Runners - Santa needs GPS watch recommendations...please!!

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tamcrit
tamcrit Posts: 340 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone!! I have decided that I want Santa to bring me a good GPS watch for Christmas, so I need to let him know what I want. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles, but want it to have basic functions...tracking route, distance, pace, and also a heart rate monitor, calories burned, etc. I am also not very techy, so it needs to be easy to use, and also reasonably priced. Please make recommendations for a good device and what you like about it. Thank you in advance for your info. Tammy
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Replies

  • kit_katty
    kit_katty Posts: 994 Member
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    I just bought myself a Garmin 305! And I love it! It has a heart rate monitor, accurate calories, distance, pace, gps, etc. Amazon seemed to have the best prices.
  • crux
    crux Posts: 454 Member
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    I just bought myself a Garmin 305! And I love it! It has a heart rate monitor, accurate calories, distance, pace, gps, etc. Amazon seemed to have the best prices.

    ^^^^
    This, got mine today, I was too impatient for Santa... Love it already...
  • djkshdfd
    djkshdfd Posts: 443 Member
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    Garmin Garmin Garmin!! I have a 305 and 405 (my father and I share them). Go for 305 is you want the basics and super easy use. Go for the 405 if you want a lot of options and you are savvy.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    I don't have a specific recommendation but I do have one other feature to watch out for... my sister has a Garmin that has all of the features you listed, and she loved it. Sorry, I don't know which model. HOWEVER, the battery died last month and you have to send it back to Garmin to get it replaced and it costs $80. She is debating putting that $80 towards a different HRM rather than sending it in.

    My advice is try to find a model that allows you to replace the battery yourself.
  • kit_katty
    kit_katty Posts: 994 Member
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    Sorry, just one more comment, some people find that the heart rate monitor strap chafes, I just use a bit of body glide and have no problems once I figured out where to apply it! It's really rather comfortable, I forget I'm wearing it!
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    I don't have a specific recommendation but I do have one other feature to watch out for... my sister has a Garmin that has all of the features you listed, and she loved it. Sorry, I don't know which model. HOWEVER, the battery died last month and you have to send it back to Garmin to get it replaced and it costs $80. She is debating putting that $80 towards a different HRM rather than sending it in.

    My advice is try to find a model that allows you to replace the battery yourself.
    This! Why should you have to pay so much for a battery replacement. You may as well spend the extra money and get a better watch. Polar FT60 measures cals for everything. 100 pounds on ebay. Garmin forerunners are just for runners but do have the battery replacement issue. So its up to you which you'd rather have. Zara
  • Cleirigh
    Cleirigh Posts: 1
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    I've had a couple of Gramins incl the 305, the runkeeper app for iphone runs circles around it (pun intended).... music, GPS, phone all in one, route map on your phone, calories burned, HR monitor can be integrated, audible pace, mileage, time... on & on. http://runkeeper.com/
  • danger_kitteh
    danger_kitteh Posts: 301 Member
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    I would even go one step further and ask for the Garmin 405 - less bulkly/heavy than the 305
  • RippedNShredded
    RippedNShredded Posts: 30
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    I purchased the Garmin 310xt w/ HRM and FootPod.
  • KEShikes
    KEShikes Posts: 110
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    I have the basic Garmin 110 (not even sure they make it any more). It has no frills, but works beautifully and gives be all the info I need. I upload to garminconnect.com to view all the details on the computer instead of on a small watch that I can't see well :)
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    I should add that I've also wanted exactly what you're looking for and think I have found the best combination but have yet to purchase it.

    I use the Cardio Trainer app for Android on my phone. It has a feature which will allow it to integrate with a Polar HRM chest strap with a Bluetooth transmitter. Cardio Trainer tracks AND maps your runs using the phone's GPS, counts steps, shows pace during the run on a graph, tracks your 7 day rolling calorie burn, etc. Adding the HRM will also allow it to give accurate calorie burns and track heart rate. I'm waiting for a new phone this week (my old one crashed and burned and I'm using a Palm phone now), then I'll be buying the chest strap which is around $80 on Amazon.
  • KimertRuns13_1
    KimertRuns13_1 Posts: 705
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    I love love love my Garmin 305! Yes, it's big and bulky but I love it. I have the HRM strap with it as well.
  • crux
    crux Posts: 454 Member
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    While smart phone apps do everything, they are not easy to glance at unless you carry it in your hand. Mine was strapped to my bicep, great to show me what I did after the run, but pretty useless to tell me what heart rate I'm running at right now, also I found the iPhone gps less than sparkling in it's accuracy and satellite acquisition times.

    Great if the smart phone works for you but for me it's the Garmin 305, 4 easy to read data feeds on one large screen, fast acurate, cheap for a GPS watch and it's on my wrist so I can see it at a glance.
  • Flyntiggr
    Flyntiggr Posts: 898 Member
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    I have to recommend AGAINST the Garmin 405. I had one for about a year. Loved it at first, then I ran the Garmin update, and all hell broke loose. It stopped holding a charge, would crap out in the middle of workouts, calorie count was all over the map, etc.

    I called Garmin, as it was less than a year old (and had read of a ton of other people having the same issues online), and they told me it wasn't the software, but that I could drain the battery down all the way - twice - and it should be fine. Did their suggestions, and it worked - for a few days. then it went back to being wonky. Called Garmin again and they weren't very supportive or helpful. Gave in and returned it to REI as defective for a full refund. I thought about getting another one, but found that I really didn't need the full GPS/HRM suite on the watch. Also, w/o the extra foot pod, the Garmin is pretty useless indoors.


    I now use a Suunto T3d HRM with chest strap and RunKeeper on my iPhone to track my runs. I always have my phone with my anyways. Haven't had any issues with the GPS on my phone, and have cross-checked distance on both map my run and in my car. Runkeeper calls out your distance covered, pace, intervals on user defined intervals as well. If I want to know my HR, I just glance down at my watch.
  • katapple
    katapple Posts: 1,108 Member
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    I have the Garmin 305, have had it for a year. I love it, easy to use and understand. You can see the screen easy, it is bulky, but that doesn't bother me. I chose it over the 405 because I didn't like the 405's touch screen, several reviews mentioned it wouldn't work if you got sweaty. Wore the chest strap on Wed for a 12 mile run and had no chaffing. Loved that I could see my HR, how long I've been running, my current lap pace, and distance all on one screen :)
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    tracking route, distance, pace, and also a heart rate monitor, calories burned, etc.
    But no bells and whistles… :-)

    I have a Garmin Forerunner 305 and it works well. Like another poster, I didn't buy the 405 because of the reported problems with sweat. Also, the 305 is cheap - it's only $125 at Amazon. Oh, yeh, I've been buying at Amazon since 1997 and it's the only place to get something like this (I even buy food there…)

    The -05 models estimate calories burned based on height, weight, and distance covered. It's an estimation and it's going to be wrong most of the time. How wrong? Dunno. My Garmin reports the same calorie burn running here in SoCal (at sea level) as it does at 9000 feet and that doesn't make sense to me. Nor does the Garmin change calorie burns as I become more fit - I did a run today where I was 17 beats/minute slower than when I started running in June. How could I burn the same number of calories?

    I called Garmin TS and they confirmed that it's an estimate but I also figured out (after spending some quality time on the Garmin web site) that the -10 models have heart rate based calorie tracking so they will tend to be more accurate than the -05 models.

    The Garmin 610 is a very sweet device but it ain't cheap. It's got wireless transfer, a touch screen, and heart rate based calorie calculations.

    Mebbe if I could sell my Polar FT60 and my Forerunner 305, I could spring for the 610!
  • tamcrit
    tamcrit Posts: 340 Member
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    Thank you all so much for the information!! Santa will really appreciate the assistance :)
  • tamcrit
    tamcrit Posts: 340 Member
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    Anyone else have input for Santa?? Thanks!!
  • KimmieBrie
    KimmieBrie Posts: 825 Member
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    Bump -

    I want one too! For when I run and do long walks outdoors... was looking at the garmins...

    I figure the GPS ones are best for this - but I am technically challenged so I want the easiest to operate.
    I don't care about online software and all that and don't want to pair anything with a phone app etc.
    Just a simple accurate GPS watch to track distance, HR, calories, pace.... suggestions? or are they all pretty basic?
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    Costco.com has the 405 for $169 shipped!

    The HRM will only work while running - if you want to track HRM calories for other activities, you need the 405 CX, 410 or 610.


    http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?whse=BC&topnav=&prodid=11676503&ec=BC-EC877-CatHome&pos=14&lang=en-US

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