Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Watch Review
If you are looking for an absolutely top of the range GPS watch or an exercise watch with hear rate monitor then it will be hard to beat the Garmin Forerunner 305. The reason I say this is that this really fills a spot as both the best heart rate monitor watch available right now and the best wrist-mounted GPS unit.
Let’s start with the GPS watch funcitons. A couple of years back if you wanted some serious navigational capabilities you had two choices. Either you took a full-sized GPS unit with you and carried it in your pocket, or you compromised and went for a small GPS watch that offered short battery life, poor satelite reception and limited functionality.
The Garmin 305 changes all of that. This gives a big screen but they have made it thin enough and curved enough that it is comfortable to wear while running. Its GPS chip set is great because it will lock onto satellites that others can’t hold so you don’t keep dropping your position every time you run through some trees or past a couple of tall buildings. The other big difference between this and earlier GPS watches is that this actually has some mapping capability. Previously all you could get was distance and speed with a grid reference should you have wanted to then check your position against a paper map. The 305 gives you routing and mapping capabilities. It also has a track back that will take you to a position (say your start) so that if you are lost you can always lock onto your campsite. You can also build up a breadcrumb route to trace your way home, or plan a trip in advance that you then follow once on the trail.
The heart rate monitor is what really sets this apart though. This gives you all of the data that you might find on other devices such as a Polar heart rate monitor including calories burned, heart rate, average heart rate etc. This is pretty standard stuff in any high end training watch. But this goes a bit further in allowing you to customize the display showing the bits of data that are most relevant to your training. You can also preset all kinds of workouts from interval sprints (to get your heart pumping hard) to just having a quick and simple workout. You can also plan this all on the computer with different zones and targets (or goals) and then you upload the full workout to your watch.
It also comes with all the goodies you need to connect to the Internet to share maps and data and also to upload and download exercise routines and data. It is also incredible value. I doubt you would find an exercise watch with all these functions for anything less than $300. At the time of writing this, it was on sale at Amazon.com for $144, Now that is cheap. Heart Rate monitor watches at that price will normally not have GPS functions too.
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List Price: $299.99
Sale Price: $220.00
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Package Includes: Forerunner 305, Heart rate monitor, docking cradle, expander strap, AC charger, PC/USB interface cable, Quick start guide, Garmin Training Center CD & owner's manual
The Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS System combines form and function. This combination running partner and personal trainer is designed for athletes of all levels. It features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, new courses feature, and robust ANT wireless heart rate monitor for optimal performance. The super-sensitive GPS tracks your every move, even working on tree-covered trails and near tall buildings. The heart device monitors your heart rate, speed, distance, pace and calories burned so you can train smarter, more effectively. These taskmasters will continually push you to do your personal best. Courses feature lets you download recorded courses and compete against previous workouts Auto Pause pauses and resumes training timer GPS features - GPS with high-Sensitivity SiRFstarIII architecture Wireless communication between system devices via ANT protocol Display Size(WxH) - 1.3 x 0.8 (33 x 20.3 mm) Lap Memory - 1,000 laps Rechargeable internal lithium ion battery - lasts 10 hours (typical use) Waterproof - Submersible in one meter of water for up to 30 mins. Alerts - Time, distance, pace and heart rate Physical Size(WxHxD) - 2.1 x. 7 x 2.7 (53.3 x 17.8 x 68.6 mm) Weight - 2.72 oz. (77 g)
Heart rate monitor features - Transmission Range - approximately 3m (9.8ft) 3V CR2032 battery - lasts 3 years (1 hour per day) Physical size(WxHxD) - 13.7 x 1.4 x 0.5 (348 x 35.6 x 12.7 mm) Weight -. 74 oz (21 grams)
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Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)
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Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Watch Review, 9.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating
