Thinking about getting a running GPS (Read 917 times)

Big question here is, what features do you want? I'm sure alot of people here will steer you towards Garmin but you need to figure out what you want. From there you can start steering towards price ranges.

Here's the short version: All 3 of those will likely have the same GPS accuracy. Which means they will all track distance and pace (pace is most accurate using the averaging feature). - 205 and 305 look and fit the same (205 does not have a Heart Monitor). - 405 is the new design and costs more (obviously) - attempts to be more "watch" like. Has additional features, but I consider them non-essential (like a touch screen, GPS "off" mode to conserve battery life, etc). If you don't care about the Heart Monitor, you're choosing between the 205 and 405. The 205 is the cheaper option. If you do want a Heart Monitor, then you're choosing between the 305 and 405, with the 305 being the cheaper route. The forums at "Motionsbased" have a ton of information also. Steve

I am interested in this thread, too, because I am considering a Garmin. Don't really know if I need one, but they sure look fun. I do have one question. I am kind of confused about whether you can set a beeping sound on the 305 and the 405. I think this would be handy for pacing. Can you actually hear the beep over an Ipod?

The new Garmins also allow you to upload workouts which is pretty cool. My old skool Garmin has been great but the new versions have better GPS receivers and the ability to set up training on your PC and then upload it into your Garmin. Pretty cool. If you just need the basic Garmin and want to save some money, check Ebay. There's been quite a few listed. MegaGPS is another on line retailer to check. They had the best price when I bought mine.

I've had a Bodylink for a few years. The main difference with Garmins is that you have to wear a separate armband with the GPS receiver. This is a disadvantage if you don't like to have something tied to your arm. But an advantage since you want to use the watch as a regular watch. The Garmin 405 seems the best of both worlds in that regard. The other issue with the Bodylink is that you can't upload your data from the watch to a computer unless you also get the data component. The Bodylink comes with an HRM that seems fairly accurate and comfortable. I can't compare GPS reception with the Garmins since I never owned a Garmin. With the Bodylink I could loose the signal when going in thick woods, I would sometimes loose it also if running downtown with tall skyscrapers (I rarely do so however). But other than that, it was quite reliable specially if you turn on smoothing (it smoothes out errors in the GPS data). I haven't used the GPS unit for over a year now. I know my routes and I run by feel. Since then I enjoy my runs more and have been without injury. Running with a GPS kinda forced me into running at a given pace because that's what my training plan was saying even if I was tired on that day, etc. Running without a GPS also made me learn to "feel" my pace, i.e. accurately guess what pace I'm running. The Garmin 405 looks very sexy and I was tempted to get it, but I'm holding off to stay GPS-free.