Garmin - Forerunner 235

Garmin are of course great, but I wouldn't pony up for anything over the instinct. The Fenix series is pretty, but you're spending more than twice as much for features you probably won't use and a worse battery life. Less is more when it comes to GPS watches (or so I keep telling myself for not having replaced my disintegrating forerunner 235).

I have a Garmin Forerunner 235 which is fairly basic, but it can record runs, bike rides and other activites using the "Other" activity type (which is what I use for walks/hikes). It's a few years old and now fairly cheap so it sounds like it would suit your needs. If you feel a bit weird about having a used one, buy a new watch strap for it (pretty cheap) and give the unit itself a clean with soap and a toothbrush, problem solved.

It's a good watch for what you need.

Hey I'd highly second this - I got a used Garmin forerunner 235 for about £60 and even though it's an old model it works great and supports all synced workouts on Runna. I haven't felt I've ever missed out on the bells and whistles and tbh for something that's been out for so long the support even now is amazing. Hope this helps but just wanted to chime in after I saw you posted a reply - good luck!

I don’t use a watch anymore. But when I did I used a Garmin Forerunner 235 and I liked it, and never felt like the battery was a problem. I didn’t leave it on when I wasn’t running though.

One of the Forerunners. Just go on Facebook Marketplace and look for a secondhand one. I've got a perfectly serviceable 235 for sale for £65 if you want it?! I've been meaning to put it on Marketplace for ages.

I have an Apple Watch s6 and an older Garmin (FR235), I wouldn’t recommend an older AW, mine only tends to hold a charge for 18 hours or so whereas the Garmin, although it has less functionality as a smart watch, it does give more stats for running and the battery life is more like a week. That coupled with Apple’s habit of withdrawing support for older devices would definitely lead me to the Garmin if I had to make the choice.

Aesthetically, I think Apple Watch is the most versatile smart watch because it has a wide variety of straps from the more formal titanium / stainless steel straps to casual woven straps to sporty silicone straps. It also has tons of third party straps from high end leather ones to cheap plastic ones. You can easily match a watch face with the strap you’ve chosen, it can be anything analogue, digital or even cartoon (Mickey, Snoopy, Toy Story…). I prefer Ultra to ordinary Apple Watch because it has a visible metal case which makes it look more classy. I didn’t think the Ultra would look decent until I tried it at an Apple Store and swapped the strap with my own brown leather Nomad strap. The only thing I don’t like is that the Ultra is too thick so it may not be able to hide under a shirt. I also have Garmin (just upgraded from Forerunner 235 to 965), they are thin and light but are way too plasticky. I wear it for running and occasionally for other casual activities but never for work. I haven’t checked the other brands but it is obvious that Apple Watch is the most universal smart watch at the moment

I have a Garmin forerunner 235 which has been amazing the 5-6 years plus I have had it . GPS/mapping , heart rate , step count , many other things and a great battery. There maybe newer models out there but I will definitely get another Garmin watch.

Either would be a nice upgrade from my 235 - but I’m waiting for 275 to come out

I have a Galaxy watch now, but it's crap as a fitness tracker. When I want accurate data, I wear my old Garmin. I think it's a Forerunner 235? That may not be in production anymore, but any of the entry-level Garmins would work.

Interesting question, I've been using my Apple watch for convenience, but I have an old Forerunner 235, which used to be my go-to for running pre-AW. I prefer it for running, but since I use AW for everything else and don't want to swap, I left it at that. But your question makes me wonder, does Runna work with Forerunner 235? I checked the compatibility list and the answer is yes, can anyone report their experience? I might try it out myself. Biggest gripe with the 235 is how long it takes to acquire GPS.

Wife has the 265 and I have the 965. Battery life is good on the 235 and excellent for the 965. Maps as mentioned is the biggest difference.

Yep, whether I'm in the gym or on the bike. I use a chest strap. I tested my Forerunner 235 against a strap whilst on my turbo trainer, the watch was way off, what my Edge 1030/strap were showing. Watches tend to be more accurate on a wrist with more flesh, but a chest strap is still the best for accuracy.

I use the Garmin for my Runna training with the Runna connect IQ datafield. I like it it works well for me. I could use the AW version too.on outdoor runs, but this time of year I amostly running inside. Good luck on your trianing.

Sorry, not a datafield, it works so well I thought I had to install it. It just shows your run on your Garmin automatically when you connect Runna to Garmin. Basically you get a circle that shows the current interval and a distance countdown. It works really well as other shere have said.

Just connect Runna to Garmin and the rest happens automagically. I was thinking of the Runna watch face you found which does nothing.

The MIP display watches have the best battery life.

I use Garmin forerunner watch, sync Strava with Garmin Connect and sync Komoot with Strava. It works like a charm.

I have a Garmin Edge bike computer and chest based heart rate because I like to see my speed on the handlebars rather than having to look at my watch. It also navigates for me on more adventurous rides and race courses I'm unfamiliar with. For local social rides I just track on my Garmin Forerunner watch.

A Garmin head unit. You could buy used to reduce the cost. I do ride wearing my forerunner watch, however it is purely for heartrate (linkeded to display on headunit) In reality you could buy the headunit and an inexpensive chest heartrate monitor such as magene. I do however like that my watch provides lots of other daily data such as resting heartrate, steps and so forth. There is benefit to headunit + basic level sports watch.

Runs are the same concept as rides. Personally, I use purpose-built devices to record: Garmin Edge bike computer, Garmin Forerunner watch (they also both do navigation, connect to heart rate sensors, watch does music, etc.). When I stop an activity and hit save, it's uploaded to Strava before I can even get the garage door open. I don't want to carry my phone on a run, and I don't want to run down the battery on all-day rides.

Obviously a Fenix 8 Micro LED. For real though, Fenix/Epix watches will give you full golf functionality minus a feature or two which are reserved for the golf specific watches. If you are budget conscious I would look for a Fenix 7/epix 2 series watch. If you have money to spend, a Fenix 8 will be great for everything you can imagine. Forerunner watches do have some golf features but they are dumbed down a bit to basic distance to green and score keeping.

Ive had a few Fenix versions, they are great/ top of the range. Last few years ive been using forerunners which have all the functionality - 9xx series is great, or 2xx for something easier on the pocket. My activities include trail running, hiking, triathlons (and running/swimming/riding only), golf/disc golf. Navigation and battery are good, and glass is strong. Lifestyle is great for sleep, general hr tracking, step counts, tap to pay. The 955 i have also has great multimedia (music). Cant go wrong with a forerunner (solar if you are doing ultra's or multiday). Fenix is a nice splurge

>Its a Vivoactive by another name. ironically i've been looking at the FR series to upgrade my old vivoactive. lack of altimeter is deal breaker for me.

I second this. Exact same use case run 3x/week and weight train 3-4x/week. I found the epix pro gen 2 sapphire to be best utility and bang for buck. I tried the FR but was too run focused and I preferred the more tactical look. The fenix 8 was nice but at double the price with same sensor technology it didn’t felt worth it. You do forgo the mic and voice features but I didn’t need it and didn’t want a true smart watch but prioritized a fitness forward watch. 3 months in and I love my Epix pro gen 2 47mm

Garmin - They have a lot of watches at different price points. There is built-in GPS and the battery lasts for several days, unlike a smart watch that you typically need to charge every night. The Garmin app easily syncs with other fitness apps, if that's important to you. If you have a smaller wrist, go for the "S" models that will look and fit better.