As soon as I decided to take my running training and competition more seriously, I decided it was time to buy a performance watch. After reading every review going and speaking to my running and triathlete friends, I finally bought the Garmin Forerunner 305 last May. It was loaded with all the features I was looking for, which enabled me to track my pace, time, distance and heart rate and there was some great deals to be had (I ended up buying it from Amazon as they had one of the best deals going). However, at the same time as I bought the Garmin 305 the new, and some would say more cosmetically pleasing, Garmin Forerunner 405 had just come out but it was much more expensive than the 305, the retailers didn’t have much info on them and no-one I knew had one so I couldn’t get a first hand view on what it was like.
Now, a year or so later and my trusty 305 is starting to have a few technical problems. At first I thought it was something to do with over-use or not charging it enough but over the last few months the Pace monitor on my 305 has either been wildly out or gets stuck at one pace for my entire run and doesn’t budge, even though I’m dramatically altering pace e.g. with interval sessions. I spoke to a few of my running mates about this and they told me that it was to do with Garmin switching off the gps to the 305 – something to do with changing to a new satellite system. I thought this was a little odd so I ended up calling Garmin Support, who were extremely helpful.
Garmin told me that this wasn’t true and that the 305 still received the gps signal but there was a possibility of a software problem and asked me to download and reload the unit software, and then perform a hard reset. They even sent me an email with a link to the download with step by step instructions. My 305 is now sitting next to me after being rebooted and ‘having had a clear view of the sky for 30 minutes to acquire the satellite’. But, somehow even after a reboot and handshake with the big satellite in the sky, I get the feeling that my 305 will never be the same and have decided that maybe it’s time to move on and upgrade to the Garmin 405, especially as they’ve come down in price so much over the last year or so. And, on top of that I’m also reminded of what a friend of mine once said about my 305… ‘you’ve spent all that money on a watch but you still can’t tell the time with it!’ I had to laugh because I knew he was right.
I’ve read some 405 reviews but there seems to be quite a divide between those that love it and those that think it’s a waste of money and much preferred their 305. Also, there’s now the 405CX, which is about £100 more than the 405 but there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference apart from ‘a new heart rate-based calorie computation that is more accurate, a second wrist strap option suitable for smaller wrists and a fashionable blue colour’. Also, to confuse matters more, the Garmin support guy told me about the new Garmin 310XT, which unlike the 305 and 405 is water resistant to 50 meters – an enticing proposition for a runner AND triathlete – but it still doesn’t look as attractive as the wrist watch design of the 405.
So now I wade back out into the sea of performance watch reviews and specifications to weigh up the pro’s and con’s of whether to upgrade to a 405 (or even the 310) or not… anybody got any suggestions?
Rating: 8/10
Pros: The Garmin 305 is a classic. It’s a fantastic heart rate monitor and gps for running (and some Triathletes we know even strap it to their handlebars for bike training).
Cons: Sadly the 305 is being superceded, is a bit of a brick on your wrist, and isn’t waterproof.