Garmin Forerunner 301 GPS Personal Training Device

Other products by Garmin

Product Details

Supplementary Guide [361kb PDF]

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Product Manual [912kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 3 x 9 x 6 inches ; 2.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Note: Gift-wrapping is not available for this item.
• ASIN: B00077U4RU
• Item model number: 010-00375-00
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (251 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,466 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 4, 2007

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description The Garmin Forerunner 301 is the next exciting addition to the Forerunner lineup. Take your workouts to the next level with all the great GPS features found in the Forerunner 201, plus the added capability of a continuous heart rate monitor. Knowing your heart rate while exercising lets you measure your exercise intensity and performance, giving you a powerful training tool. The Forerunner 301 training profiles can be customized for running, cycling, and other sports. For those interested in losing weight, improving fitness, reaching peak athletic performance, or just improving health to reduce heart-related problems, the Forerunner 301 delivers.

The Forerunner 301 offers a wide variety of training features that can help you train at any level you choose.

Included Training Center software allows you to store and analyze data using interactive graphs. View larger.

The easy-to-use, two-piece system consists of the wrist unit and a digital heart rate transmitter that you wear around your chest. The transmitter is coded that so there is no interference from other heart rate monitor users nearby. The 301 unit continuously monitors heart rate, speed, distance, pace, and calories burned. A heart rate zone chart, included with the manual, helps you target specific heart rate zones for optimal training. The unit's built-in alerts help you maintain those heart rate zones. For those who don't want to fuss with the charts, there's an AutoLearn feature that allows the unit to learn your maximum heart rate and set zones accordingly. Pace, time, distance, interval workout, and advanced custom workout alerts are also included. Meanwhile, the AutoPause feature pauses and resumes the training timer based on a specified speed. Finally, the AutoLap feature records lap data when you reach a specified distance. Don't worry about running out of room for your lap data; the unit boasts a 5,000-lap memory.

Like the Forerunner 201, the 301 also doubles as a basic navigator. You can mark your starting point as a specific location, see your current position on the plotter display, and follow an electronic breadcrumb trail back to your starting point. The built-in GPS receiver provides highly accurate data, and there's no calibration required. Just turn it on and go.

The unit's USB data port means that connecting the unit to your computer is easier than ever. The USB connection offers fast and reliable data transmission to any USB-equipped PC. And because analyzing workout data is an important tool in reaching one's fitness goals, the 301 comes with Garmin Training Center software, which allows you to download workout data to your PC for detailed analysis. View data for each workout, including your heart rate, time, distance, speed, path traveled, and altitude. You can also track data for multiple sports and multiple users, and you can overlay workout data onto a map. The unit is compatible with MotionBased and TrainingPeaks, which are popular third-party training software packages.

With up to 14 hours of battery life, the 301's rechargeable lithium-ion battery is designed for extended use. It's also rugged and waterproof for up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. The unit ships with a 1-year warranty.

Get heart rate and other vital data at a glance.

Customize your workouts with programmable intervals.

Set up exercise profiles for different types of sports.

A built in Virtual partner runs alongside you, graphically displaying your goal pace/speed.

What's in the Box
The Forerunner 301 wrist unit, the digital coded heart rate monitor, the Training Center CD-ROM, an expandable wristband, an A/C charger, a PC/USB interface cable, an owner's manual, and a quick start guide.

Product Description

Get results in a heartbeat with the Forerunner 301. This training partner continuously monitors your heart rate, speed, distance, pace and calories burned so you can train smarter, more effectively. The Forerunner 301 combines the popular features of the Forerunner 201 with a proven heart rate monitor and Garmin Training Center software to create a highly integrated personal training system.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

214 of 219 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you take your running seriously?, March 10, 2005

By	Albie McGhee (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I have recently purchased a Forerunner 301 after having used a Sports Instruments heart rate monitor for about a year. The heart rate monitor was excellent, and certainly usefull in the gym - rather than wait a certain length of time between sets, wait until your HR is below 120bpm. It allows you to pace yourself much more.
When it comes to running, it is difficult to measure your performance (time, heart rate, and distance) over the days and weeks. A heart rate monitor is good, but when training you need to push yourself and will always have a high heart rate.

The forerunner is a completely different animal. So different, that there really isn't any fair comparison at all.
With this puppy on your arm you can build a workout (they are quite simple but effective) on your pc, slap it on the forerunner, and off you go. Great running feedback, and excellent info when transferred to the pc. Everything is easy to do - not quite WinXP wizard easy, but simple none the less.

If you live in a large city, forrested areas, or anywhere with sky obstructions, then it may give your trouble with reception. I have had a gps for years, and with my wifi experience I knew that reliable reception was going to be an issue. However, for me I found the reception excellent. Great in fact! In my lounge I can still get a lock with 4 good strength sattelites! If I stop it reacts within 1 second, and another second it knows I have stopped (due to the 1 second display update speed). Much better gps calculations than my garmin gps12.

If you are gagety inclined, and ARE taking (not just wanting or planning to) your running or biking seriously then without a doubt, this is the machine for you.

It isn't too big, but big enough to read. Locks on in less than 1 minute in my small back yard, and has stellar reaction time. Perhaps even just keeping track of your exercise history is worth it for you? Or the in running feedback? Or the calorie (much more realistic than anythng else I have seen) info?

I am very happy with my buy. I paid $230 for it. Worth every last buck. From my experience I have no trouble recommending the Forerunner 301 to any one who is taking their running seriously!!

90 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not reliable enough for the price, December 28, 2005

By	E. Taylor (Placerville, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have had my Garmin Forerunner 301 for about nine months. During that time I have seen it has some good points but it fails significantly in several ways.

I'll start with the Garmin 301's best point(s): It is an excellent GPS device for a runner. I have done several organized races on certified courses which proved the Garmin GPS is an excellent distance gauge. Your stride length can vary greatly with no affect. I have not seen anyone run with a Polar foot pod and get nearly as precise measurements as I get from the Garmin. I just ran the California International Marathon with the Garmin. At the finish, it said 26.2 miles. Compare that to the Polar with foot pod my brother was wearing that said almost 28 miles. The only time I have found Garmin's GPS questionable has been on winding trail runs under trees.

Coupled with its ability to measure distance is the Garmin's setting for automatically tagging and storing mile splits. I love this function. Often times after a really long run, it's difficult to remember how you felt over certain areas of the course. This function means you don't have to remember anything. It's there.

I also like that it will tell me elevation, and even the steepness of the grade I am running up. This is especially nice if you are a trail runner. However, I don't like that it won't tally the total elevation change like a Polar will.

The speed and pace measurements displayed while in motion are a valuable gauge. I know of no device that does it better for a runner. But the accuracy can vary widely depending upon your overhead view. Clear sky generates an accurate reading. Throw a tree or a building in the mix and forget it. I have accepted this for what it is, a relative gauge that requires me to factor in my own judgment.

If you are a really serious athlete, you might want something that will run a little longer from a single charge. It isn't waterproof and it crashes periodically with no way to reset until the battery actually dies completely.

The heart rate feature, the one thing that supposedly makes this device worth $100 more than the Garmin 201, is actually its least reliable feature!! They owe me a hundred bucks! The unreliability of the heart rate monitor on this device should be so embarrassing to Garmin, it warrants a recall. Search the web. It's horrible. I routinely see readings over 220BPM. There is less than a 50/50 chance it will even READ my heart rate through an entire workout. Between the CONSTANT spikes and signal drops, there is no such thing as really knowing your average heart rate. I have given up on the heart rate function. It's a negative distraction from my training. As a result, I would not buy another Garmin 301. I would not recommend one to my friend. I would even go out of my way to dissuade a casual acquaintance from buying one if I found out they were considering it!

Customer service: I sent an eight-year old monitor back to Polar with a dead battery. For the cost of shipping they sent me a whole new monitor. I sent an email to Garmin telling them I thought their product had some strong points but could benefit from a few improvements. I offered specific suggestions about the software and offered to provide any additional necessary feedback. Garmin didn't even send an automated reply.

With all these factors in mind, I bought my wife a Polar heart rate monitor and a Garmin 101 for Christmas. Together, they cost less than I spent on my Garmin 301, and the combination will provide the same information far more reliably.

107 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great GPS, marginal heart rate monitor, April 10, 2005

By	Trail Runner (Pocatello, ID USA) - See all my reviews

The idea is amazing; combine a compact GPS unit with a multi-functional heartrate/exercise monitor. I have owned one for one month. Overall, the unit is light, easy to operate, and easy to download to my pc. Using the unit on trail runs, I find the GPS functions give consistently reproducible data. The pc download gives accurate distance, elevation, and pace. The heartrate monitor, on the other hand is very unreliable, often blanking out or giving unrealistic heartrate. My recommendation is to get the Forerunner 301 if you want a compact GPS. If you are looking for a heartrate monitor to structure your workouts, look at something far superior like the Polar S610i. Also, the Garmin pc training program, for all its bells and whistles, does not compare to Polar's software.