Forerunner 110

I’m shocked to hear people talking about maps on watches not being good. Anyone who has used a high end Garmin (not commenting on other brands) will know how good the maps are. Easy guidance, fully rendered roads (including street names), paths and trails. You can add POI (can be a bit annoying) and anyone who says they’re too small has obviously never seen you can zoom and pan and adjust all the settings on size. They can auto reroute, can send you back the way you came or get you back to your starting point on shortest distance. If you frequently enough go running on trails and you want to explore more, or just want to do longer runs or loops that you’re unfamiliar with they’re fantastic now. In terms of replacements I’ve gone Forerunner 110 (2010) 920XT (2014) 935 (2017) 965 (2023). The cut down size from the 920 to the 935 was the reason I replaced it earlier than planned as it allowed me to wear at in the office.

Apple watch is the best smartwatch, Garmin is the best sportwatch. If your runs are under xhours, than go for the AW; if you are going to train seriously, Garmin all the way

I have used AW, Garmin, Polar and Suunto and AW is by far the worst sportwatch. After switching back to Polar after AW the quality of life improved immediately by not having to charge the thing more than once a week.

Garmin is a sportwatch with some smart features. Apple Watch is the opposite. The battery of Apple Watch is a nightmare, I always forget to charge Apple Watch, i think a Watch should be a help no another task.

Get an older model if your concerned about budget. The new features are usually not that compelling. Only go 970 if you have to have a torch and 965 if you need maps. 265 is a great watch and sounds like it will do what you want along with the 100 series too. Great MIP options out there as well because...MIP is better!

i second that. wrist HR with F8 is also faulty for me like 30% of the times, could be because of a wrist or a strap. But i did not see any with F8 improvement compared to F6 or older forerunners

Garmin Forerunnner has several models in that range. Work like a charm.