Garmin 405 Review Summary
Our Garmin 405 Review takes into consideration many user reviews posted on a variety of different websites. We look for common positive and negative themes that are mentioned again and again. Our GWW Score for the Garmin Forerunner 405 is based on compilation of user ratings from multiple websites.
Editors Notes: This GWW Score for this watch doesn’t make it look very promising, but a thorough reading of both positive and negative user reviews would warrant giving some consideration to buying this watch. It’s not for everyone, but for anyone who desires a large feature set and has enough technical patience to survive a moderate learning curve, the Garmin 405 is worth a second look.
The only difference we could find between the Garmin Forerunner 405CX and the Garmin Forerunner 405 were: the 405CX has a heart rate-based calorie computation and velcro strap that is supposed to be more comfortable and fit a wider range of wrist sizes. The Garmin 405 offers the option of buying with or without the heart rate monitor.
Garmin Forerunner 405 GWW Score: 6.97 out of 10 (254 Ratings)
Most Mentioned Pros:
- Feature Set – monitors your time, distance, pace, calories and heart rate (when paired with heart rate monitor)
Garmin Connect – Maps and reports for analyzing your workout and goal setting- Virtual Partner – lets you race a virtual competitor over a specified distance and speed
- Accuracy
- ANT Stick – uploads data to your computer whenever the watch is near the computer (same room is usually good enough)
- Auto Lap
- Auto Scroll – up to three customizable data screens will scroll on the watch while you workout. Users who loved this watch said there was no need to even touch the watch during their workouts once this feature was set up with the exact data they wanted to view during the workout. There is also a choice of scroll speeds
- Heartrate Monitor
- Many users used the Garmin 405 for running and biking
- Smaller than most GPS wrist watches, including the Garmin 305
- Touch Bezel – Although the touch bezel was a deal-breaker for many users, many of those who love this GPS wrist watch do not understand. They believe that the intended use of the touch bezel is for setup and post run analysis, not for use during the run. They just lock it before they start running and turn on the Auto Scroll Feature
Most Mentioned Cons:
- Battery life – some users complained that it was not long enough. Also since the watch can’t be turned off, it might need to be charged right before a long workout. A firmware update is reported to have improved the battery life. Also turning off the GPS when not working out, greatly improves battery life
- Touch Bezel – many users complained about the touch bezel. The most mentioned complaint is that it doesn’t work when wet and that included sweat. If you needed to use the touch bezel during a workout when you’re sweating or when it’s raining, it might not respond. As mentioned above, users who love this watch felt like this was an invalid complaint as Auto Scroll is all you really need and even if you wanted to move screens manually, the tap feature would work in the rain. The second biggest complaint about the touch bezel is from users who do not lock it during a workout. It can easily be bumped unintentionally and move you to an undesired screen. The disagreement about whether or not this particular feature is wonderful or horrible is pretty extreme
- Size – users with smaller wrist still felt this watch was too big for wearing all the time. It is smaller than the Forerunner 305
- Slow to find satellites – some users reported that it was fast, while others said it was slow
- Learning Curve – to utilize the watch to its fullest, expect to spend some time with the instruction manual and the watch before you work out
- GPS accuracy – some users thought it lacked accuracy, but many also reported that it did rather well.
- Difficulty syncing to PC – sometimes the ANT stick didn’t pick up the watch and as with most things computer, some users encounter difficulties
- Mac compatibility – Many of the original reviews complained that it wasn’t Mac Compatible, but that shouldn’t be a problem anymore, as Garmin has added Mac compatibility for this GPS wrist watch
Features:
- Heart rate monitor (on some versions)
- Bike speed/cadence sensor (optional)
- Foot pod (optional)
- Automatic Sync
- Garmin Connect and Garmin Training Center®
- Virtual Partner® (train against a digital person)
- Courses (compete against previous activities)
- Auto Pause® (pauses and resumes timer based on speed)
- Auto Lap®
- Auto Scroll
- Advanced workouts (create custom, goal-oriented workouts)
- Simple workouts (input time, distance and calorie goals)
- Pace alert
- Time/distance alert
- Interval training
- Customizable Screens
- Unit-to-unit transfer
- Watch functions include dual time, date and alarm
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