Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Review

March 22, 2011 Last Update

November 4, 2010 | Author David Paxton

When I’m running or cycling for fitness I need to know some facts to assist my workouts, which is where the Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS sports watch with heart monitor is exactly what the personal trainer ordered. Actually with the Forerunner 305 you can relay important workout data to your personal trainer via Garmin Connect. The Forerunner 305 monitors your heart rate, speed, distance, pace and calories burned so you can train smarter, more effectively. The high-Sensitivity SiRFstarIII GPS receiver locks onto your position and maintains it even under tree cover or between tall buildings. So its great for city or country use. The Training Center software allows you to upload your training data via the supplied USB cable to monitor your workout performance and goals. Thats a lot of features from one GPS sports watch. So read more about it below. The customer reviews of the Forerunner 305 have been mainly positive. This sports wristwatch portable GPS with heart rate monitor is packed with many training features making it the Amazon’s top seller for sports GPS and has a Customer Review Rating of 3.8 out of 5 (1,700+ customer reviews).

Garmin Forerunner 305 rated at 3.8 stars

Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor
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Customer Reviews:

Here is a summary of actual quotes that customers* of the Forerunner 305 had to say:

Good Points:

“Excellent workout tool”
“The core functionality (distance and heart rate monitoring) works perfectly”
“There’s none of the signal drops I’ve had with other heart monitors”
“The accuracy (according to the readout) is +/- 25ft”
“The display is crisp”
“The information presented on the various pages can be completely user-customized …almost 40 different data fields you can choose from for display”
“Upload of workout data to the PC software (Training Center) is transparent ….very good for presenting time/distance/pace/heartrate/calorie data”
“MotionBased allows export to Google Earth, and it’s tremendously cool to see your running path superimposed on a satellite image”
“I can’t imagine running or biking without it”
“Flawless heart rate sampling”
“I have no regrets with the purchase whatsoever”
“It syncs to the satellite in a reasonable* amount of time, seems to track my pace very well, tracks distance well, and the heart rate monitor seems WAY more accurate than the dedicated exercise machines at my local gym”
“The direct link to see your workouts mapped on GOOGLE EARTH is FANTASTIC!!!!”
“This is much better than the Forerunner 201 which I previously owned (locks on satellites 10 times faster)”
“With Li-Ion batteries, as little as a 10 minute charge gives you enough juice for a 90 minute run”
“Great tool to keep track of your work out”
“Garmin connect sharing features makes the communication with our personal trainer easy”
“Easy to use I highly recommend for begginers and advanced runners”
“I love this Garmin and can’t live without when i’m running!”
“HR monitor works well and so far the distance tracking seems spot on”
“Ease of use”
“Large overall screen (its relatively easy to take a peek to see where your at without stopping)”
“It starts fairly quickly ….by the time I warm up, it is ready to go”
“Easy to load onto computer for tracking workouts( I am completely computer illiterate!)”
“Love Garmin Connect”
“The Training Center software …it’s great for a quick overview of the current week’s activities”
“Our paces have improved drastically becuse we can monitor our run”
“Its not too big at all”

Bad Points:

“The initial acquisition of the satellites can be quirky and can take some time”
“Wildly-varying pace readout (corrected with lap average pace calculation – Editor)”

Overall the Customer Reviews are very positive to the Forerunner 305.

Specifications and Special Features:

1.3″ x 0.8″ (3.3 x 2.0 cm) crisp display, 160 x 100 pixels resolution
2.72 oz (77 g) weight making it light to wear
2.1″ x 2.7″ x 0.7″ (5.33 x 6.86 x 1.78 cm) dimensions which is not too bulky for most sized wrists
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery with 10 hours life
Water resistant (IPX7), submersible in one meter of water for up to 30 mins
Integrated, high-sensitivity SiRFstar III GPS receiver with much better ability to both track, and maintain a lock on, your position than earlier models
Stores lap history of 1,000 laps, 100 Waypoints/favorites/locations, 50 routes
Heart rate monitor
Garmin GSC 10 Speed/Cadence Bike Sensor (optional)
Garmin Foot Pod (newer model)
(optional)
Automatic sync (automatically transfers data to your computer) via USB cable
Garmin Connect™ compatible, an online community where you analyze, categorize and share data with others like your personal trainer
Garmin Training Center® software compatible
Virtual Partner® (train against a digital person)
Courses (compete against previous activities)
Auto Pause® (pauses and resumes timer based on speed)
Auto Lap® (automatically starts a new lap)
Multi-sport (changes sport mode with a press of a button)
Advanced workouts (create custom, goal-oriented workouts)
Simple workouts (input time, distance and calorie goals)
Pace alert (triggers alarm if you vary from preset pace)
Time/distance alert (triggers alarm when you reach goal)
Vibration alert: (choose between alert tones and/or vibration alert)
Interval training (set up exercise and rest intervals)
Customizable screen(s)

What’s in the box?

Forerunner 305
Garmin Training Center® software on CD-ROM
Heart rate monitor
Docking cradle
Expander strap
AC charger
PC/USB interface cable
Owner’s manual
Quick start guide

Recommended Accessories:

Garmin Forerunner Bike Mount Expect to pay $14. “The Forerunner 305 fits on this perfectly”. 4.5 star Customer Rating
Garmin GSC 10 Speed/Cadence Bike Sensor Expect to pay $35. New and used available. “Wireless design measures both cycle speed and cadence in pedaling strokes per minute” 4.3 star Customer Rating out of 144+ reviews. Highly recommended for cyclists.
Garmin Foot Pod (newer model) Expect to pay around $59 (save 41%). Small enough to attach to your shoelaces or fit in the mid-sole pocket of compatible shoes. Automatically turns on when you start to move. 4.3 star Customer Rating out of 20+ reviews. Highly recommended for runners.

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