Forerunner 165 Music (010-02863-30)

I'm a smallish dude, new to running. I just got the 165 Music last week so i can go on runs without my phone. So far, I absolutely love it - it does everything I need and far more. And I'm the kind of guy who reads (and did read) the manual cover to cover and watched tons of videos so I really get the most of out it. It's my first smart watch that I've not hated within hours (I just needed to turn off the message notifications). I didn't think I'd sleep with it but I've got 4 nights under the belt and am gelling with it, as long as I set it to sleep mode with the touchscreen off, and loosen the band a notch. I wanted it mainly for podcasts while running without the phone. Just be aware that there are only a few options for podcasts that I found with services I own or are free. Spotify works OK, but inserts more ads and you can't bulk download a playlist of podcasts. Youtube Music is better without the extra ads, but you can't download a playlist of podcasts. The best I've found that's free is [PlayRun.App](http://PlayRun.App), you just need to manage it a little manually but you can download a list, no extra ads. The other downside of podcasts on Garmin though is you are stuck listening at 1x speed (I'm a 2x or 2.5x guy). I am getting used to it, but there's a paid subscription podcast option for Garmin that lets you speed them up before uploading, I'm just too cheap for it. Anyway, the solution works, and music of course works fine though storage is limited, especially if you have a lot of podcasts. If you want a good "lower end" Garmin, the 165 is pretty great.

I just upgraded from a forerunner 55 to a forerunner 970 (bday present to myself). I’ve had an Apple Watch. My opinion is if you want barebones and dont mind running with your phone if you need music, a forerunner 55 is good enough. If you want good enough + music, forerunner 165 Music. There are a number of good comparisons online. I got a 970 because I wanted a fancy one. I love it but it does provide some redundant metrics to whoop that dampen the impact whoop has for me

As a counter point, I got the FR 165 Music for run tracking only. I don't really care about any of the advanced metrics or analysis. I just want to track the basics like distance, pace, and sometimes heart rate. I like the spotify support and custom workouts I can build using Connect. It does everything I need and I don't regret not getting the 265.

Honestly just get the 265 or 265s. I got the FR165 music and wish I’d just paid more for the 265 because I want to do a triathalon next year.

I love my FR165m but sometimes I think about if the 265 would be better. but with the 165 you get the most out of your money.