Garmin 010-00658-12 Forerunner 405 with ANT+ Sport Wireless Technology (Green) Garmin International is pleased to announce the Forerunner 405 GPS-enabled sport watch. During a run, this slim, sleek watch accurately tracks distance, pace, calories, and displays it all on the easy-to-read screen. Tap or slide a finger around the innovative touch bezel to change information without fumbling for a button. The optional foot pod can also be used to gather speed and distance information indoors. ANT+Sport wireless technology automatically transfers workout data to and from your computer when your device is within range. No cables, no hookups, the data’s just there. Users can upload data to Garmin Connect, a web-based application that lets them analyze, share and store workouts. Compatible with GSC 10 speed/cadence bike sensor - monitor pedaling cadence and wheel speed Compatible with foot pod - measures speed and distance and runners cadence when indoors Watch features - time of day (12/24h), dual time zone, (day/date), daily alarm Training and motivational features - Virtual Partner, courses, workouts, goals GPS features - mark waypoints, back to start, save location ANT+Sport wireless technology lets you automatically transfer information back and forth between the watch and the PC Unit-to-unit - transfer workouts and locations to other Forerunner 405’s Dimensions - 45.75mm x 70.5mm x 16.4mm Weight - 2.11 ounces (60 grams)
Customer Review: Works great, but has four negatives
I have been using this for awhile now and am posting this review of the Forerunner 405 in Black. Mine came with the heart rate monitor, the ANT+ USB stick, and the charger.
First the negatives:
1) the watch band may be uncomfortable for those with small wrists. The inch above and below the face are hard and inflexible. For most people, the fit will be acceptable. For those with thin or very thick wrists, the band will not fit comfortably. I would highly recommend you try this on in person before purchasing. My wife is a normal sized female and finds the band acceptable, but just barely so.
2) The altitude is inaccurate. It uses GPS to tell you the altitude, and that is used to measure % grade increases and decreases, and a handful of other measurements. I can only say that it is inaccurate - sometimes very inaccurate - to the point the information based on altitude is useless. It seems many others have found this same issue to be a problem. For example, I am running up a 1/2 mile long hill and a couple of minutes into the hill it still says the current grade is -2%. That can’t be correct.
3) The battery life is limited. The stats say the battery will last 8 hours with the GPS on. That is probably just about correct. Overnight, without the GPS on, or any activity at all, it loses about 30% of its charge. This means that you always need to keep the charger with you - even when traveling and competing in early morning races.
4) Why is this not waterproof? It just seems silly that they couldn’t give this a better waterproof rating. It is something like one meter for 30 minutes - swimming is not advised. Come on! One nice route I run has me end at the beach and I love to go for a dip at the end. A sport watch should be waterproof to at least 100 feet. Enough said.
The positives:
1) This is completely customizable. There are four customizable screens of information with three items available on each screen. You can choose exactly what you want and where you want it.
2) The technical glitches encountered by some were not experienced by me. I was able to load the software from the website and use all of the functions without issue on my XP SP2 computer.
3) The maping and statistical software on the computer end are really cool! I especially like the playback feature that tracks you along the map while providing all of your stats (and you can select which stats are shown).
4) The watch does not have maps and does not work like the GPS in your car. That said, you can load a “course” (need a fair amount of technical know-how to do this) and the watch will point you in the correct direction. It will also always point you back to the start of your run (as the crow flies). This is useful when running in parks and the like where you can get a bit disoriented on the trails.
Customer Review: Works great, good support, great to track progress…
I find this to work pretty well, it’s accurate enough. The HRM works well.
My wife has a Forerunner 201. In contrast this is smaller, which is nice, tho not small enough for me to wear daily. The 201 has a more traditional GPS map/track page, which this lacks. Given the screen size, I’m not sure it would be useful.
Compared to my past Polar HRM’s this is SO much easier to use. With the Polar I’d often not use the advanced features without looking back at the manual. The Garmin is really easy to use.
The touch wheel hasn’t been a problem for me yet.
The Ant+ upload is also fantastic. Compared to the polar sonic upload and their SW this just seems to work better. I’d suggest keeping records both in Garmin TC and Garmin Connect. TC has more detail and allows more features. But it’s harder to use. Connect is more user friendly.
Garmin support has answered all my questions within less than 24hr. Most faster.
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