 more different fields.
Large clear display.
Accurate heart rate via chest strap (which I'm used to and don't mind)
Fast-ish finding satellites on start up.
Excellent GPS receiver - holds satellites even in urban terrain or forestry.
Good battery when new - used to last 7-8 hours. Down to under 2 now :-(
Virtual Partner.
Programming for different training sessions.

Dislike on the 305:
Bit bulky, but you get used to it.
Charging dock and training center software a bit clunky to use now by modern standards.
Very hard to hear the beep of time or distance alert as it's located on the underside of watch - a known limitation of the 305

What Garmin would people recommend as a modern replacement?

MtM

BeepBeep67

Depends on if the primary use is for multi-sport, if so check out the xt range.
910 if you want an older model, 935 is then top of the range if you want enhanced battery life and functionality, the 735 sits a below this.
I picked up a 735 recently second hand as I was in between devices, it's a great little watch, but don't think the battery would support a full IM. Outside of that you are into the fenix range 3/5 and 5+.
If it's just for running, then that's another conversation.
Check out here for great product reviews and comparisons.

MiketheMechanic

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Depends on if the primary use is for multi-sport

Running only.

Great comparison site.
Was thinking a 935 or 735 all right. 910 might be a little old now.
How about the 920?

The Black Oil

Have the same watch, also for 7 years. It's been a great workhorse, really. It no longer syncs with my computer without killing my Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Haven't determined if that's an Apple or Garmin problem, not sure I'll ever find out. By modern standards it's a little dinosaur ish, but I kinda like that (for its time).

I've a 25 which is going fine. Bit limited on screen size, though. Curious to see what might be recommended as a replacement for the 305 from a running only perspective. Handy thing about the 25 is Bluetooth which makes syncing to Garmin Connect straightforward.

sixpack's little hat

I had a 305 for 6 or 7 years too and went with a Garmin Forrunner 235 when it finally packed in about 2 years back.

It's a bit on the expensive side but looks to hit all the pros you list for the 305 and improves on the cons.

The optic heartrate was a bit hit or miss when I got it first but I read on here that it works better when it is tight on your arm and once I started doing that it has worked a treat.

Supercell

Upgraded my 405 to the 235 a couple of years ago and haven't looked back. Tried to justify the update to the 645 when it came out and couldn't really see a good reason to buy bar wanting something shiny and new, the 235 already covers the bases, so i'll stick with it for another few years yet.

MiketheMechanic

Is amazon UK the cheapest place to pick up a new Garmin 235?

RayCun

MiketheMechanic wrote: »

Is amazon UK the cheapest place to pick up a new Garmin 235?

looks like it
https://pricespy.ie/phones-gps/wearables/fitness-watches/garmin-forerunner-235--p3376682?q=garmin%20235

The Black Oil

Ordered the 235 from Amazon. Will see how it goes. Built in HRM will be handy.

MiketheMechanic

The Black Oil wrote: »

Ordered the 235 from Amazon. Will see how it goes. Built in HRM will be handy.

You must be a mind reader. I just picked up mine from Parcel Motel this morning :-)

First run in the morning. First impressions are that it feels so flimsy and light compared to my old 305. We will see :-)

The Black Oil

Out of the box it had no power - normally new devices do, but it was probably sitting in a warehouse for months. Anyway, charged and set it up and was flicking through the menus when it completely froze. It did that twice and even shutting it down was looking difficult. Went to brush my teeth (brush has a 2 minute timer) and it still hadn't shut down. It did...eventually.

Think it was software 7.6 out of the box and I upgraded it to 7.8. It's been absolutely spot on since, no freezing or software hiccups. Have used it on every run so far and am very happy with it.

greenspurs

MiketheMechanic wrote: »

You must be a mind reader. I just picked up mine from Parcel Motel this morning :-)

First run in the morning. First impressions are that it feels so flimsy and light compared to my old 305. We will see :-)

How did it go?

Im looking for a new watch at the moment, so all info being gathered...

Supercell

greenspurs wrote: »

How did it go?

Im looking for a new watch at the moment, so all info being gathered...

245 on the way and it is likely to have Garmin pay..its got my name on it! Thats the one feature I could use a lot, no need to carry my wallet with me when out and about most times and on a run i can pop in and pay using the watch.
Nb. Only KBC currently support Garmin pay in Ireland.
It might have some new running metrics which I'm mostly meh about, 235 ticks the boxes enough already but lately my one has been restarting by itself and is taking a good 5 minutes to get GPS lock which is driving me mad.

MiketheMechanic

Sorry. Meant to reply to this sooner.
I love the 235. It does everything that my old 305 did, only better. Garmin Connect software is good to use and works well with Strava.
I think the 235 is good value for what it does.
Great battery. Recommended. Hope this helps.

MtM

greenspurs wrote: »

How did it go?

Im looking for a new watch at the moment, so all info being gathered...

the 245 / 245 music is without garmin pay

Garmin's segmentation model is highly annoying

the vivoactive 3 with music is going for a good price at the moment in argos uk - with garmin pay