Fast Running Blog

Has anyone purchased this thing? I was playing around with it at REI for about 15 minutes yesterday and I have to say. I absolutely hated it. The new bezel control was awful. I have small hands and small fingers yet I couldn't get it to do anything I wanted it to do and I was standing still. I can't imagine trying to do anything while running let alone racing. REI can't keep them in stock so obviously someone thinks they are awesome. Anyone on the blog have any experience with them? I'm sticking with the 205.

Matt has one. His blog is at http://matt.fastrunningblog.com/

A client sent me a GPS track from a 405 from running a trail. The track overlaid perfectly onto Google Earth. So I can say that at least the initial accuracy looks good. Can't say anything about the user interface though.

I got one last weekend when my 305 gave up the ghost.  Here's what I've gotten out of our short relationship so far:

• Good
  
  • Construction.  Fits more snugly on my wrist and the watch band is nicer than the 305.  I have heard that I may be in the minority here regarding fit.  Plus, the copper contacts are recessed so they shouldn't get corroded as easily as the 305.  Finally, the housing just seems more robust to me.
  • GPS Sync.  Improved over the 305.  I actually get sync inside my house.  My 305 was quick but this thing locks quicker than I can navigate to the satellite screen.
  • Data.  More custom data screens available than the 305.  Unfortunately, this is offset by the bad.
  • Sync.  Wireless sync with the ANT USB stick is pretty slick.  Beats the cradle the 305 came with
  • Accessories.  The HR Monitor and Footpod I got for my 305 both work with the 405.
• The Same:
  
  • Tracking.  At first I thought it was better, but so far my tracks seem about the same.  I do get some drift when I'm right up against hillsides or a tall treeline.  I need to take it into the woods to see how it does on trails.
  • Garmin Training Center.  No change here.....same application and functionality.
• The Bad:
  
  • Bezel navigation.  Maybe I'm just not used to it yet, but it's tricky and the difficulty seems to increase for me as my runs go on.  Once I get really hot, my fingers dry up and I have a tough time getting the bezel to respond.  I just bumped the sensitivity to high yesterday, so I'll see if that does the trick.
  • Data. 
    
    • Number of fields available per screen.  Max is 3 where the 305 had 4 and I'm a data nut.  I'm still trying to find a layout I like where I can see my pace, HR, distance and time easily.
    • No screen that tells you what your next segment is in an Advanced workout.  In the middle of repeats, I tend to lose track of which repeat I'm on.  The 305 had a screen that told you the next one was 4 of 8 or whatever.  I can't seem to find that info on the 405.
    • Garmin Connect.  This website is definitely a work-in-progress, especially when compared to Motion-Based and the features there.  I don't use either much but some folks might care.
  • The Really Bad.  It's already broke.  Twice I've been on my run and it's frozen.  The bezel is unresponsive, it loses sync with everything (no GPS, no HR Monitor), and the only control you have is the two buttons.  Once I wrote off to needing a software update but twice sent me online to look and sure enough other folks have had similar issues.  One thread claimed that Garmin support told them a "bad batch" from Taiwan had caused many problems but that new ones were enroute.

So take it with a grain of salt.  I'm going to give it one more try and exchange mine at REI, but if I can't get used to it, I'm going back to the 305.  Unfortunately, they don't have any in stock so I have to wait until next week when the replacement I ordered, so until them I'm hoping the one I've got doesn't hiccup anymore.

Thanks for the thorough report, Dale. That's very useful information for all of us that are intrigued by this new toy.  I'm going to stick with the 305 until it dies or there is a remarkable and reliable improvement in the technology.  I have few complaints about the 305 (except I wish it had back up battery power in the watch itself).

Some follow up to my initial review, now that I've had the watch for a few weeks.  I'm actually on watch #2, having returned the first one because of "The Really Bad" cited below.

+ I really like the form factor of the watch....it's just doesn't feel nearly as bulky on my wrist.
- I despise the bezel.  Absolutely hate the thing now.  I've tried to like it, then tried just to accept it, then tried just to deal with it.  Too difficult to work while standing still, much less while running.  I've come to just set it on one screen and leave it for most runs.  Maybe this is actually a plus because I don't look at garmin as much?  They could've/should've done just as well/better by adding two more buttons on the other side of the watch.
+ GPS sync is really fast.  Hasn't taken longer than 10 seconds yet.
+ Software is improving.  As it turns out, the reason I returned the original watch was identified and fixed in a firmware update, about 1 week after I got my new watch.  I suspected this might be the case, but just didn't wait long enough.
- Standby mode.  Watch tends to go into standby mode if you're not in the middle of a workout, or you have it paused for a while.  This happened two me on the NWP relay.....when I tried to start my second leg, I discovered it had gone into standby mode, and it took some energy just to get something started.
+ Standby mode.  They released a firmware update to disable the standby mode feature timeout.  Cool.
- Wireless sync is slower than regular USB sync.  Whatever protocol they're using, it's not very rapid.

That's it.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to send in my 305 for repair and just return the 405.

Dale, did you keep the 405 or returned it?

I kept it.  Partly laziness on my part for not wanting to deal with driving to REI, returning, shipping my 305 away, etc.  The only thing that really bugs me now is the bezel....it's a real pain sometimes (can't get it to operate often when it's wet from rain/sweat), but I've gotten used to having it set on the screen I want.  Plus, I've become less of a GPS watch "watcher" because of it.

Would you recommend it over a Polar RS800?

Sorry, I've never used the Polar line, so I couldn't say.

Well, although I heard negative and positive comments, I went ahead and bought the Garmin 405. Hope its as good as it says it is.

I have both the 305 & the 405. I really like the fit of the 405 and that's about where it ends. I migrated the 305 over to my bike, the 405 bevel is really a pain to use. I really think Gamin missed the mark with this user interface.  Watch is very difficult to use - Hard to Navigate, tough to find your way around and questionable on initial setup and install. They FINALLY have support for mac.  Still, with all the bad- I can't find anything I like better.

Although lots of critics on the bevel of the Garmin, I think its a great watch. Love it.
I have a Polar & now the Garmin 405. I'll say I have not used the Polar again...

$15 walmart watch + Course Tool (free).

There have been many coaches that have raised world-class runners with the help of very primitive technology. They may not have had the technology but instead plenty of what I would call running aptitude to make up for it. American runners are world leaders in the area of dollars spent on technology per unit of running aptitude obtained from it. Not that technology could not be helpful, but time and again here on the blog I see posts indicative of technology pushing common sense out the door.

Allow me to resurrect this topic.  My 3rd Garmin 405 is flaking out, the same way my last one did.  I've had 2 spontaneous reboots in the middle of a run in the past month, at least a half-dozen occasions where I found it frozen and only recoverable by holding down the buttons for a hard reset, and more instances than I can count where the bezel was non-responsive.  Okay, that's not fair, the bezel is frequently non-responsive, but it's worse than normal.  So this is two 405 watches that have begun flaking out at about the 12-15 month mark (and doesn't count the first one I returned within 1 month).  Beware the 405.  Or maybe it's just me.

I've tried all the Garmins and the 310XT is the best of the bunch.  It's waterproof and no speaker holes, so less sweat corrosion on the electronics.  It is push button and locates satellites quickly.

For what it is worth to anyone:
Due to injury I think I will be doing more running on the treadmill in the near future, whereas I have not done so hardly at all since I got the Garmin 405cx. On the treadmill, I use the foot pod to track distance and time I noticed differences between my Garmin's info and the treadmill's  and so I thought I would calibrate the pod on a local 400m track. Garmin recommends the distance method (800m) but you can also do it with the GPS. I tried doing it both ways and the GPS was more accurate: a little over 1% error compared to around 3%. The GPS was showing accuracy to 18 feet when I started and there aren't too many obstructions.