Garmin Forerunner 101 Waterproof Running GPS

I have owned my Forerunner for a year now. I absolutely love the item. First, it is fantastic to know exactly how far I've run, no matter what roads, trails, or bike path I run on. I am no longer confined to my 'measured routes'...I can explore! The Forerunner also gives the current pace. This is probably the second most useful feature it has. While running, I can tell if I have RECENTLY sped up or slowed down. It is much better than the average pace which a sdm will give you. Think about it, if you are on mile 10 and you speed up 30 seconds per mile, your average pace will not be affected immediately. Some of the other features I find less useful but harmless. The mapping feature on the 101 is silly since the map must be displayed on the 2" screen. Its simply too small. The virtual trainer could be useful, but I never use it. Other great features are: if set, it will take your mile splits automatically and if set, the back light will come on at each mile (for those early morning runs). The battery life is great. I am using two normal Duracell batteries and run about 80 miles before changing the batteries. The signal strength is fine. I have run on tree covered paths and on cloudy days with very few problems. I lost the signal once, but it was very thick tree cover. It continued to track my distance but I don't think it was 100% accurate with the weak signal. Other than that I've never lost my signal. This product is simply great and I cannot explain how useful it is. Here is how I use it: I typically start my weekday runs around 5:00am. I leave my front door and walk for a minute or so. I have my signal. I start off on a 6 mile run. I warm up with a pace around 9 min/mi and keep that pace for the first mile. While thinking about my upcoming race my watch beeps and lights up (it is 5:10 am now) and I see that I ran a 9:08 mile. I pick up the pace until I get to an 8 min pace. I realize I ran this same route earlier this week. I decide to turn and run down a new street for some variety. Before I know it my watch beeps, I look down at the lit screen to see that my second mile was 7:58. This goes on for a couple of miles. Around my fourth mile I my mind starts to wander. I look down and notice that I've slowed down during this time. I immediately pick up the pace and decide it is time to find a way home. The way home takes a little longer than I expected, but I get there. I stop my watch to see that I actually ran 6.67 miles and have found another good route. Once inside I can review my data...distance, pace each mile, average pace, fastest pace, the route, and I can compare that to my previous runs! I see I've had another successful run and feel great! I hope my example illustrates the way I use my Forerunner and why I love it.

This thing is an excellent product at a very reasonable price. It is lightweight and has an ingenious strap system so you can wear it on your wrist or even over a jacket (It get's cold here in Oregon). The batteries last a Long Time, just be sure to turn it off when you are done using it. There is no auto-off after a certain amount of time, like my other GPS unit. You get the data you need and more. Pace, altitude, distance, time, lap, and it creates a map of your walk at the same time, so you can use it to back track. The reception is good here and I live (and walk) in a Pacific Northwest forest! When it does lose a signal, it grabs it back quickly. Be sure to set it outside about 5 minutes before you want to walk or run. It takes a while to get the first fix, which can be frustrating if you are waiting. You can use it as a basic GPS, so if you hike in a strange place turn it on, start a new run and it will draw you a map and point you the way back to where you started. Pretty Neat. I have another GPS with much more sophisticated and extensive GPS features, but I find myself using the Forerunner instead most of the time when I am hiking. After getting used to the convenience of the light weight, hands-free Forerunner with it's big easy to read display, the other GPS seems like carrying a brick. Update 3/2009: Even though I wrote this review years ago and technology has greatly advanced - mine finally got lost and I investigated all of the newer options. I was willing to spend more. But I am buying another one of these again. I usually like the newest stuff - but nothing seems to match the combo of size and utility. If the batteries are a concern - get a battery recharger.

That being said, I only give it 4 stars because I kind of miss the ability to link to my computer (I'm an ultra geek). Still, Lion batteries ONLY have a life of 3 years max - don't let anyone tell you otherwise - and 3 years it won't be NEAR it's original life. EVEN IF it were brand new out of the box, Lion chemistry starts to decay the day after it comes off the manufacturing line - do some research on the internet - that's why the whole slew of ipods are all dying right now. Enough said - AAA batteries was the primary reason I bought this. Truth is, I rarely keep gadgets long enough to worry about the batteries, but I like passing them on to family and friends and I'd like them to get something that they can use for a couple of years too... Plus, I like putting in a fresh set of batteries every week and not having to worry if it's fully charged... (I use rechargeable AAA's). All the other reviewers have already covered the basics of the watch. Very easy to use, backlight is amazing at night. History and data compilation are interesting. What I really wanted to convey is that I was on the fence about this for over a month. Was it worth the money? Would I use it enough? Without a doubt - YES! If it broke today I'd buy a new one tomorrow. The best thing about it is freedom. I'm pretty anal - most serious runners are. I stick to the exact same path so I can get statistics, make sure I'm sticking to my pace, make sure I ran the distance I intended, compare my run with previous runs. After a while though, it can get a little boring. All of a sudden, I put this on and I'm free from all that. I can run anywhere, I run spontaneously - but a glance down at my wrist and I know how far I've run, I know I'm keeping pace, EVERYTHING. And that little training buddy is pretty cool too - although I usually just like the raw data screen... I hope in future versions they'll integrate a heart rate monitor. I have one now but can't bring myself to wear two devices at a time... -jr

If your looking for a GPS watch under $100 to just measure distance walked, run, or biked, then this watch will fit the bill. But if your a runner or biker looking for more advanced features like pacing you will probably be better served getting the Forerunner 205 for $50 more. Here is my experience with the Forerunner 101: I run a 5 mile loop along a pedestrian only parkway next to a lake. The distance markers have been measured and verified by a local track club so I know they are accurate. The Forerunner 101 usually hits the markers right on or is within +/- .05 of the marker, and the total distance is also within this variance. The pacing is a different matter. I usually run this 5 mile loop in around 40 mins. for a mile pace of about 8 mins./mile. The watch pacing swings wildly up or down per mile so one minute it says I'm running 10 mins./mile and then a few seconds later 7 mins./mile. During the course of the run it will level off for awhile to what seems a fairly accurate pace reading of about 8 mins./mile, but at some point will fluctuate wildly again. I have also used this watch in a 5K race with the same pacing fluctuations. The GPS acquisition when you first turn on the watch does take awhile, normally 2 - 5 minutes. So you definitely don't want to turn the watch on a few seconds before they fire the gun to start a race. I like the history log that records and stores the times for each run by weeks, this makes it easy to track each run without having to enter the information in a database. The bottom line here is to keep in mind this watch has been around since 2002, so the technology is dated. If your on a tight budget and just want to know your distance traveled this watch should work for you, otherwise put the money towards a newer model.

I have owned a Forerunner for almost a year and have loved it from the first run. I am so enthusiastic about the Forerunner, that I gave both my running adult children (21 y/o daughter, 30 y/o son) one for Christmas this year, and they both love it, as both have used mine during the past year. It is easy to use, and the face is just the right size so that the numbers are easy to read. I love the freedom that it provides, in that,I can run anywhere and have an accurate milage count, while being able to monitor my pace. It's great, after a run, to record my average pace, best pace, and calories burned, in addition to my overall time. Although I have not yet utilized the GPS route track to find my way back to the run starting place, it is good to know that it is available if I ever need it. The other features such as the history, coach,etc. are also great to have. Lastly, the cost of the Forerunner is very reasonable for a GPS, and won't break the budget. I deffinitely give this a "two running shoes up," and recommend it for anyone who runs, or walks.

This device is terrible are dealing with tree cover, even light tree cover. On certain points on my run, I am in wide open places with a single row of trees far off to one side, and this device loses the signal. When the signal is lost or weak, the device is supposed to interpolate straight line distances between the good reads it gets. Yet, it does not manage to do this properly or consistently. I have three main routes I alternate among--a 10K, a 15K, and a 20K. All three distances have been validated by my bicycle computer, which I was very careful to calibrate precisely. After the 10K, this device loses track of about 500 to 1000 meters, although ocassionally, will be relatively accurate, and obviously the inaccuracy gets worse at higher distances. Because the inaccuracy is not consistent I cannot make adjustments to any of its readings, particularly the pace. One particular section of all three runs is a perfectly straight 2500 meters, but with very heavey tree cover. On some days, despite the poor signal, it measures or interpolates the distance perfectly. On others, it is under by 500 or more meters. This device certainly cannot cut it for any kind of structured training. Inaccuracy is one thing, but it is both inaccurate and inconsistent. Once the leaves begin falling, I am looking forward to some superhuman increases in performance according to this device as my missing kilometers show up again. Since I know the distances already, I do well enough just using this as an over-priced stopwatch, but it would be nice if it could do a decent job of showing my pace. Very frustrating. I am well aware of the limitations of GPS devices having worked with tests of GPS tracking devices on trucks. But this device is off the charts terrible. By comparison, I have a GPS receiver for my Nokia N800 tablet computer that can track where I am going in my house, and I have a lot of trees in the yard. I suppose If you live on a glacier or in the desert, or go really, really slowly, this device would be satisfactory.

I just received this item and used it today for the first time. It's very easy to set up and use and is very accurate. I'm training for a Breast Cancer 3-Day 60-mile walk and this is perfect for my outdoor walking. (It will also work well for running, biking, etc.) I used to only walk places if I checked out the distance in my car first. Now I can walk anywhere I want (on or off-road) and I can keep track of my distance (and speed) without mentally adding up the miles. The Forerunner 101 uses 2 AAA batteries but the Forerunner 201 has an internal rechargeable battery (and you can download information to a PC). I chose this one because I wanted the flexibility to be able to just pop in new batteries whenever I need them instead of waiting for a recharge. Also, on my 3-day walk I won't have access to electricity. This is definitely my favorite gadget of all time. I can't believe it is so affordable.

I just got the Garmin forerunner 101 about a week ago. Amazon shipping was golden as usual. item was in new and perfect condition. I rated it high stars for 'ease of use' but then I also rated it very low overall BECAUSE it eats batteries WAY too fast. I put a brand new pair of Duracell alkalines(just bought)and the unit grabbed a gps signal out around my house(clear skies few trees)in about 4 minutes. I only used the GPS for about 20 minutes and then turned it off. It was easy to set up and use and I looked forward to measuring my street luge runs at Mt. Tabor. Mt Tabor has a lot of trees...BUT the road we ride on is fairly open and unobscured by trees. There is clear line of sight to sats. I could not get a signal!!! Clear and sunny day and never could get a signal in the four hours we were riding. I did not have it on all that time...but tried about 7 different times and places to get a sat sig to load and no dice. I was able to get a signal in my car(if window down)last week...but not today. When I got home, where I had no problems before getting a signal, I could not begin to get one there either! As far as I am concerned anything that needs me to be on top of the batteries THIS much is a waste of time and patience. I bought this strictly for luge runs and the first time I needed it; in conditions that it is reviewed to be able to handle...I could not get a signal off of basically brand new batteries! I will try some rechargeable lipos but BE WARNED...if you get this you better carry something like a 'Rambo Battery Belt' if you plan on running it 'long'. I am VERY dissapointed in it for that reason only. This thing is about as useful as your girlfriend when her Mom is visiting. I wish I would have gotten the sirf tech and something with better battery usage. I think that the battery just gets drained so fast as the unit searches so hard for a signal. I like the design and function layout for my purposes...but I sure did not expect such ridiculous battery life with. Summary: with basically brand new batteries the forerunner was 100% USELESS to me today.

Bon produit, très résistant, avec un velcro qui tient et le vrai plus: utilisation de piles rondes type télécommande télé: changement aisé nconvénient: il consomme de la pile Parfait pour sa fonction 'entraîneur' et pour récupérer l'info vitesse, temps, calories etc.. En revanche, la fonction GPS c'est vraiment le strict minimum Mais bon, ça le fait quand même et ce n'est pas sa fonction premiere

Perfekter GPS Empfänger. Macht das wie beschrieben und das auch perfekt! ohne wenn und aber!

This is an amazing product for an amazing price. BUY ONE! I was originally looking for a good heart rate watch. No real reason for the heart rate part, jut thought it might be interesting but after stumbling upon this find and reading all the reviews I thought I'll give it a try. That was the best thing!! My original selling point was to use the personal trainer that comes with this devise, but to this day I have not yet used `him' and still think it's the best thing . . . . . . i have that bit to come! GPS is the way forward - How did I ever live without it? No longer do I need to look on Google or drive round the area to see how far I have/will run nor do I need to take the exact route home. Thanks to this little fella I just go where ever and it tells me how far I ran, my arrearage everything and calories burned. Hell, I even started to do more warm downs now as I know I have covered the goal before arriving home. I'm telling you, this is something we can all befit from. I have also used it for more silly things like clocking the top speeds of some friends and me on our mini motos. What a laugh. So many uses - The distance of a local bike rides we have done and even out of curiosity I took it to the last football match I was playing in to see how many miles we cover (it was 1.8 miles you know ). You can see I have run with this little fella. A review said that it is not very good under trees but I have never experienced this and I leave in a wooded area, so no idea how much coverage it needs to block out the signal? I say don't worrie. Batt life is good. Not yet changed them and it is not as big as it could be. In short - it rocks.

As a keen hill/road runner and walker I've being eyeing up GPS gadgets for a couple of years now. When they first came out they were over £300, but now you can get the basic Garmin Forerunner for under £100. I've been using mine for a few weeks now for offroad running, and I'm suitably impressed. Yes, as most reviews state, it does occasionally lose the satellite signal (in thick woodland), but this happens less often than I expected and not for long. It then plots a point2point line from when it last had a signal, so unless your weaving about under trees, it's still pretty accurate. On a 30 mile trip in the car it only varied by 1% on the cars milometer (which is probably a higher accuracy than the car). The virtual running partner is an excellent training aid as you try an keep ahead of your little LCD figure. Summary: Very impressed, so far, well worth the money. Only regret is that I could have paid a little more for the 201, so I could interface it with PC mapping software.

I use mine on every run, set to record each and every miles pace - I don't think the map features etc are much use but at the end of the run it does tell you accurately how far you went and how fast (or slow) your went. One key thing is that you do need to let it get lock before setting off and it does this better on the ground than it does on your wrist. The navigator mode isn't much to write about but it did get me back to my hotel in one very big and strange city. For the price its well worth it as an extra motivational aid - it will keep you honest about how far and fast you are running with the displays of weekly distance and average pace.