Hi I have my money burning a hole in my pocket and I have been looking into a Garmin GPS watch. I am getting into running and as well as cycling I want to improve my fitness and lose some weight along the way. They look good but has anyone ever used one and are they a waste of money?
Thanks

There's a good few Garmin watches

what features do you need/want?

is it for running too?

305's good imo, bit chunky maybe especially for a woman
205's the same as the 305 -Heart rate monitor so is cheaper if you don't want the HRM
405's much smaller but more expensive and some people find them hard to use compared to the 305, they really! dislike the wet too apparently the bezel which rotates and presses to navigate go mental when wet and are prone to getting mud and grit in them too

else if just for the bike get a proper bike one 205/305 stem mount one instead.

I use my garmin 205 almost every day. Its an excellent piece of kit, especially with the Sportstracks software.

405's…. dislike the wet too apparently the bezel which rotates and presses to navigate go mental when wet and are prone to getting mud and grit in them too

As an owner of 405 i can confidently say the mud and grit thing is nonsense. The touch sensitive bezel can go a bit nuts in the wet as it thinks its being touched. All you do is lock the bezel and its prob solved.

If you can afford it maybe look at the 310XT if you want 100% waterproofness.

Incidentally i use mine on a mac with Rubitracks and its brills. If your using a PC make sure you use SportsTracks and not the piece of crap software Garmin ship with the watches.

…but do sign up for Garmin Connect as that is pretty cool.

I have a 305 and it's great. Little on the bulky side but no problem really and on the bike it's on the bars anyway (just use an old grip cut up rather than paying for Garmin's mount!). Use mine to log runs and cycles, great for working out pace while running if you're aiming for a particular time, and recently have been plotting routes and uploading them to follow. It's just an arrow on a black line but absolutely fine for most riding.

310XT does look very nice if you've got a few more pennies. Over double the battery life and proper waterproofing (you can swim with it). IIRC it'll give you OS grid refs too which the others won't.

nonsense, well I beg to differ 😯

you yourself even do

The touch sensitive bezel can go a bit nuts in the wet as it thinks its being touched

I've got mate who I run with regularly who bought one, because of said problems he's now gone back to a 305.
Google it he's not the only one. many don't get on with the user interface generally either compared to the older style units (and the new 310)

e.g.

The bezel is useless — especially while running or cycling (it’s like an iPod clone gone bad). While the wireless connection is theoretically better, the hard wired 305 connection was much better in practice

not saying every one's faulty at all but they do have a few known issues which will likely affect and bother some but not all, I was just trying to point these out to the OP. She can then decide if they're likely to be a problem for her or not.
she did ask for opinions 😯

I have a 405 and as said above you just lock the bezel if its raining and there is no issue with mud as it doesnt actually rotate.
I use mine for running and cycling and Garmin are really good to deal with ime in fact just had a brand new watch sent to me as the strap bust after i was a bit rough with it.
The Garmin connect site is getting to be quite good now, so much better than it used to be. I have just stopped using sporttracks as connect now does everything i want it to.

Keith, what you actually said was:

are prone to getting mud and grit in them too

To which i replied nonsense.

fair enough I thought they did, just problems with in on them then by the sounds of it

So I'm down to a choice myself now…405cx or 310XT…I'm thinking 310 as I never wear a watch anyway. All the reviews of the 310 are very good – what are the nejatives?

Do not go for the 405cx over the regular one. Not worth the extra for the 'improved' calorie count function.

If i was buying another unit now i would go for the 310XT as its essentially the best bits of the range in a waterproof package.

Cool thanks Jamie. The 310XT looks like it's easy to use and I like the multiple items display too. The wireless capability over the 305 is a nice touch as well.

I use the 405 every week to go running. It's a genius idea for that – you can check your pace, distance etc, and record where you've been. It's not great for actual directions though… However, the battery life on the 405 isn't amazing (8 hours GPS, 2 weeks standby) compared to some, and the bezel can be problematic if you have wet hands.
Personally I'd be v tempted by the 310XT – proper waterproofing, plus the features of the 305 and a quicker GPS lockon. It's pricey, but could be worth it

310XT plus HRM ordered from Amazon…delivery tomorrow. Woo hoo

310XT plus HRM ordered from Amazon…delivery tomorrow. Woo hoo

If your on a mac DD i would strongly recommend Rubitrack for post ride/run analysis whizzbangery.

Cheers Jamie…what's the deal with that then? I thought Jarmins were good with Mac…no? Polar don't support Mac at all…