garmin forerunner 305

I am in the market for a GPS. What have peoples experiences been with the Forerunner 305? Particularly waterproofness. I've heard mixed stories. Also the Forerunner 310XT; anyone have any experience with that one. Cheers. Nick Valentine. Sydney

I've just ordered a 310XT, should be here next week,

But more to the point, I think Rob will be reviewing one in the next month or so on the website.

Cheers

You can get quite good deals on the 305 nowadays

I've been using a Garmin etrex Vista CX for several years. I made up a mounting bracket which is held in place by the elastics at the front of the footwell (I also tie it on with a lanyard as a secondary precaution).

This is an older model than the forerunners but I find a stead deck mounting much more useful than a wrist mount as I can keep my eye on it continuously without disrupting my stroke.

The manufacturer claims waterproof to 1m for 30 mins which is more splash-proof than true waterproofing - it has been on my boat during quite a few capsizes. Over time the USB connector, which has a simple rubber cover, has gradually got less reliable to the point that it barely works at all now and I need to look into replacing it. Apart from this there has been no apparent damage.

This model gives lots of flexibility over the info which is displayed. I usually only use speed, distance and time, and like to download tracklogs. But I also occasionally use simple waypoints and bearings if crossing open water where it is hard to make out the destination visually.

Zebra wrote:

I've just ordered a 310XT, should be here next week,

But more to the point, I think Rob will be reviewing one in the next month or so on the website.

Cheers

Where did you get it from? Latest sw is now 2.6, be sure to update. Im excited for you! Im getting my hands on a defective one tomorrow. Not that its really broken, just think owner didnt update the garmin.

Operationally it is very similar to the 305, with a few differences in the menu`s etc.

The heart rate monitor strap is a slimmer and more comfortable.

The biggest difference is it being a wireless transfer which seems to work well, I always had problems with the contacts corroding on the 305 where they connect to the craddle, with this new system that is now not an issue. The charger clips on via a small clamp with 2 contacts, battery life is also a hell of a lot better.

So far so good, I have only had mine a couple of weeks and no problems yet.

They were released in Dubai a couple of weeks ago, with the troubles I had with my 2 previous 305s I would recommend paying the extra money for the 310xt, but time will tell if they are more reliable.

For anyone buying them in Dubai, Amit the main Garmin dealer on the Diera side of the creek tried to initially charge 1330 aed, but with a bit of negociation they came down to 1150 aed.

I've always used the Forerunner 205, which is the same as the 305 except without the heart rate monitor, as frankly my heart rate isn't of much interest to me. I use the 205 for distance, speed and time and have used it to navigate to a way point. The 205 was much cheaper than the 305 too. I'm wondering if Garmin will have a non-heart rate model in the new fore-runner series?

Gary

The Garmin 310XT is available without the heartrate monitor as well. That said, the heartrate function is a great training tool and in my opinion a must have.

Cheers
JB

Col Campbell wrote:

Operationally it is very similar to the 305, with a few differences in the menu`s etc.

The heart rate monitor strap is a slimmer and more comfortable.

The biggest difference is it being a wireless transfer which seems to work well, I always had problems with the contacts corroding on the 305 where they connect to the craddle, with this new system that is now not an issue. The charger clips on via a small clamp with 2 contacts, battery life is also a hell of a lot better.

So far so good, I have only had mine a couple of weeks and no problems yet.

They were released in Dubai a couple of weeks ago, with the troubles I had with my 2 previous 305s I would recommend paying the extra money for the 310xt, but time will tell if they are more reliable.

For anyone buying them in Dubai, Amit the main Garmin dealer on the Diera side of the creek tried to initially charge 1330 aed, but with a bit of negociation they came down to 1150 aed.

Wow that is cheap, around USD314! Any chance you can help us guys overseas get this as well? Does he have an online shop?

www.amitdubai.net/

The 310xt is not listed on their website yet.

Not sure if they do online shopping, but send them an email and see what they have to say.

If your lucky they might even reply, customer service is not always a strong point in Dubai. If you run into problems let me know and I`ll see what I can do. Where are you based.

I noticed Amazon in the States are listing them for $328, they might offer a more reliable service.

I have used a 305 for over a year on my K1 now and is holding up perfectly well. I simply (duct)tape the watch to the deck (just in front of the cockpit). This holds even when you flip and have to swim.

I did not use it in/on salt water yet so I cannot say how well it can withstand that. But the 305 is great for paddling.

Is it possible to program coordinates into a 305 before starting and navigate around those points? eg to get around a naval control zone.
Thanks, Jim

Hi Jim. I've used the 205 (same as 305 except no HR monitor) to navigate to Robben Island Nelson Mandela's former prison)in thick fog. On the Navigation function, you load the GPS co-ordinates of the target and set your starting point's GPS co-ordinates. You then get an arrow which constantly points towards the target. Worked well. You would obviously have to know the co-ordinates of the target. There is a facility to load multiple GPS targets, but I'm not sure how easy it is to call them up mid-paddle. Maybe with legs astride.

go here: www.gpsies.com/createTrack.do

you can draw the path you want to take out and save it as a CRS file, import it into Garmin Training Center, and upload to your 305.

there are other ways to do this too, but this way is pretty easy

Thanks guys, Think I will get a 305- its not much more money than 205.
Jim