RunningAHEAD - Topic: Garmin 405

kr1814

posted: 12/25/2009 at 2:49 PM

So my 305 finally crapped out on me. It has been acting wonky for quite awhile lately and today it was just dead. I was pretty much expecting it.

Anyway, for those of you who have the 405, what do you think of it?

I was tooling around on amazon a few months ago and found quite a few 305's for about 150-180 bucks, but when I looked today, they were upward to 250...maybe higher prices with the holiday season? Anyways, I went on to roadrunners and was able to upgrade to a 405 for $219 with the VIP membership.

What do you guys think of the 405? I read a lot of reviews and some people were talking about if you sweat a lot the touch screen doesn't work right? Have any of you encountered this?

I already bought it , so what's done is done, but I am just curious if any of you are happy or unhappy with the 405. I am excited for the smaller size!

xor

posted: 12/25/2009 at 2:54 PM
modified: 12/25/2009 at 2:55 PM

The 405 is afraid of water and practically everybody I know who owns one has issues with the touch bezel "feature". If When you get one, you will quickly learn what a bezel is and how to lock it.

Weird that the price of the 305 went up.

(and, well, it's not really a whole lot smaller. A bit. Not a lot.)

Anyway, you are the proud owner of a 405. It works fine, it's just a wee bit quirky.

I am the proud owner of the 310xt and I love it.

bpurcell

posted: 12/25/2009 at 3:18 PM

My wife got me a 405 for Christmas based on the advice of the Running store worker. I've heard the same issues about it, but I also don't want the enormous Ben-10 size Garmin. I wasn't expecting this, but looks like I have a new toy to play with.

http://briandpurcell.blogspot.com/

perfesserr

Imminent Catastrophe

posted: 12/25/2009 at 9:35 PM

Overall I'm happy. It has issues when wet (or if your fingers get really, really sweaty) with the touch bezel but they are easily dealt with by locking the bezel. I have to differ with SRL, I think it's quite a bit smaller and just looks like a big sports watch, I would never wear a 305 for everyday use but can do with the 405.

There are also occasional problems with the ANT wireless link but they seem to have been mostly ironed out.

There is a 405 user group that you can join, lots of info on there.

"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

√ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

Western States 100 June 2016

amarrin1

posted: 12/26/2009 at 8:53 PM

I think my Garmin just died today after my run. It was like 18 degrees and snowy. I come in and go try to log the miles and its frozen up and nothing seems to be working.... Sad

Runner67

...---...

posted: 12/26/2009 at 11:18 PM

Quote from xor on 12/25/2009 at 2:54 PM:

I am the proud owner of the 310xt and I love it.

Same here. The battery life is awesome.

San Francisco - 7/29/12

Warrior Dash Ohio II - 8/26/12

Chicago - 10/7/12

MattJ

posted: 12/26/2009 at 11:35 PM

Quote from amarrin1 on 12/26/2009 at 8:53 PM:

I think my Garmin just died today after my run. It was like 18 degrees and snowy. I come in and go try to log the miles and its frozen up and nothing seems to be working....

Press and hold start & lap buttons together until screen goes blank then release the buttons. 405 will reset. Data is not lost. HTH.

2017 Goals
1) Run more than 231 miles
2) Be ready for HM in the spring

perfesserr

Imminent Catastrophe

posted: 12/27/2009 at 11:23 AM

Quote from amarrin1 on 12/26/2009 at 8:53 PM:

I think my Garmin just died today after my run. It was like 18 degrees and snowy. I come in and go try to log the miles and its frozen up and nothing seems to be working....

...and if it works, next time try to keep the watch warm (under a sleeve) except when looking at it. Cold is murder on those batteries.

"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

"To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

√ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

Western States 100 June 2016

rururunner

posted: 12/27/2009 at 1:17 PM

Quote from perfesserr on 12/27/2009 at 11:23 AM:

...and if it works, next time try to keep the watch warm (under a sleeve) except when looking at it. Cold is murder on those batteries.

Dumb question alert!

If you put your Garmin under a sleeve, won't it lose the signal?

Suffering Benefiting from mature onset exercise addiction and low aerobic endorphin release threshold. Hoping there is no cure.

eric_allan

I'm on the right

posted: 12/27/2009 at 1:48 PM

Quote from rururunner on 12/27/2009 at 1:17 PM:

Dumb question alert!

If you put your Garmin under a sleeve, won't it lose the signal?

Nope! Ran with my 405 under my sleeve all day today....no loss of signal.

Besides, there are no dumb questions.

I'm Eric, the guy who runs to keep his sanity.

aplynnm

posted: 12/27/2009 at 2:43 PM
modified: 12/27/2009 at 2:46 PM

I <3 my 405. Got it for my birthday last April, been using it ever since.

I will agree, it is a POS in water conditions...gone out on more than one run in the rain and then not able to stop the time once the run is over - annoying!

Other than that, I love everything about it. It doesn't feel bulky, it is lightweight and sleek, it is aesthetically pleasing (in my opinion, compared to many other sport watches), the GPS is amazing. The features, excellent.

I used it on a hike here and there as well, and it tracked lovely.

Oh, one LAST thing - I use a Mac and Safari and for the last 4-5 months, I have not been able to use the GPS Upload feature on RA to sync my runs. I've had to open Firefox and sync onto RA through that browser. It used to work on my Safari for the first 3-4 months, then suddenly started telling me I need the Garmin Communicator PlugIn (which I already updated AND tested through the Garmin website using Safari....yet RA still thinks I don't have it).

It is kind of a bummer cause I use Safari for everything else, but hey, at least it works through Firefox, right?

Enjoy!

2012: Just run.

xenoplastic

posted: 12/27/2009 at 2:55 PM

I own a 405 and, if I had it to do over again, would buy a different model. Sure, it looks nicer like an actual watch, but the touch bezel is just too annoying. It also has fewer displays than most Forerunners. Getting back to the bezel, though, I lock it during every single run. Moisture like sweat or rain make it screwy and sensitive. If moisture isn't an issue, though, the slightly touch from my wrist or sleeve can also change my display or effectively hit a button I did not intend. Having to lock the bezel for every run means that I lose more than 50% of the watch's capabilities on any given run, as I cannot switch between modes for fear of losing control of the watch. I enjoy the watch for the displays I do keep up and the data available after the run, but I'm envious of all my friends with older models who can easily switch between views on the fly.

Garmin 405 (Read 871 times)