Electronics : Garmin Forerunner 405 with HRM and USB ANT stick - Black

Rating: - My new best friend
Having never used any other device I cannot offer a comparison but I am delighted with this piece of kit. I would swap this for my ipod if I had to as it is the best running companion you could wish for. The "virtual partner" is fantastic and keeps you motivated to stay with the pace all the way.

Being able to see your heart rate, calories burnt, distance covered, pace, time, gradiant and so much more during your run is invaluable. The on-line graphs are brilliant as well. I think it's my new best friend.

I find the only downside is if it rains and then the bezel takes on a mind of it's own, jumping from screen to screen over and over. That's the only reason it's not a 5 star rating.

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Rating: - Hopefully a more balanced view
I have been running seriously since August 2005 and in that time have owned a Forerunner 101, a 301, a 305 and now the 405 with HRM, I have 900 runs/races uploaded to Motionbased, I have competed in 83 races this year wearing a 305 and for the last month a 405. Apologies for the long preamble but many reviews make me wonder whether the reviewer has actually used the device in anger.
Firstly the 405 is a vast improvement on the 305 in three ways
1. The size (obviously), I only ever take it off in the bath or shower, if this was the only improvement that would be sufficient for me.
2. Connectivity to the PC/Laptop - the 305's USB cradle was a constant struggle with intermittent connections, the ANT stick has performed flawlessly for me.
3. Reduction of the button count, the 305 has seven (yes seven) external buttons, the 405 just having the two external buttons is a vast improvement.
Now - the Bezel - it seems people fall into two camps, those like me who start running and concentrate on the job in hand and those who during a run or race have to explore every conceivable menu option on the Garmin. I don't have any Bezel issues because I don't mess about with it - I haven't seen the rain affect it either.
In summary I think this is a superb product, if I was being hyper-critical then I'd like a firmware revision to implement distance alerts (not laps, I don't want laps) as in the 305 but that's it.

Update - tonight I had some insight into why people find the device hard to use as I watched someone new to Garmins have a total nightmare with the device simply because he appeared to have not taken the time to find out how the thing works. You can't make up for that by simply hitting buttons and the bezel at random. I have worked as a computer programmer for 19 years and it still amazes me how people think they can win an argument with an electronic device. You won't, you have to work with it.

Update 2 - Software You can still use the old-style Motionbased as well as Garmin.Connect which I am hoping is a work in progress as its well short of being an improvement to its predecessor. As for Sporttracks being brilliant and light-years ahead of Training Centre, that's so obvious it amazes me that many people appear to need convincing of this.

Update 3 - I can't quite believe that I omitted to mention the time to satellite lock which is dramatically faster than the 305 and seems far more tolerant to being moved around during the process.

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Rating: - Terrible Software and even Worse Support
I bought this watch several months ago when it first came out and was willing to forgive some of the foibles it had (complicated UI, sensitive bezel) for the looks and functionality.

Unfortunately, the software is driving me completely crazy.

The data transfer is completely random (for the last month I haven't been able to transfer any data although my watch is apparently communicating with the computer). The web page is very unintuitive. Also I cant get the new software patch into the watch.

My advice is only buy if you want a good looking watch that syncs well with HR monitor and can show you a few runs on its internal memory. Otherwise steer clear.

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Rating: - Cracking bit of kit........but it doesn't work when wet
I really like this watch. Ok it's a bit ugly and it looks a bit big on the wrist (don't buy it if you have really small wrists - without trying it first) but for aesthetics it's a big improvement on the FR305. I wear it all the time and charge it overnight. Battery life is fine for normal training use (I estimate about 6-7 hours with the GPS on). The GPS locks on quick and the distance recorded looks pretty accurate (it was spot on round a running track).

I have had the watch for 3 months and have had a few minor issues - eg. the watch not going into standby, and inaccurate pace data - but these have been sorted by the latest firmware releases.
The main issue is the fact the bezel does not work when wet - so you can't change screens. Here is the response from customer support about the issue:

"The bezel does not operate well when wet so there is an option to lock
the bezel on a run (press both buttons). To view different screens on a
run you can set the screen to Auto Scroll so you would not need to use
the bezel."

So please take note of this before purchasing. It's still a decent watch but it has a design flaw.

Forget the very poor Garmin Training Centre software and the dreadful Garmin Connect website (slow and unimaginatve layout). Download Sporttracks software and import the data there (this is free software but with an option to donate - fair play). This is fantastic! Combining this software with the FR405 makes it a very worthwhile experience using this watch.


As a minor point (for me at least) I found the follow course and return to start features pretty unusable - the pointer seemed to be very slow to respond and also seemed to point in the wrong direction! I didn't stick with it to work out why though. Don't buy it if you want a navigation aid!

Despite a few minor quibbles and teethin troubles, I really recommend this watch to anyone - jogger or serious runner.

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Rating: - Over-engineered, badly designed...etc
This is an expensive, over-engineered piece of kit that should have stayed in Garmin's prototype room. Its my first heart rate monitor, and I wish I'd gone with the 305. This has to be the clumsiest most user-unfriendly item I've bought in a long time.

The bezel is hopeless. Check out the video on Garmin's website, the guy is constantly under/over-spinning it, and this is when he's standing still and probably after numerous takes. Try doing that when you're running and you just want to get some information. Totally impossible, and the small display means its a struggle to see all the information clearly when you're running anyway.

Uploading takes forever, because it usually goes wrong at first, and the Garmin website is incredibly slow, think back to the early days of dial-up.

I do some competitive running, and have to admit to a tinge of envy when I see people with the 305. Should one of these people ever ask if its worth upgrading, I would have to correct them: this is no upgrade.

I've given it 2 stars because it does at least work, just in a very badly designed way but the high cost means its barely even worth that.