Garmin Forerunner 50 Water Resistant Running GPS With Heart Rate Monitor and Foot Pod

by Garmin

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 1.6 x 2.3 x 0.8 inches ; 14.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000UVZ5TA
• Item model number: Forerunner 50
• Batteries: 1 Lithium Metal batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,530 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

GARMIN Forerunner 50 w/ HRM/Foot Pod/USB ANT Stick. Garmin International is pleased to announce the new Forerunner 50 sports watch with automatic sync. The Forerunner 50 is an affordable, streamlined sports watch that incorporates ANT plus Sport wireless technology. Its available with wireless heart rate or speed and distance /tracked by a foot pod, or with both. You can even use this versatile sports watch for cycling, when paired with an optional speed/cadence sensor, or for multi sport workouts. Once you have logged the miles, Garmins innovative ANT wireless technology automatically transfers workouts to your computer when your device is within range /approx. 30 ft. No cables, no hookups. The datas just there, ready for you to analyze, categorize and share through our new online community, Garmin Connect.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great hardware, Garmin Connect still developing, August 12, 2008

By 

T. DeLorey (Lynchburg VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Garmin Forerunner 50 Water Resistant Running GPS With Heart Rate Monitor and Foot Pod (Sports)

I did a lot of research before purchasing and was down to the 305, 405, and 50. I really wanted a GPS watch, but the price of the Forerunner 50 with footpod and HR monitor couldn't be beat. I also liked the smaller watch and the fact that it didn't need to be charged.

After owning it a week:
I really like the watch. I don't typically wear them, but it is very comfortable. It is only slightly larger than a typical watch and has a fine adjustment on the band. I'm wearing it all the time.

The hardware is impressive. The foot pod and HR monitor worked very well right out of the box, and were comfortable to wear. They "paired" right away and were ready to go when I was ready to run. The ANT installation went as advertised on windows vista, and the upload works automatically for Garmin Training Center, but not Garmin Connect.

Possible improvements:
For the watch itself, the number of "views" while in training mode can be confusing. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it with use or reading manual, but it is clearly more than I'm used to.

Installation: The process seemed to drive you toward choosing either Garmin Training Center (software on your computer) or Garmin Connect (web sofware), but not both. I didn't know the pro/con of either, so I wanted to try both. It was awkward when it wanted me to install ANT drivers again for the installation of the second one. I canceled the installation at that point - but found that Training Center was installed.

Software: It is really not clear to me if Garmin Training Center is still being developed. They seem to be improving Garmin Connect (web) regularly, but at its current state, it doesn't have any benefit over Training Center. (remember - I'm not seeing the GPS/maps, so maybe there is distinction there). So after a week, I still find myself bouncing back and forth. There are a few bugs in Garmin Connect and a few notable features that I would really like to see (that is available in other web training software).

Results:
I'm very happy with the HR monitor and cadence results. They seem spot on and reliable. I'm still working on the distance and pace. I did a test 3 mile run on a measured course and found that it recorded 3.1 miles. I messed up a calibration run by hitting the wrong button, so I'll be trying that again (a subsequent 8 mile run was recorded as a 9 mile run... argghh). I've found that the instantaneous pace is not accurate, but hope it will improve with calibration. Garmin Connect is also doing something weird with the average pace calculation... but I think that is a bug that will be fixed.

Overall I'm very happy with the purchase, but hope they continue to improve the software. Currently, that is the weakest link. If they don't, there may be other sites that accept forerunner uploaded data to fill the gap.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nifty, March 28, 2008

By 

Ed (Wyomissing, Pa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garmin Forerunner 50 Water Resistant Running GPS With Heart Rate Monitor and Foot Pod (Sports)

It works pretty much as described. I used it on the treadmill today just to test out its accuracy, and it recorded a 3 mile run as being 3.2 miles. I'm thinking the treadmill must be the more accurate of the two, but I could be wrong. At any rate, you can calibrate the device so it's not a big deal. The heart rate monitor agreed with the monitor on the treadmill, and the end calorie calculation was within 2 calories of what the treadmill reported.

The sync feature is pretty cool, but the software feels a little "old". It's good, but it looks and feels like it was written in 1995. Getting the 405 would probably make the software a little more useful because with the GPS you can view your route on a map and it tracks not only distance but elevation.

Overall I'd say it's fun to use and that it's helping my workouts.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Garmin, July 16, 2008

By 

A. Johnson "always tinkering" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Garmin Forerunner 50 Water Resistant Running GPS With Heart Rate Monitor and Foot Pod (Sports)

Very good product. The things I like best about this product are:
1. You don't have to charge the watch, like some other models
2. It isn't bulky, like some other models
3. The foot pod is great for measuring speed, cadence, and distance

The only cons I have are that the telemetry strap is not compatible with cardio machines in a gym that have heart rate monitors built into them (so you always have to bring the watch with you), and the software for viewing your comleted workouts is pretty bare bones. I am willing to bet that Garmin will roll out software upgrades in the future though.