Any suggestions on buying GPS watches?

Garmin

Garmin +1

yeah garmin forerunner's the way to go

I just bought one last year and did a fair amount of research. Decided on the Garmin Forerunner 305 ($130 on Amazon)w/heart rate monitor. There is a newer (sleeker) version (405), but most who have used the 305 liked it a lot better. Works great for me.

garmin is the industry standard, depending on your price range, i can vouch for the 305 and 405 and the 110 seems to be decent if you want a more bare bones model

I got a Garmin 110 and have been pleased with it - it gives me what I'm interested in (distance, pace, heart rate) without a lot of extraneous clutter. And it feels pretty much like I'm wearing a regular watch, rather than a calculator on my wrist.

But by far the most thorough/useful reviews of GPS watches are at this guy's blog

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/07/garmin-forerunner-110-in-depth-product.html

I linked to the Garmin 110 review, but he has reviews of pretty much the whole Garmin line, with photos. I'd check out what he has to say.

I was on the fence before buying a Garmin 405, but now after a few months, I love it! Shop around online for a 405, you can probably get it for < $200.

Garmin 210. 405/410 is a big old (emphasis on big) hunk of shiiiite.

Don't.

Garmin Forerunner 305. Has worked well for me. But unless you absolutely need one, I would reccommend not getting one. They can be finicky and unrelieable

Garmin Forerunner 305. I've seen it on sale on the 'net for as little as $99.

Be aware that the "instantaneous pace" reading is unreliable unless you are running for a long time in a straight line. Don't know whether other brands do any better - doubt it.

Don't get one. Get an accelerometer-based one like the FR60 instead.

I like the 405 I got from Costco. It uploads easily to my running log website.

It's not too big for my wrist and the velcro band is comfortable. Unfortunately it's not a water watch for tri folks. Plenty of features.

I really like the Timex but it was too large for my wrist.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot wrote:

Don't get one. Get an accelerometer-based one like the FR60 instead.

another vote for the FR60. dollar for dollar it's garmin's best watch, and the one you should get if you're not interested in doing routes or anything like that.

Agree with most of the above. If you're looking for a good value, it's hard to beat the (somewhat clunky) Forerunner 305. The 405 is a bit smaller, but the bezel interface (vs the buttons on the 305) can be a bit clunky.

In my opinion, the features of the 210 and 410 do not have enough features to justify the price difference between them and the 405 (again, unless the bezel drives you crazy).

You can read my reviews of GPS watches here:

http://gpswatch.nu/category/reviews/

More to come soon, and feel free to contact me at gpswatch.nu [at] gmail [dot] com if I can be of any help.

Yet another vote for the FR60. Get the foot pod, of course...mine was 98% accurate right out of the box. Actually smaller than a regular watch, too.

About the fr60...how clunky is the foot pod? I would consider getting that watch but I don't know how awkward it'd be running with something attached to my shoe. I've used the Garmin 110 and 405 before, both work well unless of course you're running through trails/wooded area, then might as well just use a regular watch because the thing is useless for pace.