runtoryrun.com

So Disappointing

Gift: No

Pros: Easy To Use, Gives A Quick Reading

Cons: Inaccurate

Best Uses: Running

Describe Yourself: Competitive Athlete

I had such high hopes for this! I’m a marathoner, ultra marathoner, and triathlete and I have owned a Garmin Forerunner since the first series. I love Garmin, so this isn’t “let’s bash Garmin.”

Loved it at first. I definitely like that it has the vibrating alarm as well as audible. It’s easy to use, easier than the 205 and 305 (which I have had). It catches the sats REALLY fast.

Unfortunately there were three issues that I couldn’t overlook. I suspect that they will be taken care of in future firmware updates, but for the price I couldn’t justify keeping it.

1. Swim distant wildly inaccurate. I took it out for a swim twice. The first time it had me swimming 4.5 miles in 40 minutes. SWEET! I qualify for the Olympics! The second time I wore attached to my goggles, figuring the arm going into the lake was the issue. It was better, but it was still off by about a mile. I realized I could probably wear my 205 under my goggles, in a waterproof bag, and get the same result or better.

2. The HRM is also inaccurate. I had the 305 and found the HRM inaccurate so I exchanged it for the 205 and wore another HRM. The calorie burn is important to me, as I am maintaining a 100 lb loss AND am an endurance athlete. I need to fuel correctly. During a marathon it had me burning less than 1500 calories.

3. The final straw was that it would charge to 100% then, while on the charger, start discharging. I could have waited for the upgrade for the other two things, but the 20 hour battery was a big selling point for me as I’m getting into longer ultras. Well if I don’t watch it, it discharges. If I take it off the charger, it discharges. It was a lose lose situation.

So back it went. Maybe when it’s better, I’ll purchase it again. Since I already owned a 205, the problems with it didn’t justify the extra cost.

()