Garmin 405 Review

Workout:  Ran outside 6.15 miles (57 min)

My Garmin says that's a 9:13 pace but it sure didn't feel like it. Speaking of my Garmin, I've had it for a few months now and feel like it's a good time to do a review. So, if you aren't interested in GPS watches, you might want to skip this post.

I have the green Garmin Forerunner 405. I bought it off of BodyTronics.com for $194.00 (I think) although, it's a few dollars cheaper now. (I do not have the heart rate monitor.)

The Good:

• This has been an awesome replacement for what I was using - a Nike ID and iPod. I also used the free Runkeeper app on my Droid (which I liked, but carrying my phone all the time was a hassel).
• It's smaller than most GPS watches.
• Personally, I like that it's green. There isn't much variety when it comes to color I've noticed, so this one caught my eye.
• It's accurate. I've run with this and other GPS trackers and it seems like this one is the closest to measuring the actual distance.
• It's super easy to upload your runs to your computer where you can view your pace per lap, average pace, map of your run, and more.

The Bad:

• The distance and pace display is fairly small. When your running, the display looks like this:

• The bezel (the silver ring around the watch) is what you use to scroll through menu options. I've had a problem with it since the beginning. It's really hard to get the bezel to go to the menu option I want. Even today while scrolling through my laps, I had to keep trying and trying to get to the next lap.
• Touching the bezel changes the screen if you don't have it locked. Even your sleeve or loose clothing will change the screen. So, when running, I lock the bezel to keep it from changing to the lap screen (which I don't care about). Normally this wouldn't be a problem, except that you can't turn on the back lighting if it's locked, which doesn't work on night runs.
• I wear the watch on the underside of my wrist because the watch aggravates my wrist bone if I don't. Not a problem for me, but it might be for someone else.

Overall, if you are looking to buy a Garmin, I would say definitely do it. But I would suggest getting the Forerunner 305 instead. It's bigger, it's uglier, but it's more user friendly. And it costs about half the price. Most importantly...no bezel. The function buttons are on the side.