This looks like a fun toy.

https://www.garmin.com/products/forerunner101/

I have a friend who uses one of these. Anybody else? CJBruin, this is SO up your alley! C'mon, tell me you've got one! I like the concept of strapping it on and going wherever, and then having it tell you how far, how fast, etc. you went. I never know that stuff, but I wish I did... I always have good intentions to clock it in the car/on the bike, but I never do. How do you guys track your mileage and speed?

Wow...I'm not sure what I've typed that makes you think I have one of these...but...yes, I have the 201. Quite frankly, it's awesome!!! It totally gives you the freedom you mention. I used to run laps around the lake...or ride routes on my bike just so I would know how far I went. The ForeRunner allows you to go whereever you want. A lot of times my dog (Fletch) wants to run across the grass or in big zig-zags...no problem now. It has so many cool features...you can set lap distances at any distance you want so you can analyze that segment individually..."Ooh, I ran the 2nd to last quarte-mile faster than I ran the first one...you can program it to ignore your movement if you are moving slower than a set speed (so you can walk around at traffic lights and not have it count in your time & distance). There's a ton of cool stuff with it...I guess I must just be a geek or something...I didn't know it was that obvious.

Get the 201...it has a rechargable battery and a couple of other cool features. I heard that the HRM on the 301 still needs a bit of work.

cant go without it on the bike, i have a garmin legend it works great for biking running is different, i also use it for cross country sking and put it in a mesh pocket on a backpack it is harder to hold on to during the run, where the forerunner would work great with the armband(one of those is next on my list) also good for hiking, depending on the software you can make maps of where you have been, some show elevation gain plus other features,
i use the gps for tracking speed, avg, speed miles time, many useful features well worth it

I've got the 301 and love it. No problems with HRM, what problems with it have you heard, cjbruin?

Real-time pace info on the run has been most enlightening - my pace has been more variable than I thought it was.

I was just looking at the 201 today, it looks to be a pretty sweet invesment for the $111 that it can be found for.

CJBruin - I've secretly been doing recon on you... Nah, I just remember a post a while back when you were making fun of yourself for all your hi-tech equipment (HRM, MP3 player, etc.) so I figured you just might have one of these in your arsenal. I'm the daughter of a techno-geek and also married to one - I know the signs!

Oh yeah, I recall making that post. I'm sure I look pretty funny when I go out for runs when I'm all "kitted-up". I usually have the GPS on my left wrist, HRM on my right, fuel belt (actually an amphipod) around my waist with my iPod in the pocket of the belt. Don't forget the Headsweats cap and the speed laces. I'm just a total gear horse. The funny thing is...I think they are all great products. My wife bought me the Garmin for Christmas so I can't be blamed for everything...although I imagine that I did drop about 3,000 hints during the month of December.

Chris...The Gear Review section of Triathlon Magazine or Inside Triathlon (I think it came out in Jan or Feb) did a write up on the 301 and said that the HRM functions weren't quite there yet. Glad to hear that you haven't had any problems.

Here's a link about the 301 that might be helpful: https://trigearreview.com/forms/Article.aspx?REVID=199

My wife and I have the Nike Triax Elite. It shows run pace, HR and a bunch of other very helpful indicators. Overall, I am very happy with the purchase (even though it's kind of pricey at $400). The value of knowing pace, distance and HR is hard to overestimate. Unlike the Garmin, the Triax doesn't use GPS. It uses a foot pod so it is only helpful on the run (of course, the HRM can be used when swimming and biking). For that reason alone, I would probably go with a GPS system.

My biggest complaint about the Triax is the service. All repairs have to go to Parsec Enterprises--these people are the worst company I have ever had to deal with. If you ever need a repair, count on it taking at least a month and being charged even if it is under warranty. I don't know if Parsec services products for Garmin. If they do, you may want to think twice.

For some reason, that link doesn't work for me but I did a search for "301" on trigearreview.com and came up with the same URL...In a nut shell it suggests that the HRM problems happen only when you are biking (perhaps the unit was too far away) but the reviewer didn't have any problems with it while running.

I have used the fitsense product (accelerometer), the garmin forerunner 201 (gps), and now polar's s625x system (accelerometer).

I used the first 2 products for 2-3 years. The garmin was my favorite for most runs, because I didn't have to calibrate it, it stored workouts and it was rechargeable. However, when traveling, running in big cities or under tree cover, or in races I used the fitsense. Fitsense saves only one complete workout before download, and then it has summaries, but it didn't drop me. When the garmin dropped me in races, I found myself in trouble (no electronic input, oh no!) I also used fitsense for speed workouts, because it changed pace readouts with my pace changes faster than the garmin. I did, however, use garmin in triathlons, because I could turn it on and leave it in transition, and pick it up on the run, put it on easily with velcro, and go. The fitsense turned itself off. I'm writing about garmin 201, I don't know how the 301 might be different.

Both toys died this year. I got the polar system, b/c I was tired of multiple watches, and wanted to see hr and pace on the same graph. I use pc coach (have used 5 other programs, like this one) with my polar (610 previously) and use those printouts for my coach, so I wanted something to download into that.

I've used the new system for less than a month. It doesn't change as fast as fitsense for my speed workouts, but does faster than garmin. I'm having a devil of a time getting what I want to see at the right time on the display (hard to replace 2 displays with one and still get the same info) In a tri, it is nice to not have to put another watch on, but I have to turn the footpod on in T2, and I have to change input devices on the watch. That may get easier with time. I have calibrated once, and expect it to hold better than the fitsense, and I don't have to worry about trees or buildings. The jury is still out. I'm looking for the perfect toy.

Who you callin' a gearhead?!?

the garmin legend does go out under heavy tree cover, not sure about the 201 or 301
the legend is great, a few problems i have had and had to send in my garmin to be fixed, i had good service with no problems
gps is good

I have the 201 and can't run without it now...

RT

I don't use GPS but I do use Polar's 625x. For me, great for tracking runs and rides (sensors on 2 bikes). I also use it in spin class.

We have lots of trees where I live and I can't always get decent reception with my handheld Garmin that I use for my boat so I went with the Polar RS200sd. I use a Polar CS200cad for my bike and the RS has all the running features of the 625 but is alot less expensive and you can wear it around as a watch if you want. However if you want to download your files neither the CS or the RS works worth a crat. I keep my log manually and on coolrunning.com so this doesn't really bother me but it would be nice. I've heard the Garmin is pretty good on downloads too.

The speed and distance functions of the RS work pretty well when you get it set up properly which is not that hard. The Garmin has a 10% errror factor and I'd guess the RS is close there. I have some problem with seeing all three lines of the the display 'cause I run with contacts which make me farsighted but the RS has a feature where you can change the display by simply moving the watch to the heart rate pick up. You can also set it to light the watch up if you are running. That helps and is a feature I do not think the 625 has.