I am trying to decide between the two. I’d like to have HR as well as cadence on the bike. In know the Edge series is cycling specific. Looking at the Forerunner 305, seems to be the better option since it’s got everything and for the price ($160 at Costco!) sounds like a good deal. I borrowed a Forerunner 305 the other day on the bike, seems to have all i need (cadence/HR, speed/distance, calories, etc) It’s pretty big for running, but if I get sick of the size I figure even if I just use it for the bike, it’s got all the features (I think) that the Edge 305 has and is cheaper. Not quite as stylish mounted on the bars, but that can’t be the deciding factor
The Forerunner 405 looks sweet and isn’t so bulky, and you can buy a cadence piece for it. You can wear it as a regular watch I think, but charging it could get old.
Any opinions on these 3? Thanks, I appreciate it.
Personally I’d stay away from the 405. I was considering one until a friend who has one filled me in on some deficiencies. A lot more difficult to operate apparently, especially when trying to switch between run and bike mode. Aside from the smaller face the 405 seems to be a step backwards.
I really like the Forerunner 305 but it lacks one thing that is important to me, a backlight. I run at night a lot and not being able to see the 305 was quite annoying. That is my only gripe about it. The 305 has the ‘quick release’ system which is nice and works very well for bike/run transition and is a good mount on the bike as well. It seems like people hate on the 405 for the touch bezel which is annoying and the smaller screen. Having very large hands/forearms I didn’t mind the size of the 305 but my girlfriend couldn’t stand it.
At $160 something for a 305 Forerunner and another $40 something for the cadence attachment it is a really good deal. I don’t see what the edge 305 has to offer if you would like both run and bike stuff.
I bought a 305 Forerunner from Amazon.com a few weeks ago. I like it. It is half the price as the 405 and it really isn’t bad when you run. I can’t tell it is on my wrist. I’d go with the 305.
The 305 does have a backlight. After its powered up, push the power button once and it turns the backlight on. Push again to turn off … etc. Push and hold to power down.
I had a 205 & just received a 405 for Christmas. I wasn’t sure whether I would even keep it (largely based on some of the negative comments on ST) but after playing around w/ it I think I’m really going to like it.
The bezel seems is easy to manage. You can change the sensitivity, lock it, etc.
Unless I’m missing something (I haven’t actually used it on my bike), you can also switch between bike & run views w/ one touch. My standard data field for running is time, distance, & pace. If I want a 2nd field for my bike it can be some combination of speed, cadence, avg speed, total time, distance, etc. You can choose any combination of the 34 possible options for the 3 fields which are accessible via one touch of the bezel or w/ auto-scroll.
I don’t believe the backlight will remain on w/ the 305, but I would have check the manual to be sure.
I haven’t had my Forerunner 405 for long (a Christmas gift), but I am surprised by the comments about the bezel. To me, the bezel is used to set the thing up while indoors sitting comfy, warm and dry in a nice chair. On the run, all you have to do is look at the screens as they autoscroll by every few seconds because you have set them up to do that without a touch. I watch time, distance, pace, and HR.
Haven’t used it on the bike yet and probably won’t. Got a Powertap to give me the info I want there.
There are two weaknesses I’ve noticed.
The elevation reading (as seen after downloading the data and examining the graphs) is rather suspect.
The pace is suspect. Instantaneous pace that is. Others have mentioned, and I am going to try, setting it up to show the pace over the last “lap”, which will probably be set up to be an “autolap” at each mile.
And to set that up, yes, I’ll use the bezel that so many complain about, while indoors sitting comfy, warm and dry in a nice chair.
I also just got the 405 for Christmas. After some initial frustration i’m starting to catch on. The bezel is becoming easier. although it would be difficult to impossible to use on the fly with heavier gloves on, but what watch isn’t? I’m happier to keep my hands warm than to see what’s going on with my run at that point anyways. I’ll look at it after when i’m warm at home. I love the size of it and it doesn’t scream geek with computer on wrist like the 305. I will most likely not use it on the bike as I get enough feedback with my computer. The elevation as someone else said is suspect on the Garmin Connect program. I think it’s counting ascent and descent and telling you it’s seperate. If I look at the elevation profile and attempt to calculate in my head it comes out to half of what it says which would make my theory correct. I don’t really care about that much anyways. The other data supplied is spot on. The HRM works wonderfully so far and have experienced no interference with erratic numbers.(a problem I frequently encountered with my old Polar HRM) I’m beginning to love the 405. I will say the price on the 305 is pretty appealing right now. I just crave small with training devices and the 405 fits. Charging isn’t too bad so far as long as you remember and it frequently displays battery life making it difficult to forget.
I have both. I purchased the 405 because of its relatively smaller footprint. After going back and forth, I’ve pretty much stopped using the 405 for two reasons. The bezel selection set up has been quirky and hard to operate. I can’t seem to get the right kind of tap consistently to make it select as designed. That alone would be enough to steer me away from it, as I can’t be bothered with constantly tapping on the thing when trying to view various data fields.
The other thing I don’t like is that it can only display 3 data fields at one time, whereas the 305 can display 4. On the 305, when running, for example, I like to display total time, pace, HR, and distance. On the 405, you have to lose one of those and dig it out separately (using that fine bezel tapping motion mentioned earlier).
Yes, the 305 is a bit clunky, but I don’t really notice that other than strapping it on initially.
