Healthy Heart Rate: Garmin 405 CX w/HRM Monitors Review

Please note that I normally don't write product reviews. I normally take consumer reviews with a grain of salt because most are thumbs up (5 stars), or thumbs down (1 star), rarely with nuanced shades of gray.I'm giving the 405CX 5 stars not because it's perfect (see CONS), but because for me the product experience was revolutionary, and its ease of use makes it easy to integrate it into your daily life rather than beingjust another gadget with a collection of features.

For me it's been rare experience that a an electronic device functions precisely the way it is advertised to. When I'd seen Garmin ads describing how you need only to leave the 405CX near your computer after a workout and presto your full workout stats- pace, heart rate, elevation, calories burned, etc. including split data, and a map of the GPS captured route you took will be waiting for you when you return, I thought "yeah right". Yet it did exactly that- and more.Not enough room here or time to break down all the features, but I will say that logging onto GarminConnect a few minutes after my workout and seeing my route and stats on a Google Map (which can be shared/exported, by the way) it was one of those moments you rarely experience as a consumer.The ease of use and integration of features is extremely impressive. Unlike most devices (some of which I had been considering as an alternative like Suunto, Polar, etc.)the 405CX seems to be more "you" centric rather than you needing to spend days reading a manual to figure out how to make the gadget do what you want- and then falling short of that in the end.For instance, creating your own custom workouts with the downloadable Garmin software is easy and intuitive, and doesn't suffer from being inflexible as I've come to expect from other products. For these reasons, I have a feeling I'll get lots of regular use from this device, instead of it being forgotten in a closet or drawer somewhere after the novelty and has worn off or I can't remember how to use it without a refresher.

PROS:
* GPS / route recording is superb
* HR monitoring and stat tracking are superb
* Bezel interface is easy to use, intuitive and well integratedCONS: While the touch operated bezel is one of the features that sets this device apart from its competition, it's too easy to accidentally touch it and change the screen it's on during a workout.It has a screen-lock feature, but during a workout it's somewhat cumbersome to have to switch in and out of it to change a screen.Another minor complaint, but probably specific to me is that alerts are hard to read on the screen during a workout; the ability to configure to change the alert font would be nice.

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Product Description:

GARMIN® Forerunner® 405 CX W/ HRM :: The Garmin® Forerunner® 405CX is the evolution of GPS-enabled training from Garmin®. This heart rate monitor tracks your distance, pace and heart rate, then wirelessly sends the data to your computer for later analysis. The Garmin® Forerunner® 405CX features heart rate-based calorie computation and comes with a second wrist band suitable for smaller wrists.

Prices are so low only VIP discount applies to this item.