.
Their products? Pro sponsorships?
As far as products go I’m happy with them. I’ve been using an Edge 305 for close to two years now & think its a great product. The wheel/cadence sensor chews through batteries but other than than I don’t have any complaints. I’m also on a mac and while their training center software is nothing great it gets the job done.
Last summer I picked up the Forerunner 405. It had a ton of bang along with a lot of buck. After about a week I determined that I really wouldn’t use the bang to the fullest & returned it. My only real complaint with the Forerunner 405 is that you cant swim with it.
Their not perfect but overall I’m happy with Garmin & will most likely purchase more of their products.
Travis
dumb blog
Mine keeps lying to me and tells me that I’m slower than I really am. 
Jason
No
.
Disappointed? Hrm…
Hardware: No. My 305 works quite well.
Price: No. I think I paid $160 or something for my 305 on Amazon… a good bargain.
Software (Windows): Yes. Garmin software is horrid.
Software (Mac): Yes^2. Makes the Windows software look good.
A friend has a 405, and the general impression I get is that the only thing Garmin improved for the 405 was the size/looks of the watch itself. The performance has been flaky for him, the price went up, the Windows software still sucks, and the Mac software didn’t even exist until a few days ago.
thanks for the replies.
I thought too that they had a good reputation with their products, but when this happened to my Forerunner I was disappointed with their response, “buy another chest strap from us” and that may work. I was hoping/expected better support and interest in the problem from Garmin.
In addition, I thought it best to start this in case there were others out there that had a similar fate …
When what happened? Your OP was empty and you haven’t actually posted anything about why you’re disappointed.
I was just going to say the OP was a troll…but maybe ST just ate his original post. Happens sometimes. But I’ve been pretty happy with my Edge 305 and Forerunner 305, and my mom likes her Forerunner 50 with foot pod.
For some reason I don’t see my original post either.
In a nutshell, the heartrate function on my Forerunner stopped working after only a couple of years of easy use. After changing batteries a few times, and adjusting location of the chest strap the only solution they suggested was to purchase a new chest strap from them.
That didn’t seem right to me, and was asking other Slowtwitchers if they had similar experiences, or if I just got a lemon, and if low-cost heart-rate monitors do just as well for the heart monitoring.
Seattle TK,
I realize now why you posted what you did.
It seems my original post wasn’t posted. I am kinda new at this.
In short, the heartrate function of my Garmin Forerunner stopped working after just a couple years of light use. The company suggested changing batteries, changing chest strap location, etc., and then eventually “purchase another chest strap from us”. I didn’t think that sounded quite right. I figured the lifespan of a Forerunner should be longer, and was wondering if other Slowtwitchers had similar experiences.
The other functions on the Forerunner seem to work fine, but to me the heartrate function is most important, and without it the unit isn’t much good.
Do you have any experience with “cheap” monitors? will they do the job?
Thanks, take care,
I had a Garmin 201 for about 3.5 years and really enjoyed it. Towards the end though it started to have issues with charging. So I called Garmin USA up and inquired about the process to get it fixed. Unfortunately, they don’t service Canada directly - instead I had to ship it to Quebec for repair.
I rang them up in Que and explained them the issue of charging so they asked that I send everything to them…GPS unit and charger.
$120 bucks and 6 weeks later I got back a refurb along with the original charger. They didn’t fix the problem. Called them up again and informed them they didn’t fix the issue. Their response was to charge me another $90 on top what they already charged me to take “another crack” at fixing it. WTF! We went back and forth on this for several days until I got fed up and called Garmin USA to complain. Three days after that I get a car charger in the mail free of charge from the crowd in Que.
At least now I can charge the unit…as long as my wife is home with the car…stellar.
We were leaving for Lake Placid a couple of days later so I didn’t have time to send it all back along with a big FU letter.
During the race the refurb died…dark blue screen of death and would not come back on. After the race I lost the unit in the med tent and are really thankful for it.
Overall, I think the units performed well…when new. However, my experience with after-sale service was the absolute shits and for that reason I won’t buy another Garmin. That is just my experience…can’t say the same for everyone else.
Shannon
really? that bad of a battery life for the cadence. Mine gives around 2000 miles or so before i have to change it.
great service as far as i am concerned. have gotten the 305 replaced twice for free. The product itself is great but mine went bad after swimming and the other time some hardware issue with the buttons but garmin support was great in replacing both of them. now the edge 305 has been awesome. I got it when it first came out around 3 years back or so. No issues. very durable.
hey who wants to train with heart rate anyway. go by perceived exertion and pacing which garmin is really good at telling you (not perceived exertion)!!
TriG33k,
Sorry to hear about your troubles, but glad to hear that I am not the only one having difficulties with service.
You’d think that they’d be happy for a person to send in a unit that died prematurely so they could do an autopsy; meanwhile send out a refurbished unit at least. In my case, why not send out a refurbished transmitter? they likely have a bunch sitting around gathering dust in a wearhouse. Good PR at least.
As a matter of principle, I won’t go back to Garmin, especially if I can find a cheap alternative that will monitor the heartrate … or do without. If a $50. unit goes wonky after a year or so, then its disposable. A $200. unit after a year or two isn’t so understandable.
scj,
Great to hear they replaced your unit … even after you went swimming with it? wow, 'cause isn’t that a not recommended activity?
I will likely resort to the percieved exertion method, but, if you aren’t using your Garmin you could send it my way!
thanks for the reply,
I am. I am waiting for them to come out with a new, improved line.
Hey Clyde,
I’ve used a few different heart heart monitors and two years is about the max lifespan in my experience. (Just this week my GF’s strap took a dump after a little over two years)
I think the lifespan is on the short side for a couple reasons, first the strap is in a sweaty environment. Sweat is corrosive & even if you wash it the sweat is still doing damage. Second there is no off switch on a HR strap, its always working in some way or another.
Before I ditched using HR to train & race I was on the hunt for the perfect tool. I ended up racing with a Timex watch & HR strap for convince. Doing this the HR straps would only last about 2 months due to having to live through the swim. I kept retuning them & getting new ones, i figured if they were going to brand them for triathlon the strap should be able to survive the swim
Garmin’s response may have come across a little direct but two years out of a HR strap seems like you got your moneys worth.
Good luck,
Travis
dumb blog
hell no! not parting with it.
But they did replace my unit and i did not tell them i went swimming with it. Just gave some excuse. I only had it for a month so i thought it was worth a lie!
actually the fit of the strap sucks. way worst. suunto makes the best fitting chest straps, at least for me. But i don’t use HRM often nowadays, just now and then to see where i am at. no improvement so far!