Review on Renewed Garmin Forerunner 230 - Black/White: Top-Notch Performance at an Unbeatable Price! by Jim Bethea

UPDATES - I've given up bluetooth and only use USB and Garmin Express. I have GLONASS enabled which is draining the battery so I still have to plug it in. I'm fine without Bluetooth, but if you're expecting notifications and weather on your wrist, the 230 will disappoint. Also, I bought a 1st generation Garmin heart rate monitor and it works perfectly. I don't need constant heart rate monitoring, and the hard strap is $30 cheaper than the soft. Nevertheless 4 star rating. AB There was never any doubt that my first running watch would be a Garmin. However, I debated for several months what that should be. In the end, the most important thing for me was the timing of my runs. With GPS and GLONASS, the 230/235 series gave me that. When deciding stood up, heart rate monitor or not? As I looked at my training, I realized that pace and perceived effort were the factors that mattered most to me. I run enough races that I can use a pace calculator like McMillan or Matt Fitzgerald's 80/20 Running to figure out my training zones and VO2max without the help of a heart rate monitor. Plus, the thought of my wrist constantly flashing an optical reader seemed unnecessary and potentially annoying. In a month I'll be ready to give this thing 4/5 stars. Others may give him praise, let me tell you a little about the star I've been holding back: Bluetooth syncing with my iPhone required a hard reset of both devices. I had to scour the web to find this solution after a week or two of frustrating disconnected apps. It shouldn't be that hard to get a fully functional stopwatch app that doesn't dim or return to the main watch face after a brief timeout. The dials are also disappointing. Zones should allow you to set pace and heart rate. And you don't have to be locked into Garmin's five zones. The phone should not turn off automatically when out of Bluetooth range. If the weather and notifications fail to update, they should not be replaced with an error message. Garmin Connect and Express must be merged. Or I can use it without connecting to Garmin Express. I bought this watch refurbished and am otherwise glad I have it.