Garmin - Forerunner 405
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 10, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
8
1
"I have an older Garmin Forerunner that I've used for about 8 years. ... I've generally found Garmins to be durable and long lived."
"near indestructible"
"in terms of hardware, I’ve had no complaint in over 30,000 miles. That’s a lot of time worn…"
12
0
"I can't tell the forerunner is on my wrist. ... It took me a while to get used to the heft of the fenix. It it noticeable while running or any activity in which your hands swing."
"if you buy something lighter like venu, forerunner or fenix S version it will not interfere with the game at all."
"Forerunners are much lighter weight and therefore much more comfortable to wear."
30
0
"a recent update even added Strength training to the Garmin Coach feature. It used to just be running plans. ... But aside from that you can make your own strength training workouts. ... I personally really enjoy the ability to make my own workouts and fill out the calendar in the app to have a custom training plan that I know works for me."
"but also has built in training programs. ... I'm going through one right now for a half marathon in May and it's going well. ... I did six miles yesterday (the farthest I've ever ran in my life) and I feel great today."
"it has a lot of additional activity features I like (e.g. tracking outdoor swimming, biking , training plans etc)"
7
1
"I specifically got the Garmin for a wrist based gps and mapping tool to track and orient myself. ... The Millitary has been orienteering with Garmin wrist based gps systems forever."
"The forerunner will meet and exceed all your needs except one."
"with all the GPS accuracy you can get"
19
3
"Oh, and the battery lasts days even when exercising a lot (weeks without excercise)."
"I get close to a month from my forerunner on standby - about 2 weeks with daily workouts. ... the battery life lasts a really nice length of time ... As a fitness wearable Garmin... destroys Apple on battery life. ... There’s really no sensible person running Tris or Marathons using an Apple Watch. The battery life is too poor to last reliably. If you go to the starting like of a marathon you’re really only going to see actual fitness brands on wrists due to battery life alone."
"Battery good enough to withstand long run in winter (AW tended to have problems in 30+ km runs in cold, not Garmin) ... Forerunner asks me if to go to power saving mode, when there are "just two days left" :)"
Disliked most:
1
5
"hated the way it looked"
"My forerunner is ugly and plasticky ... If you’re not into fitness I wouldn’t necessarily recommend people buy a Garmin since they’re ugly and that will be an issue for most"
"I really don't like the look of the forerunners ... I think forerunners look cheap."
1
5
"the Garmin is far worse from a smartwatch perspective ... my AWU2’s cellular connectivity is above and beyond the thing I care most about on long, remote runs."
"if you have to take your phone anyway, there's a much better device on you for making calls. ... apple watches can have sim cards and place calls *without* having your cellphone on you. that's a real use case -- go for a run, leave the bulky phone at home."
"I missed it's smart capabilities"
1
3
"I used to find that wrist HR sucked for rowing"
"wrist HR with F8 is also faulty for me like 30% of the times, could be because of a wrist or a strap. But i did not see any with F8 improvement compared to F6 or older forerunners"
"I have the feeling that Apple’s wrist based HR sensor is better than Garmin’s."
2
7
"I tried a Garmin Forerunner but couldn't figure out how to customize it (and I'm pretty tech savvy)."
"the screen is nowhere near as responsive as the AW."
"I missed it's nice and polished apps"
0
2
"a forerunner is not great for swimming, cycling, heavy trail running etc."
"Garmin only adds load when you are tracking an activity, so it can miss a lot if it's not a planned workout."
I was a Garmin user starting with the Forerunner 405 and most recently with the Fenix 6 Pro. I dipped my toe into the Apple Watch water with the S9 Cellular a couple of years ago, mostly for the cellular functionality. I hate carrying my phone on runs. I thought I would miss the stats from the Garmin like training readiness, etc., but I realized that the Garmin wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know lol. Now I’m on the Ultra 3 and it’s great. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything from my old Garmin. Yes, I have to charge more frequently but it’s painless for me to toss the watch on my nightstand charger while I shower. My Garmin required less frequent charging but the process wasn’t great with that finicky connector. Nowadays the Garmins have gotten so expensive that the Ultra seems reasonably priced in comparison.
r/applewatchultra • Yet another Garmin to AWU3 ->Have a regular peloton bike (not a bike+). I tried an Apple Watch and an oura ring. Best thing I’ve done is buy a regular Garmin forerunner + hrm strap for the best output capture. The hrm can be synced to the device for real heart rate during exercises.
r/pelotoncycle • Best compatible smart fitness device ->i second that. wrist HR with F8 is also faulty for me like 30% of the times, could be because of a wrist or a strap. But i did not see any with F8 improvement compared to F6 or older forerunners
r/GarminWatches • Forerunner and elevate 5 ->I use a Garmin Forerunner watch, and it displays heart rate while tracking activity. The reading is pretty visible to me even with slightly foggy goggles but ymmv. They have a lot of models with this capability, so maybe you can find one with a bigger screen. The default heart rate screen also has a colored Zone indicator, if that's easier to see & you're not looking for exact numbers https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=kbOXNev7NS4DQcc3IjAV49
r/OpenWaterSwimming • Device to monitor heart rate while swimming ->I use Garmin forerunner watch, sync Strava with Garmin Connect and sync Komoot with Strava. It works like a charm.
r/Strava • So you guys track your workouts directly with Strava? ->I have a Garmin Edge bike computer and chest based heart rate because I like to see my speed on the handlebars rather than having to look at my watch. It also navigates for me on more adventurous rides and race courses I'm unfamiliar with. For local social rides I just track on my Garmin Forerunner watch.
r/Strava • Best sport watch for cycling and Strava? ->A Garmin head unit. You could buy used to reduce the cost. I do ride wearing my forerunner watch, however it is purely for heartrate (linkeded to display on headunit) In reality you could buy the headunit and an inexpensive chest heartrate monitor such as magene. I do however like that my watch provides lots of other daily data such as resting heartrate, steps and so forth. There is benefit to headunit + basic level sports watch.
r/cycling • Which Garmin watch for cycling ->Runs are the same concept as rides. Personally, I use purpose-built devices to record: Garmin Edge bike computer, Garmin Forerunner watch (they also both do navigation, connect to heart rate sensors, watch does music, etc.). When I stop an activity and hit save, it's uploaded to Strava before I can even get the garage door open. I don't want to carry my phone on a run, and I don't want to run down the battery on all-day rides.
r/Strava • So you guys track your workouts directly with Strava? ->Obviously a Fenix 8 Micro LED. For real though, Fenix/Epix watches will give you full golf functionality minus a feature or two which are reserved for the golf specific watches. If you are budget conscious I would look for a Fenix 7/epix 2 series watch. If you have money to spend, a Fenix 8 will be great for everything you can imagine. Forerunner watches do have some golf features but they are dumbed down a bit to basic distance to green and score keeping.
r/Garmin • Want to get rid of Apple Watch- what Garmin should I get? ->The same I was big on the Apple ecosystem and felt like it was a cool watch just because it integrated so well, but I never even downloaded any apps for it. All I ever used it for was timers and reminders and stuff like that and basic fitness tracking, and my forerunner does all the same stuffbut way better. Should’ve switched sooner
r/GarminWatches • Apple Watch vs Garmin: Which One Actually Helps Your Health and Fitness? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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