I never thought I needed a GPS watch, but since buying Mrs a Garmin forerunner 735xt for her triaThlon duties I’m sold on the idea.
HOWEVER, there’s a bewildering range. I think I want something similar to hers, but less ££ and I don’t need any swim capabilities. Whats the STW recommendation? Should I make the choice even harder by including Polar, Suunto etc in the bucket? help…

I’m not sure how much the 735xt costs, but I bought a fenix 5 last year for £350.

The fenix 6 is now out so I’m sure there will be some bargains on the 5 models, the 5 is a brilliant watch which I use for mtb.

The only thing I wish I had is the detailed mapping feature on the 5x, but the 5x was another £150, which for me I couldnt really justify for a sports watch.

The battery life is excellent, probably charge mine one every 14 days and that’s at around 20% left. Obviously the more you use the tracking feature when working out (gps) you will end up charging more frequent but still impressive

What do you want to do with it?
If its just for recording rides and runs, just about any model will do. And all can upload to Garmin Connect/Strava etc.

I’ll suggest a Garmin Instinct. Kind of chunky rugged style, quite a bit lighter weight and cheaper than the Fenix. Can do a bit of navigation, though no mapping.

Or Forerunner 245 is nice. Slimmer style, and quite impressive battery life. There’s a version with music player built in if you want that.

I’m thinking about replacing my slightly unreliable Lezyne gps watch at Christmas time. Don’t want to spend more than about £100 so I’m looking at a forerunner 35 or something like that. Nothing amazing but it does gps tracking, basic sms messages through from your phone, wrist based heart rate etc. Should be enough for me.

A mate has a circa £500 Fenix and it’s nice and the map bits are quite good – but I could not justify that much money on a sports watch (or any watch really).

If you don’t need power meter support, I’d get a Vivoactive.

I bought a Fenix 5+ recently, and though I really like it, I’m not convinced it’s actually worth the extra over a Vivoactive.

Got a garmin vivoactive 3 music from currys.ie for €219, £249 on the uk site though ?????

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/smart-tech/smart-tech/smart-watches-and-fitness/smart-watches/garmin-vivoactive-3-music-black-10180458-pdt.html

Like the idea of being to download music from spotify (premium) to the watch and play through bluetooth earphones without needing your phone. Good for running so you can leave your phone at home.

Can also connect sensors (cadence etc). Maybe the Irish site will deliver to uk ?

Aye, there’s a bewildering choice, it’s quite daunting!.

Vivoactive 3 here too, I really like it. There’s a 4 out now, not sure of the differences.

I recently got a good deal on a Forerunner 235, as it’s now been superceded.

After all the software problems I had with my Edge 500 I was erring towards a Polar m430, but was swayed by this great deal.

Oh dear.

My phone now crashes every few days completely – back to restarting the operating system from scratch. I think it’s something to do with the Bluetooth connection from the watch to the phone.
It also chucks all the other Bluetooth pairings out of the window every few weeks so I have to pair 2 cars, a BT speaker and my wireless headphones every time it does this.

Sometimes it just says waiting to connect on the watch as well and the only way to resolve is turn it all off and back on again (while crossing fingers).

Removing Garmin Connect from my phone and killing the Bluetooth connection to my watch solves the problem.
The phone has never exhibited this behaviour prior to buying the watch.

I would just put Garmin Connect on my tablet instead and remove it from my phone, but the Android version is too old, so it can’t be installed on it.

Should have bought the Polar.

I’ve just gone from a forerunner 35 to 645 that I got on sale for £240. I ordered a few and had a play:

Forerunner 45 – screen too small
Forerunner 245 – nice all round
Vivoactive 3 music – well featured if a little flimsy feeling
Fenix 5 – massive, expensive and not as fully featured as it should be
Forerunner 645 – like the 245 but with garmin pay

I was looking for a decent screen for notifications, garmin pay and incident detection.

Very happy 🙂

Garmin pay, disappointingly, only works with Santander last time I looked.

Been really pleased with the Instinct. Went to buy a Fenix but hated how heavy it felt. Gave it more thought, decided I didn’t need a lot of the features, and got the Instinct instead. Quite like the G-Shock looks too, although I’m probably in a minority there

I have a Garmin 235. In over a years used apart from freezing twice which required nothing more than a soft reset it’s been faultless.
I run 7 times a week and battery life is approx 1 week.
It’s also recorded off road bike trips of 8 hours with battery to spare.
Very happy with mine.
Most of my running club buddies also have the 235 and are pleased with theirs.

Instinct user and very happy with it.
There is a lot of choices out there and some watches have too many features or functions, but I find that the Instinct is a solid watch with the functionality that I need for running, riding and hiking. The built in heart rate monitor (not perfect but good enough) and the ability to customize the screen are just what I need.

I’ve had the following

– fenix 3
– instinct
– fenix 6 pro (still got this one)

They’re all decent watches, but if all you need is activity tracking /recording then the instinct is hard to beat. If you want the more advanced feature then go fenix 6,but it’s expensive

I should add that the instinct has/had an annoying problem where the total ascent/descent would not be very accurate when compared to other watches or phones of various different models and brands, it would always under report by about 20%, it seems to be a software problem as it was fine on an earlier version of the firmware, but as of last month garmin still hadnt fixed the issue.

WHich brings me onto another point, garmin hardware is ace, the software is less ace. It usually takes them about a year after watch release to get the firmware of the watches to a state where most people are happy. The instinct actually seemed not too bad (aside from the total ascent/descent bug).

Aye, they all have their little isms!

FWIW vivoactive 3 elevation is always pretty much bang in, I use it a lot hill walking, against OS app, and it’s never been more than 5m out.

If you just want running and cycling, Forerunner 235. Mine was cheap (1500 Kr) as it was a returned open box. Battery life is good, connectivity is good and, unlike the previous poster ^^^ it’s been pretty much faultless on my iPhone.

It records my runs, rides and workouts and puts it all into Connect. It just wrks and it was cheap. Win.

As above, the choice is huge. What I’d say is work out what you want to do with it and what functions you’ll find useful and start there.
For a basic but very functional running watch that also works fine on the bike, the Forerunner 35 is great. I’ve never felt short of functionality on it, though I do use an Edge 520 on the bike.
The more you pay the more functions you get, the 235 mentioned above is a lovely bit of kit but for me there’s not enough extras over the 35. The Fenix range however is a step up and one I’m now looking at.

If its just for rides and walks my friend is selling his hardly used boxed Garmin 500 touring for £50 😉

Hes bought a wahoo which has convinced me that I wouldn’t buy another Garmin.

the 235 mentioned above is a lovely bit of kit

hmmm, I think there are too many glitches and issues using it as a multi -sport watch for it to be called a “lovely bit of kit” In no particular order, I had:

– phone resetting requests like stumpy01, it can struggle to find satellites, and pairing via bluetooth can be an exercise in frustration

-it’s v fragile and flimsy, the face and body is plastic, so can get damaged v quickly if you crash on your bike, (mine had a crack that went all across the face, the strap needed replacing on mine after about 2 years,

– It’s being discontinued soon,  so Garmin will phase out updating it’s software.

I’ve recently lived with the Suunto 5, and that’s worth considering, it’s got most of the bells and whistles that a casual user will need (it losses the barometer and mag compass of the Suunto 9) but otherwise is a v similar watch for less than the equivalent Garmin. It’s accurate, comfy, made of metal and glass, and isn’t as obviously  as “sports watch”  in the looks dept as some Garmin are. Good choice if you “just can’t” have Garmin

Also got a Fenix 5, and while it is a bunch more money that something like a 235, it has got all the functionality you’d ever need, maps compass, music, lifestyle measurements, downloadable watch faces, and on and on (so much, I’m wondering why I use my 520 for riding any more) it’s much better made than a 235, and it play well with everything I’ve hooked it up to so far; something that the 235 never managed.

I have had my Instinct for about 8 months and can’t fault it. I’d love a Fenix 6 or a MARQ, just cos they look much smarter but it’s a lot of cash for something that’s going to be obsolete in 3 or 4 years and probably unuseable in 7 or 8. They are expensive watch price category where people would usually expect s lifetime or more. Was an interesting article about them the other week saying that Garmins target market, especially for the MARQ is very much wealthy throw away folk.

DC Rainmaker is a good place to start narrowing down the options, really good in depth reviews. Many of the running watches will have a bike mode also.

Just looking at the latest review for the fenix 6 and there is a solar version which charges when used outside! I find that quite an impressive tech development!

got the fenix 5x plus (just before the 6 came out annoyingly, but it was on offer).

I needed the sapphire glass (clumsy boy…), and the maps (when talkietoasted) are amazingly useful. The wifi as well means it’s a step above the bluetooth only ones.

it’s big, but you get used to it very quickly. Battery life is very good. I’m impressed

Did have a bit of a wobble when Garmin released an update of course, but everything is fine now (and I’ve turned off the auto updates

I’ve a 235 with screen protector for two years and it’s been faultless, keep looking at new watches but it’s just not worth upgrading at the moment, and as much as I like the idea of maps I’m not sure my eyes could cope anymore with a small screen

The Forerunners are good because they are slim and lightweight. Not going to be super tough, so maybe not the best option if you’re going to be bashing it into things. Mine have lasted a few years of running and cycling etc.
Worth sticking a screen protector on. The straps wear out, but cheap to replace anyway.

I have had my Instinct for about 8 months and can’t fault it

Same, except if you ever ‘race’ a previous activity (virtual partner), the display freezes a lot. Might depend on activity length – a recent 3h run (latest FW) froze the screen for the entire run, though the activity did record. Shorter activities vary, but generally the buttons take longer to respond, an incoming alert can crash the screen for a while.

That’s my only gripe really. HR is pretty random if you don’t use a strap but I AFAIK they all do that.

nickc

– phone resetting requests like stumpy01, it can struggle to find satellites, and pairing via bluetooth can be an exercise in frustration

Ah, pleased to hear it’s not just me!

The 235 does seem very popular though. There’s several people at work with them & at the (cancelled) Great Eastern Run at the weekend, there were tons of them – seemed to be on every other wrist!

Hardware-wise, I haven’t had a problem – yes, it’s a bit plasticky & lightweight, but I only intend to use mine for running & I put a screen protector on it immediately. Only about £2 for 3 from ebay.
Battery life is very impressive. A guy at work was trying to persuade me that I needed a Samsung smart watch, but he only gets two days out of it. The Garmin lasts a week with 4 runs during that time. And the charging time is quick – the only thing against it is the weird clamp on charging cable but from what I have seen, all of the watches that are in any way waterproof have some kind of proprietary charging connector.

I’m gonna contact Garmin about the issues I’m having with it crashing my phone and see if they have any solutions – given the lack of help with software issues on my old Edge500, I am not expecting much.

The Garmin watches with maps/navigation, are they any good for biking, for example could you navigate something like the HT550 just using one? (Not that I would,just wondering)

Garmin 245 is pretty good. I got it for running but also use it for MTB with no issues.

I’ve paired it with the Komoot app for navigation duties – whilst it doesn’t have mapping it is pretty quick to let you know when you stray from the planned route.

I’m on my 3rd instinct (keep changing colours!) After a Fenix 3.

To me its brilliant; great for all my watersports and good for cycling. I do use an Edge for proper rides now tho.

Stealth ad: I do have a black instinct for sale….

What’s the main advantage of a Garmin watch over an Apple Watch?

Gps accuracy, HR reading frequency and battery life.

I too, am utterly bamboozled by the choices avaialble. I want lifestyle tracking, GPS tracking and HR. I don’t care about nav from the watch, or music, or getting phone notifications.

What are my choices?

What’s your budget?

250 max, but under 200 preferred.

I’d seriously look at the vivoactive 3 music then. Not for the music but because it also includes the incident detection feature that may be useful one day.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8060327

I have a Vivo 3 (non music) and it would be a reasonable piece of kit except for one thing – the touch screen.

So it works great right now sitting at my pc but when on my SUP, out walking in the rain, swimming, sweaty work outs on the turbo, kayaking, muddy mtb days…..its a total waste of time because you can’t actually do anything with it.

Not really sure what the point of it is except telling me my resting HR in the office….which I suspect is what most of them are used for. I

Total waste of money.

My Edge 520 on the other hand is one of my favourite toys. I think electronic devices (or anything) needs to be specific In its remit to work well and most smart watches just aren’t. That’s why the best ones are sport Specific like the xt series.

What’s the main advantage of a Garmin watch over an Apple Watch?

The main benefit of a garmin watch over an apple watch (or samsung for that matter) for me is:-

1. garmin lets you fully customise what data is shown during an activity. On all other watches ive looked at you’re limited to seeing what data the watch vendor wants you to see, eg during running a non garmin watch will typically show you pace, distance, time, timer, heart rates. whereas on a garmin you can specify exactly what fields you want to display, so in addition to those normal fields, you can also have elevation, total ascent, sunset time, speed, bearing ,avg speed,max speed, etc etc, there are around 50-100 different data fields available to select from. I presume garmin have some kind of patent on this , as I cant think of any other reason why other watches dont copy it.

2. Battery life – battery life on most garmins is in the range of 1 – 2 weeks, this is acheived through not having a very bright screen and using a less powerful cpu, so there are downsides to prioritising battery life over other things.

Of course apple watches/samsungs etc have lots of advantages over garmin watches – eg with AW,samsung etc the other apps you can get are more fully featured and varied, whereas garmin tend to focus on the fitness side of things. I think you need to pick whether you prefer ‘lifestyle’ functonality (AW,samsnung etc) or fitness functionality (garmin)

Of course apple watches/samsungs etc have lots of advantages over garmin watches – eg with AW,samsung etc the other apps you can get are more fully featured and varied, whereas garmin tend to focus on the fitness side of things. I think you need to pick whether you prefer ‘lifestyle’ functonality (AW,samsnung etc) or fitness functionality (garmin)

The other main difference is that a “proper” smart watch can control your phone, while Garmin is “read only” – it receives and displays notifications, but you can’t use it to send quick replies to messages etc.

For me the killer difference is the battery life, I easily get a week out of my Fenix 5 doing at least 10 hours of sport, try and get more than a day or so out of an Apple or Samsung watch.

I too, am utterly bamboozled by the choices avaialble. I want lifestyle tracking, GPS tracking and HR. I don’t care about nav from the watch, or music, or getting phone notifications.

What are my choices?

You’ll get all of that from a Forerunner 35. Works for me for activities up to around 7 hours.