Navman R300 Sport Tool for Running

User Review: - If you get a well-made unit, it's alright.
These things aren't inexpensive, especially for a college student, but I run a lot and wanted something to help chart my progress. The first thing I noticed was the poor reception. It takes about 5-6 minutes of clear skies to sync with your local satellites, but that isn't as much of a hassle as it might seem. Just turn on the unit when you leave the house, do your stretches outside, and it should be ready by the time you are.
The other issue is that it loses the signal often; if you live in an area with tall buildings, mountains, wooded areas, telephone poles, or flocks of geese flying overhead, you can expect to hear the "Sync Lost" beep at least a few times whenever you go out. This isn't a huge issue unless you're running around the block in an urban area as the device is smart enough to "connect the dots" between where you were when it lost the signal and where you are when it regains the signal. If you're running in more or less a straight line the results will come out within 10% of true distance. If you're the type of person who cares whether you've gone 8 miles in the last hour or 9, invest in a map.

Despite the signal issues, I would have given the unit 3 or even 4 stars. You can account for the syncing time by stretching outside, and you can adjust for the distance errors by adding 5-10% at the end of your run. The reason it gets two stars is that my LCD display started failing after about a month and less than 100 miles. It was still usable for another month or so (in that I could figure "Ok this is either a 6 or an 8, and I know I ran more than 6...), and then the display failed completely and the device became a GPS paperweight.

I realize this is almost certainly a QC issue and you aren't likely to get a bum unit like I did, so it gets 2 stars instead of 1. It's useless to me, though.

---

User Review: - Good but poor documentation
We been using this GPS unit to measure our horse rides. The display is a bit difficult to read while riding. The documentation clarifies very little and is not in depth at all. Scrolling through the various modes can be tedious. It does keep track of avg speed and max speed. We've yet to figure out how to easily start a new lap.

They could do a lot more to make the interface and documentation more user friendly.

---

User Review: - Absolutely wonderful
Folks, if there's anybody out there thinking of getting fit, breathing in some good air and maybe lose a pound or two, one of the best ways is to get out on your 2 pins. The problem i've always had is a little lack of motivation. With this gadget, everything changes. Knowing down to the exact yard what kind of progress you're making does wonders for your motivation.....you'll even be getting those training shoes on when it's minus 2 and snowing a blizzard! I can't recommend this device enough, go out and get one.

---

User Review: - Neat but Flawed
FOR - Lightweight, attractive to look at and without the numerous unnecessary functions that many gadgets come with.
AGAINST - miscalculates urban times and distances due to loss of GPS signal
-screen difficult to read
-controls awkward when worn
-Navman do not reply to requests for advice/information not included in the manual

---

User Review: - Just what I was looking for!
I wanted a GPS system that was not a watch (I already have one I love) and this was the perfect device! On a recent vacation to the west coast, I was able to run along the beaches and not worry about time and/or distance. Picks up the satellites without any problems so far. I'm very pleased!