Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS Fitness Monitor - Black

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

First of all, let me say that I absolutely LOVED the Garmin 305, which absolutely revolutionized my trainig and racing. My only complaint was that it was too large for my small female wrists and that I had to hold it in my hand. Needless to say, I was very excited to purchase the 405, due to its smaller size, its wireless downloading, and its bezel controls. The product is not bad, there are just a few things that I find disappointing, compared to its exceptional predecessor.
1) the wireless ANT program "stopped working" within the first few days I owned the product. Windows "shut it down" due to a problem and I am unsure how to fix it. will be contacting Garmin support on this.
2) despite its smaller face size, the 405 is still too large to wear on my wrist. i cannot get it tight enough (due to the molding around the face) to prevent an abrasion on my wrist bone while running. so i continue to carry it in my hand, but due to its shorter wrist strap, it is almost too short to fit around my hand.
3) if you are an endurance athlete, the battery life is too short. as a marathoner, i frequently run longer than 3-4 hours, and nothing is worse than having the battery go out on you before you are done. also, because the watch is always on (the 405 goes to standby with only the time and date displayed, whereas you could completely turn off the 305), battery is depleted between runs. for example, i ran the hood to coast relay this last weekend, and the 405 went dead before my last relay leg because i had no way to "shut it off" between runs. (thankfully, i brought my 305 as a back up!)
4) lastly, while the bezel controls are very cool, they do take some time to get used to. they are very sensitive and can bump the watch into wierd modes if tapped accidentally. maybe once i get used to it, it will be easier to navigate out of the fields i accidentally entered.
Lastly, I have to say that the 405's reception is excellent and that it finds satelites within seconds. Also it is very accurate and does not cut out under trees or tall buildings. I do believe that Garmin makes an excellent product and the average runner and/or athlete will be very happy with the 405. it is well worth the $$.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

I've just had this 4 days so maybe premature but here's the low down.
Background - bigtime Garmin fan, I've owned or bought for my wife around 8 other garmin products including a forerunner 301 and 305.
The Good.
1. Excellent satellite acquisition.
2. Fast to charge to 100%.
3. Looks (at first glance) like a cool watch you can wear all the time, nice design.
4. touch bezel replaces a lot of buttons (but see the bad also)
5. Connects quickly and easily to heart rate strap and foot pod (but see the bad re. calibration of footpod disaster)
The Bad.
1. This watch hung on me twice now, tried all the buttons, bezel, nothing just beeping at me. had to do a soft reset and lost the workout both times, very annoying.
2. Strap is too short. I have a casio pathfinder and Suunto X6HR and both straps are at least one inch longer. I'm on the last hole and it's not comfy.
3. Bezel seems more than a mite twitchy in use... maybe too early but I've been playing heavily for 4 days and it's not as good as dedicated buttons for things. Some features (e.g. switch from running to biking) require at least six presses or bezel swipes from the start, and it's not hard to overshoot on the item you wanted and have to back up.
4. Could not calibrate the footpod, the software seemed to get into a loop (retry message repeatedly)and I had to reset again.
5. The watch looks nice superficially but it's still pretty dang huge (but not quite in the 305's size league) and won't slide under your shirt cuff in the office, it's going to be 'out there' if you want to wear this full time... I think most people won't want to do that.


This is the first garmin product I've been disappointed in... maybe it's just first batch and the bugs will get fixed in the next software release.. but there's no excuse for such a short strap, that's just being cheap.

Full garmin ownership history... GPS V, GPSMAP 60CS, GPSMAP 76CS, i3 Streetpilot, Colorado 300, Forerunner 301. My wife also owns an iQue 3600 and a Forerunner 305.

But for the fact that all the above have been excellent products, I would've given it only 1 star. Very disappointing. If they fix the strap and get a software update out fast then I could re-think. Meanwhile it's back to the 301 for now.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

Have looked forward to owning this watch with much anticipation, so as soon as it was released, I bought one. However, I am returning it because of the following:
1) Looks compact from the photos, however size is much larger than illustrated and it's uncomfortable on a larger wrist (the body of the watch actually curves around as part of the "pseudostrap" in the front).
2) I have an average wrist size, but the strap was on the second to last hole.
3) Easily loses signal or is inaccurate, unless totally clear skies above.
4) PC software leaves much to be desired - it lost some of my data, and conversely, I couldn't delete some which I wanted to (kept reaapearing after I shut program down and restarted).
5) Heart Rate is on a different screen from speed/distance or time - not very convenient.
6) Touch bezel at times too sensitive and "twitchy'.
I'm sticking with my Suunto T6 with foot pod - it's in a totally different class as far as quality and performance.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

The 405 looks and wears like a watch. Do yourself a favor and go a store and try on the display model so you don't have to write a review on how it was too big after you purchased it. Battery life whiners I would suggest a fully charged watch if you plan on doing a super hero marathon.
The bezel control is innovative and is easy to use if you have some natural curiosity and enthused about the product. I'll admit I'm a slow learner so I cycled through the menu more than a few times to get a feel for how it looks and works. Your brain should pick it up and don't worry, you won't break it. Try reading the easy set up guide first. It doesn't use big words. Its a technical tool, not a Mickey Mouse watch.
Excessive sweating, rain, water on the bezel is easily wiped off and works fine. I intentionally used the bezel to wipe sweat from my forehead and golden bronzed chest repeatedly and then wiped it off with my sweaty hands or on my sweaty shirt and wasn't surprised when it still worked. You can select data fields you want to view and don't have to fuss with the bezel while training.
Garmin Connect is a great online tool for your workouts as well as software updates for your watch. Wow, what a concept, using the internet to upgrade hardware. Other manufacturers will catch on soon.
Software installs and pairing the watch is a little awkward and needs to done in the correct order:
1st. Garmin ANT Agent™ software download & install
2nd. Stick in USB ANT & pair your watch (might take a couple of efforts, get over it)
3rd. Garmin Communicator Plugin install for your web browser
4th. Forerunner 405 Software Update runs from the plugin on Garmin's website to upgrade the software on your watch.
Do a little research on Youtube, "garminblog", "Garmin Forerunner 405" and drink the Kool-aid.
I love this watch for its form factor and function, I just wish it was waterproof, not water resistant. The Forerunner® 310XT is waterproof and has a super long battery life but looks like your wearing Frankenstein head on your wrist.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

I've had this watch a week now. Easy to set up, the bezel is no problem to navigate. I'm a woman with an extremely small wrist and found it fit perfectly. I was surprised how comfortable it is and not bulky at all. Locates satellites before I'm even out the door. I run under trees - seldom in the open and it kept the signal. Only issue is the Pace is not correct - it had me running 14, 15 or 17 minute miles. Now I'm slow but not that slow. Read elsewhere there appears to be an issue with that but not sure if a Garmin issue or a GPS issue. Use average pace and lap pace to get an accurate pace.

Service and delivery comments:

Delivery from REI was great - had it within a week. They appear to be the only ones who have it.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

I like the way it fits better than the 205. It picks up the satellite signals fast, so you don't have to stand around and wait. The touch bezil took some getting used to but if you can work an "I Pod" you can work this. The only thing I like better on the 205 is the size of the display. Other than that I am realy impressed with the way the 405 works.

Service and delivery comments:

Fast delivery via FedEx.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

I have the forerunner 305, upgraded to 405 love the new features. GPS picks up faster, heart rate is easier to see and the touch bezel is easy to use, switching between training modes while running or biking. The wireless data transfer is great, along with uploading your workouts to the web. The only thing Garmin could fix is either lengthen the band or provide to two set of bands. Other than that the watch fills great and I have a large wrist.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

I'm a female with small wrists. The wrist strap for the 405 has some sort of composite, unbendable, un-flexible material around the face. Fitting the wrist strap to my personal liking is just not possible. This, so far, is my only major complaint.
Love that it picked up a signal in SECONDS! Easy to use, programming was a snap. Using the bezel was a snap; just took a little getting used to.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

Just got this today. First impression is that it is "taller" than I expected. This watch does not look cool. Repeat, this is not a hip, cool, watch. It's very bulky around the wrist.

Now for the good part: I've never seen any GPS device (except for the one built into my car) pick up a signal this fast. I stepped outside and had it within 5 seconds on my very first use. I'm very impressed. Also, it's very easy to set up and navigate the menus. I haven't used the 305, but from what I've read it seems like they've definitely refined things. Also, the touch bezel does work, and it seems to work through fabric so it looks like you can wear gloves and still use this.

I would love to have the fourth readout the the 305 has. Pace, Heartbeat, Distace, and Time is just the perfect amount of information for me. With this, you can only see three of those at any one time. Although it's not like it's very difficult to jump to another screen.

Overall, it's nice. I don't regret it (so far).

I should note that I had the Forerunner 50 before this, which really does the job just fine. But if you are looking at something like this you have to ask yourself whether you're going to be able to accept the accuracy of a pedometer. If you're looking at this chance are you're Type A or OCD and the fact that the Forerunner 50 occassionally reports a 3 mile run as 2.7 or 3.4 is going to drive you up the wall.

Comments about Garmin Forerunner 405 - Black:

If you actually read the directions this watch is easy to set up and use. I like the watch but i LOVE the reports and information you get when you sync your watch to the computer. Totally cool. It gives me a great idea where I'm heading with my training. Its still a pretty big watch but...much smaller than older versions. I have tiny wrists and it does fit. The band is huge but who looks at the band when you're running? This is not a watch to wear around town - too ugly for the fashionistas but its SUPER cool for running.