Forerunner 255S

Nice choice! The 255 Music is solid and honestly perfect for getting into serious running. I've got the regular 255 (non-music) and it does everything you need - the pace/distance tracking is spot on and battery life is great. 255 euros sounds like a decent price too The 965 is nice but probably overkill if you're just getting started with outdoor running. You can always upgrade later if you get really into it, but the 255 will handle anything you throw at it for a good while

I think a good option for you would be [this](https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner%C2%AE-Smartwatch-Advanced-Long-Lasting/dp/B09WTP57Z5?crid=FTN29NLGKAEZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.JQgoUOzWXAx8oEZ258NR_-vRvALvnI5eGeiKj6qWypuFNRBQNaZQFJVuJnNaujizVPDZu4hE8jd5FCAbGIzZ1OCIMTHE4rddvviOKd7XNwd9N0G2agzKN5d798ReVFyJ-aJuQR3flBbn2tm957Cw8W3pJLX14Td2lyF-wb1p2bVWyXzeqvNZF1ZNYhUzT4an00_pg561rZBiTzbD--bTJmIAia9Aq0el2JWzfSZvHwE.qf6DGHIQTXRfhWbKNwNter_ql_NMdSclbGdtOVlgxMo&dib_tag=se&keywords=Forerunner%2B255&qid=1770477520&sprefix=%2Caps%2C720&sr=8-1&th=1&linkCode=ll2&tag=grok43-20&linkId=739e6e68d346e83a1da9baa7d503c942&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl) from garmin. I have been using it for quite some time now and it works pretty decent for me. I think it will work pretty decent for your usecase all things considered. Its a solid smartwatch

How long are your activities? I like my FR255 non-music for hiking, but think its battery life would be insufficient with the extra demands of the music function. The 955 may be a wiser choice if you really intend to use the music offline during many activities. And if you didn't need music or could do it from a phone instead, I'd say the Instinct 3 might be a good option to cross-shop. I chose FR255 over Instinct 2 a couple years ago, but if making the choice today I can see the value in the Instinct 3 models. I like the MIP screen and would go for the solar model, but I can see why some might be happy with the AMOLED model.

The FR 255 internals are a bit more like the Instinct 3 AMOLED (and FR 265) with a faster CPU and more storage. But the software has the limitation you mentioned with some metrics left out. The FR 255 MIP screen is also larger and with more pixels, but not as much contrast as the Instinct's monochrome MIP. I think it is a very personal choice as to which is better in practice for readability etc.

Have you had issues damaging watches in the past? How often? I'm happy using my FR255 for wilderness hiking. It is about 2.5 years old and the only wear and tear I get is the texture rubbing out of the band in spots. But third-party replacement bands are affordable. Most likely, it will still be fine until the battery eventually fails. I did get a cheap TPU bumper case that I can put over the bezel. I only do this for hiking trips to the mountains where I will be around a lot of exposed granite. It does not cover the screen but wraps around the outside so it becomes like a soft, raised bezel.

The cost-effective device is going to be some kind of running/outdoor adventure device where you just learn to ignore the other functions you don't care about. I have used a Garmin Forerunner 255 watch for a couple years now for hiking. I edited the menus to simplify my typical interactions, hiding most of the running, fitness, and health monitoring functions that are irrelevant to me. In theory, you can get what you asked for with just a barometric sensor and a pedometer. But, it won't be very accurate and will have frustrating calibration requirements. These types of devices are becoming obsolete since it works so much better to use satellite positioning (GPS) for both distance calculation and to automatically calibrate the barometric altimeter. Then, any modern consumer device that uses GPS will want to sync GPS ephemeris (almanac) data to make the GPS receiver operate more quickly and reliably. My Garmin watch needs to sync about once per week for this reason. If I let that almanac data expire, it will get noticeably worse at getting an initial position fix and maintaining it during a hike. Mine requires a companion smarthphone app to do this sync. Some others can use WiFi directly and avoid the need for the phone. I started with goals like yours, but found that I do like the navigation function. My model doesn't have real maps, but I can load a course in advance for a backcountry trail, and it will give me "upcoming turn" notifications and "off course" warnings. It also shows my path relative to this course on a more primitive map, which can be helpful to orient myself if the trail becomes faint.

I think a lot of folks turn their MIP backlight way too bright and then complain that it looks like that. Since there is only so much contrast, I don't see a point turning it beyond 20% on my FR255. That already makes white text on black background have pretty much full contrast. Any higher and the black background also just gets more gray, without making the text any more legible. But yes, it leaks a little so there is no "true black" if you read it in the dark.

Never regretted buying my 255 (non-music).

I’ve had the Forerunner 255 (non-music version) for over 2 years, I think I paid £299 brand new. I think it’s great. I wear it 24/7 and use the GPS for ~5-6 hours of runs/rides and the battery still holds out for at least a week. I’ve only had to replace the strap once in that time. I have had very occasional GPS bug outs and HR read being a bit funny but nothing too bad. I’m tempted to upgrade but don’t really feel the urgent need.