Buy the 305 Instead (or the 310XT)

By Matthew Milliken Ranked #68 - Trail Running Accessories April 12, 2011

I bought this when I started my triathlon training, but ended up quickly returning it in favor of my trusty forerunner 305 which can be had for around $105 new. The major negatives with this model I found were:
- The Bezel is an unwieldy control mechanism, and could be unresponsive when I was sweating (which is most of the time I was wearing the watch)
- I found the wireless sync feature to be annoying, I prefer to sync manually
- The battery life is worse than the 305
- The 310XT gives way more functionality at a similar price point.

The two major pros I found over the 305 were:
1. If you like the sleeker watch-like profile (as opposed to a wrist computer) this may be the watch for you
2. I live in Manhattan, and the 305 can struggle initially aquiring a signal on cloudy days, or when I'm in the shadow of a building. The 405 was definitely faster at getting and initial fix. The fix is easy though, just leave your watch on a window ledge while you stretch pre-workout and it'll be all ready to go by the time you're ready to head outdoors.

View Details: Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS Watch

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