Monday, June 15, 2009

Garmin 305 Sale at Costco


For you out there that have not yet decided to get a Garmin 305, here is one more push for you.

Now through July 5th, Costco is having a sale on the Garmin Forerunner 305. The price is $149.99 and that includes shipping and handling to your house.

It’s a pretty sweet deal…. Which leads me to my next problem…

We know that the new 310xt is coming out. Unfortunately it won’t be coming out in time for CDA, which seriously sucks because it last for 20 hours and that way I could have one watch with me the entire race.

But because it is not going to be here I am going to need two Garmin 305’s. One for the swim/bike and one for the run. It just so happens that I used to have two 305’s. One for me and one for the Mrs. unfortunately, ‘Used’ is the optimal word here. Mine died on the road while I was going through a particular bumpy section of the Solvang Century.

Since then, I have been using the Mrs. Garmin and it’s been going great. However, soon enough she is gonna need it back so she can get on with her exercise plans. That leads me to either get a 305 or wait and get the 310.

My question is: Do I buy the 305 or wait and buy the 310?

Here are a few points to think about:

  • JT has already offered his 305 up for the race, so I have a backup plan there.
  • The 310 is freaking expensive! I know that it’ll go down after a few months.
  • Once the 310 comes out the 305 will suddenly be cheaper, but Costco’s sale puts it at a pretty low price already. If I look at the old Garmin (301), it is still selling for about a $140-150, so it’s a reasonable price.
  • I miss having my own watch. I am constantly afraid of damaging the Mrs. watch, if I break that one, then I have to get TWO watches!
  • I could always go watchless! (Sacrilegious, I know!!)

7 comments:

SWTrigal said...

Dude-buy the 310!!!

IronWaddler said...

Tough----but buy the 310. No regrets. Also as a celebration AFTER you finish IMCDA.

ShirleyPerly said...

I'm not very reliant on devices and would be more afraid of using something new that I've not trained with much before. But if you feel the 310 is something that will really help you with your race then perhaps it's worth getting. After all, Father's Day is coming up.

RBR said...

As long as you have 2 305s to use for CdA then wait for the 310.

Dude, without a watch? I don't even know who you are when you say stuff like that?

I am debating on the 310 myself, except the specs say "time your swim" which leads me to believe you can not get distance (or reliable distance) on your swim although I don't understand why not.

Of course, that said, I will buy one when they come out because I am numbers, tech-geek whore.

Stef0115 said...

I have no idea which device to get, although I'm not the one that needs to have the latest and greatest of everything so personally I would probably go for the 305 if it's good and reliable.

I would NOT use anything new on race day. That would stress me out!

Dave said...

I have a 405, so I have the same issue. I think I'm going with the Garmin on the bike so I can keep an eye on my HR, and then will switch to a plain ol' watch on the run.

Donald said...

I've never liked using GPS during a race, so I'd opt to go with just a wristwatch. I'd keep it simple - use an odometer on your bike and mile markers on the run. And you shouldn't be looking at your watch during the swim anyway.

Just my simplistic two cents.