Which Garmin, if any.

[Al Fowler]

Its my birthday soon...and well, i thought id have a think about what i'd fancy.

Ive always wanted to get a nice snazzy garmin so i know how far ive run/got left to go and the climb.
I was tempted to ask for one at christmas but since my knees started i thought sod it im never going to run again for god knows how long and it'll never get used.

I know every man and his dog seems to have one so there should be plenty of advise.

Is the 405 still the most up-to-date?



Flippin expensive bit of kit though



Or, is there anything else on the market that does the same job.

[noel]

I've been very happy with my 305. I've yet to be persuaded of the benefits of the 405, other that they look more like a watch.

You can get a 305 for about £110 if you get it from the US via ebay.

[skennaugh]

Is it the 305 i have? Big with red bits? If so, thats the one you want Al. Good for the bike too.

[southernsoftie]

Is it the 305 i have? Big with red bits? If so, thats the one you want Al. Good for the bike too.

Spoken like a true expert

I got the 305, and from what I can remember from the half dozen times or so I used it before my knees gave in again, it was just the ticket. Comes with HR strap too.

[skennaugh]

Spoken like a true expert

I got the 305, and from what I can remember from the half dozen times or so I used it before my knees gave in again, it was just the ticket. Comes with HR strap too.

I usually forget to turn the bloody thing on!

[melbas]

The 405 has a lower battery life, quoted as up to 8 hours. My 205 (the 305 without the heartrate monitor) lasted for 12 and a half hours on a long rainy race last December. So if you like long distance challenges you should perhaps consider that. I find it great for checking your pace and uploading details after training.

[Tom Smith]

Its my birthday soon...and well, i thought id have a think about what i'd fancy.

Ive always wanted to get a nice snazzy garmin so i know how far ive run/got left to go and the climb.
I was tempted to ask for one at christmas but since my knees started i thought sod it im never going to run again for god knows how long and it'll never get used.

I know every man and his dog seems to have one so there should be plenty of advise.

Is the 405 still the most up-to-date?



Flippin expensive bit of kit though



Or, is there anything else on the market that does the same job.

I've got the Garmin 305 and it does the job. It might be worth having a look at the new Suunto "T" range as a fell runner. Measures distance, heart rate, time etc like the Garmin, but has some of the features of the Suunto Core mountaineering watches i.e. altitude, barometer, compass etc which is useful for fell running and mountain marathons in particular. They're bomb proof too.

[Daletownrunner]

Its my birthday soon...and well, i thought id have a think about what i'd fancy.

Ive always wanted to get a nice snazzy garmin so i know how far ive run/got left to go and the climb.
I was tempted to ask for one at christmas but since my knees started i thought sod it im never going to run again for god knows how long and it'll never get used.

I know every man and his dog seems to have one so there should be plenty of advise.

Is the 405 still the most up-to-date?



Flippin expensive bit of kit though



Or, is there anything else on the market that does the same job.

I've had the 205 twice!! the battery connections eventually disintegrate, Garmin will repair but it costs around the 50 quid mark, I've given up now and just run how I feel which I think has made me quicker and I've run enough local routes to have a good idea of how far things are, as a bonus I now no longer run with my 'Garmin arm' which my kids used to make fun of, I've only been running for around 7 years so found the Garmin a helpful tool when starting out, I did find that I had a tendency to 'race the watch' all the time or add extra miles, as nine and a half was never enough, it always had to be 10, then when it was 10 every run had to be a half marathon etc etc.

[Blacky]

'Garmin arm'

lol, I can see myself developing one of those.
I've only been at it for a few months and think it will definitely help keep track of progress etc.
Think the bezel's relatively sorted on the 410 now - not sure I'm gonna need 20 hours battery life for a while yet but what's it really like on the 410?

Edit:
Just compared the specs for the 410 and the 310xt (thanks for that Yaks) and basically they're the same apart from the battery life (way more on the 310) and some multi sport related functions (of no use to me) and, obviously, they look different. 410 has to be the winner then, as it's cheaper!

[Yaks]

not sure I'm gonna need 20 hours battery life for a while yet but what's it really like on the 410?

The actual battery life you will get will depend on how many features you have enabled - eg distance alerts ( beeps or vibration say every mile ), time alerts, etc, how often you use the light, how often you look at different screens during the run, etc, etc. I normally get about 6.5 hours from my FR610 which I think has the same battery as the FR410