A GPS receiver integrated with a heart rate monitor has been serving customers who work out continuously and intend to keep a track of their workout. The Garmin 305 is one such device with a perfect performance as far as the core functionality is concerned. There were previous models by the manufacturer bur had certain drawbacks like problems with satellite acquisition, inconsistent heart rate monitoring, erroneous tracking and unsatisfactory design of the device. But it seems like Garmin has taken care of all these issues with its newer model, the 305.
Firstly, the basic functionality expected from the device has been improvised greatly. The sync time to the satellite is now pretty reasonable with a minute or so. The GPS performance is found to be good even in the woods and few other areas where reception usually poses a problem. The tracking is much better than the previous model, and more importantly it is consistent. The distance measuring and lap average pace calculation is very satisfactory in it. The heart rate monitor of this model comes with a new sensor that’s more comfortable and flexible. The date offered by this monitor is also more reliable. Unlike the previous model, the heart rate strap is flexible rubber on either side of the face and is very comfortable and well designed.
The display quality is really good and has one appealing feature. The data presented on various pages can be user customized. There are a number of data fields, say forty or so, from which the user can choose to be on the display screen. Heart rate, distance, current pace, average run pace and average lap pace are a few of them. Also, there are three different screens the user can toggle between while using the device and choose to display different information on each of them. The workout data can then be uploaded to the computer from the device so that the user can keep track of his/her performance. The PC software that comes with the device too is very user friendly and very transparent.
Though there are very few drawbacks to this device, it is important to know what they are, so that it becomes easy for the customer to decide how important they are in deciding whether to go for the device or not. Firstly, there have been reports of a few cases of erroneous point-in-time (instantaneous) pace measurement. The customers say that the data varies significantly during a run. The battery life of the product is not satisfactory, which is close to around two and a half hours and there are a few pages on the display where the battery life indicator does not show. The device is not waterproof too, which makes it vulnerable o weather conditions. It isn’t very convenient while biking as a bike mount is not included.
The bottom line is that the Garmin Forerunner 305 is very much improved from its earlier version and is a must have for workout freaks interested in keeping tack of their performance accurately.
