Garmin Forerunner 305

Price: $139.99 - $455.4

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Owned a 305 for a year11/29/08

Pros:

Great features

Cons:

Reliability

I have used my 305 for nearly a year for biking, running, and soccer officiating. It has a great set of features to support these activities. Having heart rate, elevation, and speed data together is useful for training and I love to review my movement on the soccer field following a game.

I have experienced two problems with my 305. First if moisture gets on the contacts used to recharge the unit and transfer data, they will corrode. Your first warning this has occured comes when the unit will not turn on. Naturally this has happened when I really needed it most. Garmin placed the contacts on the back of the watch unit so its always exposed to sweat and moisture. Forget to wipe it down when your finished and next time it doesn't start. Its happened three times in one year. Garmin says to clean the contacts with an eraser and try charging it again. This works.

The second problem is exporting data from the system. The displays Garmin provides are useful but limited. The export function creates an XML file you can read back into the system but I have not been able to do much else with it.

Overall I've had fun with my 305; I'd buy another one.