Garmin Forerunner 405 Wireless GPS-Enabled Sport Watch with USB ANT Stick and Heart Rate Monitor (Green)
Garmin Forerunner 405 Wireless GPS-Enabled Sport Watch with USB ANT Stick and Heart Rate Monitor (Green)
- Round 4-Level Gray Fstn, 124 X 95 Pixel Display
- Accurately Tracks Distance, Pace & Calories, & Displays On Easy-To-Read Screen
- Ant+Sport(Tm) Wireless Technology Automatically Transfers Workout Data To & From
- Computer When Device Is Within Range
- Heart Rate Monitor
With the Forerunner 405, Garmin has finally put the power of GPS location-based date into a sleek sport watch that can be worn all day. Runners no longer have to choose between function and fashion. Garmin’s ANT + Sport wireless platform that wirelessly sends your data to your computer and a touch bezel that lets you change screens with a simple tap (no more fumbling for buttons) run make this not just a leap forward in GPS-enabled fitness devices, but in training devices period. Forerunner 405 comes in two color options — black or green.
The Power Of Location-Based Data
Anyone who has used Garmin’s Forerunner 205 or 305 already understands the power that attaching location data to traditional measurements lik
List Price: $ 249.99
Price: $ 249.99
More GPS with Customer Reviews
Great watch to replace your coach,
I’ve been training with the Garmin 405 for a year now and love it. Given the mixed reviews here, I was apprehensive about getting it, but it really is a great training device.
Out of the box, it’s quite good. After configuring it and just getting used to the way it works, it’s much better. For example, mine is set to auto lap every kilometer and I mostly use a custom view with lap pace, heart rate and total distance. Interval Workouts are also very handy and easy to set up. The possibilities are endless.
The bezel takes some getting used to, but once you have configured the views, you simply leave it alone while running or tap with the middle of your finger (works better than the fingertip for whatever reason) to change views. You can lock the view by pushing both side buttons at the same time. This keeps it from switching views and beeping madly when wet or from bumping your shirt sleeve.
As I’ve progressed as a runner – first marathon in 2008, 3:52 at 41 years old – I’ve tried a variety of watches. First, a Timex Ironman, which I loved, but no Heart Monitor. Then a Timex Heart Monitor which I used with the Ironman (for the 100 lap memory). The Timex watches were stolen so next, a Nike Heart Monitor with the Nike+ Sports Band and Foot Pod, which looks cool but is not very accurate, even calibrated. Changes in speed, hills, etc. will affect the accuracy of any foot pod system. Once calibrated, it tended to be about 3-5% off.
Now, the Garmin 405. Likes:
1. Normal size – Unlike the 305, which I would not wear, the 405 is a regular watch. I wear it all the time.
2. Everything in one device – HR, pace, distance, elevation, laps.
3. Pace – I thought the whole GPS thing might be a bit too high-tech for a guy who loves the simplicity of running, but it is very, very nice to know your pace as you run. I use Hal Higdon’s training plans, which call for all kinds of runs, with warm-ups, intervals, tempo intervals, pace segments, etc. The pace feature makes doing these workouts possible without having a coach at your side.
4. GPS frees you from mapping out your route. You just run until it shows your distance is done. The Garmin Connect site then shows your map. This doesn’t sound so amazing, but it is very liberating. You just run wherever you want, explore your neighborhood, whatever. It transforms city running.
5. Auto laps. Great feature. Records all your details (time, HR, pace) for each lap automatically. You can review on the watch or on Garmin Connect.
6. The Garmin Connect website is very good and continually improving, with new features every couple of months.
7. The data seems pretty accurate, based on a track workout. In a recent 10K race, it recorded 10.2K, but some of that variation is certainly due to my weaving among the crowd. All GPS devices have a margin of error.
Dislikes:
1. Battery life – with GPS enabled, it needs a charge every couple of days to avoid the dreaded “low battery” warning in the middle of a workout.
2. The USB stick for wireless transfer. It works, but Nike does it better. The Nike+ pop-out USB stick is a much simpler way to transfer data to the computer and a much better way to keep from losing the USB part.
3. It can take a couple of minutes to find satellites and loses accuracy in bad weather. This is probably true of any GPS device.
4. You need the foot pod to record distance indoors. One more piece of gear (and not cheap). I didn’t buy it. It would be great to be able to manually add the distance to a workout on Garmin Connect.
All in all, the Garmin 405 is an incredible training device. It is the best choice in the market. Nothing comes close to it. 5 stars.
I hope you find this helpful.
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|Fantastic watch despite bad reviews,
I had been looking to buy the Forerunner 405 for some time, but was reluctant because of all the bad reviews on here. I had the Nike+, which was terribly inaccurate and quit working after a couple of month. I went ahead and purchased the watch, ignoring the bad reviews.
First, I read reviews that said the bezel is hard to use. No, it’s not. You have to sit there and play with it to learn how to use it. When it goes into sleep mode, it’s not responsive, so you have to hit one of the side buttons a couple times to wake it up. Not a big deal. Personally, I sweat a lot, and have not had any problems with the bezel not responding when I run. It has never locked up on me either. You can adjust the sensitivity of the bezel. It’s preprogrammed on medium and I haven’t had any problems with this setting. People complain that the bezel is easy to hit accidentally, thus leaving it on and draining the battery, or whatever they complain about. You can lock the bezel so that this doesn’t happen. If you lock the bezel and this still happens, then don’t throw it in a gym bag or somewhere it can get knocked around. Personally, I wouldn’t be throwing my $300 GPS-enabled sports watch around anyways.
For the people who say that it’s not accurate, I have had no issues with it’s accuracy. Actually, I think it’s very accurate. I was worried about it picking up satellites because when I had satellite radio in my car, it would frequently lose signal on a road that I run on. The Garmin has never lost signal during my run, and I live in WV and my route is right near mountains and trees. For those who complain about the way it displays information during your run, you can program it to show you what you want, and you can turn off autoscroll so that it stays on the one display. If you want to see the next page, just tap the bezel. It’s really easy. I found that having 3 items on the page was too crammed and small to read, so I changed it to only show 2 items. I have it set to show my pace and distance.
For those people who complained about how long it takes to pick up a satellite signal, yes it may take a couple of minutes. Do some light stretching while it acquires the signal. For those complaining about the battery life, I ran 14 miles with it over the course of a week and it got down to 38%, so I threw it back on the charge just in case. It’s simple to check the battery life, so check it now and then, and if it gets low, charge it. Just like you charge your cell phone every night or every other night. Just be sure to turn the GPS off after every use to save the battery.
Somebody complained that it doesn’t read a steady speed/pace the whole time. No, it’s not going to read that you are running a 10:30 pace exactly the whole 5 miles you run. Naturally, you are going to speed up or slow down and not realize it, and lets face it, it’s a tiny electronic GPS device and may not be 100% in tune with every step. Mine will generally bounce around 15-20 seconds above or below my goal pace. What matters to me is that I know within 15-20 seconds what my pace is exactly when I’m running, and at the end it gives me very accurate pace averages for each mile. I have had no issues with transferring my data to the computer. The ANT stick quickly links to the watch, and it may take a minute or so to download. The software does what you need it to do. If you need something fancier, there’s more software out there. Lastly, this watch is large. For the men that may not be a problem. I am female and I found this watch to be rather large, and I am not a tiny person. This isn’t a watch that a female can just wear fashionably. If you think this is a small sports watch, it’s not. But, the strap has plenty of notches to adjust to just about any size wrist.
I’m sorry to complain about other people’s experiences with the watch, but I just don’t understand how they are having these issues and I am not. The issues that some complain about seem to be easily resolved by simply becoming more familiar with the watch or thinking ahead a little. This isn’t a watch you can just throw on and run with right out of the box and it be perfect. It is highly customizable, and everybody is different. Once you customize it how you like it, it is a very accurate, useful tool to aid in your training. I am saddened that the negative reviews almost prevented me from purchasing this item, when it has been the best purchase I have made in a long time. I love this watch and highly recommend it. If you are not good with electronics, then maybe this watch isn’t for you.
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