When I got my Garmin Forerunner 305 Heart Rate Monitor, I thought it was a great heart rate monitor in addition to the already growing collection I have. Just a while later, Garmin came out with this model, the Garmin Forerunner 405CX GPS sports watch which I must say that I’m really glad that I purchased it.
Battery Life
One thing that I really like about this model compared to my old Garmin Forerunner 305 is the long battery lifespan. It can go on for 2 weeks without the GPS feature with my regular daily use. One thing to note about this model is that it also allows you to turn off the GPS features which can significantly improve the battery life, a feature not present with my old GPS Forerunner 305. I find this particularly useful when I enter a building or walk into my gym, where the GPS function does not actually serve any purpose there (GPS signal can’t pass through).The automatic power saving feature is also a great addition to this model.
Size and Overall Function
Compared to the Garmin Forerunner 305, the Garmin Forerunner 405CS model does not look so huge on your hands and clunky. The 305 on the other hand makes you look like you are wearing quite a large wrist watch making it look rather unsightly sometimes. Even with the smaller size, it doesn’t compromise on features and it works really well so I highly recommend getting this model if you are considering a change from the forerunner 305.
One notable feature here is the ANT+ wireless technology which allows you to transfer data automatically without having to put the device in a USB cradle. Of course, you must be within range to allow data transfer.
In terms of heart rate monitoring, I find no issues with the numbers and I had never experience any problems with inaccurate reading or data unlike some feedback about this model. Also, it was rather surprising that this model could handle the weather really well regardless of the humidity and temperature.
Bevel and Touch Feature
There are quite a number of comments about the bevel and touch not functioning as well as it should be. My personal experience with this function has been mixed. The main issue with the touch and bevel is when sweat gets onto it, otherwise it works perfectly fine. It will for some strange reason not work well and freeze up when sweat gets onto it. But once you get that off, it will work perfectly. I’ve also discovered that you can eliminate this problem by just enabling the auto-scroll feature. Some of you might not like to get this feature enabled but it has never been a problem for me. It’s all a matter of getting used to. But my preference would be that Garmin gets into the root of this problem and fixes it with another future model.
Cons
Price
Although this model is one of the best GPS cum heart rate monitor model out there, it certainly isn’t for those on a budget. It can be rather pricey but suffice to say that the long term investment is well worth it. I’ve been using it for almost a year and had never had major issues with it.
ANT software
Before purchasing this gadget, I had my doubts about the new software that came together with the ANT feature as some people reports problems using it. I had experience some minor glitches with it and had the problem solved, although I do admit that the software is a little buggy.
Overall Impression
My overall impression of this model is that it certainly packs a lot of features. Besides the price and the slight buggy software, this is definitely the model to replace your Garmin Forerunner 305 and even some Polar HRM with GPS features.
Check out the Garmin Forerunner 405CX model here
total customer reviews...
|
|
total customer reviews... |
