Comments on: Mini Review of Garmin Forerunner 305

By: Scott Gruby

Scott Gruby — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:23:48 +0000

I don't name my devices as I'd never be able to keep them straight! I went with the 405 for a number of reasons that I'll eventually write a review about. In short, the wireless connection for downloading is great, I like how it charges better (a clip that doesn't pop off), it has a battery charging gauge, I wore it while walking around San Francisco and didn't look too much like a dork, and I like the side buttons for starting/stopping and resetting it. However, so far, the bezel is bit of a pain. I'll try to write my review soon.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:48:08 +0000

Good to know your 305 lasted almost 4 years I get mine in the mail tomorrow! Yay. After lots of research and bloggy advice I decided to go with the 305 vs. a newer version, less problems was the verdict. Thanks for your review, and enjot your new Garmin... what was his name?

By: Scott Gruby

Scott Gruby — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:56:24 +0000

I bought a Forerunner 405 and am pretty happy with it. When I get a chance, I'm going to write a review.

By: David Ramos

David Ramos — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:52:35 +0000

Scott,

My battery died, on my Forerunner 305, after almost 4 years also. Let me know what you do as far as replacement. I'll keep looking and pass the word once I find out.

By: Scott Gruby

Scott Gruby — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:27:25 +0000

After almost 4 years of use, my Forerunner 305's battery died. It has served me well, but stay tuned for my updates on its replacement.

By: Peter

Peter — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:18:20 +0000

Hi Rasmus, No, the elevation function is still not working. It seems to aggregate the +/- 30 ft GPS fix error rather than intelligently smoothing/correcting like it does with distance. Today's hike had me 170 ft below sea level. Even with no bad data points and smoothing enabled the elevation numbers are at least 2X what I'd expect. The elevation profile for an out-and-back hike is also significantly off, so the 305 isn't even building a consistent error. There is a program called SPORTTRACKS that says it can read garmin 305 data and has a plugin that "...corrects the elevation of GPS tracks using SRTM elevation data, which is automatically downloaded from the official SRTM download server...." Use google to find it (disclaimer: I don't use sporttracks software, and don't care that elevation is obviously wrong). Aside: for hiking the calorie function seems about right -- just slightly more than 100 cals / mile.

By: Scott Gruby

Scott Gruby — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:14:15 +0000

Hi Rasmus,

The Forerunner 305 doesn't use maps at all to determine altitude, it uses the GPS satellites. The accuracy of the altitude will be based on how good your GPS signal is and how many satellites are acquired by the device at any given time. As my runs don't cover much range in altitude, I've never really paid attention to it.

By: Rasmus

Rasmus — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:56:09 +0000

Hi Scott, and followers!

Just recently got very interested in this little cool device, as we're seeing massive savings and offers on it this christmas in Denmark. I'm intending to use it for running and MTB. One of my main concerns is the altitude-meter - I'm gonna use this a lot for mountainbiking, and needs an opinion on this. Has the altitude meter been improved and newer firmware and software updates?

I assume that the missing precision has something to do with poor maps - When i use google earth to check heights and altitude in my area, it's actually pretty precise. Could that meen for me, that Garmin's acces to altitude data in my area, is just as good, and useful?

Opinions very welcome!

By: Scottie

Scottie — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:09:04 +0000

I am eagerlay awaiting the arrivval of my new 305 and have read quite a bit about its uses etc. I have one question though - using the advanced workout function, is one able to pre-programme km split times or pace (preferably with an alarm) for a race, in order to attempt to reach a targeted finish time? I know that the "auto-lap" function could be set to alert me for each km run, but that extra funcionality wouldbe a huge help!

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:28:56 +0000

I'm thinking of buying one through either amazzon or ebay - can anyone tell me if there are any significant differences between the US models and the models designed for sale in either Europe or Australia? I'm assuming the only difference would be the chargers but would like to be sure before I buy. Thanks.