Gear Review
Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS Watch
Wanted to be psyched. Wasn't psyched.
By Marit Fischer
October 21, 2008
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.
View Details: Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS Watch
Helpful Votes: 2 Yes
Tech Specs:
- Material:
- plastic, rubber
- Dimensions:
- 1.88 x 2.78 x 0.65 in
- Antenna:
- internal
- Routes:
- 0
- Waypoints:
- 100
- Mapping:
- no
- Digital Compass:
- no
- Waterproof:
- no, water resistant
- Battery Type:
- rechargeable lilthium ion
- Battery Life:
- (power save mode) 2 weeks, (training mode) 8 hours
- Expansion Card:
- no
- Weight:
- 2.1 oz
- Recommended Use:
- training, running
Change me.
1 Comments Last Reply: March 25, 2010 By: theslyfox72351583
I'm not quite sure that people truly understand what the product was made to function as. The 405 isn't just a watch, it's a GPS unit that constantly draws power from what would seem to be a much smaller battery than previous versions. As such, I would anticipate the rechargeable battery to last no more than a day of practical use. And that's pretty much what the specs on Garmin's website outlines - 8 hours of use or 2 weeks in standby - and odds are it will last somewhere in between. So I wouldn't be completely surprised by the short battery life people are experiencing. And seriously, 8 hours of activity a day? Someone needs to get a life, because that's most of the day. It also seems like there are quite a few issues with the bezel. I'd honestly like to meet an individual who can unlock the bezel with the top of their hand. Seeing as there are two buttons, you'd either have to be wearing the watch too far up your wrist, or the tops of your hands are augmented. The bezel is at the top of the watch, and there is no reasonable way a normal wrist should be able to come into contact with it.
Helpful Votes: 1 Yes