Review: Garmin Forerunner 220

A couple of months ago, I set out on a bike ride and my faithful Garmin ForeRunner 305 would not wake up. I was deeply saddened because I had formed an almost emotional connection to the watch, especially as when I purchased it back in 2009 when I decided to start running, I bought it from someone who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and could never run again.

“Run hard with it!” they told me.
And I did. The strap was worn and the watch had been around the world, connecting to satellites in North Dakota, Arizona, Paris, Amsterdam and London. It had biked long roads, ran trails and navigated me out of places I thought I was hopelessly lost in.

This was A Good Watch.
And although nothing could replace the giant computer I regularly strapped onto my wrist, I needed a watch stat. So I went into my favourite local running shop where I buy everything and asked Tiffany to hook me up with a new watch.
I ended up walking out with a Garmin ForeRunner 220 in Grape.

The basis of my comparison will be between the Garmin ForeRunner 305 and the Garmin Forerunner 220, which is comparing a high-range and mid-range watch (price wise).

A couple of key things that stuck out to me immediately that I love about the watch and are big upgrades.

Upgrades

• The weight – this little lady is a lot lighter than her successor. I forget that it is on my wrist.
• The style – A less obnoxious design, I can forget to take it off and not look ridiculous while grocery shopping. In fact, I have gotten compliments on the watch.
• The charger– The Garmin 220 does not sit in a holder, but is strapped in which keeps it locked in tightly and I don’t need to worry about it not sitting just so to get the charge like before.
• The satellite connection – There is no need to stand and wait with your hand outstretched to the skies with this one. I found that I just need to strap it on and can start running immediately. There was only one run where I lost a satellite connection and that was in the middle of nowhere on a trail in Port Elgin.
•  Auto lap – It tracks every KM or mile (whatever your preference is) and beeps when you hit it. A really great way to track where you are in a race if you are not watching your watch.
• Auto pause – For those times where I get too chatty at practice, it automatically pauses for me. No need to madly scramble for the pause button at the end of intervals.
• Internal Accelerometer – This allows me to track my runs on the treadmill if I ever chose to do so.

Using the watch –

I found the watch very intuitive and easy to use. The “Go” button was purple and was exactly where it is found in other Garmin models. In fact, I found it to be easier to use than my Garmin Forerunner 305.

A neat new feature is that it has Bluetooth to sync workouts directly to your phone as well as to provide live tracking during races and events to friends and family. It is also completely water proof if you forget to take it off for a refreshing swim.

The only downside I found to the watch was that it was not compatible with a bike. But as soon as I dropped the $400 for a new watch, my old one sprung to life. But now I can have a watch for running and one for cycling – that’s practical, right?

For the sake of transparency, I have not partnered with Garmin for this post, nor did I receive the product from them. I bought the watch because Garmin satellite technology is some of the best in the market and I have always been happy with their watches.

Want to read more on the watch? Check out the best source on the internets for running tech. (No seriously, even Garmin tells their reps to refer to it.)

What watch do you run in?