Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $299.99

Amazon Price: $143.54

The Garmin Forerunner 305 is a big step up from getting data through basic stop watches – such as GPS training capabilities to monitor your distance, pace and elevation!

Here’s what you would get out of the box:

• Forerunner 305
• Heart rate monitor
• Garmin Training Center® software
• Docking cradle
• Expander strap
• AC charger
• USB cable
• Owner’s manual
• Quick start guide

Like the previous Forerunner models, the Garmin Forerunner 305 would show your pace, speed, and distance travelled as you go along your track. The biggest addition to it is that it that the Forerunner 305 comes built in with its own heart rate monitor functionality.

Unlike lower or entry level models that needed optional accessories for heart rate functions, the Forerunner 305 comes with this functionality built into the device. Training enthusiasts know that knowing and understanding your heart rate as you train is important. Through the heart rate data, a runner would be able to know how intense he is going at his training. That’s why it is great that the Forerunner 305 has highly accurate sensors to provide you with ECG-level heart rate data.

Other notable features of the Garmin Forerunner 305 include the Virtual Partner. In the Virtual partner, a runner’s spirit of competition is ignited as he is provided with a virtual competitor on screen. In virtual partner mode, the Forerunner 305 displays how far ahead or behind you are compared to a competitor.

The Forerunner 305 also has easily customizable display screens that the Garmin Forerunner 305 has. This features means that the Forerunner 305’s  four quadrants that display training information can be customized to suit your needs. Beginning runners can just look at time, laps, or total training time, while those who want more data can opt for pace, heart rate (HR), distance and lap time or other data.

Runners don’t have to stress though if they are not able to immediately see the data they want. All the data tracked by the Garmin Forerunner 305 are stored in its internal memory. This would allow runners to easily review and look back at their past performances and see their improvements.

Another way to look at past data would be to download it to your computer. The great thing about the Garmin Forerunner 305 is that its bundled computer software is a joy to use. The included Garmin Training Center software is very easy to configure and would truly help runners calculate just how effective their training is.

Packing intermediate to advance running features, and a highly affordable price, the Garmin Forerunner 305 is custom made for moderate to advanced runners who are searching for great GPS functionality and easy computer integration from their running watches.

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Related posts:

1. Garmin Forerunner 205 Review
2. Garmin Forerunner 205/305/405 – Top Running Watch 2009
3. GARMIN 010 00329 05 Forerunner 101 Wrist Mounted GPS Fitness Computer

Garmin Forerunner 101

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $114.27

Amazon Price: $130.00

The compactly designed Garmin Forerunner 101 is capable of providing precise and accurate speed, distance, and pace data to all the runners. It can track calories burned, lap history, and all other performance data necessary for improving training.

The Forerunner 101 even takes this data a step further and can create a Virtual Partner that helps runners reach their goals better. The Virtual Partner can be configured so that the runner can check if they are able to keep to the pace that they want their running training to have.

What separates the Forerunner 101 from other devices is the fact that it is a high quality Garmin GPS device. This means that precise latitude, longitude, and altitude data can be expected from it. This allows runners to mark specific areas, and navigate to them through an electronic map

It is also notable that the Garmin Forerunner 101 is easily adaptable to any situation. There are many accessories available to suit your need. There are available accessories to make it better equipped for cycling, distance running or other physical activities.

What’s in the box:
Forerunner 101 unit, wrist strap, manual, and quickstart guide.

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User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Garmin 101
Disappointed with the unit. It has great capabilities and the price was right, but the pace function does not work dependably, and the battery life does not appear to be the 14 hours advertised. I needed a battery operated unit so that I could use the Garmin while hiking peaks from a backpack/backcountry situation, therefore being able to replace batts and use it every day, and during the pack, to track elevation and distance, etc. I have the 201 for day hikes, which charges electrically. It could be operator error, but battery life should not be…

1 Star Worked, For About 2 Weeks
My loving wife gave this to me after I commented how much my brother liked his. And for about 2 weeks it was pretty cool to watch my speed and distance while and ran or rode my bike, and to get data from the runs. Then it started acting up, and I switched batteries a couple times and re-read the manual but by the end of 3 weeks of semi-daily usage it quit altogether. I didn’t use this product in the rain or combat or anything, just for running and bike riding, honest. I am about to send it back and I hope to heck I just get our money back. The product I got was truly garbage and I advise anyone against buying it. Who needs to spend good money on something that only works 2 weeks? This reinforces my philosophy that sports and fitness should be kept simple, that going high tech is a waste of time and money.

4 Stars Nice little GPS
GPS system works great. I was originally skeptical of it being comfortable due to its size, but it hasn’t been a problem. The only complaint I have is that it goes through batteries very quickly. I probably put a new set in every week. Need to get some rechargeables.

Otherwise, I’m very happy with my Garmin.

3 Stars Good for distance, Poor for pacing.
If your looking for a GPS watch under $100 to just measure distance walked, run, or biked, then this watch will fit the bill. But if your a runner or biker looking for more advanced features like pacing you will probably be better served getting the Forerunner 205 for $50 more.

Here is my experience with the Forerunner 101:

I run a 5 mile loop along a pedestrian only parkway next to a lake. The distance markers have been measured and verified by a local track club so I know they are accurate. The Forerunner 101 usually hits the markers right on or is within +/- .05 of the marker, and the total distance is also within this variance. The pacing is a different matter. I usually run this 5 mile loop in around 40 mins. for a mile pace of about 8 mins./mile. The watch pacing swings wildly up or down per mile so one minute it says I’m running 10 mins./mile and then a few seconds later 7 mins./mile. During the course of the run it will level off for awhile to what seems a fairly accurate pace reading of about 8 mins./mile, but at some point will fluctuate wildly again. I have also used this watch in a 5K race with the same pacing fluctuations.

The GPS acquisition when you first turn on the watch does take awhile, normally 2 – 5 minutes. So you definitely don’t want to turn the watch on a few seconds before they fire the gun to start a race. I like the history log that records and stores the times for each run by weeks, this makes it easy to track each run without having to enter the information in a database.

The bottom line here is to keep in mind this watch has been around since 2002, so the technology is dated. If your on a tight budget and just want to know your distance traveled this watch should work for you, otherwise put the money towards a newer model.

4 Stars satisfied
This is the first & only gps watch I have owned. I live in a rural area with no tall buildings. I have been very satisfied with the Forerunner 101 as compared to the cost. I typically turn it on and set it on my front porch a few minutes before I run. 98% of the time I have no problems, when I have a problem it’s with signal strength. I love having time/pace/total distance all displayed at once. The distance seems to be very accurate & consistant. I was afraid the bulk of the watch would bother me but it hasn’t. Two AAA batteries are lasting me over 50 miles which is not bad if you only run 10-15 miles a week like me. I recently ran my first half-marathon and enjoyed being able to go back on the watch and see my pace for each mile of the race.

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Related posts:

1. Garmin Forerunner 310XT GPS Enabled Sports Watch
2. Garmin Forerunner 405 Wireless GPS Enabled Sports Watch
3. Garmin Forerunner 205/305/405 – Top Running Watch 2009