Garmin 305 HR/GPS watch review

After all these years of doing my own thing, I never paid attention to using a HR monitor to track my progress or view how my efforts were performing.  It was either go easy or go hard.  I felt like I didn't need something to tell me how hard I was going...I just did it!

Only recently when I signed up for my first timed event, that I took training a bit more seriously (and organized) that I found that heart rate meant many things to me to perform appropriately.  There are days of rest, days of intervals and days of endurance training.  Using the HR monitor keeps me in check and gives me goals on paper that helps me to build upon.  Using one of my favorite analytical tactics; reading Amazon.com reviews on products, I picked a Garmin 305 Forerunner w/GPS.  Amazon has a return policy and also it shipped quick....Kudos!

When I received the unit, the form factor was a little on the large side, yet it wasn't "bulky".  The commonly used buttons, start-top and lap are large buttons on the front and easy to hit (good and bad?).  The others are enter, up/down on the right, and mode and power on the left.








The first setup involved was pairing up the heart strap and then fitting it on myself.  At first if felt awkward, but I quickly got used to it and even forgot it was even there during my excercise.  Secondly, I setup the screens the way I wanted to see them for each individual sport - running and biking.  I'm a numbers guy, so the large screen and the ability to go 4,3,2 and 1 options is awesome.  I currently run with 4 options on my main screen - Average Pace, Current Pace, Distance and Time.  You can scroll to other "run" screens to see other items in which I have Elevation, Time and Speed setup.  By toggling the up and down arrows, you can satisfy the numbers junkie in you.  The one odd thing that sticks out is that it takes about a minute of non-movement to get the GPS locked in.  I usually set it down somewhere when it does this in the beginning and I will do my warmup stretches.

For the bike, I strap it to my handlebars for ease of view and it does fine using the strap that it comes with.  The cool accessories available are: replacement band for bike mounting and velcro strap, wireless cadence and speed sensor.  Another is the footpod sensor to track your running on a treadmill/indoor/cruise ship!.

It comes with a USB dock that allows for transfer of information as well as charging it.  I rarely run out of battery as long as I dock it every other day.  Any longer then 3 days of training, the 4th day is probably in jeopardy.  I would rate the battery life to be above-average.

The current design upgrades from the 305 (405 etc..) has had quite a few of negative reviews from form factor to GPS accuracy.  The touch bezel apparently does not work very well with sweaty/wet fingers.  Many have reported going back to their old 305 as they were much happier with the results.

Here are my pros and cons:  Remember this is my first HR watch, so I really don't have much to compare against. 

Pros:
-GPS accuracy - It seems dead on while running comparing markers, at races etc. as long as you don't continually run under a bridge/tunnel.

- Ease of use - 6 buttons give you much of what you need easily.  Nothing fancy, simple.

- Large screen with options - Let's you customize what you want to see and still read it easily on the 4 option version.

- Distance/pace/hr alerts are audible -  I can still hear it with my headphones and music playing.  There are plenty of alerts that you can activate.

- Backlight - Very even toned and bright enough to view in the darkest run.

- Easy dock for charging - charges and downloads/uploads information at the same time.

- Virtual Partner - race against yourself or others to keep things lively.  I find running boring if I'm on my normal route and these little nuggets keep you going.

Cons:
- No auto power off - Remember to turn it off or no worky for you next time out!

- A few times during biking the HR monitor was reading erractically - It would show me having a 234 bpm on a ride at the beginning.  I would be dead!  A reset or rescan seems to fix this.  I also changed the watch battery in the strap to ensure it wasn't a power problem.  It has happened maybe 3-4 times in the past 6 months.  It is a bit annoying but it seems to clear up soon.  Maybe its a skin contact issue?

- GPS will auto pause while under a bridge - of course is there a way around this?  It is looking for a satellite, so I don't think there really is a solution to this.

- Uploading software - The software that comes with the watch for your computer stinks and seems antique. I don't use it personally and instead upload to connect.garmin.com.  A much more improved interface and updated maps, it gives a nice calendar to work with.  The only thing is sorting data is either slow, or doesn't exisist.  You have to use the PC software for that.

I want to pass this information on so that if you are interested in either upgrading or getting a new watch, hopefully this info will help you choose one that will fit your needs.

What do you own that you like or don't like about your watch?