Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor (Bilingual)

Manufacturer : Garmin Model : 010-00467-02 ASIN : B000E3XPYQ Price : 396.42$ Last Price : 159.97$(Discount 59.6463347% See Special Offers Amazon.ca Review Just when you thought Garmin had cornered the market on powerful, affordable, and effective wrist-mounted GPS devices, here comes the Forerunner 305. The release of this device is a major achievement from a design and technology per Most Helpful Customer Reviews 961 of 969 people found the following review helpful: Excellent workout tool I like this thing quite a lot. I've had it for about three weeks, and have used it on 12 workouts so far. I use it primarily for running, with biking a secondary usage. The main reason I wanted it was for the instantaneous readout of distance, running pace and heart rate, the latter needed for the speed work I want to do this running season. The core functionality (distance and heart rate monitoring) works perfectly. There's none of the signal drops I've had with other heart monitors. Once the satellites are initially acquired, I've only had one dropout when I was outside. The initial acquisition of the satellites can be quirky and can take some time. The accuracy (according to the readout) is +/- 25ft, depending on how many satellites can be found. I've compared the distance measurement on the GPS with a known, measured distance on one of the trails I run on (the Chicago lakefront path). The GPS always increments a mile when I'm within 5 or 10 feet of the mile marker sign on the path. Well, I guess that's the least I should expect from a $350 GPS unit! Of course it's bigger than a normal running stopwatch, but that hasn't bothered me at all. The heart rate strap is also very comfortable and well-designed. The display is crisp and has one outstanding feature: The information presented on the various pages can be completely user-customized. The default screen layout is rather poor, but in just a few steps I could replace it with the information I wanted to see while I run. There are almost 40 different data fields you can choose from for display. Examples: current pace, average lap pace, average run pace, heartrate, distance. The only disappointment is the point-in-time (instantaneous) pace measurement: It varies wildly during a run. I see swings as big as +/- 3 minutes/mile. I'm a marathoner and I know my pace is fairly consistent during a run. I just looked at my run today, and according to the data the first mile varied from 5:57/mile to 12:06 mile. I suspect the problem is either in the averaging algorithm (too short a distance?), or in the uncertainty that results from different satellites coming in and out of view. The variations seem to get worse under tree cover compared with an open area. Luckily there's a lap-average pace that can be presented, and at least that value is useful and more accurate. The bottom line is that you can't look at the watch and say "right now I'm running 9 mins/mile". There is the ability to specify a pace smoothing factor, but I have it maxed out and still see the variations. The elevation readout also seems inaccurate, but that isn't important to me. Upload of workout data to the PC software (Training Center) is transparent. The PC software is very good for presenting time/distance/pace/heartrate/calorie data. However the maps it shows are very crude. I've worked a bit with one of the online, subscription services (MotionBased). That looks really good and provides some additional functionality beyond the included Training Center software, although I still haven't decided if it's worth the $$$ yet for long-term data storage. MotionBased allows export to Google Earth, and it's tremendously cool to see your running path superimposed on a satellite image. You can recharge the unit through the USB port on your computer, although it's slower than using the dedicated recharger. I had hoped that owning this device would prove motivational for me, and indeed it has. I can't imagine running or biking without it. Updating my training log is trivial now: Plug this thing into my computer, and it's done. My hope is that a future software update will do something about the pace calculation (maybe a few additional levels of smoothing?). If so, the Forerunner 305 would earn 5 stars+++. Positives: Flawless heart rate sampling Great distance measuring and lap-average pace calculation Seamless integration with a PC Fully-automatic training log update User-customizable display Negatives; Wildly-varying pace readout. 478 of 479 people found the following review helpful: Better than 405 & Polar...GOOGLE EARTH alone is worth the upgrade!!!          I use mine for cycling and running, the direct link to see your workouts mapped on GOOGLE EARTH is FANTASTIC!!!! (the included software is far more stable than the junk Polar included with their HRM's. Heart rate strap with replaceable battery is coded and comfortable. It's better in my opinion than the Polar products (of which I've owned three) This is much better than the Forerunner 201 which I previously owned (locks on satellites 10 times faster) and I'd avoid the 405 unless you really want to use this watch as a normal day to day wristwatch (check out the 405 reviews) One nice feature is being able to customize the display screens. Another review criticized the 305 for the numbers being too small to read while exercising. I don't have an issue but would point out that you can significantly increase the size of the display by simply displaying fewer fields. My only complaint is that it's easy to leave it on and run the battery down - which is a bummer if you're just about to work out. I wish there was an "auto off" feature which would shut it down if it detects no movement or heart rate within an hour or so. Fortunately, with Li-Ion batteries, as little as a 10 minute charge gives you enough juice for a 90 minute run. If you've found this review to be helpful, please let me know! 529 of 534 people found the following review helpful: All I hoped for!    With a few one-star reviews, I was a bit hesitant to order this. Now, after two weeks of use (10 runs of 2 to 2.5 miles each), I have no regrets with the purchase whatsoever. I haven't had any of the problems reported by any of the one-star reviewers. It syncs to the satellite in a reasonable* amount of time, seems to track my pace very well, tracks distance well, and the heart rate monitor seems WAY more accurate than the dedicated exercise machines at my local gym. *by reasonable, it does take a minute or two to sync to the satellites each time. That's the only thing I could possibly think of improving, but it's not a big deal. Being the super-impatient person I am, I often turn on the watch, set it on my front porch, go back in and change into my running outfit, and by the time I come back out it's ready to go. I haven't seen the pacing issues others have reported. I'm a beginning runner... but if I keep a solid pace... it reports about 10mins/mile... if I push a little harder... about 9mins/mile... if I let up... about 11mins/mile. It seems very consistent over my entire 2-2.5 mile run. I have a 2.1 mile run where I've done the same exact route about 6 times... and when I compare the maps of each run... they overlap almost exactly. I have thyroid and heart issues, and this watch gives me the confidence to know I'm not exceeding my max hr for too long (I can easily get into the 180's) and gives me the feedback and stats to keep me motivated. Last but not least, I've bought dozens and dozens of items from Amazon over the years, and this is the first review I've taken the time to write - hope that gives you an indication of how happy I am with this product. ;-) Most Recent Customer Reviews Garmin Forerunner 305 with Heart Rate Monitor Phenomenal product!! I have owned almost every incarnation of the Garmin Forerunner and this is by far the most comprehensive product for the price!! by Runner007 I love my Garmin I have been using the Garmin 305 for many years,it is as important as my running shoes. After 10 years, it finally broke, so I tried some other new models. by bfit4life Review of Garmin Forerunner 305 This is a great piece of equipment. It has not lost a signal yet where as my old Forerunner 301 (which I loved) lost the signal on certain runs somewhat frequently. by Achilles34 Best tool for tracking your runs I love the Garmin 305! I was using an old iPhone with a running app to log my runs, monitor speed, distance, etc. by Runwithhorses Completely satisfied! Very satisfied. Arrived a day before the estimate, packaged well, all was exactly as advertised. 100% satisfied with service and product. by Barbara L. TerBeest Totally Reliable I love my 305. I've had it for 2.5 years now and find it totally reliable. Only drawback is it is bulky but you will easily get used to it. Value for money. by Michael Paderes Forerunner 305 GPS, works as promised Bought this HRM and have been using it for the last couple months. So far I'm happy with this product, it has performed as advertised. by JC Third time's the charm This is the third GPS enabled HRM I've tried in recent weeks. I started out to replace a Polar S625X that I've been using for several years. by John L. Walker Love it!!!!!!!!! My original Garmin 305 is two years old. Last month, I couldn't get it to charge and I was in a panic! by Marathon Runner 1 yr x-box 360 live code didn't work I am currently deployed and my sons x-box 360 live code had expired. I ordered him a new one on amazon.com and e-mailed it as a gift to him. by Mike Guy

See More Facebook And Join