GPS Information

I have had the Garmin 305 for about 6 weeks and am very pleased with it. It is my first GPS watch and has exceeded my expectations. I had read the concerns with the altimeter and agree, it does not provide useful or accurate information so no surprises there. The real issue for me was how well it would measure distance. I have found it to be very accurate and reliable. I have several runs that I have clocked with the car and measuring tools on Google Earth; the Garmin hit my mile split expectations anywhere from spot on to 20-30 feet from what I believed the true splits to be. At the end of the 10 mile run I was also within 20 feet of expectation. So maybe one mile measures a few feet long, another a few feet short, but cumulatively it was right on my prior expectations.

The heart rate monitor does jump around a bit on pulse rate but once I settle into a run it seems more reliable and is certainly useful. I have found that if I put the chest strap on a few minutes before running I don’t get the wild initial readings when I start running.

As to my headline that it has changed the way I run, because the distance measurements are so accurate the Forerunner has freed me from the old measured courses I have run for years. Instead I just take off wherever I feel like going with complete comfort as to splits, pace and distance (and yes, I am one of those who really cares whether I ran 5.00 versus 5.25 miles when calculating my pace). I set the watch to ring at each mile so I can simply glance down and figure my pace. It is also great when traveling as you can run any distance accurately without any planning effort.

I also enjoy downloading data to Sporttracks (third party free software) to see my runs overlayed on a map. Often it maps so accurately it will clearly show which side of the street I ran on and where I crossed from one side to the other. Running has never stopped being fun, but the freedom this device has afforded me has added a new element of enjoyment.

If you are interested in the GPS aspects of the device, you can read the other reviews–like they nearly all say, the 205 and 305 are excellent. I wanted to specifically point out how much improved and how accurate the heart rate monitor and strap are over the previous version (Forerunner 301), as well as how favorably the 305 HRM functions in comparison to the benchmark Polar monitor.

The 305 has not dropped my heart rate once in nearly three weeks of daily workouts ranging from one to two hours. I have and have used the 301 for the better part of a year, and continually had problems with interference, which caused extended data dropouts and extremely high, inaccurate readings. The 305 is nothing like the old 301, which is reason enough to purchase if you require a solid HRM with your GPS data. A side benefit–it’s accurate! I’ve compared it with my Polar Accurex monitor, and it’s dead on. If anything, the Polar updates a bit slower than the Garmin.

All in all, a huge improvement, and a great product. Highly recommended. Also, as a number of other reviewers have said, get the SportTracks software. It’s free and it will greatly enhance the viewing of the data from your new ForeRunner 305.

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