Garmin vs Polar: Can anyone tell me why I would pay WAY more for a Polar than I would for a Garmin Forerunner 305?
66679
I have a Timex Ironman (Trashman would be a better moniker for this $90 disappointment!) that has NEVER given me reliable performance and has basically just quit after 17 months of unreliable service. I'm reading enough negative reviews on the Polar F11, which had otherwise sounded promising, to dismiss risking money on that product as well! While I have little or no use for GPS, the Garmin 305 is starting to sound to me like the accurate, reliable heart rate monitor I'm looking for based on further reading!
661663
I use a Polar F6 and a Polar strap T34 and the strap is also compatible with a Nordic Track product. Not compatible with my Garmin 305 (which by the way is a worthless piece of junk) Sorry for straying away from the question.
1140571
I've heard that motionbased.com adjusts the elevation readings now to reflect more accurate elevations. I don't own one yet, but am looking to buying one and have heard this from a few friends who own the 305. This, from what I understand, is the 305's biggest weakness! However, I still want one above any other of its kind...
780807
The one I got is pretty comfortable. It is more comfortable than the one I got from Polar a few years ago. I had never had a previous one from Garmin, but this has a pretty soft elastic strap. I don't think it will last forever (it is already starting to stretch a bit), but I've never had any chaffing from this one. It has also worked pretty well -- it never loses the ability to connect to the watch during a run, for example. The only thing I haven't been able to do with it is measure my resting pulse -- it is "smart" enough to turn off if my heart rate is too low.
346418
Because it works perfectly with Polar products and Windows 7. I bought one, and it functions seamlessly. The Polar product is more expensive, and is reported to have problems with Windows 7 compatibility. I highly recommend this product for use with Polar products, and I'm really happy with how well it works with my Polar S610i watch.
364136
This is compatible with all devices that support Ant+ or Bluetooth 4.0.So all garmin watches will work. I believe Suunto will work and I am not too familiar with polar watches. Here is a very in depth review of the HR monitor and all of it features. http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/07/viiiiva-bluetooth-bridge.html
545045
Same thing here. After their troubleshooting instructions (or anything I could find online) didn't work, they suggested that their crappy firmware update just "brought out some pre-existing hardware fault," and then wanted $75 to fix it. No, thank you.Don't buy a Garmin, they will just try to explain away their own mistakes.
1000796
Just curious, I'm thinking of getting the 305, but I already have a Polar HRM... Did you say that your Polar strap works with your 305? If so, that'd be nice not to have to purchase a second strap.
1000798
I have a similar question as Bryon has. I have a Garmin Cycling Heart Rate Monitor (305) and was wondering if I could get by if I bought a running 305 and used my existing strap.
16673
I can't really answer that because I didn't wear it often. I didn't find it to be that user friendly so I went back to using my Polar watch w/ heart rate monitor. You may want to ask other purchasers and/or do a customer review search to get a better cross section of opininos.
1392416
Thanks Chris. Have you ordered from PC Nation? I checked out the site, and the Garmin 350 is selling for $9.00 less than Amazon, and their extended warranty is also cheaper. They also offer free 3 day FedEx shipping. I checked out the BizRate comments, and most customers seem satisfied. I haven't checked out their return policy yet.I sent Amazon an e-mail around 5:00ish PM PST, but I still haven't received a reply. If I don't hear back by tomorrow morning, I'll be ordering my Garmin from PC Nation.Thanks again for the info!
42939
Not sure. But I can tell you I would DEFINiTELY NOT recommend this watch to ANYONE. This is my third Garmin, and the other two worked fine - this model has some major defects that I don't think Garmin wants to acknowledge. I"m looking at Polar or Nike or anything else but Garmin for my next GPS.
976340
I did it. I believe Garmin still sells the updates, two ways: one at a time for$xx and lifetime for about 2*$xx.It saves a lot of mental hassle on should I do it or wait awhile to do it to save some money.DH
1076548
As others have answered I would recommend this for both trail running and road races. It is possible that you will lose gps on some of the trails, but that is going to be the case with any gps watch. For OCR's, I have a friend who used this on one and he said it did fine. I think the best match for you would be the 910. If you are looking to stay within a certain price range, the 410 would work, but you may want to consider the 910.
893016
I talked to Polar support today, they said the BluetoothSmart Stride Sensor is not compatible with the Polar Beat Android app at this time (April 2015).
1831535
I've used it for both activities, and it was pretty accurate. However, the battery life sucks....It died 2 months ago (I bought it in May 2014). Changed the battery, and it still doesn't work. But I have a Smart Health HRM without a chest strap (wrist only) and it had the EXACT same readings as the Polar.
928974
I don't think so. I tried one of the other Polar HR monitors that didn't have the Nike+ symbol on it and the GPS watch would never pick up the signal. I only found the monitor online. The GPS watch is sold at many sporting good stores and BestBuy but apparently the heart rate monitor is difficult to find other than online. It works GREAT by the way- highly recommend it. It's nice to see your workout with pace/elevation/and heart rate all mapped in google maps.