So what makes the best running watch? These are the top factors to consider for choosing the best one:

1. Accuracy of Data
2. Durable yet Comfortable construction
3. Features and Capabilities
4. Good Value for Money

With these factors, here are what I believe to be the top running watches for 2010:

Timex Men’s Ironman 100-Lap FLIX System Watch

Timex Men's T5E231 Ironman 100-Lap Watch

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $69.95

Amazon Price: $44.50

Out of the three running watches that are in consideration for the best running watch for 2010, the Timex Men’s Ironman 100-Lap FLIX System Watch is the one with the least features as it does not really have any data connectivity or GPS powered functionality.

It is a no frills running watch that would enable the runner to accurately check the basic things necessary for tracking their runs. It gives you easy access to checking you split and lap times, using a 100 hour chronograph, and storing up to 100 lap memory recall. It also has a training log that stores your workouts by date as well as best lap, or total running times.

Perhaps the best thing about the Timex Men’s Ironman 100-Lap FLIX System Watch is that you would be able to get all of these features without having to spend so much. You can get all of these functionalities, as well as the quality and durability that Timex is known for with just over 45 US$.

Another factor that puts this into consideration is that this is one of the best selling running watches in the market right now. Perhaps this is because of the strong combination of features that can be had at a very low price.

Garmin Forerunner 405

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: Varies based on product options

Amazon Price: View Sale Price

The Garmin Forerunner 405 is one of the newer running watches that is in the running for the best running watch for 2010.

It is a GPS enabled running watch that uses its innovative technology to track training data such as distance, and pace on top of the usual running watch features of chronographs with splits and lap times. It also computes calories burned and heart rate.

The great thing about the Garmin Forerunner 405 is that it can wirelessly and seamlessly connect to your computer for easier analysis of the accurate data that you have tracked.

As an added incentive for the Forerunner 405, Garmin has created it to be much more sleeker than traditional GPS enabled running watches. This means that form and functionality are able to be balanced instead of the bulky or unwieldy GPS running watches that were available before.

Unfortunately, all of these features would literally come at a price, as you could expect to be set back by around 350-400 US$ if you purchase this feature-filled running watch.

Garmin Forerunner 305

Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor

Overall Rating:

Retail Price: $299.99

Amazon Price: $234.99

Despite being older than the other models of running watches in this list, the Garmin Forerunner 305 is still making a strong case as one of the best running watches for 2010.

This is because this gps-enabled rung watch is still loaded with enough features that enable it to stand with the newer models that came out after it. Through its GPS capabilities you would also be able to accurately track training data such as your distance and pace, and your calories burned.  It would also be packed in with the usual chronograph features of other running watches.

While it may not be as advanced as its newer counterpart, the Forerunner 405, it sure beats it when it comes to price, as you would roughly spend just 200 US $ for a complete package of the Garmin Forerunner 305.

My Pick as the BEST Running Watch for 2010:

All of these running watches are great, that’s why all of them are currently selling quite well in the market. However, my overall pick for the best running watch for 2010 would be:

Garmin Forerunner 305

I chose this stroller primarily because of the value for money aspect of it. For 200 US$ you can get a feature filled running watch that is nearly as capable as it’s more expensive and newer counterparts.

Yes, it may not have the built in heart rate monitors, or cadence sensors that the other watches have but you would be able to offset it by purchasing accessories with the total cost still ending up much cheaper than buying a new running watch.

With that said, if ever the sleeker Forerunner 405, would become cheaper and reach a price point that is near the Garmin Forerunner 305, then I may have to change my pick in the future!

Buy / More Info

Related posts:

1. Personalizing Your GPS Running Watch
2. Running Watch Favorites
3. Garmin Forerunner 205/305/405 – Top Running Watch 2009

The Sports Instruments Fit 3 Heart Rate Monitor is a good choice for anyone looking for a training tool for keeping fit and staying healthy.

The Fit 3 Heart Rate Monitors provide runners with a way to track their training data. They would be able to see their Heart Rates, track their distance travelled, and even learn about their pace during their training. It even has 3 separate training zones to ensure that you can find the proper training intensity that your body can handle.

The Fit 3 Heart Rate Monitor also features a chart mode that can help people track their previous work-outs. It would display results and you would be able to see if you are improving your running times through training.

The Sports Instruments Fit 3 Heart Rate Monitor also has a zoom feature that makes the display easier to read. This makes all your data much more easier to analyze and handle.

Buy/More Info

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars nice HRM but the case breaks
nice HRM but the case breaks

i think they quit making them too

the ears that hold the band on, break

i have had 5 of them so far!

no, i am not doing anything special to make them break

on the other hand it is a very good HRM

you can just exercise and later see how much time you spent

in 3 separate zones

the zones are not changeable

they are

50-70% max

70-80

80-up

i like that better than having to set ‘training zones’ like all other HRMS

this one is different

i like the way it works better

if the cases were any good

they aren;t

both batteries are user replaceable

battery life is good

wle.

5 Stars Best HR monitor yet
I’ve been using the Sports Instruments Fit-3 Heart Rate monitor for about a month now and it’s proven to be great. I especially like the ‘zoom’ feature, making it easier to read. The ‘chart’ mode is great also as I can keep a record of past work-outs. I previously used another brand of HR monitor that was good, but this unit is great!

2 Stars Sports Instruments products were produced in 2003 or earlier
Sports Instruments (SI) was a Utah based company with 3-4 employees that was sold to Bell Sports in 2004 (and Bell Sports was later sold to Easton Sports in 2006). SI’s activities had slowed, and it is reasonable to believe that Sports Instruments Pro, Fit and ECG Heart Rate Wristwatches were last produced in 2003 or earlier. Products were made in Asia by a reputable factory.

Designer and competitive masters athlete Bill Corliss created products with an intelligently designed user interface that was easy to use. The Pro 7 and Pro 9 Hear Rate Wristwatches provided detailed and valuable data for the serious athlete. The Fit and the earlier ECG Fitness Heart Rate Wristwatches had fewer advanced features. The chest transmitter should work with most fitness equipment designed to work with the Polar standard.

If you buy an SI watch, you should know that the original batteries are at the end of their shelf life. Unless the seller has recently replaced batteries, you will quickly or immediately face the burden and cost of dealing with battery issues.

Replacing the watch batteries is too difficult for most consumers. Even a professional repair person must use care to maker certain that the parts are precisely returned to the original positions to maintain water resistance. Expect to pay $9-20 to have the watch battery replaced, and tell your repair person you want the product to keep its water resistance. The battery on the wireless chest transmitter may be less drained than the watch’s and is user replaceable, a nice feature. The chest transmitter’s CR2032 3-volt lithium battery should be available for under $4. Total outlay for 2 batteries: $13-24.

The Sports Instruments Pro, Fit and ECG products are closeouts with manufacturing dates of 2003 or earlier. If you are willing to deal with battery replacement issues, make certain that you get a good enough price to justify the added repair burdens … and that you get good information about how to obtain warranty service from a brand that is no longer produced.

4 Stars Works like charm
I have really enjoyed this product. As some have mentioned on this page i also experienced some issues with battery life. I sent in the product to the mfr (the warranty is for 2 years from purchase)the bater was replaced and I got it back within 2 days. Their service department was greatIt now works like a charm and I couldn’t be happier. I use it 5 times a week and have yet to see another monitor with the same features for the same amount of money.

1 Star DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM
Beware, I received this watch and it did not work, when I sent the inquiry to Infitinate Surplus, I never received a response. Wish I had read all the reviews prior to ordering and realized it had been manufactured in 2003!! The watch arrived DOA! Now Amazon says Infinite_Surplus has a policy that once an item has been opened, they will not take it back (Amazon should be ashamed of themselves for making people read the fine print of their re-sellers for shipping a product that doesn’t work, how are you supposed to find out it doesn’t work unless you open it????) In any event, this watch came in a box that had obviously been opened before and taped back shut. Now I think Amazon AND Infinite-Surplus are a huge rip-off

Buy/More Info

Related posts:

1. Garmin 010 00679 05 Forerunner 50 Sports Watch with Heart Rate Monitor and USB ANT Stick
2. Polar RS300X Heart Rate Monitor Watch Orange
3. Polar RS300X SD Heart Rate Monitor Watch with S1 Foot Pod Black

The Garmin Forerunner 405CX GPS Sport Watch with Heart Rate Monitor helps you improve your training by using the most modern technological innovations.

The Forerunner 405CX is considered as the evolution of GPS-enabled training. It allows you to easily record your training data such as distance, pace, calories burned and heart rate. It could even use this data to help you by creating a Forerunner Virtual Partner that will help in challenging you to improve your running times.

Of course this training data would not be useful if you would not be able to analyze them. That’s why aside from the internal memory where the Forerunner 405CX stores your training data, you can use the included USB ANT stick that uses the innovative ANT+ wireless technology automatically to transfers information to your computer.

This allows you to use running software to study your training patterns or even share your workouts and results online.

If these features do not seem to suit all your needs, just remember that there a variety of optional wireless accessories, such as foot pod or bike sensors to make the Garmin Forerunner 405CX GPS Sport Watch with Heart Rate Monitor match any kind of training that you do.

What’s in the Box
Forerunner 405CX, USB ANT stick, Heart rate monitor, Two additional wrist straps, AC charger, Charging clip, Owner’s manual on disk, Quick reference guide

Buy/More Info

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Awesome
First and foremost, do not expect to be able to just put it on and it will work properly. Like anything that costs a bit more, you have to read the instructions. So if you cannot follow directions then you will have a heck of a time trying to use it. I took it on a test run just so I could get a feel for it.

The only problem I had with it was that it wasn’t connecting to the satelites in order for the GPS to work. I had to go back in and re-read the instructions.

*Note- If you want to use the GPS, make sure the power save mode is off because that mode interferes with the satelites.*

Once I figured out the satelites, it took several minutes for the watch to locate them, which kind of sucks if its cold outside. You have to stand still until it picks up on the satelites.

Also, make sure the GPS is turned off while you are inside because it will try to connect to the satelites and use up your battery life.

There are so many neat features on this watch but what I thought was so cool was auto-pause setting. This feature will pause your watch if you get below a certain speed. This is good for when you are at stoplights.

I also liked how the watch is set up to transmit your watch data wirelessly. Once transmitted, you can go on garmin connect and view your results.

This is a complicated device, but once you have it all set up and figured out, it’s very easy to use. I really recommend this watch to anyone who wants something that will help them with their training and to track their progress.

4 Stars Good workout partner
I am very happy with this GPS but it does have some quirks.

I have an Edge 305 on my bicycle so maybe the learning curve was easier for me, but I found the 405CX pretty easy to use. It does take some getting used to but by the 3rd use I had no issues with it. I had my screens set up and was using the simple workouts with ease.

The screen is a bit small, but once you get used to the set up it becomes easier to read on the run. If you don’t use auto scroll you can quickly look at your watch and get the info you want. At the start of the run I pick the screen that is best for what I am doing and just leave it there mostly unless I get bored and start to cycle through my screens.

The touch bezel works ok. Using it to set up a workout is easy once you get used to it. During a run a touch scrolls the screen and a touch and drag increases or decreases the speed of the virtual partner. Sometimes it takes a second or two to register and sometimes a slight touch registers. It’s usually not an issue, but sometimes my jacket will make it scroll when I don’t want it to. When I do want to scroll it during a run I sometimes have to press a second time to get it to scroll. It’s not really an issue for me and you learn the ins and outs of it.

GPS reception has been very good for me, even under clothing. It takes about 10-20 seconds to find the satellites each time I run, so I stretch while it’s searching. I have noticed that even after it has found the satellites it still needs time to stabilize. For instance on one track run I started running right after it found the satellites in a place with a lot of trees. After the run I looked at my route and the first part of the lap under the tress it showed me about 50′ off the track, but on each subsequent lap it showed me right on the track even while under the trees. It just needed time to stabilize. Now I turn on the watch and give it a few minutes while I stretch/warm up, then when I am ready to run it’s right on the money.

Like the 305 Edge the elevation feature is practically worthless. The barometric pressure just fluctuates too much so the watch is always all over the place. Again it does seem to stabilize the longer it is on, but it’s never exact enough to rely on. If you look at the elevation chart in the software after a run you can see where the hills are, but if you are doing laps a hill’s elevation can change by as my as 75′ each time you come across it each time. I don’t use the watch itself to tell me the elevation when running since it is so off.

Looking at the pace chart in the software after a run is interesting. Like elevation, it’s all over the place, spikes everywhere. Even though it looks a mess it is useable, where you had to stop for traffic or where your interval sprints will be clear in the chart. While running the pace on the watch does seem very accurate. You can quickly see how fast you are going and if you accelerate it shows instantly on the watch. It is probably one of the most useful display items.

The heart rate monitor has been perfect, no issues at all. I do use Buh-Bump, Heart Rate Monitor Electrode Cream with it which may help.

I have to charge the battery once a week (I run 3 days a week). A 30-40 minute run uses about 10% of the battery. Sitting in powersave mode for a day or two is a greater drain on it.

I do love this GPS besides the quirks. It’s great to quickly and easily set up an interval workout and not have to be on a track or constantly looking at my watch (it makes a very loud beep at the start of each interval which I can hear even on a windy day). It’s a great training aid that makes a run more interesting and fun.

The software does leave a lot to be desired (Windows Vista 64). The watch links fine, I have never had any issues there, plug in the ANT antenna and it does everything itself. But the Garmin Connect website while nice doesn’t break down everything enough and can be a bit slow. The Garmin Training Center software displays more information but is clunky and not very polished.

I highly recommend this GPS watch. It has helped me tremendously on my workouts and makes my runs more fun. While it could be better, and cheaper, I don’t regret buying it. I do wish Garmin would improve the software though. For this price they really could do better. I wouldn’t let that stop me and there is other software you can buy that works with the watch.

4 Stars Small Package, Big Features
Buy this monitor now. Easy to use and small enough so you dont feel like you have a laptop on your wrist. The bezel touch menu navigation can be sensitive to bumps but the lock feature solves most of your problems. Great product.

5 Stars This is the best of the best Gadgets
The Garmin 405cx is amazing. It locks Satellites and keeps tracking me almost everywhere. I run through town, and then through some woods, and my other device, would pick up here, and there, and never hardly track in the woods. I can even see my movements as I get ready, in the house. The Upload is quite easy, and the web app is really cool.

5 Stars Excellent product
I have used this watch for 2 weeks now, and I am almost 100 percent satisfied with it.

First of all, it is very easy to use. After 15 minutes I knew how to access most of its features.

The touch bezel works great. Even when it was raining I was able to use it with no trouble at all.

The battery life is not great, but it’s ok. It takes about 3 one-hour workouts (5 days) to wear out the battery.

The GPS is not 100 percent accurate, but it is good too. Sometimes the map shows my route as if I had been taking shortcuts through the bushes. I would rate its accuracy as been 8/10. It’s my first GPS device though, I don’t know if they are all like that.

The heart rate monitor is excellent, much better then my Polar. It’s more accurate (doesn’t show absurd values like the Polar does sometimes) and it allows you to change the battery instead of having to buy a new one when the battery dies.

Another great thing about this watch is that it allows you to select the data fields that you want to view during your workout. So, you can configure up to 3 sets of data with 3 fields on each one to view during the exercise. You can either change the data sets by touching the bezel or configure the watch to rotate through them.

The data transmission to the computer is very nice, too. You only have to stick the usb receiving device into your computer and it detects the watch and retrieves the data.

So, after all that, I can say that it was a great purchase, and I recommend it for anyone who likes running and gadgets.

Buy/More Info

Related posts:

1. Garmin 010 00679 05 Forerunner 50 Sports Watch with Heart Rate Monitor and USB ANT Stick
2. Garmin Forerunner 405 Black GPS Enabled Sports Watch HRM Factory Refurbished
3. Garmin FR60 Mens Black Fitness Watch Includes Heart Rate Monitor USB ANT Stick and Foot Pod