I’m curious, now that it has been on the market for a while, whether the upgrade is worth the cost?
I purchased the 205 but still had trouble with reception on trails and in the city. I sold it and purchased the 305 and haven’t had any problems since.
I never had the 201, but bought the 205 and have loved it! Have never had trouble with reception in Victoria or Vancouver (including a couple of the 5 Peaks trail running circuits). I would for sure buy the 305 if I had to do it all over again. The only reason I didn’t before was because I didn’t want to spend the extra money if the reception didn’t live up to the hype.
As to the previous post, the 205 and 305 have all the same parts regarding reception, so there shouldn’t have been any difference in performance. Not sure what the problem would have been.
I never had the 201, but bought the 205 and have loved it! Have never had trouble with reception in Victoria or Vancouver (including a couple of the 5 Peaks trail running circuits). I would for sure buy the 305 if I had to do it all over again. The only reason I didn’t before was because I didn’t want to spend the extra money if the reception didn’t live up to the hype.
As to the previous post, the 205 and 305 have all the same parts regarding reception, so there shouldn’t have been any difference in performance. Not sure what the problem would have been.
Just so you would have the heart rate functionality?
I’m curious too. I have the 201. If the only difference between them is that the 205 picks up the signal quicker I can’t really justify getting it. If there is a big improvement in accuracy of measurements it might make more sense.
I have used both the 101, 201, 301, and 305.
The only real difference I can find (other than the fact that the 305 is way more comfortable) is that I loose signal much less often when using the 305. I can run in dense woods with the 305 and not loose signal where I would have with one of the x01s
Yup, I wish I had the heart rate built in. I have such an old HRM now with absolutely no functionality/memory, etc. on it I rarely use it.
The major differences between the x01 and x05 models isn’t just in how quickly it picks up the signal, but how accurate it is. I’ve used my 205 at the bottom of steep mtn valleys with no problem and can use it indoors too. (side note - it doesn’t help much with trainer workouts).
As for other functionalities, I have no idea what the x01 can do, so I can’t give any guidance on that.
One bug I did find with the 205 (backed up by a few other people online) is if you keep it in map view whilte you’re recording data points for too long the unit freezes up. You can reset it just fine, but you’ve lost that workout. Of course it happened on an amazing 14k trail run with some serious climbs and GORGEOUS mountain views from the top. I haven’t been back since, but I know I have to now!
I moved to the 205 after hearing it has better signal reception. I’ve generally been happy with it. I got it for a good price so it wasn’t that bad plus I paid only $115 for my 201 brand new & sold it for $65. The couple of things I don’t like about it are it seems the battery isn’t as long as with the 201 & while I don’t use it, I here the calories feature is not at all accurate. I also find the font smaller & harder to read, a problem as I’ve gotten older. I already had the Polar 710 with all the various cadence, speed on bikes anyway so I didn’t go for the 305. Sometimes I wish I had. But then my polar has the ability to go about 25 hrs before being full whereas the Garmin will only go through maybe 2 events in an Ironman.
Barb
I moved from the 301 to the 305.
Well worth it.
Easiest way for me to illustrate this is to describe how I use them.
With the 301 I used only for running, and in heavy woods I stuck with my Polar 720i
With the 305 I use it for all my bike and run training and my Polar only comes out for swim training in the pool. Finally the Garmin lived up to the hype (though it still needs improvement!!!)