Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS Watch

Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS Watch

Average Customer Review
 (346 customer reviews)

See Lowest Price on the Forerunner 201 GPS Watch

Product Description

Combining powerful performance-tracking features with a GPS receiver, the Garmin Forerunner 201 offers runners and hikers a unique way to track their exercise regimens and goals. Unlike its main competitor, Timex's BodyLink sport monitoring system, the Forerunner 201 integrates the GPS receiver into a single body (BodyLink has separate housings for watch and GPS). 

At first, the device felt a little bulky on my wrist, both in weight and in size (it measures 3.26 by 1.71 by 0.69 inches). But it really is light enough (less than 3 ounces) that it felt comfortable and transparent. I did, however, position the band a bit higher up my arm to ensure full mobility of my wrist, as the length of the Forerunner tended to get in its way.

The large display--with equally large, easy-to-read characters--helps you avoid having to squint at the readout. Just a quick glance at your numbers and you'll maintain your training concentration. The six rubber buttons on the front of the chassis are easy to access (unless you're wearing bulky gloves). I easily got the promised 13 hours out of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery. At the end of the day, I'd just recharge it for around two hours and it would be ready for me the next morning.

While this is definitely a workable GPS receiver, the Forerunner is slim on overall GPS features--which is not to its detriment (think of it as a performance monitor with a dash of GPS). That said, the Forerunner was able to pick up a GPS signal just about wherever I went outside (though it had very slight hiccups in the center of downtown).

The Forerunner 201 has a variety of helpful tracking, monitoring, and navigational features. The History function enables you to view your workout statistics broken down by individual days, cumulative weeks, or your entire workout history (if you track different workouts during the same day, they'll be broken out as different laps). You can even view a map of your route. And much like other GPS units, you can save waypoints (called "locations" in Forerunner parlance) to mark the coordinates of a place you want to return to later.

Most interesting is the Virtual Partner mode, which enables you to set goals for a workout which will then be completed by a digital character displayed on the Forerunner's screen. You can then see how far off the time, pace, or distance you are of your virtual training buddy's; your digital character even stops when you do (though the buddy keeps on going). I found that, unless you've got a good idea as to your pace or distance, you'll have a couple of trial-and-error training sessions to get in sync with your buddy. I cut short my first attempt after my buddy got so far ahead of me that he disappeared off the screen (which I'd like to believe was not due to my woeful pace).

I was disappointed at not having the LogBook software, which enables you to keep a journal of your exercise activities (it was not available at the time of this test). But overall, the Forerunner 201 is a very useful exercise-monitoring system that will be prized by anyone involved in serious physical training. --Agen G.N. Schmitz

See Lowest Price on the Forerunner 201 GPS Watch

-See what customers are saying:

"A Pleasant Surprise!"
By, D. Barrack "RunningHappy" (Atlanta, GA) 

"I received my Garmin as a birthday present and the only gadget I love more is my iPod mini. The Garmin seemed a little bulky at first by the velcro strap makes it easy to adjust and after 2 long runs of 6 miles each I found the size to be fine. It's great having the pace and actual miles while running and the large display is nice to have. I looked at the Nike system about a year ago and returned 2 units that basically fell apart. I was also looking at the Timex unit with the HRM and, even as a gadget person, was wary of having 3 pieces to keep track of. The Garmin is all in one, does was what does very well, and when my run is over I wear a normal watch. I can't say enough about how cool it is to be able to add extra routes to a run on the fly and know the distance and pace. Garmin has taken on Timex and Nike and WON!"

"Great for walking and hiking, too!"
By, Justin Moore (San Antonio, TX USA)     

"Wow! I think I said that word probably 20 times during my first hike with my new Forerunner 201. For those of you that do not run, this nifty unit works absolutely fine for walking or blazing down the trail at your local park. It is lightweight and the wrist strap is easy to fasten to your arm. The host of features and the customization available will ensure that you're seeing the data that interests you most. This device will make you want to exercise and improve your health because it records details of each walk and enables you to track your progress. Initial signal capture takes awhile so be patient. On our recent hike, the unit never lost a signal and did an impressive job of charting our progress along the trail. There's also a safety aspect to having the ability to "go back" to the start of your walk/hike or to any designated waypoint you've created. I highly recommend this innovative product!!"

"Must-have equipment for serious runners!"
By, D. Stanford - See all my reviews

"I hate running gadgets. I've never liked wearing watches, pedometers, heart-rate monitors. Even the Forerunner 201 didn't interest me until I ran with a friend who had one.

I ordered the 201 not expecting much, but was completely blown away once I started using the thing. Once up and running (more on that below), the GPS has been extremely accurate so far. Not only that, it has dramatically increased my awareness of my running and training.

Specifically, this unit makes it extremely easy to not only tell how far you've run, but also your pace and split times. The ability to (easily) program it to lap at certain points (for me it's every mile) allows me to analyze my pace over the course of my runs (which average about 10 miles daily). With the help of free 3rd party software easily found on the net, I'm not only able to analyze my splits, but to also download the Forerunner data and view it in 3D and color coded to look at my speed while climbing hills, etc. Some of the free software also does a 3D fly-by of your run.

The Garmin software that comes with the unit is also useful, if not a bit limited compared with the ample free software available online. Still, the Garmin Logbook is a great FREE tool that gives you quick access to your run data.

I have only a few pices of advice for folks considering buying the Forerunner 201. First, when you first turn it on, you need to be outside and be PATIENT. It might take 30+ minutes the first time for it to lock on the satellites. After that, it's much faster--don't worry. Next, if you're concerned about whether it's comfortable (based on the odd shape), I was too, but I've found that it is not a problem at all. It's very lightweight and the unit actually sits very naturally on your wrist/arm. Finally, just do a Google search for "forerunner software" once you get the unit. You'll find some good stuff available."

See Lowest Price on the Forerunner 201 GPS Watch