# Garmin 705 vs 800



## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

Has anyone used both of these? I've seen a good closeout deal on the 705 and was thinking of getting that instead of the 800. The 800 doesn't seem to have too many new features up from the 705. Any comments on battery life?

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/compare.do?cID=141&compareProduct=69043&compareProduct=10885


----------



## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

deviousalex said:


> Has anyone used both of these? I've seen a good closeout deal on the 705 and was thinking of getting that instead of the 800. The 800 doesn't seem to have too many new features up from the 705. Any comments on battery life?
> 
> https://buy.garmin.com/shop/compare.do?cID=141&compareProduct=69043&compareProduct=10885


I don't have an 800 yet but I do own a 305 and 705. I can usually get about 10-11 continuous hours on my 705. But I have only done one ride that took over 10 hours to complete. For most of the time the battery life of a 705 is more than sufficient for anything yuo can throw at it. As far as features there is a screen or two that the 705 lacks that is included in the 800 but it does support all the major functions including power, heart rate, cadence, ANT+. I have used my 705 all season with a Powertap as well as my HR strap and paired with three cadence sensors without so much as a hiccup.

Does that mean I don't want an 800? Well no, I have one on order as we speak, more for the form factor as well as ease of use, although I think the touch screen would be harder to use with full finger gloves on, that I typically wear in the winter months.


----------



## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

Why do you have three cadence sensors?


----------



## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

Any new firmware features or enhancements would be on the 800, and not the end-of-life 705.

May or may not be relevant for you, but something to consider.


----------



## 2Slo4U (Feb 12, 2005)

deviousalex said:


> Has anyone used both of these? I've seen a good closeout deal on the 705 and was thinking of getting that instead of the 800. The 800 doesn't seem to have too many new features up from the 705. Any comments on battery life?
> 
> https://buy.garmin.com/shop/compare.do?cID=141&compareProduct=69043&compareProduct=10885



Please share the good closeout deal on the 705. I'm in the market....


----------



## WheresWaldo (Nov 29, 2005)

deviousalex said:


> Why do you have three cadence sensors?


One Garmin, three bikes.


----------



## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

tom_h said:


> Any new firmware features or enhancements would be on the 800, and not the end-of-life 705.
> 
> May or may not be relevant for you, but something to consider.


Meh. The 705 at least is tested and bugs by and large sorted out. The 800 is in Public Beta, as Garmin doesn't like to admit.


----------



## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

I have the 705... I love it. However my friend got the 505 this past summer and it's perfect for what I want. I never use the mapping now so having just the data would be perfect for training and racing.


----------



## PissedOffCil (Jan 3, 2008)

There are differences in features between the 705 & 800. Among those, these are worthy of mention :

- The 800's virtual partner can give time ahead/behind, not only distance as on the 705 (Could be fixed in firmware in the future)
- The 800's advanced workouts include net types of duration (go until power over or under value X). This cannot be added to the 705 because of the TCX file format
- The 800's advanced workouts have the "Reapeat until" feature. This allows to do repeats until you can't hit a given threshold anymore (HR, power, distance, time). This cannot be added to the 705 because of the TCX file format
- 800 can display the last lap avg power I think (705 is current lap only) (Could be fixed in firmware in the future)
- 705 supports 3 sports & 1 user profile per sport, 800 is cycling only. (Could be fixed in firmware in the future)

BTW, GTC doesn't handle the new features in the advanced workouts or user profile (MAC support only I think). Only my plugin does (see signature)


----------



## lalonauta (Mar 24, 2008)

Blatant self ad. I have an Edge 705 with a bunch of goodies on the classifieds right now: 

http://classifieds.roadbikereview.com/showproduct.php?product=23169


----------



## hikertoo (Jul 7, 2010)

Ordered my 800 for $319 after all the holiday deals applied, why would I even think about getting a 705 if I have neither and making my first purchase?


----------



## seanpaley (Mar 30, 2009)

*Where did you get $319*

Hikertoo, do you mind sharing where/how you got $319 for the 800?


----------



## hikertoo (Jul 7, 2010)

*Performance Bike*



seanpaley said:


> Hikertoo, do you mind sharing where/how you got $319 for the 800?


20% off coupon
$20 off black friday coupon
$20 off "bill me later" first purchase

and PB give 10% of price on in store credit


----------



## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

Anyone know the lowest price on the 800 now?


----------



## DesnaePhoto (Jun 11, 2009)

OP -- what did you decide to do? 

if you got the 800, which pack did you get?


----------



## Dictatorsaurus (Sep 4, 2010)

Is the 800 more user friendly than the 705?

Is the navigation and display better on the 800 than the 705?


----------



## DesnaePhoto (Jun 11, 2009)

I ended up getting the 800. A 20% discount brought the price down to the 'gotta have it' level.


----------



## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

I use a 705, and it has few bugs despite having been out for years. The most recent software update released a couple of months ago, 3.3, smoothed over few but introduced a few serious new ones. I'm back to 3.1. (3.2 was a dismal failure and pulled by Garmin). The 800 has a serious infestation and there are issues with the mount, the screen readability in daylight, screen fragility, etc..

I highly recommend you check out the official Garmin user's forums. They are loaded with relevant info (positive and negative). Join and post your question there. 

https://forums.garmin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20


----------



## chuckice (Aug 25, 2004)

Is it true that the 800 cannot disable auto route re-calculation? If so that's a big negative. Also, the reports of screen cracks on the 800 is not a good sign for longevity. My 705 has taken a pretty good beating.


----------



## frdfandc (Nov 27, 2007)

Considering the 800 is touch screen, I am not surprised it is more fragile than the 705.


----------



## ms6073 (Jul 7, 2005)

chuckice said:


> Is it true that the 800 cannot disable auto route re-calculation? If so that's a big negative.


No, that is not true.


----------



## chuckice (Aug 25, 2004)

ms6073 said:


> No, that is not true.


Ah, looks like they added in the 2.1 update.


----------

