Customer Reviews

Garmin 010-00679-05 Forerunner 50 Sports Watch with Heart Rate Monitor and USB ANT Stick

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I already own the Forerunner 305 and love it except for the large size of the watch when I am running. I considered getting the new 405, but since I already owned the foot pod and I actually like the larger unit (read as "larger screen")of the 305 while on the bike, I decided to just add to my current system with the Garmin 50. The GPS function of the 305 is nice, but while I tend to explore on the road bike I also tend to travel the same routes over and over while running, so the GPS functions are not really necessary. The Garmin 50 is super light and perfect for running. Via the ANT stick it will update Garmin Connect (the on-line training record) and Garmin Training Center automatically, so they are always synched. The display is small and only displays two pieces of info at on time, such as heart rate and distance or distance and pace, but I find that's all I usually need and I can check the rest of the info at the end of the workout. I tested the foot pod distance readings against a known distance and the 305's GPS reading, and it was accurate out of the box and did not require calibration.

The only problems I have had are that the date that the watch records for workouts is 7 days off and, according to Garmin, cannot be corrected. The date on the Time Display is correct, though, so it's still accurate as a watch, and the date shows up correctly when you upload the workout to Garmin Training Center. I'm sure they will fix this glitch in the future, but it's a minor irritation. This is a great unit.

I've used cheaper Heart Rate monitors (mostly from Polar) and despite some of my complaints below, I'm pleased with the Garmin Forerunner 50 after using it over the past 3 months.

Pros:
* User replaceable heart rate monitor strap battery
* Heart Rate Graphs that can be analyzed (the .tcx format is in XML)
* Wireless transfer to the PC with a supplied USB stick (I couldn't find other units that could do this at this price point)
* Heart rate picks up pretty quickly if the strap is a little wet, except on the first time I used the device
* Customizable displays for Heart Rate and split or overall time data
* Can share data with friends using Garmin Connect (so your exercise buddies know you worked out - good for accountability)

Cons:
* Wristwatch software menus are somewhat unintuitive, others are a bit cumbersome. For example, why would you want to have two separate times with different a different date, hours, minutes, or seconds? I can see having different time zones, but the rest doesn't make sense.
* Some customizable displays are useless. Why would I want to display Heart Rate on top (as the large easy to read number) and Heart rate on the bottom (smaller to read number)? The split data also displays this way.
* Wish there was an autosave feature. You have to press the "stop/start" button to stop the workout, then hold the "view" button to save, then press the "view" button again to confirm the save. I lost a two hour workout once, but now I remember the key sequence.
* Cannot easily determine calories burned. Even the online app (Garmin Connect) didn't calculate this information for me, because the XML file just stores a zero instead of taking the information from the average and the weight that you input into the device. It's possible to manually calculate this from the data, but it may be annoying to users that use the default software.
* USB stick has a key ring area which is flimsy. I had it attached to a metal keyring and it broke in two weeks.

Some other things worth mentioning:
* I had to return one unit to Garmin since the Heart Rate Alarms would not work, but it was covered under warranty. I had to pay for return shipping and the new unit works just fine. Tech support was decent and prompt - I didn't experience the hold music that other reviewers had reported.
* I'm using Garmin Training Center v3.4.3 and wrist watch software 1.1d which appears to be the latest at the time of this writing. While the wrist watch software cannot be updated by the end user, I hope that Garmin Training Center and/or the Garmin Connect (the online equivalent) will improve and perhaps one of these programs

This is a great product. Fits nicely on the wrist (male, average, 180cm, 80kg).

* Data transfers easily to the PC (a little testy at times, but the job gets done).

* You don't even know you have the footpod on. It covers about 3 - 4 lace overlaps on my shoe, and incredibly light. Footpod was out 4 metres on a measured 878 metre track.

* HRM takes a little getting used to because the front part (the sensor) is plastic (though fairly bendy).

The bad:
* Absolutely terrible user manual. What were they thinking? Slightly better than no user manual at all. Would have been just as useful written in Russian.

* Difficult (at least for me) to tell the difference between the various alerts (am I running too slow, too fast, heart rate is too low or too high, did I just complete a lap?).

The Garmin forerunner is a great product, on an overall level. It will only track your HR when you exercise, though, no other metrics. It will NOT track calorie output or anything else unless you have the foot pod attachment, and then it will only track it when running. I was looking for a hrm to track hr, calories, and stay within target zones but the Garmin isn't equipped to do that. If you just need a hrm, this Garmin is great, easy to use, and the chest sensor is comfortable and fits well.

I have been using this Garmin 50 for about a year. I really like the wireless transfer of information plus how the Garmin calendar highlights dates of activity. I have no problems with contact for the chest strap. I just wet my chest with a little water and fasten the strap. I am purchasing another one for a friend to use because of my good overall experience.

This is a slick device, if you don't need GPS. However, the software is flawed, and don't bother if you're using a Mac. They've been promising a Mac version of the software forever.
(Update: 2009-06-18 the I've been using the Mac version of Training Center for a few months now, it works well, though the features are limited. It's a big improvement over switching to the PC or Parallels every time I want to download a workout.)

Lately, my workouts have been getting lost by the software, which is pretty frustrating. Frequent backups are a good idea, I was able to restore some of my workouts from an earlier software problem where the program got stuck in a loop.

The hrm works pretty well most of the time. I've found that it helps to put it on a bit before a workout. I've had to replace the hrm battery twice in about a year, and the watch battery once. The watch battery is a bit tricky, support suggests having a watch repair place handle it, for good reason.

I wouldn't buy it again, in fact, I'm planning on researching to see what other brands are available. Garmin has not impressed me at all.

I needed a HRM and also wanted something to track my bike training. I looked at GPS units, but the ones in my price range appear bulky; the Forerunner 50 with the Speed and Cadence Sensor is a very good alternative. Monitor works great and the download to the Garmin Training Center is easy where you can review and analyze your workout. Only negative is the instructions are not easy to follow especially for some of the less used functions. Over all, this unit has exceeded my expectations and I would recommend it to anyone.

First, some good things. I like Garmin in general. I use their GPS products and they're up to par. But let me describe several incidents with this particular product to give you an idea whether you should get it for yourself.

* It took me multiple attempts to pair the watch with the foot pod. Only after I swapped the batteries between the heart rate monitor and the foot pod did I find out that it came with a dead battery. Not a good out-of-box experience, Garmin.

* The software comes with warnings to NOT insert the USB stick prior to installation. Unfortunately, that is exactly what I did, and it later took me several reboots, and an uninstall-reinstall cycle to get it to work.

* The program for monitoring the USB stick runs continuously after you install it. It eats a good portion of your CPU (I watched it using a special tool and it continuously polls for USB stick data instead). When you exit it, the option "run when Windows starts" is always pre-selected for you. It's as if a web site offered to subscribe you to unwanted e-mails every time you logged out. Is it proper etiquette?

* After a 1.5 hour run, I pressed the Stop button on the watch, which printed the word "stop" on the screen. I didn't exactly have their manual stuffed in my pocket. But with this watch, "stop" is not the right button to press. Instead, I you should hold down the Lap/Reset button for 3 seconds, then press View. If you don't, you will lose your workout data.

* At another time, I ran the Garmin training manager software prior to uploading data. Unfortunately, if you do that, an error message comes up "Since the training manager software is running, your data cannot be imported". And you'll never see your workout again, since it's been deleted from the watch during the download.

After this, ahem, miserable experience, I put the Forerunner 50 away and bought a Suunto T3C. It cost me 3 times as much (they charge $99 just for the PC pod, sold separately), and it only keeps average workout data (it doesn't have a detailed log). And yet, I'm happy with it. Their software is a pleasure to use. It worked straight out of the box, and it doesn't come with a separate "ant monitor". You start up Suunto Training Manager lite, press a button on your watch, and your data is downloaded and displayed.

For the most part the Garmin Forerunner 50 does what its suppose to do. I had a couple of faulty reads but it was probably because I set it up incorrectly. Overall it does what its suppose to do: read your heart rate. If you want a more advanced heart rate monitor that creates a workout and so on go with a better Garmin model. I actually purchased a Garmin Forerunner 301 at about the same prize I paid for the Forerunner 50.

The monitor did not read my heart rate. I tried all the suggested solutions except electrode gel. When I emailed the support address, I was told to call. When I called, there was a message saying that I would have to listen to elevator music for 45 minutes before anyone could help me. I emailed that this was not acceptable. They ignored me.

Someone I know told me I could use KY gel instead of electrode. This seemed to help but next time I used the watch, it gave completely inaccurate readings.

Not Mac compatible.

Large wrist strap. I have trouble finding large enough bands.

Documentation so so. Not as bad as most.