runners! Garmin Forerunner 305 or 405?

vermooten

Hi,

Pressy for g/f advice sought... She's a runner and I want to get her a Garmin GPS device. Is the 405 a replacement for ther 305, or are they different beasts? To me the 405 is nicer.

Thanks,
Andy

alanmck1971

I think the 405 is the newer model and does look a lot better than the 305. I have had a 205 (older model of 305) and currently have 305. The 305 I have is great piece of kit and definately worth buying.

FSR_XC

405 is more a replacement for the 50 I believe.

50 is less than £40 with footpod inc on Amazon @mo

Compare them here:
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142

willbevan

i do remember looking at the list of features of the 405 when it came out and was dismayed at some of the things that were droped...

Now i can't remember exactly what they were , but have a feeling it was courses and the virtual parter, which I use a lot when racing

(someone correct me if im wrong here)

andrewgturnbull

Hi there.

The 405 is much smaller than the 305. The 305 has a large display, but thought it was far too unwieldy as a watch. The 405 I know wear as my everyday watch - it may still be slightly large on a small wrist though.

In terms on functionality the virtual partner, courses etc are still there on the 405, but the graphical navigation stuff isn't.

As a concept, the watch is genius. Just a watch that gives you real time information on your pace while recording every step for review later - fantastic. The user interface isn't fantastic, and the buttons can be tricky, but overall I've been very impressed - using the watch both running and on the bike.

The Garmin connect website has improved recently too, they bought over the motion based website and have ported across most of the functionality.

Here is tonight's run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/1560671

I had it set to auto-lap every mile, which it did for the 2 mile warmup. If you look at the HR graph you'll then see 3 intervals, which I pressed the lap button manually.

Let me know if you want any more info.

Cheers, Andy

Pat Murray

I have the 305 whaich works good as a runner and cyclist.

If I was in your position for a girlfriend i would buy a 305 for the wife a 405 - its all a question of commitment!







Actually I'd buy a 405 and give my wife the 305 in the box - she'd never know the difference!

andrewgturnbull

Hi again.

Here's a photo of the 305:



and the 405:



Now, the 405 is still a big watch, but the 305 looks like something from an 1970s episode of star trek...

Cheers, Andy

vermooten

heh heh for me the 305 is the winner for that reason... but I guess for anyone else the 405 looks better and is easier to wear

what functionality do you NOT get on the 405 which is available on the 305?

FSR_XC

vermooten wrote:

heh heh for me the 305 is the winner for that reason... but I guess for anyone else the 405 looks better and is easier to wear

what functionality do you NOT get on the 405 which is available on the 305?

As posted previously, here is a comparison:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142

Personally I love my 305 Forerunner. I have the bike mount (for 2 bikes) and cadence (road bike) and use it MTBing, cycling and running.

Probably the biggest thing it has over the 405 is that you can navigate with a pre-programmed route.

If I were mainly running, I would probably go for the 405, as running with the 305 is like carrying a brick in one hand.