Garmin Forerunner 405CX GPS Sport Watch with Heart Rate Monitor (Blue)
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin Forerunner 405CX GPS Sport Watch with Heart Rate Monitor (Blue)
Customer Review: Miles ahead of the rest
Summary: 5 Stars
I really did my homework in choosing a fitness watch with heart rate monitor. I ordered competing models from Garmin, Timex, Polar, and Suunto, to look them over closely and compare. Then I sent them all back but this one.
Someone pointed out that this Garmin watch is a little on the clunky side - that's true. I have a small wrist,and the watch part of it is long and flat and doesn't really fit nicely. They had to pack the GPS receiver inside the band. But no matter - with the band strapped tight, it stays put, and it's not so huge that people would say "What's that thing on her wrist?" It still looks like a watch. A funky sort of a watch maybe, but not a television set or anything.
I think you need to decide if you want GPS or not. I decided that yes, I really wanted GPS to measure my distance, because I run and jog and hike and travel quite a bit, so my routes are always changing. In my ideal world, I'd be able to pop up a map on my PC and see my route, and have a table showing all my workouts and how many miles they total, in running, biking, etc. I could finally answer the folks at the running store when they ask how many miles are on my running shoes.
I ended up with this Garmin, far and away the best choice for just what I wanted. All the other GPS solutions were separate strap-on-the-arm ones that contain AAA batteries that need to be replaced every 12 hours of operation - ouch, costly. Even with rechargables, it would be a hassle to be always taking them out, plugging them into the charger, putting them back in the arm-band-GPS unit. The watch on those other devices was just a receiver for the arm-unit. Granted, it meant that their watches could be a little smaller ... I really liked the design of the Timex the best, and the Polar was small too. But who wants to carry a clunky thing around their arm? That's one more thing to pack or lose, more batteries to buy and fuss with, more parts to break... forget it.
I also was swayed heavily by the Garmin software and tight integration with the PC and mapping software. None of the other brands, as of this writing (January 2010) had anything near as easy. Polar excels at fitness tracking, but not the mapping part. Timex and others require third-party mapping solutions that you have to manually upload and integrate with. Only Garmin had a simple plug-and-play solution. Plug in their little included USB "ANT Stick" (like a little thumb drive), and bring the watch near, and it automatically receives the data the watch stored from your workouts, loads it into your Garmin fitness/mapping program, and you can see all your stats and your routes etc.
I also liked that this unit is one of the few that tracks altitude, so you know not only how many miles, but how much total up and down you went (cumulative). It can display the data on a chart with any paramets you set, for example you can see the actual altitudes of your run along your route. That is so cool!
Other people trashed this unit because the bezel-touch operation is a hassle. One guy made the point that he just locks the screen into a view before his run starts, so he doesn't hassle with the touch thing going haywire. That is the perfect solution, and it's what I did too.
So with this Garmin watch, you only have to remember two pieces: the watch, and the charger. The charger clips right onto the watch to rejuice the battery inside. It ships with conversion plugs for international outlets.
Here's a tip that isn't clear from Garmin's specs: the GPS can be turned on or off. With the GPS on all the time, the watch will run out of juice after about 8 hours and will need to be recharged. With the GPS off, it lasts... I'm guessing at least a week (I haven't let it go that far). It works like a normal watch, tells date and time, etc. Heart rate monitor. Etc.
I was worried that this watch wouldn't work if you, say, went out in the morning for a hike, stopped for lunch, continued hiking... 8 hours wouldn't be enough. The simple solution is to turn off GPS when you don't need it, and your battery will last as long as you need it.
So, if you can afford it, this one is the only way to go, if you want GPS. I've had it a month, after handling all the others, reading their manuals, etc., and settling on this one. I'm super happy with it and love Garmin. Next generation will be even better, when they fix the bezel issue and get the watch to be even more watch-looking, but this is miles ahead of the competition as is.
** Update - I've now had this model for almost a year, and still think it is fantastic. A few things I learned - the battery lasts about 2 weeks when the GPS is turned off. The link to mapping software works great, I have a year's worth of running/biking stats and I can click on any single run to see the route. Since I travel a fair amount, it's a great memory of places. It has a handy feature where you can set a starting point, such as the parking lot of a hiking area, and then once you're completely lost, have it point the way back - you get an actual arrow pointing and a distance indicator of how far away you are from that point. It's kinda buried in all the menus, so not something you'd be able to find quickly unless you did it regularly or had the user guide right there, but I used it twice and found it a comfort knowing that, even if I got lost, I wouldn't be lost. It is also easy to switch between running and "multisport" modes, which means you can bike or jog and keep those stats separate. (That way, you're not apt to get impressed with yourself for running 20 miles, when in fact that day you were on a bike.) I have to mention that the wrist band closure is a bit of a hassle, if anyone from Garmin is reading. It has a little lock to keep the end from flapping, but in fact, it's really hard to push the locking end through the little hold-down. Just a wee bit of hassle, hardly worth mentioning. Everything else I said above is still the case. It's a great tool.
Customer Review: Good workout partner
Summary: 4 Stars
I am very happy with this GPS but it does have some quirks.
I have an Edge 305 on my bicycle so maybe the learning curve was easier for me, but I found the 405CX pretty easy to use. It does take some getting used to but by the 3rd use I had no issues with it. I had my screens set up and was using the simple workouts with ease.
The screen is a bit small, but once you get used to the set up it becomes easier to read on the run. If you don't use auto scroll you can quickly look at your watch and get the info you want. At the start of the run I pick the screen that is best for what I am doing and just leave it there mostly unless I get bored and start to cycle through my screens.
The touch bezel works ok. Using it to set up a workout is easy once you get used to it. During a run a touch scrolls the screen and a touch and drag increases or decreases the speed of the virtual partner. Sometimes it takes a second or two to register and sometimes a slight touch registers. It's usually not an issue, but sometimes my jacket will make it scroll when I don't want it to. When I do want to scroll it during a run I sometimes have to press a second time to get it to scroll. It's not really an issue for me and you learn the ins and outs of it.
GPS reception has been very good for me, even under clothing. It takes about 10-20 seconds to find the satellites each time I run, so I stretch while it's searching. I have noticed that even after it has found the satellites it still needs time to stabilize. For instance on one track run I started running right after it found the satellites in a place with a lot of trees. After the run I looked at my route and the first part of the lap under the tress it showed me about 50' off the track, but on each subsequent lap it showed me right on the track even while under the trees. It just needed time to stabilize. Now I turn on the watch and give it a few minutes while I stretch/warm up, then when I am ready to run it's right on the money.
Like the 305 Edge the elevation feature is practically worthless. The barometric pressure just fluctuates too much so the watch is always all over the place. Again it does seem to stabilize the longer it is on, but it's never exact enough to rely on. If you look at the elevation chart in the software after a run you can see where the hills are, but if you are doing laps a hill's elevation can change by as my as 75' each time you come across it. I don't use the watch itself to tell me the elevation when running since it is so off.
Looking at the pace chart in the software after a run is interesting. Like elevation, it's all over the place, spikes everywhere. Even though it looks a mess it is useable, where you had to stop for traffic or where your interval sprints will be clear in the chart. While running the pace on the watch does seem very accurate. You can quickly see how fast you are going and if you accelerate it shows instantly on the watch. It is probably one of the most useful display items.
The heart rate monitor has been perfect, no issues at all. I do use Buh-Bump, Heart Rate Monitor Electrode Cream with it which may help.
I have to charge the battery once a week (I run 3 days a week). A 30-40 minute run uses about 10% of the battery. Sitting in powersave mode for a day or two is a greater drain on it.
I do love this GPS besides the quirks. It's great to quickly and easily set up an interval workout and not have to be on a track or constantly looking at my watch (it makes a very loud beep at the start of each interval which I can hear even on a windy day). It's a great training aid that makes a run more interesting and fun.
The software does leave a lot to be desired (Windows Vista 64). The watch links fine, I have never had any issues there, plug in the ANT antenna and it does everything itself. But the Garmin Connect website while nice doesn't break down everything enough and can be a bit slow. The Garmin Training Center software displays more information but is clunky and not very polished.
I highly recommend this GPS watch. It has helped me tremendously on my workouts and makes my runs more fun. While it could be better, and cheaper, I don't regret buying it. I do wish Garmin would improve the software though. For this price they really could do better. I wouldn't let that stop me and there is other software you can buy that works with the watch.
Customer Review: Interesting Device Hindered by Unreliable Software
Summary: 1 Stars
I've been using the 405CX for about 1 1/2 months and have found it to be a device with loads of potential. Sadly however, the full potential cannot be realized due to both unreliable software for the Mac and an unstable web site provided by Garmin. But before going into further detail on the software and web services, let me describe the GPS sport watch.
This GPS watch from Garmin is designed to be used while training to track things like route, speed, pace, time, heart rate, and other items of interest (e.g. if you have a bike, then you can track cadence). In this regard, the watch works pretty well for runners, walkers, and cyclists.
The watch utilizes a built-in GPS to track route and speed. GPS acquisition time is very fast -- typically less than 30 seconds. Tracking accuracy is reasonable -- I'd estimate about +/- 30 ft. Note that it is also able to track altitude, which is something I find useful as a cyclist.
Keep in mind that to track some things, you will need to buy additional accessories like a bike cadence sensor (one for each bike) or a foot pod. So the upfront cost may be substantial depending on your situation. But if you are an exercise junkie, then this may not be much of a concern.
General usability of the watch is OK once you get accustomed to the typical quirks most gadgets seem to exhibit these days. Ease-of-use isn't top notch or anywhere close to it. The watch uses a touch-sensitive bezel that can be both over- and under-sensitive. Nonetheless, you can grow accustomed to the menus and functions after a while and the quirks don't get in the way much on a day-to-day basis. The watch also has some nice customization abilities that can be used to arrange what items to display during workouts.
The interesting part of the watch package is the USB stick that allows you to sync the collected data. The stick plugs into a USB port on your computer and, in theory, automatically (and wirelessly) transfers workout information both to the computer and optionally the Garmin web site. But this is where things get very frustrating (on a Mac at least).
In short, Garmin is really struggling (as of 9/2009) to produce reliable and functional software. I have wasted countless hours dealing with their buggy Ant agent. Frequent Garmin software releases have yet to solve the many issues on both Leopard and Snow Leopard (I have tested on multiple Mac OS X versions). At least 50% of the time, the software fails to transfer properly -- even on repeated attempts. When this happens, there are no diagnostics to indicate the reason for failure. Worse still, the USB device sometimes causes kernel panics (the Mac equivalent of Windows' blue screen of death).
Once you are able to successfully transfer your workout data, then it will also be uploaded to the Garmin Connect web site. This Java-based web site is sometimes overloaded and spews copious error messages due to the situation. Furthermore, Garmin takes the web site completely offline for hours at a time (during North American weekday working hours even). When the site is stable and running, then workout summaries, charts, and reports are at your disposal to track your fitness program. The web site services aren't anything fancy, but they are pretty good and getting better over time.
This ability to track workouts over time online is the primary value proposition of the GPS watch. When the whole thing works, it is very cool and a useful tool for exercise junkies. But the sad truth is that most of the time the potential isn't unleashed and instead you feel cheated by Garmin. And until these problems are solved, then the price of the package just isn't justified by the lousy software and service.
P.S. Other things of that may be of interest to potential buyers of the watch...
Battery life: the watch uses a non-user-replaceable battery (the bane of iPhone and Kindle 2 users) and requires a service fee from Garmin to replace. Battery life is good at about 6-8 hours in practice. Lifetime of the battery remains to be seen.
Standalone Software: the watch also comes with a standalone software product, Garmin Training Software, that can be used to view workout information locally instead of using the Garmin Connect web site. This software provides some of the same functionality as the web site, including maps, but isn't all that polished.
Customer Review: A Gadget Geek's Fun New Toy
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a new runner and after running the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago this year, I think I'm addicted. I even registered for the 2009 Chicago Marathon, I still can't contemplate running a full 26.2 miles. But if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this right. Running on nearby trails, I never really knew how far I've run or what my pace was (there aren't any mile markers). I wanted a way to track my distance and pace. I have friends that own both the forerunner 305 and 405, and I was impressed on how accurately they tracked distance and pace. I researched the reviews on both, and even though I like the looks of the 405, I was leaning toward the 305 since it's half the price and the reviews were much more positive. However, I couldn't get over the notion of looking like I'm running with a computer on my wrist.
Along came announcements of the 310xt and 405cx. Initially, I was set on getting the 310xt because of it's large screen and waterproof capability. However, it wouldn't be released till mid May and that model wouldn't even include the HRM. Originally I thought the 405cx wasn't available until mid May also, according to Amazon's 405cx preorder. But to my surprise, I found it available for free overnight shipping from the Clever Training website for 369.99. I got mine for 314.95 with free ground shipping, so do your research and you might land a "premium" deal on this heart rate monitors in USA ;-)
I'm getting side tracked here, I decided on the 405cx because I was hoping Garmin would have ironed out all the flaws of it's previous iteration. I've never owned the 405 or 305, so I can't say how much better the 405cx is. After reading the 405 reviews, a few complaints caught my attention:
- Poor satellite reception
- Clumsy bezel interface
- Locks up when sweated on
- Inaccurate heart rate monitor
1. Satellite reception is excellent. It's able to track satellites indoors! (though accuracy is degraded)
2. The bezel interface, although very sexy, is a pain in my arse to use. It's overly sensitive at times and not in others. Lock it often. It's going to take some time for me to get use to. Oh well, it's the price I have to pay for sexiness...
3. In the 2 days I've had this unit, it's never locked up on me. I want you to know, I sweat profusely to the point where it looks like I just took a shower (I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm not...). I don't just sweat when I'm working out either, sometimes I sweat sitting idly in a chilly room. It's so embarrassing during meetings! So trust me, sweating does not cause the 405cx to lock up.
4. The heart rate monitor is superb. This is my first HRM though, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. But it doesn't spike to 200 bpm or drop to 20 bpm like the treadmills in the gym do, so I'm happy. On a side note, the 305 loves the HRM that comes with the 405cx. The one that comes with the 305 is utter garbage, it stays at 65 bpm regardless of what you do. It was probably defective, but it's something to think about for anyone thinking of getting the 305 instead.
This review is getting really long, and I need to get back to work. Garmin Connect is the online software that manages all your running data. Use it, it's hot. Just be aware, at default all your activities are shared with the Garmin Connect online community (think of what you put on your descriptions). I love how you can "play" your run on Google maps. It's hard for me to explain, check out this link for yourself
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Please don't make fun of my slow pace, I'm a new runner! Here's a tip before I end this. You can delete activities. Just click on the red "x" next to the pencil and lock. This was a little frustrating until I figured it out. Good luck deciding on a watch, I hope it makes your runs more enjoyable. It does for a gadget geek like me.
Customer Review: Best training money ever spent
Summary: 4 Stars
I have now owned and used this tool for 3 months in all weather conditions but desert. I am not going to go through a long list of features because there are other reviews that cover that. Why I am writing is to help others with my experiences with the unit.
The Bezel is the second biggest problem with this device. I am not sure if it is sweat, touch, rain, etc. Sometimes it is just plain old wonky. That being said it is a minor frustration occasionally and the wealth of information that this device provides for the money more than makes up for it.
The software is bad, if it weren't for the fact that it works I would say it is worse than the Polar software. I have had numerous glitches with Polar software over the 8 years of using their devices and while it has more information it is far from user friendly. This isn't a review/bash of Polar just a point of comparison. The Garmin Software is not very configurable, and being web-based is always a mixed blessing. These two companies obviously aren't software companies. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. There are numerous software packages out there that will allow you to get around Garmin's data tracking offerings. Several are free or donationware, Sport Traks is the one I am using.
To round out the negatives I have 2 minor complaints. The watchband(sigh), at least they gave use the pieces to switch it to the supplied Velcro bands, which work nicely and fit around my winter gear. The last negative is the only feature I wish this device had, temperature.
Negatives aside, the pluses far out-weigh them. Using this device to check your pacing makes training and racing smarter. You have several configurable pacing options. The two I use most is lap pace and current pace. Lap pace gives you a pace over your current lap, which makes it a reasonably stable metric. Current pace gives you your pace at the moment, it bounces around a bit, particularly after you take a turn. Use these two together and you can modify your pace all day long.
I am not sure if this has been mentioned before but the displays are VERY configurable. You can turn on or off display windows so you don't have to scroll trough them if they are unnecessary to you. Each window is completely configurable. There are three data fields in each window and you can select which metric you wish each to display. If you wanted you could have all the fields display the same information---I'm not sure why anyone would want to do this, but that is how flexible the display is.
I am looking forward to Spring when I break out my road bike and strap this device on it.
Would I recommend this device? You bet, after three months use I am very pleased and will be buying one for my wife.
Ok, Ok, one more complaint. Why only one color and this color to boot? I am sure it was chosen as gender neutral, but it still strikes me as a bit on the feminine side.