New Toy for Christmas

Wifey was good to me this Christmas. She got me a Garmin Edge 500. I did a little research recently on runner's GPS units. Requirements were simple: not a lot of bells and whistles I didn't need, long battery run-time and barometric altimeter. Out of Garmin's line, only one runner model partially met these requirements. It was the Forerunner 910, and it costs $400. The 910 has way more features than I need, and it appears to be a dedicated watch band style only.

I really liked the simplified feature set of the Garmin Edge 500, but it is designed as a bicycle computer for mounting on a bicycle. The 500 sells for about $250.  Then I found this blog post showing that the 500 can be wrist band mounted. I ordered the wrist band accessory on Amazon.com.  Mounted this way, the 500 is a tad larger than the 910, but I can also use it on the bike with a power meter someday too.

I'll primarily use the 500 for running and XC skiing. I have been using my Edge 705 with a modified iPod arm band around my bicep for running and skiing. It is much bulkier, and arm mounting causes more interference with motion that wrist mounting. The 500 with wrist band weights a fraction of the 705 with arm band too.

I took the new Edge 500 for a short run this morning through some trails behind my alma mater. Unlike running with my 705, I couldn't even tell the 500 was there. Charging and download work the same as my 705. Receiver sensitivity seems quite good. My 705 will still serve its role in navigation with I travel or try local experimental routes.

4.5mi loop with bit of trail thrown in