Forerunner 205

I’ve used Garmin and apple over the years. I stay with Garmin as it just always works and I don’t need to keep charging the damn thing. I’ve had everything from the old 205 forerunner to fenix and now 970 and super happy. I can use other apps for data transfer if I need to and use it in cycles swimming etc. the Apple Watch just lacked in features and was too expensive.

I’ve had both and definitely have had more issues with Garmin. I have yet to experience a mid activity crash on my AWU in over a year, something that I’ve had happened multiple times on every Garmin device I have ever owned (a lot, I started with a FR 205 or 305). I still own a Garmin edge and it happened again last week. Riding along and you look down and the screen is just shut off. I do miss the battery life of my old Fenix but I got used to putting the AWU on the charger every time I shower and that seems to work 99% of the time. I don’t see a bright future for Garmin. There’s companies like Coros that make arguably better watches now for a fraction of the price (don’t take my word, look at all the pros using Coros now). When my Edge dies I’ll probably switch brands.

The other thing that is noteworthy for me about Garmin is that I find the customer service incredible. If there is any issue with your watch/power meter, etc, support is great. Once you get through the "reset the device" nonsense, if it still doesn't solve the problem, they just send you a new refurb. Even if it's out of warranty. I had the FR 205 brick on a wrist. The sealing on that was shit and sweat seeped into the watch. Boom, new replacement. 310XT, the plastic on the buttons would wear through and water leaked in when swimming. Yep, new repalcement. Heck, I had a pair of Vector pedals go bad and not only did they send me new ones, they sent me the Vector 2s. They have my lifetime loyalty and goodwill for that, across 20+ device purchases for myself and my family.

I've used garmin watches since the original 205/305 in 2006. All through those years charging has always been my main grip with various garmin watches. Be it the propietary charging ports or the fact that (at least for me) charging cables for garmin watches (garmin or third party) don't seem to last for more than a few months. On my current epix 2 I need to be very carefull after attaching a cable or it loses connection right away and on my fenix 6 pro before that the charging port on the watch itself broke.

If they won't want to charge it daily, a Garmin is a great option. The next question is whether they will go through and select specific activities when they do them (hike, golf, cycling, etc). If so, then go to the Garmin website and confirm which model has what you want. If not, then it really doesn't matter as they'll be using the basic background activity tracking features. The Forerunners in the 200 series are good values with most activities, but maybe not golf.