I love my Garmin . my only complaint be that it take about a minute to find a satellite in New York City - but that be probably a flaw with the city and not the Garmin . it be a teeny bit bigger than I would like , but it have really push I to run faster and more consistently . it free I up to get off the treadmill and get outside . I have never use a competitor , so I can not compare it to that , but if you be consider go from nothing to a Garmin , I say go for it !