Customer Reviews
Garmin Forerunner 201 not for rural use
My kids and I recently purchased the Forerunner 201 as a Father's Day gift for my running husband. He was thrilled after reading the product information! He immediately followed the simple set up directions, and away he ran a few hours later! Unfortunately, the unit just could not maintain a gps signal, and the little bit of information gained was useless and inaccurate. We called Garmin after a few more unsuccessful runs, and the technician on the phone suggested it might be a faulty unit. Amazon quickly sent a replacement. (Yippee for Amazon!)
Again, my husband can not keep a gps signal for the duration of a run. The unit registers "weak signal" 20-25 times on a 5 mile run! The final mileage the forerunner has listed for the same five mile distance has ranged from 2.3 to 79.8 miles!!
Garmin tells us that tree canopy can interfere and cause the weak signals. We live right on the shore of Lake Ontario (wide, open space), although we do run on scenic, shady roads.
The bottom line is that the Forerunner is useless to my husband. Garmin admits that it really doesn't function well on "shady" roads with trees around. If you like to run anywhere outside of a barren city street, think twice. A very disappointing Father's Day gift, returned for the final time.
Paragliding with Foretrex 201
I have found this tool invaluable for paragliding. I get an accurate altitude and speed as well as many other great features. The bird crumb trail is also great if you get lost up there. Since it doesn't have it, a ground map really wouldn't matter much in the air. I'm sure some would beg to differ. The option for a large readout is also great. You can view four fields at the same time! I use Altitude, Speed, Distance and Time. It also has an arm strap. I put it up on my forearm because or the angle of my wrist while using the brake toggle. This was a very carefully thoughtout device!
Built-in Battery Makes No Sense
I love my Garmin GPS devices. I own enough of them. However, this device makes no sense. If you are going hiking with this device and have no way of changing batteries, you may end up like those dumbasses in the "Blair Witch Project", wandering in the forest with no way of getting out. Get something like the Foretrex 101 that allows you to change batteries.
