Home > Consumer Reviews > Garmin Forerunner 405CX Sports Watch

Having just bought the 405CX I found the lack of user reviews deeply frustrating. Having had the watch for 2 weeks I thought I would share my experience.
I formerly owned a 305 and my big concern with the 405 was the reported difficulties in picking up satellites (as a result of the smaller design). Well the 405CX has certainly resolved these issues. I'm guessing the kit remembers where you tend to be because it catches a satellite even in areas that would have been a total no go with the 305 (like in the shadow of tall buildings). This morning's run got a satellite connection in 5 seconds (really!) Combine this high sensitivity with an ability to save locations and the GPS functions are better than ever. Other reported issues were the wet sensitivity of the bezel. Well it certainly works when wet hands touch it - although I've yet to go out in a downpour this bodes well for me. I tend to leave it on a single screen so changing the reading isn't likely to be that important.

Having been an enormous fan of the old model I bought this (more expensive) upgrade only when my old one was stolen. However having made the purchase I would recommend others to do the same - it really is a delight. The battery meter tells you specifically how much energy you have left so you're unlikely to be caught short - and the battery is certainly no weaker than the old model. At least now you can assess whether it needs 10 minutes charge before you go out - rather than the guessing game of the past.

Runners - you'll love it. The old model was the best bit of kit I'd ever bought - the 405CX is considerably better. A strong recommendation.

I write this having owned both Sunnto and Polar sports watches in the past. I've owned the Garmin 405CX for a month and used it both for running, circuits (outdoors) and in the gym. Overall I would highly recommend this piece of kit, it has exceptional features, excellent data capture and a great on-line (or PC based) inter-face to which you can download your data, analyse and share it. The bezel takes a little getting used to but no more so than an iPOD. The positives and negatives are as follows:

+VEs:
- Excellent in-built GPS that has no trouble locating satellites in urban and non-urban areas. It even has a track back function should you get lost! Doh!
- Good heart rate monitor (standard chest strap).
- Multiple data pages that you can customise to show multiple permutations of HR, pace/speed, distance, averages.
- Virtual training partner - a nice feature to help you train or run.
- It comes with both standard and velcro watch straps. I prefer the velcro.
- Garmin provide really good user videos on their website that talk you through the multiple features; a real benefit as I get bored reading manuals!

-VEs:
- I'm still getting used to having to charge the watch every few days but its no more inconvenient than charging my iPOD.
- I'm dubious about its water resistant qualities. A perfect watch would offer decent water resistance (up to 10M) but I'm just not sure how far to test this!
- A little more choice in colour would be nice.

All in all I would highly recommend this, if your into fitness training and you enjoy analysing data ( and sharing it) then this is the watch for you.

Excellent product. I have just taken up jogging and it really is useful to motivate and guide. You don't have to be a super fit athlete to get maximum benefit out of it. It also has a bike mode. The heart rate monitor is non-intrusive. It fits comfortably on a lady's wrist and I like the look of it. The watch automatically downloads into my PC. The calorie counts are fun too!

This watch is a little fiddly to begin with, I recommend keeping the manual to hand to begin with. The wireless heart-rate monitor is great and is hardly noticeable when wearing it. I had some problems sending my Activity Data to garminConnect, though I found out this was due to the software version of the ANT+ utility... ANT Agent version 221 works fine whereas version 225 doesn't. Seeing your activities played-out on Google Maps with relevant time/pace/heart rate/altitude is pretty amazing compared to writing down numbers in a diary. Altogether a great product.

This is really a great watch for anyone who loves to measure their progress or just learn more about their fitness.

The watch gives you the ability to modify three 3 different screens that allow you to view up to 3 different measures at once.. so you can have your heart rate, distance and pace. The second screen can have your heart rate zone line graph, running time, elevation. Every measure can be added or removed from these 3 screens.. brilliant...

The GPS is very accurate... it take a while to start up when you first go outdoors as it finds satellites. The bezel navigation is a little tough to get used to, but I think it is better than having to try and press buttons when you are running. I had some problems with the wireless USB stick and had to reinstall the software a few times... so hoping that does not happen again..

The watch is just great and you should definitely buy one if you are ummming and ahhring.