Customer Reviews
I'm taking mine back to the store today
This is probably a good product for walkers or hikers, or for non-urban runners. However, I wore it on a run around a 5/8 mile track that passes about 20 feet from a parking garage and a hospital. On the first lap, the Forerunner measured .51 miles. On the second, it registered 18.6 miles! And so it went. My 5/8 mile lap shows up as anywhere from .3 to 20 miles. I e-mailed Garmin tech support and got a prompt response telling me that it's called multipath error and directing me to another company's website for an explanation. I get the impression that Garmin isn't particularly proud of this product.
I also find that it's very slow to capture the signal. I don't want to stand around for 5 minutes waiting for the sattelite signal before I can get moving.
My last comment is about the size and weight. I'm a small woman, and I find it pretty uncomfortable because the width of the unit is just a little greater than the space between the bones of my wrist. Even though the band fits loosely, the weight and pressure compromise circulation to my hand.
I do believe it would be good for hikers in open country who just need a rough estimate of how far they've gone (I haven't tried the mapping feature, since I run in a circle and it's pretty hard to get lost that way.) For training purposes, though, it doesn't give me accurate enough information to be of any use.
Really good GPS
I really like this GPS. I use it mainly for hiking and backpacking and it has taken a lot of abuse. It isn't totally waterproof... just water resistant. I have worn it in the rain and it was fine although water did get into the battery compartment during a particularly bad downpour. Its' very light... One of the lightest GPSes on the market. Its' not overly complex and its' good for backtracking and going off trail. I like that the screen is recessed into the unit because I've bumped it many times into rocks and stuff but because the screen is recessed into the unit, there's only very light scratches on it. My other GPS doesn't have this feature. I really like how the screens are setup as well. You can make custom screens to track your mileage, time and other stuff.
That said, I do have a couple complaints. The first complaint is that the battery lasts about 8 or 9 hours. That means I always have to carry extra batteries during backpacking trips that are longer than 2 days. (I keep the GPS on for 4 or 5 hours per day on average.)
The battery compartment is also a pain. Its' hard to get the batteries out without using a screwdriver. I use rechargeable batteries and damaged the top of one. So I now put a short strip of ribbon in the battery compartment to make it easier to take the battery out.
The reception is not as good as my other GPS... A Magellan eXplorist 300. But it is good enough most of the time for me to get around. The only time, I have lost the GPS signal for a long period of time was in the Grand Canyon, where I frequently lost the signals for miles at a time. But that's probably because of the canyon walls. But for most trips, the reception is fine. Reception is poor inside my home unless I'm near the window. I noticed that the eXplorist always has good reception just about anywhere.
This is the GPS I use most of the time. Its' light, simple, cheap and it keeps me on trail.
Great little gadget
extremely accurate and convenient to use. The AAA batteries last surprisingly long; I have had it for about a month and have yet to replace the batteries. It connects to GPS quite fast and holds on well. Of course you can't run in the woods because the trees block the signals. I like running with it because it's fun to keep track of my progress.
