Customer Reviews

Garmin Forerunner 101 Runners Pack

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am training for a marathon and I needed a device to help me measure the distance I have run. I wanted something plain and simple without too many beeps and whistles. The Garmin 101 is perfect and has worked flawlessly. If you are looking for a simple piece of equipment to measure time, pace and distance, look no further.

I am an outrigger canoe paddler and wanted a GPS for training. The Garmin has all the features I was looking for but IT IS NOT VERY WATER RESISTANT. If you are thinking about purchasing one of these for paddling or other on the water activities...don't. Six months is all I got out of mine.

I purchased this unit to keep track of my daily walks and also on my hiking trips. Overall, it is a good unit, but I knocked off a star because it has two drawbacks:

1. There is no USB port to download track data into my PC. However, with a two year track memory capacity, that is a minor inconvenience.
2. The receiver loses track of satellites easily under thick canopy tree cover, so it is not the best unit if you plan to do alot of hiking.

I ended up purchasing the eTrex Vista HCx for my hiking trips, but continue to use the Forerunner for my daily walks in town. My advice is this: If your main reason for purchasing the Forerunner 101 is for street and city training, you can't lose. However, if you are looking for a more backwoods unit, go with a higher end Forerunner or perhaps the eTrex, with the more sensative receiver.

I wanted something simple and easy to use and the forerunner 101 is just that. I use it to pace myself and track my running distance and it is pretty accurate. It uses batteries, whic is a good thing because you can just switch them out if you need to. I have no complaints!

I am training with Team In Training to do a full marathon. This is awesome! It was a bit tricky to get it set up, but I love it! For a beginner it gives me all that I need.

I struggled with getting this unit. I was going back between the Foretrex and the Forerunner. I am not a runner so a few of the features I do not need. The foreunner ends up being cheaper; the software is a bit different. You can switch it to a cycling mode which is perfect for cycling or walking, boating etc. I have found the unit to be light easy to read moving and consistant. I really want to read speed and distance and do some basic waypoint marking. It does this well and with out incident. I like that one screen is a custom one so you get to select three data sets to have there. With a bit of pratice you can get around this unit quickly and see the info you want. I have found it takes it about 5 minutes to get a signal under tree cover. It holds the signal well; I have yet to lose it. It comes with a strap expander which is a must if you want to wear it over clothing or above your wrist. The battery life is just about as they say, 12-15 hours. Being able to change the batteries was a selling point for me...hard to recharge in the bush. All-in-all a good basic unit.

The item does not respond as well as I would expect. It has difficulty to connect with satelites even in a relatively open outdoors, and its response is influenced significantly by overhanging trees. I would not recommend this item.