Garmin Forerunner 205, 305, 405 Reviews/Advice?

[cath2284]

So after a training summer of being really jealous of my running partner's Garmin, I have decided to go for it, but got online and am hopelessly confused about the difference between the 205, 305, and 405 forerunners; I looked at the spec charts but in reality, what difference do some of these things make?  Any opinions from anyone out there?  I am not real computer savvy so I am not going to be using it to do lots of tracking on my computer, I really just want a simple tell me my pace and distance kind of a thing, but wondered if anyone has strong feelings about one being better than the other and worth the cost to spend more.  My running partner had a 405 and the one annoying thing about it was that because it was the touch-free dial or whatever, when she wore a long sleeved shirt and it bummed the dial, it would reset or stop.  I'd love know if there is stuff like that in the 205 or 305 to know before buying. Thanks!

[Jon Allen]

The 205 and the 305 are similar, except the 305 has a heart monitor and the 205 does not.  They are both big and bulky, but pretty reliable.  405 is smaller and is supposedly tracks the GPS satellites a bit better.  But, in general, most people seem to not like it due to the dial control. 

Read this post for a few people's reviews:
http://fastrunningblog.com/forum/index.php/topic,520.0.html

[adam]

they can be big and bulky, but you get used to it.

the posted thread has lots of advice on the differences between the two. I like the 205 (its the only one I got), but it does lose some signal, even when I run along marked trails, if those trails are a little tree or tunnel covered.

[James Winzenz]

The 205/305 is supposed to have a better receiver for satellite connection than the 201/301 - I believe it has the SirfStar III chip.  I have the 205, and I love it.  I have used it for the last year and a half, and other than a quirky problem where it stopped beeping for a few weeks, I have had no problems at all with it.  No issues with losing signal for me unless I run underneath a long bridge, which is understandable.  I can't comment on the 405, but due to extremely high price and smaller display (I for one actually like the size of the display on the 205), I have absolutely no intention of getting the 405.  I don't like the HR monitor feature because my exercise HR has ALWAYS been higher than what others might consider normal, and you can find the 205 online for around $130 or so (new), as opposed to the 405, where you can expect to pay around $300 or more.  So price for me is a big factor, and other than the HR monitor, I think there is only something like one other feature with the 305 that you don't get with the 205.  My 2 cents.

[Sean Sundwall]

I have been a long time user of the 205/305. I ditched the 305 only because it broke and I didn't need the heart rate monitor anymore. So I use the 205 and absolutely love it. I tried the 405 and absolutely hated it. I found the controls to be very difficult to use WHILE running....which happens to be what I'm doing 98% of the time I a using my watch. Maybe I'm so used to the bigger, more tactile controls of the 205, but I hated the 405.

[cath2284]

It seems like a lot of people don't like the 405, but any big difference between the 205 and 305 besides the heart rate monitor?  The 305 isn't much more expensive and I like the look of it, but if really the only difference is the heart rate monitor, I might go with the 205.  Everyone I have seen online talks about 205 verus 405 or 305 versus 405 but not the 205 versus 305.  Any opinions?

Thanks for all the advice already posted.  Very helpful.

[Sasha Pachev]

Absolutely no other difference between 205 and 305. I would rather buy a measuring wheel, though, and measure a few courses.

If you do most of your running on the Provo River trail, you do not need either the wheel or the Garmin. The course is marked every 1/16 th of a mile, keep an eye out for the white triangles.

[adam]

The thing I do like about using the garmin on marked trails is its autolap and memory features. I can "set it and forget it" if you will. The memory is nice for workouts, since you can save your warmup time as one run, your intervals or tempo as another, and then your cooldown or the rest of your workout as another. Then you can go back and analyze that main workout portion of your run in its own setting.

[Scott Zincone]

The 305 isn't much more expensive and I like the look of it, but if really the only difference is the heart rate monitor, I might go with the 205.

Outside of price and heart rate monitor, the only difference is one is blue and the other is red.  I love mine.

[Benn Griffin]

I bought the 205 (blue) GARMIN last year after being jealous of everyone on the blog having one. I absolutely love it. It helps keep me on the right pace and I can figure out how far I've gone when hiking, biking, swimming, running, I've even used it in my car hehe.

[Scott Zincone]

I've even used it in my car hehe.

I almost took it to an amusement park last year to see the results while riding rollercoasters.  But then I got scared I might lose it or damage it sometime throughout the day.  Maybe next year ??

[Benn Griffin]

Note: My GARMIN got "locked" the other day and I thought it was dead, but I guess if you hold the MODE & RESET buttons for about 3-5 seconds it will "unlock" it and you will be able to access all your info and stuff again! Phew! I am back!

[Benn Griffin]

Is it true that the 205 has a better GPS signal than the 305? I heard that myth somewhere.