Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS Watch

This garmin does work well, and if you are running roads or trails, the gps works well. The only bad thing about it is the life of the battery is only 7 hours (assuming it is warm out) The battery seems to die faster when it's cold. Also with all these features, the watch does not accumulate vertical feet climbed. Needless to say, it's useless for a mountain runner wanting to know how far up we've gone. It is nice as it's one unit, but not worth the 300 bucks. The Garmin 305 may be bigger, but does have the vertical gain function, which makes all the difference. The HR monitor did not seem to work that well either, once it made the connection.

I wore a 205 for years, up to the point it died recently. The weak points for that unit are as follows.
1. Battery life insufficient for ultramarathon distances 50 miles & over.
2. Running or cycling in rain (i.e. downpour) allowed water under inside, and the unit either behaved erratically, or would not turn on again.
3. Contacts on the back to get data in/out and power in corroded and were generally unreliable. I managed to get them to work, but this was a genuine annoyance.
4. Elevation data is unreliable (Wrong!). This was correctable via post-processing on the website, and since I am not yet a mountain runner, I could live with that.

I didn't consider the size or aesthetics of the 205 negatively, though the 405 is a considerable aesthetic improvement. The 405 is not really much smaller than the 205.

The 405 clears up the interface contact issue by virtue of its wireless data interface. This is a slick solution, once you have it working. The power interface seems to work well so far. I'm hopeful that the water resistance has improved, though I'm not anxious to test this. Battery life is not an improvement over the 205, and I would personally like to see some provision for an auxiliary battery pack for endurance athletes, perhaps as an aftermarket product. Elevation data correction is not even up to the standard of the 205 yet, since the website does not even support this feature for the 405 yet.

Time to first fix is usually a minute or two. Tracks are reliable. The 405 even functions like a regular sports watch, which is a big improvement. It is a step in the right direction and a useful tool.

Before you buy this "new and improved" model, check out the 305. I think it's better.

This watch does everything you need for hardcore disatance training. I've trained with a heart rate monitor for years, but stayed away from GPS watches because they were obnoxiously big(like the 305). This watch is about the same size as a CASIO G-Shock, not bad at all.
The Virtual Trainer is the best part. I can monitor my average pace, how far ahead/behind pace I am(with a moving picture of 2 dudes running) and total distance at the same time. Then I can tap over to check my heart rate and time. Also, many of the displays can be customized by the user.
The touch bezel is money and you can change its sensitivity level if you have meat-sticks for hands, like me. Finally someone took what we learned from the iPod and applied it to a watch to make it easier, faster and save on buttons.
The Heart Rate monitor is excellent and starts immediately (my old HRM took a few minutes of sweating before it got a signal). The watch senses the HRM before I even have it on.
After a workout, I just have to walk within a few meters of my computer and the info gets downloaded. How cool is that?
The battery lasts 1-2 weeks with normal use. With the GPS on, the battery only last for an 8-hr training session. Fortunately my daily training sessions only last 6-7 hrs, except when I'm runniing with Chuck Norris. The smaller battery allows for a much slimmer/sleeker design.
It doesn't calculate/show elevation, but it doesn't claim to either. This is not a mountain climbing/hiking watch.
It does everything it says it will perfectly. I recommend it. Good luck on your next race.

This watch does everything you need for hardcore disatance training. I've trained with a heart rate monitor for years, but stayed away from GPS watches because they were obnoxiously big. This watch is about the same size as a CASIO G-Shock, not bad at all.
The Virtual Trainer is the best part. I can monitor my average pace, how far ahead/behind pace I am(with a moving picture of 2 dudes running) and total distance at the same time. Then I can tap over to check my heart rate & time. Also, many of the displays can be modified by the user.
The touch bezel is money and you can change its sensitivity level if you have meat-sticks for hands, like me. Finally someone has taken what we've seen on the iPod and put it on a watch to make it easy, fast, and save on buttons.
The Heart Rate monitor is excellent and displays my heart rate immediately (my old HRM took a few minutes of sweating before it got a signal). The watch senses the HRM before I even have it on.
After a workout, I just have to walk within a few meters of my computer and the info gets downloaded. How cool is that?
The battery lasts about 1-2 weeks with normal usage, but if you're going to do a training session with the GPS on, its good for 8 hours. Fortunately my training sessions only last 6-7 hrs, except when I'm running with Chuck Norris. The smaller battery allows for a much slimmer/sleeker design.
It doesn't calculate/show elevation, but it doesn't claim to either. This is not a mountain climbing/hiking watch.
It does everything it says it will prefectly. I recommend it. Good luck on your next race.

I was really impressed with the satellite reception, even indoors. The bezel and firmware is still really buggy and is frustrating to navigate. There is very little documentation with this package and surprisingly no support from Garmin online. Very disappointed in Garmin on this one.

I'd used the Garmin 301 for years for tri training and loved it. I wore the thing smooth and mourned its premature (and violent) death when I drove off with it still on the roof of my car on a mountain biking and running trip to Moab. So after I dried my tears and pulled myself together, I decided to upgrade to the best of the Garmin line. I figured they'd rightfully earned my loyalty. But unfortunately, I have never in my life been so disappointed in something that I was so looking forward to. First of all, the 405 does not have multisport capabilities. I should have known this because I actually did do research on the thing before I bought it. But I wrongfully assumed that since it was "higher end" than the 301/305 versions, it would have tri-compatible functionality. Nope. One sport at a time, with a hell of a lot of bezel taps and turns in between to get it to track another sport. Second, the design that initially seemed cool, the bezel touch system, soon became nothing but a nuisance. The slightest touch of the bezel would change the settings. Even when I locked the bezel, I always hit the unlockable two button controls on the side of the head, which would start or stop the timer. (Imagine a too-big watch on your wrist. Imagine where that watch falls when riding a bike. Imagine it hitting the top of your hand.) Third, the life of this battery is only 8 hours. Eight hours! On any given day, any endurance athlete could be out there getting after it for more than eight hours. It is simply not enough. I'll even go so far as to say that it is useless for the go-long set. The tools that this Forerunner features are bigtime tools. Why not pair them with a battery that's worth a damn? So here's the story: I wore the 405 religiously every day for 3 months. Finally I got so frustrated with it that I cleaned the thing up, repackaged it and sold it on eBay for half of what I paid for it. I'm not totally down on Garmin, just mostly. And I'm not sure yet what I'm going to replace this with. So if you have any great suggestions, please let me know.

The watch is too big and bulky for wear. I bought this for my husband thinking it an ideal gift...he hated it!!