Over the years the accuracy of all GPS devices has improved to the point (within a couple meters) of being almost mind boggling. Fortunately, for all of us, the cost of the technology has steadily decreased, even while the performance and reliability has improved. Only a few years ago the thought of buying a well made GPS device for under $100 would have seemed impossible, yet today, it is a fact. With the reduction in cost, the popularity of these devices has almost literally, exploded.

The GPS evolution has also meant a drastic reduction in the size of the units. This breakthrough may have allowed the popularity to increase even more than the reduction in price. Who would want a device the size of a shoebox mounted on the dash board of a car or strapped to ones arm? Clearly, a GPS watch would never have become practical without the reduction in size. I still have a “handheld marine unit” from the early 1990’s that makes me laugh at the size, whenever I see it, which admittedly, isn’t often. Thankfully those days are long gone.
GPS tracking devices, receive signals from orbiting satellites to determine the user’s latitude and longitude usually within a couple meters. This makes its simple to track your current location, speed, direction of travel, distance to go, exact time and many other functions. For the serious running/walking enthusiasts using a GPS watch a heart rate monitor adds the ability to tailor the exercise to personal targets and monitor them along the way.
The biggest challenge may be the decision of which GPS tracking watch is best for you, that’s where we will help.

Features;

Unit size – similar to a conventional digital watch

GPS Unit – Separate from watch

Battery life – up to 2 years

Battery type – AA for GPS unit

Water resistant – to 50 meters except GPS unit is splash resistant

Heart rate monitor – Yes

Lap memory – 100

Waypoint – 100

Routes – 50

Warranty – 1 year

As with the previous Timex GPS Watch we reviewed this one also uses a separate unit for the GPS receiver. This receiver will ordinarily be strapped to the arm or waist when in use. The GPS receiver itself is only “splash resistant” which we think is a poor design feature for an outdoor fitness product. It would be much better if it were designed to be water resistant to 2 or 3 meters, or more.

The Timex GPS watch did obtain a signal reasonably quickly but the manual does recommend remaining stationary until a signal is obtained. The receiver did a good job with maintaining the signal when the receiver was worn on the arm. Tree cover was a factor once it became moderately dense but in most cases performance was acceptable.

Accuracy was measured against a known distance and the results were almost identical. We also tested the speed and distance readout with other GPS devices and found the accuracy to be good. Given the intended use the unit is more than accurate enough.

The heart rate monitor also performed well and would be a valuable feature for a GPS training watch. In fact, given the low price we cannot make any good argument for not having the heart rate monitor. Most fitness enthusiasts will definently want to have the ability to monitor thier heart rate when using a GPS watch.

Being the big brother to the Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS watch it might be helpful to read our product review for that model. The two models share basic features, size and functionality with the Garmin Forerunner 305 including the heart rate monitor. An optional feature available with the 305 is a cycling cadence counter but we did not test that option. It should be mentioned that the heart monitor and cycling sensors will work indoors since they do not rely on the GPS signal to function. So if you also work out using stationary equiptment these features will be useful.

For those interested in peak training we think a GPS  watch must have the heart rate monitor. It works well and when training on varying terrain there is simply no way to gauge heart rate without a monitor. In use the heart rate monitor readings do not “bounce around” to much but instead they remain reasonably steady. This allows a quick glance at the screen less often and with more confidence in the accuracy of the reading at any given time.

Since GPS accuracy is important to most users we paid attention to that while running and also double checked the readings with several other GPS devices. To satisfy our curiosity we brought the Forerunner 305 watch along for a highway road trip and verified its accuracy using the highway mile markers. In all tests we found the accuracy to be excellent and cannot imagine the need for greater accuracy, given the presence of a strong signal.

Notable Features; 

Unit Size – Comparable to conventiona l watch 

GPS receiver – Separate from watch.

Battery Life – up to 2 years/watch 

Battery Type – 1AA for GPS unit 

Water resistant – Yes to  50meters for the watch, gps unit splash resistent 

Heart rate monitor – Yes 

Lap memory – Yes, 100 laps 

Waypoint memory – Yes, 10 

Routes feature – Yes, 50 max 

Warranty – One year 

Timex approaches the GPS Tracking Watch concept by separating the GPS unit from the wristwatch. There seems to be pros and cons for the split unit approach and the decision will likely be a personal one. One obvious advantage is the watch size is kept small enough to be an everyday watch. When the GPS is needed it is strap mounted to the arm or waist. The watch itself is water resistant to a depth of 50 meters while the GPS unit is only splash resistant. For an electronic device used outdoors in various forms of athletics this seems a poor choice to us, better water resistance would be preferable. 

Battery life for the watch itself is a strong point and should last up to 2 years. The GPS tracking watches which integrate the watch/GPS in one unit need frequent charging and have shorter operational intervals. The GPS unit operates on a AA battery which will require periodic replacement and are small enough that one could carry a spare while out for a run or hike. There is no charger provided for recharging the GPS units batteries but one could purchase an aftermarket charger for recharging the AA battteries.

In operation the unit performed well with no issues. Obtaining satellites took a minute or two and accuracy was very good. We found the accuracy to be better when strap mounted to the upper arm rather than at the waist. The upper arm location likely enjoys a better view of the sky and satellites and so one might expect better performance when used that way. The GPS signal did not suffer much when running through moderate tree cover as might be typical in a park like setting. 

The heart rate monitor performed well providing a steady read out and target feature would prove valuable for one looking to get top conditioning in a minimal amount of time. 

We think the Timex performs well and would be satisfying to most people based on performance and price. When selecting GPS tracking watches take the time to consider whether you want an integrated unit or separate GPS/watch components as described here.