Garmin - Forerunner 165

All true except advanced metrics. They are also present in Fenix (it has even more features for hiking) and Instinct. Forerunner is not more advanced. The rugedness is mostly about the bezel. In fenix and instinct it has a rim which gives extra protection to the screen. But that means rugged watches are more bulky what can be a problem in the gym. The real question is lightness of forerunner vs battery life of fenix /instinct

FR 165 may be missing some more advanced options, but it should match your needs and budget (barely). Personally I would go for second hand FR255. If you care a lot about HR, especially during intervals, buy arm monitor like Polar OH1+ in addition to a watch. It is quite cheap, easily pairs with all Garmins and tests prove it is more reliable than almost any watch on the market.

I had a samsung galaxy watch and my bestie had an apple watch. We both switched to garmin. I have the forerunner 165, and she has the vivoactive. One of best features of the garmin watches is battery life - one charge lasts about a week with daily workout tracking

I've had and loved garmin forerunners and a coros pace. Slight preference for coros over garmin for battery life. Slight preference for garmin for multi-app interoperability. I'm actually planning to buy an Apple Watch because it's fine as a fitness tracker and has better health tracking capabilities on top of the fitness stuff.

if he is working a lot in the rain, get him something with more than 2 buttons so he would be able to use the watch using only the buttons (without the touchsreen) if he needs to, something like a forerunner, or instinct (doesnt have a touch screen) or a fenix (but a fenix is one of the more expensive ones)

Forerunner 55 for the absolute basics. Forerunner 165 is the cheapest with a AMOLED screen. Forerunner 255, 265, 955 and 965 are just discontinued. In my opinion 955 is the most value for money as it includes mapping. 965 is the same watch as the 955, but with an AMOLED screen. If you don't need mapping, then go for the 265. It is the same as the 965, but without maps. So if you can find a 955 that would be your best bet in my opinion. Forerunner 570 and 970 introduce unnecessary features, such as microphone & speaker, sapphire glass, shiny metal bezels all of which add nothing to running but do increase the price.

There is Garmin Swim (IMHO essentially it is a ForeRunner, but swim has been put in focus; review here https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/10/garmin-openwater-review.html). However, modern Garmin watches are all able to track pool swim as well as gym workouts (you might have to set exercises later in the app if you want to track muscle groups affected). Essentially ForeRunner is for runners mostly, Forerunner 9xx is focused on triathlon, Fenix is mostly for outdoors - but again, all of them can do almost the same. I'd go with Fenix if budget allows.

The same I was big on the Apple ecosystem and felt like it was a cool watch just because it integrated so well, but I never even downloaded any apps for it. All I ever used it for was timers and reminders and stuff like that and basic fitness tracking, and my forerunner does all the same stuffbut way better. Should've switched sooner

Forerunner 165 is great for running.

In same boat. Floridian who knows you can't touch anything after 10 minutes in the heat and I fear the button loss. Also have owned forerunners

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

Let me start by saying I have spent way too many hours researching the best smart watch for my needs. All the different options and features are overwhelming. So my hope is I can save you some time and stress if your needs are similar. I am starting to count calories and workout again with a mix of strength training, pilates, walks and running. I wanted something that could track my calories burned, step tracker, heart rate monitor and obviously simply tell time without being too big on my wrist. Also receiving reminder notifications from my phone and messages were important too. I've gotten many cheap fitness watches over the years that never lasted long so it was time to spend some more money on one. I have an android, so at first I went with the galaxy classic 6 43mm in silver. The rotating bezel was awesome and the watch had everything I needed and more, but as a female the size was way too big on my wrist and the silver color made me look like a spy kid. The bezel made it look chunky. I returned it and researched Garmin instead. Vivoactive 5 I considered but many reviews said it was not worth it. Has too big a watch face for me anyway. The forerunner 165 is great if you care about detailed running metrics at a lower cost. I ran a half marathon for a college elective and only really learned about many of the metrics from that class. So if you're big into running, I'd definitely recommend this one. Still a bit too big for my wrist though. The venu 3s I also highly considered and is a popular choice amoung smart watch users. Has all the features you need, but still was too big for me at size 41mm. This one is on the pricier side but has more features and a longer battery life. It's great for an all around fitness and lifestyle watch. If you have the money and don't care about the size as much, I recommend this one and almost got it myself. I finally landed on the lily 2 active. The smallest Garmin watch I could find at 38mm. 2 side buttons, and it had all the features I was looking for as mentioned above but could see myself using more features as time went on. I really didn't feel I needed anything too complicated. The screen is in black and white vs color, but as a previous review had said, if I want color I can just look at my smartphone. I decided to buy the lily 2 active and am so happy I did. It's the perfect small size for me and looks sleek. Even has sleep score and body battery functions, which will get more accurate as time goes on. The silver color does NOT make me look like a spy kid. The lines on the screen took a little time to get used to, but are not a big deal to me. I love that I can choose what notifications I want to receive on my watch on ALL my phone apps. If you want to see the feature comparisons in detail side by side you can search "Garmin product comparison" in your browser which I found helpful. If you have any questions I'd love to help if I can!

Running is just what the Forerunner targets to be the best choice for. It is a lighter watch, with all the GPS accuracy you can get. It doesn't focus on Golf or diving or being "rugged". So yes, a Forerunner would still be a great option for your situation, and it will just be a plus if you ever decide to run.

The only time that I had issues with a Garmin watch they replaced the watch well over the warrant. I got a forerunner that lasted a lot (6 years?) and then I gave it to a friend. I'm sporting an almost 5 year old fenix and I got it second hand. The watches they make are sturdy

I had the 165 for over a year (now fenix 8) and I would choose the Suunto in your case. Its gives more data. I found the 165 a great watch for the price but it was missing a lot of training/recovery metrics. It doesn't have as many sport profiles as the Suunto and the interface was a bit laggy. Garmin has a good GPS accuracy regardless of not having the dual band chip. I also like the sleep core that garmin provides and I feel it reflects the experience well. (My brother has race s and sleep score is always 80ish)

I'd say you don't need to. It's a choice. Sorry if that comes across as terribly unhelpful. I just used NRC when I did my first three 10ks (very different I know) and the app alone was brilliant. I'm now training for my first half with a Garmin forerunner. The only reason I got one was because my phone GPS kept insisting that I broke the 400m world record and saying I did miles in like 10 minutes - which simply wasn't true. Now, however, I find it really useful to be able to glance down and see my distance / time / average pace. It's helped me get some genuine PBs. It also gives me a training plan and recommended runs each day, but I don't use it. Edit to say Good luck with the training and the run!

Yes, they're great. Make sure to download the connect app, that's we're all the useful data will be much easier to read.

The 165's GPS is fine. Sure, more expensive models will perform slightly better in challenging situations (e.g. when surrounded by tall buildings), but does that make any practical difference to you or is it just a matter of having the best? I mean, my daughter does marathon training with an FR55 and doesn't feel that the GPS limits her. I'd say a better question is probably whether any of the more advanced training features of the higher-end watches matter to you, or whether you have a use for built-in maps, that sort of thing. I'd compare the models, see what extra features you get as you go higher up the range, then ask yourself how important those are to you? Garmin's website allows you to compare different watches' features in detail.

I second this. My Garmin Forerunner has been going strong 4 years now.

Had it since February. It's my first smart watch so I didn't want to splurge on something expensive. It's done everything I need it to.

Garmin all the way. The FR 165 would be a great starting point.

Depends on what you need, if it's mainly for running, I'd go with one of the cheaper Forerunner models. An AMOLED display is a nice upgrade though. Also, definitely check the battery life if that's important to you. I recently switched to the 965 and can say it's been a solid watch.

Overkill? Apple is an overkill on price, meaning it is underkill on value. I got an SE and later stopped using it once i started using forerunner 165 garmin (which is ugly but super functional)

So if you are mostly doing gym and park workouts a Forerunner 165/265, a Suunto Run or a Coros Pace 3 would likely fit your needs. Suunto automatically calculates your speed vs other times on the same route to see if you are faster or slower much like Strava premium except that it's free. The Pace 3 and Suunto Run will let you put MP3s on them if you like to listen to music. For Garmins you would have to make sure you have a music model to do that and Garmin has Spotify. The Pace 3 and Suunto Run are really light at about 30g and 36g and the Forerunner 165 is 39g. The watches are about Forerunner is 43mm while the pace 3 is 41.9 while the Suunto Run is technically 46mm but looks the same as the Race S which is 45mm (but weighs a lot more at 60g and 53g depending on model).

Battery life was a no brainer for me. My old Apple watch series 4 provided me with all the stuff I need but at its best, it only gave me 2 days of battery. Maybe not even. My garmin FR165 slaps. Lasting 8-10 days in 1 charge.

I've gotten a lot more consistent with my running with my Garmin forerunner. Week long battery life, and basic notifications. I don't think there exists any watch that tracks lifting correctly though.

Same watch it's great also switched from a AW SE 2 was a great move

>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 would personally always take a Forerunner over the Venu series, as I am pretty serious about my fitness. I don't really care much about smart watch features, just need a bare minimum. And the venu series seems to take tradeoffs with fitness features to accommodate the increase in smart features.

I've been really happy with it. It tracks my activity better than my Apple Watch, and the battery lasts several days. I got one for the same reasons, and it's helped me with my groove for running. I've actually done a 5k, which as a 41f who's always been sedentary until age 37 when I decided fck this.

I got a forerunner 165 on one of the spring prime day sales on Amazon.

Garmin forerunner. Stays charged forever