I want a GPS watch, and have found the Garmin Forerunner 101 for pretty cheap. I have a few questions though for those of you who know anything about them.
1. Since they are bigger, does it screw up your arm motion?
2. I run a lot of hills, does it/can it factor in that distance?
3. How Easy is it to use/program?
4. How accurate is it?
5. Is there any better GPS watches?
6. What Do you like most about them?
7. Is it worth $89.99?
Oh yeah, and what is the difference between the 101 and 201?
The 201 is rechargeable, the 101 is not. Both are easy to use as good as any other running GPS out there.
If you go to amazon.com you can get the 201 for $109, and if you use an amazon.com credit card they knock off an additional $25. Pretty sweet deal. Don;t know how long it will last though.
I have a 201 and I love it. I would recommend the 201 as you can do a lot more with it. One, it is rechargeable and two, you can use it to create the logbook on your PC. The log book is great. Also, you can make maps with different websites (gpsvisualizer.com among others). Also, if you live a city with high buildings or in a forerst the receiver will not work as well as you would like. I live in Iowa and have excellent reception, when going under trees, but if I was in a dense forest it wouldn't work very well.
The 201 is worth the extra cash. You will waste a lot buying batteries with the 101.
Paul
1. It probably only weighs and ounce or so more than a regular watch, so no, it does not screw up the arm motion.
2. I can't say with absolute certainty that it measures accurately in hilly terrain. However, it does measure elevation changes so it may be fairly accurate in the hills. I live in Colorado Springs and run in the hills almost all the time and have found it to be fairly accurate.
3. I have the 201 and it is very easy to use and program.
4. I think it's close to 98% accurate - maybe even more when running on a completely open course.
5. I had the Timex S+D prior to the Garmin and I like the Garmin much better. It's much nicer having everything in a single unit.
6. The 201 will automatically record mile splits. I also like the history function and the logbook.
7. As others have said - you would be better off spending a few extra bucks and getting the 201. The rechargeable battery holds a charge for about 15 hours. The Timex I had was limited to about 4 hours. I bought rechargeable batteries for it and had to recharge almost daily.
Another thing about the 201 (not sure about the 101) is that Garmin updates the software inside the unit and you can download the updates free. As they keep improving the technology you don't need to get a new unit constantly.
201 is better d/t smaller, more features, rechareable. I have the 101 and have run side by side soemone with the 201. On a hilly 5 mile course, mine read 5.00 his 5.03, about 50 yds difference. He ran wider on a couple of turns but overall virtually the same. 101 is fine. It does not interfer with arm swing. Tends to eat up batteries. About 12 hour battery life.
you might want to save your money because January 2005 the forerunner 301 w/hear rate monitor will be coming out...
AWESOME! Any Info on it? Will the HR monitor be the only addition? How much will it cost?
I like my Garmin so much I bought the stock (GRMN)
I figured this is a "must have" for every runner!
I'm up about $5,000 so far. It's paid for my watch, and some!
to find out about the forerunner 301 you should Google "forerunner 301" and there are some sites, mostly in another language, about the coming of it. There is one particular forum that talks briefly about it.
http://www.misportsim.com/community/viewforum.php?f=35
Also if you have any questions about the forerunner 201 and 101 still, there is another website where there's a quite a few people who talk about its accuracy and their experiences with the device...
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/GarminF/
they also talk here briefly about the coming of the forerunner 301 just put forerunner 301 in their search thingy and you'll find some posts on it.
wack
biggy is coming soon
I guess the 301 then will only miss the FM radio and MP3 player
- Be happy , run far
man, this sportsim software is really cool, thanks for the forum link iggy
Cato
What Paul says about forests is true. I run in the woods a lot, and the unit can't figure out what it's doing, especially on winding trails. It ends up telling you you ran shorter than you really did. Out in the open or in sparse woods, it works well.
yah check out the Yahoo Groups link too...lots of people who have had questions about the forerunner have gone there...i came by it totally by accidnet..
bang
Garmin 201 is cool, mostly. The GPS reception is as others have said shaky at times. I do not even bother wearing it on cloudy days when I run in the woods. Otherwise, it is a pretty darned neat gizmo. Helps smooth out pace, and the history, and logbook are cool as well.
it really depends on where you live too...if you live in New York, good luck with getting reception in the city...if you live in Cali like me, you'll have a good reception on cloudy days and on clear days...some people just don't have the patience to put up with waiting to get a signal that sometimes can take up to 10 mins, but you could easily start the watch in your car on the way to a run and by the time you get there it should have gotten a signal... Its worked for me 98% of the thousands of times i've used it thus far