maptalk.co.nz Forum   |   Links    

  Forum

Forum Home   Start New Topic   Edit Profile   Register  

Rs800 vs garmin forerunner 405

Show Profile  JD Posted: 9 March 2010, 7:25 AM  
Hey the circuit board on my s625x blew out so I think I might upgrade instead of repairing. I'm looking at the models in the title and was wondering if anyone could provide advice hopefully from a user perspective
E.g. Is the garmin gps more useable than the rs800
Does the heart rate work better on the polar model as opposed to the garmin model
Etc let me know what you think

Jourdan

Show Profile  Greg Posted: 9 March 2010, 8:06 AM  
I've got the Garmin forerunner 310xt, gps seems pretty good most of the time, HR does not seem as good/reliable/detailed as my old polar s625x.
The supplied software is crap (nothing at all close to polar) but 'sport tracks' works well with it, and I have found it pretty good (especially with auto Attackpoint export)

Show Profile  Keith Posted: 10 March 2010, 4:20 AM  
I have a garmin forerunner 405, and the HR monitor seems to work fine, absolutly no problems, it always seems to think my heart is there and beating. Mind you I've never had anything else to compare it with.

Show Profile  robert06 Posted: 10 March 2010, 8:53 AM  
I had problems with my 405 (current being repaired 4 second time) but when its going it go both with gps and heart rate info.
I think that a 310xt is a better oprtion for orienteers/rogainers/hikers over 5-6 hours.
The 405 i think is much better suited tri/runners, etc

Show Profile  Mike Adams Posted: 10 March 2010, 9:04 AM  
i had a 305 which i decided to wear in the coastal challenge and tried to seal it with vaseline but missed the barometers holes and now the battery is stuffed, however, it was great and i've replaced it with a 310xt - even so, garmin have said they'll reconidtion my old one for me so soon i'll have two! even after 4 years of constant use the battery was lasting for 15 hours. Being able to pre-load training sessions onto it easily is really useful. they can take a while to locate enough satellites to log you in at the beginning but once it's located it's pretty good at holding a signal anywhere. the foot pod for use on a treadmill and measuring your turn over while you're running generally is also a good tool.

Show Profile  JD Posted: 11 March 2010, 12:38 AM  
where do you get them repaired? That was another reason I was leaning toward Polar because I can take it back to where I got it from, where as if I bring in a Garmin from the US i'm kinda screwed when it comes to repairs...

Show Profile  mark Posted: 11 March 2010, 1:55 AM  
I have a 405. The bevel doesn't work too well if it is raining or you are all sweaty. I always lock the bevel before starting my run. You can still take splits with the bevel locked, but you can't change modes.

Show Profile  mark Posted: 11 March 2010, 2:01 AM  
Quote from kiwigps.co.nz (supplier of Garmin products) regarding Garmin Forerunner:

"I've had a bad run with the Fitness (Edge and Forerunner) 2xx and 3xx series with at least 15% failure, resulting in very disappointed customers and then long and expensive repairs via Taiwan. When the 405 came out I pre-warned people about the dodgy family history of Garmin fitness gear so only got the 405 in on condition of no warranty comeback to me. Of the four I got in, 1 died after 1 week. Getting warranty support out of Garmin (now in Sydney) is a nightmare. Maybe when Garmin set up in NZ (supposed to be early next year) support will improve. However, that's little comfort, if, like 1 customer, your Garmin Fitness unit fails in Nepal with several weeks to go on your holiday and when it is finally repaired, your saved data is lost anyway.

This site has useful links (especially the Yahoo Groups) for intending purchasers: http://garminf.com/"

Show Profile  Mike Adams Posted: 11 March 2010, 2:59 AM  
Gosh that retailer was on the war path.

If you buy your unit here and it's NZ new, you just send it back to the retailer and the send it to garmin.

Show Profile  pcbrent Posted: 11 March 2010, 3:49 AM  
I've had a Garmin 405 for about a year or more, and it has worked fine. If I was going to get a new one I would go for the 310XT. just a bit more user friendly and longer battery life.

Show Profile  Michael Posted: 11 March 2010, 1:17 PM  
Kiwigps is a parallel importer, so he has to go back to where he parallel imported from. You get a cheaper price and you accept the consequences.

I bought from him because he answered all my questions in great detail, in fact I would say he's a GPS nutter. When I lost my first handheld I asked him about the wrist ones because files that people send me from them seem very good (in terms of track/point repeatability) and I thought it might be easier for mapping. But (as above) he dissuaded me on reliability grounds. I found his service excellent.

Show Profile  mark Posted: 12 March 2010, 1:46 AM  
The supposed 15% failure rate didn't put me off. My 405 has been working fine for more than a year. I bought it from triginstruments.co.nz

Username


Password


Register  
Message


Ruffneck Productions © Ruffneck Productions maptalk.co.nz