The latest in the highly popular Garmin Forerunner series is the 405. How does it stack up against its predecessors – from a paddling perspective?

Garmin Forerunner 405

Let me make it clear from the start that I'm a fan of the Garmin Forerunner units.  I've used them as training aids, navigation aids and mere logging tools - and I've got the point where I hate to paddle without at least one to tell me my speed and heart rate. 

So what's different about the 405?

First Looks

First of all, it's smaller than its predecessors - close to the size and weight of a wristwatch.  The screen though smaller, is crisp and the numbers are easy to read.

Next, it has a wireless interface and downloads data automatically as soon as you come within about 5m of your PC. 

305 & 405 mounted on surfski footstrap

The most interesting change is the Apple iPod-like touch sensitive bezel. This allowed Garmin to remove all except two buttons on the unit - you touch and tap the bezel to navigate through the menus.  This does take a little getting used to though.

Using the 405

I like checking my speed and HR while I'm paddling, so I fastened the 405 to my foot-strap alongside its older brother, my venerable 305.  The 405's wrist strap is more rigid than the 305's so I used a piece of rubber to thicken the foot-strap for the two units as shown below.

I have to say that I found the unit quite finicky to use.  For example, with the 305, it's a case of:

1. Switch on.
2. Wait for the satellite connection.
3. Press Start.

With the 405 I have to

1. Unlock the bezel,
2. Bring up the GPS menu by touching the left hand side of the bezel.
3. Stroke down to GPS.
4. Tap to switch the GPS on
5. Touch the right hand side of the bezel (without inadvertently switching the GPS off again) to open the training menu,
6. Lock the bezel,
7. Wait for satellite connection
8. Press Start

The bezel is sensitive to the slightest touch - as I found when water drops caused the screen to change unexpectedly.  One of the most important discoveries was how to lock the bezel. 

Battery Life

The unit specs say that the battery should last up to two weeks in "power save" mode; in training mode it'll last about eight hours.  What this means is that you need to switch the GPS off as soon as you come off the water and you to be aware of the battery charge at all times - you don't want to start a three hour paddle with the unit on 25% battery!

Training with the 405

The 405 has much the same functionality as the previous Forerunner units including simple, interval and custom workouts where you can specify effort (measured by heart rate) and interval times.

Navigating with the 405

A screen I really like on the 305 is the navigation page. It displays a compass and, importantly, the distance and time remaining to your destination.  In Hawaii, that "distance remaining" indication was all that kept me going!

Navigation - 305 (left), 405 (right) and the venerable 301 (bottom)

The 405 has minimal navigation capabilities: you can mark and edit locations and you can Goto a location. You can also go "Back to Start" but you can't create a route and the navigation page shows only the compass and distance; not the time remaining.

What I like about the 405

• The size: it's much more comfortable to wear than the earlier models and looks like a watch.
• The GPS sensitivity: it picks up the satellites quicker and stays locked on better than any previous unit.
• The wireless interface to the PC

What I don't like

• The short (8 hour) battery life in training mode.
• The bezel doesn't work well if your hands are wet with salt water.
• The finicky user interface.

Summary

Runners will probably prefer the Forerunner 405 but, from a paddler's perspective, I prefer to have:

• A bigger display: My 305 is configured to show speed, distance and time (and if I'm training, speed, heart rate and time).  The smaller figures on the 405 are difficult to read especially when it's mounted on my foot-strap.
• More battery time: The 305 does around 14 hours.
• More navigation functionality: the 305 allows you to create a route comprising several waypoints and it shows you the time remaining to reach your destination.
• The ability to control the unit via the buttons - even at sea.  With the 305 I can change the screens and even the mode (from training to navigation) by pressing the buttons.  I found the touch-sensitive bezel of the 405 almost impossible to use with wet hands - so once you've set the unit up, it's really difficult to change it.

This is a cool and undoubtedly more advanced piece of technology - and Multisport athletes will love it - but in my opinion the 305 is still the best choice for paddlers.

Comments (10)

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written by Ian, October 11, 2008

thanks for doing this report , I have to replace a lost 305 and was wondering whether it was worth "upgrading" to the new slimmer 405 , I will probably stick with the cheaper 305 after reading your report Lats

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garmin 405
written by wesley, October 11, 2008

I have had every model Garmin including the 301(3),305, and have had the 405 for about 2 months now. I had the same experience. Once the the bezel gets wet it gets quirky to navigate through the screens. The bezel system is not as intuitive as the 305 so it takes longer to figure out. I use the 405 for running which is great but still use my 305 for paddling.

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HR transmitter
written by Robert Hartman, October 11, 2008

Hi Rob, thanks for the article. I have an old Polar HR monitor with the fancy flexible HR transmitter. Have you or anyone else attempted to use a Polar transmitter with the 305 receiver? It looks like the transmitter that comes from Garmin is rigid, and I had better luck with the flexible one from Polar staying up and not slipping down. (Seems like they oughta be compatible.)

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Polar HRM with Forerunner
written by Rob Mousley, October 11, 2008

The Polar HRM has a different encoding to the Forerunner and they are not compatible.

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written by Colombani, October 12, 2008

Nice info. I have an old 301 that need to be replaced, and was wondering if the 405 was worth the expense. Made up my mind, i'll buy a 305.

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Interval training & recording rest times
written by Jamii Hamlin, October 14, 2008

I recently aquired a 305 and have a question for the garmin gurus.
Is there a way to only record your intervals and exclude the rest periods in a training session? So to gain a better idea what your actual speed & heart rate is instead on the average over the entire period.
I have not attempted to pre load my training session into the unit, but is there a way that you could start recording when you started to moved again at say 5km/h?

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Auto pause on Forerunner
written by Rob Mousley, October 14, 2008

is there a way that you could start recording when you started to moved again at say 5km/h?

Yes - you can set the "auto-pause" feature so that the unit records only when you're moving faster than a specific speed.
You find this under Training Options, Auto Pause.

This is handy for timing races too - you can push start while you're lined up before the race - it'll only start timing you when you actually begin moving faster than your set speed.

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Starting the 405
written by Trinpad, October 14, 2008

Rob, you can shortcut the startup process from 'time' mode

1. Push the top button to wake up the unit
2. Put it into training mode (1 tap)
3. Wait for satellite acquisition and then push the start button to initiate the timer

Having said that I'm a runner and cyclist who paddles, so the 405 is used for those sports. I have a Garmin Geko which I use on the Ski. It's the size of a small cell phone and far better for visibility and navigating than any of the smaller wrist units. It also has a screen map and does the full navigation, way points, pace speed etc etc.

Nigel

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Re/Starting the 405 by Trinpad, October 14, 2008
written by Pete Cresswell, October 14, 2008

Does the Geko have auto-pause?

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written by superted, October 15, 2008

Garmin Edge might be better if you need a HRM

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