Garmin 405 initial review

[Robertwx21]

and ahhh...

[davidts15]

Can I use this to track distance ran on a treadmill?

[musiljan]

@davidts15 Yes with foot pod.

[imelizabethgaytan]

looks cool though my wrist are pretty tiny :/ looks huge

[guycohen1974]

wow ...so many 'aha' and mumbling

maybe the review is OK but is almost impossible to listen

learn to speak before you post to youtube

[milzeh]

I want to set it up to do a 10k in 45 mins. How do I set this up?

[musiljan]

@milzeh Set the virtual training partner to desired average pace and keep track whether you are ahead or behind.

[rizzyrong]

Can you use the GPS to just show what your Lat and Long are??

[str8ballin100688]

@rizzyrong Yes there is a GPS function where you can find your current co-ordinates.

[musiljan]

@rizzyrong Yes. You can record waypoints too and do very basic navigation - basically from one point to another showing you direction.

[tobeaSEAL]

Thanks for the vid, you saved me $200.

[datboysha40]

Okay! I am going to give you the 2 year review of the Garmin Forerunner 405. Wow, it's great when it's new, but after a few months, the bezel gets scratched very easy and the text markings on the body of the watch have rubbed off. The watch has a lot of clitches after long term use. It's good for people who have small wrists, but if you have a large wrist, u might find it very uncomfortable.

[7superduper]

I was wondering if you know how, or if it's possible to pre program a GPS location without ever being there before. I'm sure there's a way but I can't figure it out.

[EdwardFinnigans]

I want to know how the GPS works, it probably wouldnt work if you walked down a subway or ran threw a tunnel of some sort? and can you see your heartrate on the clock? and is that difficult to get up, bcs if i have been running on my max puls for a while the last thing i want to do to check it is to click 20 times until i can see it

[musiljan]

@EdwardFinnigans Any GPS unit needs clear view of the sky to receive GPS signal. So no it would not work in the subway tunnel. The HR is displayed on the watch along with tons of other stats as you exercise. You have choice of what you display on each screen.

[licka2000]

I recently bought the 405 with the HRM and I love it. It is comfortable to wear and easy to use. Works great!

[musiljan]

@licka2000 Enjoy. It is a very good running watch. Especially now with all the discounts on the 405 and 405cx.

[jmister22]

you have trouble talkin. toke u long enough to get to the tech stuff bwt the watch

[AlexeyDnepr]

Garmin is better than Polar?

[musiljan]

@AlexeyDnepr Not necessarily. Depends on what you are looking for. If your primary need is a GPS unit that is integrated there are few Garmins and Timex units that you can rely on. If you are looking for multisport watch that you do not need to charge every few days you may like Polar or Suunto units better then. I use many different units and they all have their benefits.

[wwwillli]

I'd enjoyed the video because of the calm and informative way of speech. The comparison of the watches is for me the most interesting part.

I am missing a word about the duration of the battery (GPS on/of, training or as ordinary watch.

yours sincerly

Michael

[triwaybikefitting]

With the Garmin 405, can you see your real time running cadence when the foot pod is activated?

[blaineryan89]

Ipod touch or iphone?

[musiljan]

@blaineryan89 What?

[ereber]

Thanks for taking the time to record this and posting a review!

[1981z28camaro]

I would think the strap that goes around your chest would feel constrictive.

[musiljan]

You get used to it after few times. And you can always adjust the tightness of the belt.

[1981z28camaro]

ok cool, good to know, thnx :-)

[lauren21783]

Thanks for the review! Very helpful! I'm thinking about purchasing one. Have your done any research on the 405cx?

[musiljan]

It is the same model only the calories calculation is more accurate as it is based on HR (well if you wear the HR belt)

[acachey]

hello!

does anyone know how to set up a time ration alarm on the garmin 405?

[musiljan]

You should be able to define guided exercise in the Garmin TC and load it to the watch - say alarm every 5 minutes or 20 minutes or any other time period.

[TheFabFoo]

I think the problem with alot of people is that they bought the 405 right when it came out. I just got mine today, I am a runner by the way, and I love it. Its accurate and does everything I need, the bezel works with water on it.

[musiljan]

I guess what you meant to say is that Garmin messed-up the first release and fixed the initial 405 problems? I would not blame people that shelled their hard earned cash and then were disappointed when the watch did not perform to their expectation. In any case good to hear that Garmin addressed the issues.

[prostheticsnow]

did you have a problem with sweating on the bezel? i am thinking about getting the 405 but i heard bad things that the 405 does not work while running if you sweat too much?

[musiljan]

I did not have problem with sweat per se (or I did not observe it as sweat issue). But I had general issues with the way the watch is controlled - the bezel interface works well when you are stationary, but try changing something mid-run or while on the bike. It compares to making a phone call or texting while driving.

[musiljan]

The 405 is great watch with two exceptions that you need to decide if you can live with:

-> the bezel interface

-> the battery life which requires recharging few times a week or once every 2 weeks if you do not use GPS

Otherwise the watch is great for running or cycling and does great job. Especially the virtual partner is a great function that other units do not have.

[musiljan]

If you are triathlete and are set on Garmin I would suggest to wait for the 310xt to be released. It is water resistant and designed for swimming. None of the 205, 305 and 405 models are fit for swimming and Garmin states that in the manual (at least the one for 405).

As I said before I sold the 405 about a year ago and now use Polar RS800cx and Suunto T6c. Very happy with Polar, quite happy with the T6c.

Sorry had to post it in 3 replies due to limits here.

[insultcomic]

dont buy the 405 its not waterproof

[musiljan]

Yeah if you look for Garmin get the 310xt - it looks ugly, but it is fairly good training computer. Not really a watch though. It is also quite big and heavy compared to Polar or Suunto units.

[planetdiego]

how about watching it in action?... really testing it instead of spending hours comparing it against the thickness of other units.

[musiljan]

I'll leave that to people that still own it. Mine ended up on eBay about after 2 months of use.

[planetdiego]

really? i was planning to get one, what was so bad about it?

[simonlouey]

Hi Jan! Great video review.

I was just wondering if the 405 showed while you're running your current speed like most GPS units do. If so does it show in kms/hr or miles/hr?

Thank you...

[musiljan]

Simon,

I sold the 405 a while ago, but yes the unit shows the current running pace or biking speed as well as average for the entire session and/or lap. You can customize the display to show you the units you need and supports both metric and imperial units.

[musiljan]

I have heard about people having issues with the touch bezel when it got wet from sweat or in rainy weather. The bezel is the biggest downfall of this HRM - it looks nice and works great in your living room, but using it while running is totally another story. It takes quite some concentration to get what you need when you are moving.

If you need mapping feature look also at the RS800cx with G3 sensor that provides watch that does not need to be charged weekly and does the mapping.

[canuhead]

Thanks. I appreciate the reply. I was hoping to have the GPS 'on board' instead of the extra sensor. I have the Timex bodylink with gps pod and like it but would like to have a single unit.

Thanks

[musiljan]

Well there are trade offs - you can get the GPS unit on-board and then charge the watch every few days It gives you about 8 hours of exercise with GPS. Or you can use external unit like Polar G3 or Timex GPS unit and that one gives you more time and flexibility. Also the RS800cx is much, much smaller than the Forerunner 405. But some people prefer Garmin. I'm not one of them. But ultimately the decision is yours ;-) - you will be running with it...

[musiljan]

Hi canuhead,

I actually sold the unit a while ago as it is not really useful for triathlon training. It can not be used in the pool or open water. Now I use Polar RS800cx and Suuto T6c in my training. They both have their pluses. I like Polar for training and Suunto for racing.

[tsmem67]

Nice review. Why do you use the Polar for training and the Suunto for racing? In terms of user friendliness, is Suunto significantly harder?

Thanks

[canuhead]

Hello Jan,

Thanks for the review. I have heard that when you get sweaty that the bezel controls are hard to control. Have you had anything like this happen? Anything else you are not thrilled with? Thanks.

[IntSpaceStation]

Thank you Jan! This video helped me in my buying decision.

[titoquaranta]

thank you for the informations.

it was just what i was looking for

[juicyjuice60]

Great information. Thanks for your help and ignore the negative comments - you will never be able to please everyone.

[joel65]

Thanks for al the infos, very interesting indeed.

[goatpunch]

Wow, some miserable people on here... thanks for the review Musiljan, helped me decide to get a 405 and after a week and the first few runs I'm very glad that I did :)

[feelda303]

dobra anglictina... :-)

[musiljan]

Maybe I'm not in this to get viewers - did you think of that? I'm not commercial station. All I did was publish initial review for people that are interested and linked it from my blog. That is all.

If you want more detailed feature walk throughs serach some place else. They are not here. And I'm not recording any more as the watch is long gone.

[1stPlaceDirector]

One thing that I have noticed after watching all the videos on these GPS watches and systems is that they are all basic and the reviewers always skip over the most important features that people buy the watches for. Why spend so much time on how to lock the watch. I bought it because I want to use it. Can you show all about how the watch can be used, like the most useful features. Other people show them taking stuff out of the new box. That's even worse. How about showing how the GPS works?

[musiljan]

Oh another person not reading the manual...

Why would I do the work for Garmin and replicate the manual? I do not work for them and have no interest to record the instructional videos. B the way Garmin already did that, just go to their site and look it up.

Perhaps people skip over all the functions in detail in the 'Initial review' video because it is initial review and not instructional material.

[1stPlaceDirector]

Maybe you don't understand that the reason for putting out videos is to get viewers. Showing them what they already know does nothing for people. Maybe you can grasp the concept that maybe people watching the videos don't own the watch yet and therefore don't have the manual and watch to practice with. It would be nice to see some of the features of the watch that actually mean something rather than showing how nice it looks and how to tell time with it. "Work for Gramin" I can't believe that.

[L1LNasty]

would this be good size for a kid? 14?

[musiljan]

Not sure. How big are the kids hands? Best is probably to try one in REI or another sports store.

[reallyharddownthere]

nice presentation just very distracting with the...errrr....you should try to force yourself to breath instead of..errr.

[Markl006]

Nice try, but he didn't show ANY of the functionality of the watch, is it mac compatible? He mentioned ipods. Is there a screen that shows speed and distance? That's what I want to see.

[congokurt]

Why use a VISUAL media to tell us things, thats in every specification about the watch on the entire internet? He did a good job.

Dont be lazy.

[ncdezoysa]

Super informative review!

[EgoNarroVerum]

Tanks very helpful

[oldfatslow]

Thank you for taking the time to put this together. Very useful review.

[tzaf23]

very good review

[castra73]

I use polar F55 and very happy with it but I do miss GPS functionality and this watch seams to have it all. Who knows it might be my next watch. Thanks for great review!

[ilanarinst]

Tanks for the detailed review

[relikvija]

thanks man

[Jarose389]

nice review

[Orangeboom57]

Pretty informative. I'm still considering buying one.