The Garmin Forerunner 405 is one of the latest HRM offerings from Garmin, and is the perfect Christmas gift for the sports enthusiast in your life. It is one of the more expensive heart rate monitor watches from Garmin, but is also packed with features.
Garmin Forerunner 405 features
You can buy the Forerunner 405 with or without the heart rate monitor chest strap. I highly recommend getting the chest strap monitor, since the ability to monitor your heart rate is important if you’re interested in getting the full benefit from your workout. With the HR monitor, the Garmin 405 will measure your time, pace, distance, calories and heart rate continuously during your run. All this information can then be downloaded wirelessly to your computer using the ANT+ USB antenna stick attached to your PC or Mac. Using the Garmin Connect or the Garmin Training Center software, you can map out your jogging or biking route on Google Earth, and then plot any or all of the parameters against your route. You can then visualize how hard your heart is working along your entire route.
Actually, all the above features are present in cheaper models, such as the Garmin 205 and Garmin 305. What then makes the Forerunner 405 stand out and justifies its premium price? In a word, looks. Most GPS-enabled HRMs have that bulky, “computer on the wrist” look. The Garmin 405, by contrast, is sleek and stylish, and is appealing enough to wear to work. This might seem like a minor point, but believe me, the first time you drive to your jogging or biking spot from work and discover that you forgot to pack your HRM that morning, you’ll suddenly realize the value of a HRM that you can actually routinely wear to work. For routine use, it is best to turn off the GPS function to conserve battery life. If you work out on a treadmill in the gym during winter, you can also turn off the GPS function and only use the heart monitor function during your indoors workout. If you have also bought the optional foot pod, you can also record your pace data and distance without the GPS function during your indoors treadmill session.
Of course, one of the main reasons why HRMs do not usually come in a small sleek form factor is that for comfortable use during 
exercise, buttons have to be large, and large buttons do not fit onto a small watch-face. The Forerunner 405 solves this design problem by taking a leaf from the iPod scroll wheel design. The Garmin 405 comes with a touch bezel, which is what Garmin calls the touch-sensitive rim of the watch. You can touch various parts of the rim to access different functions or screens, and you can scroll your finger around the rim to choose various menu options. All in all, converting the entire rim of the watch into essentially a giant scrollable button is an elegant solution to the small watch-face problem, allowing for easy access during a workout, yet not spoiling the aesthetics of the watch.
If you are a biker, I strongly recommend purchasing the optional bike mount, which places the watch smack between your handlebars in a prominent and comfortable viewing position, and allowing you to monitor your real-time speed continuously. The optional GSC 10 pedal speed and cadence sensor is also very useful, allowing you to check your actual pedaling cadence.
In summary, the Garmin 405 is a sleek GPS-enabled heart rate monitor watch that is stylish enough to wear to work, yet powerful enough to do all you would want a HRM to do. If you are thinking of buying a good HRM this Christmas, and price is no object, then you should definitely consider the Garmin 405 GPS receiver HRM watch.