Five years ago this news would have had me rushing to the expo, never mind collecting my race number, I would want to get my hands on the latest piece of ‘essential’ training equipment – but my excitement at the news of the latest member to the Forerunner family is rather subdued after my experience with the Forerunner 405.

My first experience of Gamin came with the Forerunner 301 and I quickly became obsessed with it. Downloading and analysing all my training and races, sharing my training routes with club mates and also using it when travelling to record where I had been exploring. I think that a clear indication of how much I loved and relied on my Forerunner was when I lost my watch during a weekend away and in spite of being a poor student, I ordered a new one with two days of exhausting all search options.

Fast forward to January 2008 and the news came out that of the launch of the Forerunner 405. Instead of the bulk and size of its predecessor, the 405 looked like a watch, so could be worn all the time without weird looks form colleagues at work and if you don’t have to take it off after running I have less chance of losing it. But for me I had to get it for the ‘HotFix satellite prediction, which means it locks onto satellites quickly so you can be out the door and on with your run in no time. It also has a high-sensitivity GPS receiver to stay locked onto satellites, even near tall buildings or under tree cover.’ As I was living in New York at the time I often lost signal running around Central Park with my 301 so was eager to get hold of the new 405. With delay after delay the 405 was finally release in May 2008 and after playing with it in a few stores I decided to part with my $349 plus tax. It was the worst $349 I have ever spent.

I don’t know where to start with my hatred of this gadget. I don’t think I have ever hated any piece of equipment so much and far from being a method of relaxation my runs with my forerunner 405 leave me frustrated and more wound up than before I left the house. The Forerunner is so unreliable that I wear both my 301 and 405 when training or racing with the 405 purely to record my heart rate.

To summarise the differences I’ll describe my experiences with both. The 305 is charged by plugging into a standard USB cable into the watch which can be attached to your computer or plugged into the wall. The screen tells you when the battery charging process is complete and you can unplug it and leave it in your training bag. One month later when you go back to the watch if you haven’t used it then you will still have 13 hours of battery life. Also if it says you have 2hours charge left then you know you actually do have 2 hours. If you get to work and remember you need to charge your 305 or are away from home for a weekend then you can use any standard USB cable to recharge it. When you go to use it if you are in a new area then it can take a while for the signal to pick up but never more than 10 minutes. The screen is large and the most important feature being the large chunky buttons that can be activated when wearing gloves, in the rain, with sticky gel covered fingers and without accidentally pressing adjacent buttons. Its major flaw is that in built up areas you can lose signal but this flaw is more than acceptable when added to the ease at programming the watch with a virtual partner and audio training alerts for distance or pace. Laps are easily recorded by pressing the large lap button with the large red stop button easy to see, no matter how hard the rain may be blowing into your eyes. Finally to download the data to your computer you simply plug it into your computer using the USB.

The Forerunner 405 requires a provided clip to charge the battery. Again this can be plugged into a wall plug or computer, but if you find you need to charge it up away from your home (believe me that is a lot of the time) and if you haven’t carried around your charger with you then you are stuck. The other aspect is you can’t just plug it into the wall to start the charging you have to press a button to activate the charging process. Sounds like a simple process but it is frustrating when you go to use the watch at a race and realise it never charged overnight. The other annoying aspect is that if you are charging you and you have a power cut or a light bulb blows you presume that when the power comes back on it will restart charging but it doesn’t. Many times I have returned to my watch after a day of charging to find it has a blank screen. Don’t assume that because you have had it charged for 16 hours that it will be fully charged when you go to use it. Often I unplug it with 100% charge to step out the door and be greeted with the low battery notification and a blank screen before I have reached the end of the road.

A further issue with the battery is how quickly it gets used up trying to find the GPS signal. 30 minutes before a race starts I switch on my 301 and try to get my 405 to pick up a signal. By the time the race starts my 405 will still be searching but helpfully telling me the accuracy of the satellites (so much for the Hotfix satellite prediction). For all this effort I find that my battery life is now 87% fine I think 100% is 8 hours so I must still have around 7 hours left, plenty of time to finish the race. But whilst the 301 picked up the signal within 5 minutes at the start line the 405 waits a further 2 miles before I get any data from it. Things then work well scrolling through my predetermined screens of heart rate, pace, virtual partner, distance.  As I approach the next mile marker I try to press the lap button, and again, and again, in the end I give up it’s not too important I can read it off my 301 or I can distract myself with some maths as I run to calculate my pace. 6 miles in everything else is fine. I have locked the bezel so I can’t accidentally catch it with my clothing, a fellow competitor or passing motorist but my screen starts randomly scrolling not with pace/heart rate/time but with the accuracy of the GPS satellite and battery life and compass directions. Great I don’t know how fast I am running but I do know that I have 10% battery life left. 10%?? How did I use 77% of my battery in less than 1 hour. Before I can check the screen again the battery life warning appears on the screen and the bleeping begins.

‘What’s that telling you?’ asks a fellow competitor ‘are we going too fast?’.

‘No, my battery is low’ I reply

‘Ah, forgot to charge it did you?’

Getting back home I want to download the little data my 405 recorded but unlike the 301 the 405 needs a handy ant stick for wireless transfer. That ant stick that you have to remove when carrying your laptop and fell down behind the drawer or you left plugged in your work computer.

One of my major issues with Garmin is that they know that the Forerunner 405 is flawed and have done nothing to rectify the problem with their customers. I am on 405 watch number three. I cannot fault the friendliness of the customer service people at Garmin. After getting to my uncharged watch again as I set out for a 22 mile run I ring up the customer service line ready to rant at them yet the clear English speaking operator is so understanding I can’t shout at them anymore. Although really I should. Every time they ask me if I have the most up to date software, I say it was down loaded last week, they say there was a new update yesterday I should try that to see if it solves the problem. I hang up happy then a week later conclude it isn’t any better. Occasionally the operator tells me what I am experiencing is a known problem and will send me a replacement. The first one was a brand new 405, the second one exactly a year ago was a refurbished model. Refurbished so well that on its first wear the strap fell off and I had to rush to the London marathon expo to get a new strap fitted before the next days race.

As I said Garmin know there are many faults with the 405 that they quickly released the 410. Comparing the specifications they are identical although the improvements to the Forerunner 410 include:

• Added device shutdown feature to the System menu
• Added banner that notifies customer when the device will be entering low power mode
• Added enhanced touch bezel

There is also the option of two additional wrist straps which allow a more comfortable fit for us thin wristed females. I am not the only person who has experienced problems with the 405 as many online forum users have discussed although the 410 appears to still have issues in the wet. I wish Garmin had offered replacement upgrades to those of us who have the flawed Forerunner 405. I would love to train with the Forerunner 610 with its new touch screen and new functions such as the Training Effect which measures the impact of an activity on your aerobic fitness, but I don’t have the money to risk on a product which may have as many problems as the 405 did when its new bezel was launched. My loyalty to Garmin disappears further with every frustrating run I attempt with my Forerunner 405 and with new GPS watches coming on to the market such the Nike+ sportwatch with GPS provided by TomTom at half the price of £179. Maybe it is time for a change.

Everyday we’ll suggest original stocking fillers for the active person in your life.

Today technical essentials for the modern athlete.

In the past we were quite happy to go for a run or a cycle, time ourselves with a stop watch and guesstimate how far we travelled using a road atlas and a ruler. We entertained ourselves on route by admiring the scenery or chatting to our club mates and we were motivated by self satisfaction of our achievement when we got home.

But now going for a simple run or bike ride has got technical. So here are some technical ‘essentials’ for the modern recreational athlete – All perfect gift ideas whatever your budget.

First of all we now need music for entertainment and motivation. Personally I prefer to listen to music at the tempo I’m aiming to run at, whilst others like to listen to music with a running in the title such as Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. If you can’t decide on your own running playlists then there are enough readymade playlists and podcasts to buy and download from  or iTrain.com giving you motivation whatever the sport.

Next we need the mp3 player. iPods have become the staple accessories for the recreational athlete. You first begin with an iPodto listen to music. Then you think you can’t run without the Nike Plusattachment to measure your pace and how far you have travelled, with the added excitement of Paula Radcliffe congratulating you at the end that was your longest ever run.

But why just measure how far you have cycled or ran, why not map it? Subscriptions to online services such as MapMyRun.com allow you to map your route, measure the elevation, record your training in a log, suggest alternative routes from fellow athletes in your area, and calculate the calories burnt.

Then we have the iTouchwith all the great sporting apps. Measure the distance to the hole in golf, download a free weight program for the gym, monitor your calorie consumption, and use the GPS in the iPhone to go geocaching or use the adidas MiCoach app to record your training run.

Whilst it is not really an essential, I would love to have this piece of sporting technological kit by Oregon Scientific: The world’s first HD All Terrain Action Camera with G Sensor and GPS. The New ATC9K HD  is described as being specifically designed for extreme sports enthusiasts and professionals who want to capture every high action moment, on the slopes, on the waves or on the road.

Not only does the camera capture 1080p professional quality high definition video and takes photos of 5MP, its built-in G-sensor can also measure the force of gravity during acceleration, deceleration and hang time. This makes it perfect for extreme sports enthusiasts, sport trainers, professional sportsmen and those who wish to record and review every detail of their performance. Additionally it’s the only action camera water proof to 20m without external casing making it ideal for scuba divers, the self-contain design is also shock resistant.

A built in LCD screen and laser pointer help you line up the camera , with the LCD screen also allowing you to play back the videos where ever you are. The camera also comes with a full set of mounting accessories that enables users to mount it on any handles, bars, and helmets and use it for a wide variety of extreme activities. Simply mount it onto anything such as you bike, car, helmet or attach it arm, strap or sleeve. Recording straight onto a Micro SD (up to 32GB) the all in one design is the ATC9K is you perfect companion, hands free, shock resistant, water proof tough enough to follow you into the most extreme conditions.

As a special offer to celebrate the beginning of the Ski Season Oregon Scientific are offering a free GPS unit worth £50 with every ATC9K.

I love linking my Garmin Forerunnerdata from my running races to Google Earth and so my favourite part of this bundle is that it comes complete with a unique GPS plug-in that enables you to map your location, speed and distance travelled using Google Maps or Google Earth. While watching the video clip playback on a computer, you will also see your corresponding location, acceleration and altitude on Google Map. Keep track of each trail and race with this useful tool designed for trainers and sports lovers.

The ATC9K including free GPS unit is available for £249.99

Of course the essential piece of equipment to make use of these programs and gadgets is a computer.

If you already have a home computer chances are it’s already overworked with school projects and research, or filled with holiday photos. If you have a laptop for work, your IT department probably won’t allow you to download so many non-work related programs and software. So you may have to invest in your own laptop or notebook and there are lots offers available this Christmas before the VAT increases.

So there you go. My Christmas wish list technical gift suggestions, all essential, I think you would agree, for the modern recreational athlete.

Everyday we’ll suggest original stocking fillers for the active person in your life.

Today Gifts For a First Time Marathon Runner.

Looking through the searches made on Strenua’s World there are a lot of people wanting inspiration for presents for a first time marathon runner. If your recipient is an experienced runner who is just moving up from half marathon to the full then they probably have their own favourite products to wear or use. But if they are new to long distance running and for example have won a place in the London Marathon ballot or a Golden Bond place for a charity then here are some suggestions of what they will be grateful to receive this Christmas.

Training Plan and Motivation

If they are completely new to training, needs some motivation, or help with nutrition and injuries, then I found a subscription to a running magazine useful when I first ran a marathon. An additional benefit for subscribing to Runner’s World is that you can have access to their detailed on line training schedules for whatever time you plan to finish your first marathon in from under 3 hours to just get round. Giving you ideas to vary  your training to keep motivated whilst pushing you but allowing you to recover as necessary.

Currently it costs only £30 for a one year subscription to Runner’s World.

Safety

Chances are that over the next few months a lot of their running will be done in the dark so make sure they can be seen.

Time To Run Men’s High Vis Reflective Running Gilet Bib £10.99 this Reflective Gilet offers superior protection for nightime running. Manufactured from lightweight polyester, the Gilet offers protection from light wind and rain as well as being highly reflective. For additional comfort, the garment also features a half mesh back for added breathability.

Time To Run High Visibility Reflective Running Bib Vest £4.99 this lightweight high visibility breathable yellow mesh vest has three distinctive colours of reflective tape which combine when moving to increase visibility. One convenient size with adjustable velcro to allow ease of adjustment.

Reflective Arm Bands- From £1.49 these wrap around reflective strips store flat then click in place round your arm or ankle.

Hilly Lady Hi-Viz Reflect Jacket From £24.99 this High visibility jacket has a fluorescent yellow body with reflective trim for superb night-time and low light conditions and visibility; Zipped pockets; air vents and a drawstring waist.

Adidas Run Safety Running Light- £8.95 A great accessory for late night and poor light runs! Make sure others can see you. Light Weight you hardly feel you are wearing it and doesn’t drag down your arm.

Food Hamper

Whilst some people may be looking forward to loosing weight from their marathon training, it is actually important that you fuel yourself correctly before, during, and after training or racing. Why not make a hamper of runner friendly products.

Find out who is the drinks sponsor for the race they are competing in (in the case of  the London marathon it’s Lucozade Sport Body Fuel ) and help them get used to the energy drinks that will be provided on the race day. I for example used prefer to train with the citrus flavour which is fine until the big race and all that is available on the course is the orange flavour.  After 4 bottles it became too sweet and sickly to drink but knowing that will be the only energy drink available I’ve learnt to train with and tolerate it  on long runs.

The marathon runner also needs to consume protein after long runs to repair their muscles so sports Protein Recovery Powder, bars and drinks are also useful.

But the food doesn’t have to be boring sports products and most can be found on  a quick trip to the supermarket. Before training you want to load up on easily digestible carbs and my favourites are McVities Jaffa Cakes . At 45 calories a cake, they contain only 1gram of fat, but 70g carbohydrates per 100g.

Normally Bassetts Jelly Babies are a high calorie treat, but for runners they are source of instant fuel at 20 calories from each little baby and they contain real fruit juice so they even nutritionally good for you, although not suitable for vegetarians.  Buy them a large box and they can take a handful with them for sustenance on their 13mile plus runs.

Finally post race you want something high in protein such as a 9bar with almost 9g protein per bar. 9bars are widely available across the UK and are stocked by health food stores, Holland and Barrett, Tesco and other major supermarkets.

First Aid

Hopefully not something they will need to use but it is inevitable over the next few months they will need some of this kit. Injuries always feel worse after an expensive trip to Boots to help your recovery, so why not make a gift pack of these injury preventing products, and add a packet of ibuprofen too.

Bodyglide Anti-Chafe Stick £11.29, chaffing, nipple rub and blisters, prevent them all with this easy to use stick. Vaseline is messy to apply and ruins your clothes but like a solid deodorant stick this is water resistant and contains aloe vera and vitamin E.

I always have a supply of Compeed Blister Plasters. Whether it is when wearing in a new pair of shoes, blister prevention during a long race or for recovery after a blister has appeared. These plasters work like a second skin. Prevents and treats blisters providing instant relief from pain and pressure. Ideal for heels and arches.

Deep Heat Spray and also Deep Freeze Cold Spray are convenient ways to provide fast and effective warming relief from muscular pain and stiffness, rheumatic pain, sprains, sciatica, lumbago and fibrositis.

Pampering Treats

Of course if you are looking for a traditional Christmas gift that the runner in your life will appreciate then treat their feet. They will be running over 500 miles before London so how about a Foot Massager to give them an invigorating massage to ease muscle stiffness and tension. This one from HoMedics Deluxe Shiatsu Foot Massager (Model FM-TS9-GB) currently has £20 off at Boots, get it now for £39.99.

Let them Pamper their feet with this unique collection of Royal Jelly products in a Royal Jelly & Pure Honey Pedicure Gift Set from Marks and Spencer. These indulgent formulations combine royal jelly and acacia honey for beautifully soft and smooth skin. Includes foot scrub, wash, and cream.

<<<Personalised Kit<<<More Christmas Gift Ideas>>>Adrenalin Fuelled Experience Days>>>

Everyday we’ll suggest original stocking fillers for the active person in your life.

Today Personalised Kit.

You don’t have to an elite athlete with a multi-million pound sponsorship deal to have personalised sports kit. If you want to personalise your clothes and equipment you no longer have to stop at football shirts with your name on the back.  We have previously shown how you can choose you own colour scheme and design your own shoes, clothing and accessories with NikeID, personalised lasered name tag from RoadID, or customise your own Gaiam yoga mat with CafePress. But there are loads of other products you can get personalised and if you hurry this week and place your orders, you will look organised and efficient rather than obviously giving a gift you grabbed on Christmas eve.

It doesn’t have to stop at your name or that of your sporting hero, it could be the name of the sports club you play for or support. Your kids name on your boots for sentimental reasons or your kids name on their shoes for identification. Commemorate a big sporting achievement or inspiration for a future one. Whatever you want there are lots of companies offering personalisation on a range of items.

Lovell Rugby Boots

Lovell Rugby is offering FREE rugby boot personalisation on all rugby boots ordered. This service normally has a cost of £15.99

Simply browse the Lovell Rugby Online Rugby Boot Store, click the ‘personalise’ button next to your preferred size and tell how you would like your boots personalised.  The rugby boot personalisation will be added to the order COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE!

Lovell Soccer Boots

Lovell Soccer is offering FREE Football Boot personalisation on all boots ordered between the 1st and the 14th of December. The football boots personalisation service (normally worth £15.99) gives you the chance to have the professional look, just like your idols. The personalisation service enhances the look of your football boots making them easily identifiable to you and your team mates.

Nike

Not only has Nike Store has the widest range of products you can find both online and offline, with NIKEiD you get  the unique chance to customise you shoes, clothing and accessories, choosing colours and materials and putting your own iD on them. Basketball, running, football and everyday shoes in styles for both men and women. You can also customise Shoulder Bags, Backpacks and Duffel Bags with your team colours.

Nike’s FREE DELIVERY promotion with the code JUSTDOIT is still live but ends on the 21st December 2010.

CafePress

CafePress allows you to personalise a range of products from T shirts to hoodies, tote bags to yoga mats. For sporty types how about buying a Personalised Water bottle available from £7.50

Help your recipient be more eco-friendly with a personalised water bottle. Choose from 1,000s of images or upload your own photos or team logos to customise either stainless steel 1L or 0.6L Sigg bottles or 24oz plastic water bottles.

TOFFS

TOFFS are the largest manufacturer and retailer of authentic retro football shirts. Their range covers the period from 1885 to the early 1990′s and includes shirts from teams from all over the world. TOFFS can now add names and numbers to all shirts in their range. £5 for one number and £7.50 for two. They can also add a name of your choice up to 12 characters for £5.

AND FINALLY….

Not quite an item of sporting equipment, but athletes always need to refuel so how about some personalised chocolates

Thorntons

Personalised Thorntons Chocolate Boxes

Upload a photo, create your own chocolate box AND choose your own chocolates.

Price from £12 for one layer to £22 for 3 layers and 36 chocolates.

Thorntons are offering free Milk Collection chocolates worth £5 when you spend £10 or more, excluding delivery, in one transaction at Thorntons.co.uk . Add the box (code 6540) to your basket along with offer code AE24 at the basket page. Offer available until 17th December.

Thorntons are also offering 3 for 2 on selected products.

Also visit Thornton’s Winter Wonderland. Play Sling the Squirrel to get 10% off your on-line order, click on the advent calendar for a daily promotional offer and code, or enter the competition to win an ‘I Love Chocolate Hamper’.

<<<Luxury Chocolates<<<More Christmas Gift Ideas>>>Gifts for a First Time Marathon Runner>>>

Everyday we’ll suggest original stocking fillers for the active person in your life.

Today Secret Santa and Stocking Fillers £10 and under

Waterbouy £9.99

Essential for anyone who enjoys playing by the water.  Attach the Waterbuoy to your keys and within seconds of hitting the water, environmentally friendly gas will automatically inflate the reinforced rubber balloon to save your keys from being lost in the gloomy depths. You don’t have to stop at keys either – clip the Waterbuoy to any item weighing up to 1kg and it will happily float on the water for 24 hours. There is also a blinking LED light in just the right place to make your floating gizmo visible from up to 250m away. This makes the Waterbuoy the world’s first and only miniature floatation device that’s visible at night.

Cuddly Microwavable £8.39

Choose from a range of lavender filled microwavable toys in the shapes of animals from pigs to ladybirds, penguins to bunnies. These toys are great not only for this generally keeping warm in this cold weather but also for warming up after training outside or for relieving aching muscles.

Breo Roam Watch £7.99

The Breo ‘Roam’ watch is made with a material called Tourmaline. Tourmaline is a naturally occurring mineral widely used as a semi-precious gemstone responsible for many beneficial health effects including: increased concentration, natural detoxification of the body, improved sleep, relaxation and meditation and improved vitality and mood.

Aside from these ‘benefits’ the award winning watch is an ideal watch for sports enthusiasts or holidays when you want a basic watch water resistant to 10m. Comfortable to wear, it weighs 10g, a strap width of 5mm and made of soft touch rubber. It comes in three sizes and a variety of colours.

Nike Running Arm Wallet £9.99

The Nike Running Arm Wallet/Phone Case is designed with an expandable phone and valuables pocket which provides superbly secure and convenient storage, on-the-run.

The adjustable, stretch fit lightweight neoprene band wraps comfortably around the arm and secures with a hook-and-loop closure.

Engineered from 35% polyester, 28% neoprene, 25% nylon, 7% eva and 5% rubber.

Knog Frog Strove LED Rear Light £8.99

Knog Frog lamps go round handlebars, saddle posts, frames, wherever, with no need for an awkward fitting. Water-resistant, flexible silicone body, integrated clipping feature, quick-release mounting. Comes in 12 hot colours. Visible up to 600 metres.

Burn Time: 80 hrs (flashing), 50 hrs (steady)
Weight: 19 grams (including batteries)
LED Specs: Hi Powered surface mounted LED strobe system with lens.

Nathan Race Number Belt £9.49

Pins through your vest are a thing of the past. Now, you can use this instead to hold that number whilst in a race. No longer have to hunt for pins on race day or worse finding rusty ones at the bottom of your bag. This one size fits all belt has night-time visibility up to 1200 feet with a 2″ wide reflective strip on front and back.

Personalised Water bottle £7.50

Help your recipient be more eco-friendly with a personalised water bottle. Choose from 1,000s of images or upload your own photos or team logos to customise either stainless steel 1L or 0.6L Sigg bottles or 24oz plastic water bottles.

<<<Waterproof Action Cameras<<<More Christmas Gift Ideas>>>Luxury Chocolates>>>

Everyday we’ll suggest original stocking fillers for the active person in your life.

Today Waterproof Action Cameras

Today’s suggestion isn’t a product I own or have reviewed but rather something I want (Hint to Santa). Cameras are getting smaller and cheaper so I have been looking for another camera that is particuarly happy getting wet and knocked about whist filming adventurous activities. I have found two such cameras at different ends of the price bracket, but both with great promotional offers this Christmas.

5MP Underwater Digital Camera

If you are not looking for a special underwater camera for scuba diving but just want one for pool parties, the beach, messing about on boats or even just enjoying the snowy wet weather then the Speedo Aquashot digital underwater camera at £100 is a good budget option.

It has a 4x digital zoom held in a highly resistant and waterproof casing allowing you to take any image in water in depths of up to 3 meters and also has video capabilities.

The crystal clear 2.4” TFT LCD screen displays a preview of the image that you are about to capture meaning that none of your images are taken blindly, allowing you to take the best shot possible. It has all the usual features you would have come to expect in a digital camera including flash, self timer, scene settings and auto exposure.

There is also a 9MP version available for £125.

Christmas Offers

Speedo International has 5 Christmas offers which mean you can get some great deals if you are buying a camera as a present this Christmas.

One offer is that you can get a FREE Black 1GB Speedo® Aquabeat Waterproof MP3 player worth £65 when you buy green 5MP Aquashot by using the promo code XMAS5.

A second offer is that if you spend over £100 you can get a FREE green 5MP Aquashot by entering the promo code XMAS3. Meaning that you can receive two for the price of one. The other option could be to buy a 9MP version for £125 and get the 5MP free.

Of course if you are looking for an MP3 player and camera then better use of the promo codes could be to buy a 2GB MP3 player for £90 and an additional item such as a £15 MP3 player armband or a £10 sports towel to make the basket value up to £100 and then get the 5MP camera free.

Ultimate Action Camera plus GPS

But for the ultimate action camera I would love to get my hands on the latest launched by Oregon Scientific: The world’s first HD All Terrain Action Camera with G Sensor and GPS. The New ATC9K HD  is described as being specifically designed for extreme sports enthusiasts and professionals who want to capture every high action moment, on the slopes, on the waves or on the road.

Not only does the camera capture 1080p professional quality high definition video and takes photos of 5MP, its built-in G-sensor can also measure the force of gravity during acceleration, deceleration and hang time. This makes it perfect for extreme sports enthusiasts, sport trainers, professional sportsmen and those who wish to record and review every detail of their performance. Additionally it’s the only action camera water proof to 20m without external casing making it ideal for scuba divers, the self-contain design is also shock resistant.

A built in LCD screen and laser pointer help you line up the camera , with the LCD screen also allowing you to play back the videos where ever you are. The camera also comes with a full set of mounting accessories that enables users to mount it on any handles, bars, and helmets and use it for a wide variety of extreme activities. Simply mount it onto anything such as you bike, car, helmet or attach it arm, strap or sleeve. Recording straight onto a Micro SD (up to 32GB) the all in one design is the ATC9K is you perfect companion, hands free, shock resistant, water proof tough enough to follow you into the most extreme conditions.

As a special offer to celebrate the beginning of the Ski Season Oregon Scientific are offering a free GPS unit worth £50 with every ATC9K.

I love linking my Garmin Forerunner data from my running races to Google Earth and so my favourite part of this bundle is that it comes complete with a unique GPS plug-in that enables you to map your location, speed and distance travelled using Google Maps or Google Earth. While watching the video clip playback on a computer, you will also see your corresponding location, acceleration and altitude on Google Map. Keep track of each trail and race with this useful tool designed for trainers and sports lovers.

The ATC9K including free GPS unit is available for £249.99

<<< Charitable Gifts and Cards <<< More Christmas Gift Ideas >>>Secret Santa Gifts & Stocking Fillers under £10>>>