Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Garmin Forerunner 50 + Footpod January 2, 2009
Mrs. EM Johnson (UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A fantastic product. For less than 40 you can track your runs and use the really simple Training Centre Software to analyse your performance. If you don't need a mapping facility I can't see why you would want to pay 150 more for a GPS version.
Garmin Forerunner 50 + Footpod December 31, 2008
Middlecott (Southampton)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
What a wonderful bit of kit. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Lightweight and straightforward to use. The software is simple to download from Garmin website and the forerunner sync'd perfectly with the ant receiver after my first run. At this price you can't go wrong. 5 stars!
Garmin Forerunner 50 + foot pod November 13, 2008
Mr. G. P. Collett (England)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Hi, Just thought i'd leave a quick review for the Garmin Forerunner 50 inc USB ANT Stick. I bought this item from Amazon along with footpod, heart rate monitor and bike GSC10 speed sensor. As usual Amazon delivery was faultless, all arrived safe ontime and well packed.
The Product, well i have to say the instructions with the watch are not the best, but within an hour i had everything setup for my profile on the watch and using the Garmin Training center software (quick download from there site) on my pc laptop. PC software drivers all loaded first time and very quickly and very simple to understand the Training Center application. Pairing all the sensors was quick and easy and if you pair them all together in one place, then it doesn't matter if you are going out running or Cycling or just going in the gym. I found the sensor near by. It was best to set up the foot pod calibration on a treadmill so it is then correct when you are outside, but if you have a running track or a know distance then you can do it that way. The heart rate monitor does what it say on the pack, just like any other on the market, it just works. The GSC10 bike sensor was easy to install, tidy and with no wire needing to be run along the frame to handle bars very nice setup. I checked it with my previous Cateye speed sensor and was spot on. The GSC10 fits on the rear wheel so is ideal for indoor turbo trainers and works very well, have used it every day for last week.
Once you have trained, save the date on the watch and the min you are within 3 metres of computer with USB ANT stick in, your data is automatically transfered and comes up in the Garmn Training Centre software. The data is very clear and very useful. All the data is stored in like a calendar setup so you could do a 10 mile bike ride today then same ride next week and easily compare your data.
I got the whole set for 130 and think its the best purchase i've made for some time. The watch has everything you could need, the ones higher up the range have GPS built in, from my experence, & friends is that they arn't greeat at holding signal specally in built up areas. Anyway this watch has a lap function so what i do is at points on a run or ride if you do the same route, is push the lap button at the same points, say bottom and top of a big climb, or when you cross a road, then you can easily see this once date is transfered. The watch in comfortable and could happily wear it all day, with a back light and water proof to 30 metres also not bad looking either. The watch can hold up to 100 laps, 7 hours off training data, that easily a marathon or good day out on the bike!!
Hope this helps you make the right purchase, i did!!
fantastic pedometer November 11, 2008
Mr. J. H. Baker (Leeds, England)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Garmin Forerunner 50 + Footpod
This watch is fantastic and I would (and have) recommend(ed) it to all people wanting information on speed, distance and running times. The automatic uplink is brilliant and Garmin Connect is a really interesting training tool which enable you to see your run in a graphical form. I bought this for 38 (its currently 40 on Amazon) and I can't believe how little it costs for such functionality. The watch also looks good and is extremely slimline.
 Brilliant and cost-effective GPS alternative November 10, 2008
Jonathan Collin (Leigh-on-sea, Essex, UK)
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
After having started running regularly about 5 months ago, I decided to upgrade my Timex Ironman sports watch to a proper running watch that could measure pace/speed/distance. Having looked at the Garmin Forerunner range, and the 305 and 405 models in particular, I was put off by the high price and the average reviews.
The Forerunner 50 and footpod package seemed like a great (and far cheaper!) alternative to GPS, especially since I'd only be missing out on the mapping ability (which I don't consider that important anyway). Having tested my watch on a 5 mile run last weekend, I am very impressed. It is very simple to use (provided you can spare 15 mins to read through the manual!), and the ability to set training zones (such as pace) is handy although my first attempt failed abysmally when I set a pace goal of between 8:50 and 9:00 mins per mile and really struggled to keep within this 10 second zone! That is clearly a reflection of bad pace keeping on my part and not on the watch itself!
I should add that this watch does come with the ANT USB stick and the automatic transfer of running data from the watch to the PC is very nifty, although again it does pay to read the manual first to find out how this process works. The only problems I've had with this watch so far are installation issues with the software (if using Vista you will need to set the installer compatibility mode to Windows XP which I discovered by trial and error), and an issue with the auto lap feature stopping before my last lap which I think was just down to me pressing the wrong button.
So all in all, a fantastic alternative to a GPS-enabled running watch and a great way to make running training much easier to manage, although you will need a PC with a internet connection to make the most of this watch.
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