Cheap Garmin

Hi,

When running I use nike + sensor and iPod. With a basic wrist/stop watch.

Been thinking of getting a Garmin, but dont want to spend a fortune. would rather spend my money on a good single malt.

Have seen some on line that are reasonable but dated, Forerunner 205 for 40 quid for example.

Does anyone have any recommendatios/advice.

i too am looking for one of these ,

do a lot of running in the woods and stuff and where no gps is available

i dont have anything apple so the nike+ is a no-no , its a lot cheaper than the garmin eh , why are you thinking of switching ?

I want to see what the Garmin offers but dont want to spend a fortune.

I'm happy with the Nike + and iPod combination but its fiddly to use in races where music is not allowed.

A you know what they say about boys and toys.

Have you looked at the Nike + wrist band? No need for anything Apple.

Just dont swim with the band on...

ah thanks , i'll look into that , garmin seem a lot more expensive for basicly the same technology , well garmins entry modelis like double the price

im the same , im always spending loads of money on new gear , cant help myself

Hi guys 

I bought a Garmin forerunner 110 (new) from amazon about 115 quid i think at the start of the year Im sure you could find them cheaper now and probably cheaper still second hand. They have loads of models out there but they do get expensive, this offers everything and more than I need so guess it would just depend how much you wanted out of it. With it being GPS it is very accurate, I had the nike+ band before this and didnt think it was as honest!

hope this helps

If you want a heart rate monitor with stop watch and GPS then nothing is that cheap, but hey that's an awful lot of technology on your wrist. I have the Garmin 410 which you can get from Amazon for about £150 and it's barely bigger than an ordinary watch. You can also use Garmin Connect to download all your run data to or even copy it Fetch Everyone. You can create complex sessions such as warm-up, intervals, warm down and it will set your heart rate requirement for each bit, you can download runs from other people and even pace yourself against a virtual runner. The 10 models (410, 610 etc) have much quicker to find GPS than the older 05 models (205 etc)

I used to use an ipod nano 6th gen. but even with all the calibration it's only so accurate as it depends on your stride length. I found that my 5k run was actually 4.85km, worse on hilly runs where stride is shorter. Bit of a shame as I realised I wasn't running as fast as I thought!

If you just want a HRM with stopwatch functions something like the Polar CX100 is about £50 on Amazon. For the best range of options go to heartratemonitor.co.uk

Have had a Garmin 301 for years with no problems. A great piece of kit. It struggles to pick up a satelite signal in the woods and slightly under-reads the distance, but must be durable as I use it a lot in all weather.

You won't find a 305 for that price now - they go for about that 2nd hand on ebay.

However, if you run in places where it is difficult to get a signal, then a 305 will be able to use a footpod (so can be used on a treadmill etc.).

I just bought one for £80 on ebay, and whilst more than the £40 205 (a steal at that price btw), reckon it's a good way to get a high level of features for a pretty reasonable price.

I have a forerunner 205 - if you can  get one for 40 quid, then buy it!

It's bulky, though not heavy...  but you soon get used to it, and it's a brilliant piece of kit (though I haven't personally used other gps watches, so be mindful of that).  Also, I've only used it for pacing and lap times and distance  etc... without using the other huge functionality that I know it has.

I do a lot of running in fairly dense woodland...  and it's very rare to lose gps signal... and it soon picks it up again.

I got myself a Garmin 10 when it first came out last month, from the Garmin website for £99 plus postage...the Tesco deal sounds good!  I'm loving it so far, it's really easy to use - so if you want something fairly simple and not too expensive I recommend it. I have tiny wrists so I was pleased to find a watch that is light and small-ish. It doesn't have HRM though so if you want the extra functionality you'll need another model.

raw_ed wrote (see)

do a lot of running in the woods and stuff and where no gps is available

What?  GPS is available everywhere.

raw_ed wrote (see)

do a lot of running in the woods and stuff and where no gps is available

 

 

I do a lot of running in the woods, and never have any loss of satellite reception.

Half-Tone: Thanks for the tip about Tescos.  I've been thinking about getting a forerunner 10 and with my tesco vouchers and 10% discount I've got myself a bargain! Early Xmas present for me!

Now to find a route which doesn't pass under any pesky trees!

Have a forerunner 110. hates misty conditions. Constantly tells me I've run further in races than measured distance. i.e 10 miles = 10.12 on the watch. Probably because of being bottom of range. Can bleep up a mile anywhere between 0.9 and 1.05.