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The Best Garmin Watches for Every Training Type
Our fitness experts have tried and tested virtually every Garmin watch on the road and in the gym
There are a lot of fitness watches out there that promise to help you keep a closer eye on your training time and it’s fair to say that Garmin watches have been doing that job for longer than most.
Garmin makes some of the best fitness watches to track your running, riding and swimming time. They also make for great companions if you spend more time working out inside or if you like your workouts to have a more adventurous edge to them.
If you’ve been sold on buying a Garmin watch and have jumped onto the Garmin website to be met with a quite astounding number of watches to pick from, we feel your pain. These watches are packed with features and there’s often some overlap on what they can offer and promise to do. That makes working out which ones best fit your needs a tough task.
Thankfully, we’ve tested most Garmin watches, so if you want some help trying to decipher which one to go for, this guide will make that decision an easier one.
Best Garmin Watches
Read more: The Best Fitness Trackers and Watches, Tested by Men's Health
What to Consider When Buying a Garmin Watch
First, we’ll explain the key things to look out for when buying a new Garmin watch before picking out the standout options across a range of prices.
What You Want to Track
It sounds like an obvious one, but be clear about what you want your Garmin watch to track. Do you want something that’s mainly built for running or maybe you need something that can handle tracking open water swims?
The range of supported sports that actually give you activity-specific metrics can vary across Garmin’s watches, and we’ve done our best to highlight the differences below.
Its cheaper watches, for instance, might lack activities like open water swimming, while more expensive watches will be better suited to outdoor activities like skiing. Generally, Garmin does offer similar gym and indoor workout modes across all its watches, but again, you might find some profiles missing from its cheaper models.
Garmin does a pretty good job of listing which sports are supported with each watch, so it pays to take time to check those listing pages before you hit purchase.
Your Training Environment
Think about the kind of places you plan to wear your watch, as this might influence the type of design, materials or even the size of watch you should go for. Garmin’s more expensive watches typically offer more high-quality materials, whether that’s the material of the case, the type of strap provided or the scratch protection used on the display.
Most of Garmin’s watches use mainly polymer-based cases to make sure they're not too heavy. The more expensive options in its collection can add titanium or steel to the bezel to beef up that case and screen protection. You’ll also find sapphire glass used on those pricier Garmins, which can bolster scratch protection for those planning to use it in more rigorous conditions.
You Don’t Have to Buy the Newest
This is an important one. Don’t be put off by going for a Garmin watch that’s a little bit older. There are definitely instances, as we’ll get into later, where the differences between new and last generation watches aren’t the type of differences that will radically change the core tracking experience.
It can differ by watch, but Garmin does typically push some newer software features introduced on its latest watches to some of its older watches. There are plenty of instances where you can save yourself some money and still get those latest training smarts for less money.
Battery Life
The good news is that most if not all Garmin’s will outlast most smartwatches including the Apple Watch – and by some distance. Delivering a bigger battery life is a major reason you might want to opt for a Garmin over other sports watches.
If you’re planning to do some pretty regular sports tracking, particularly outside, then you need to pay close attention to the GPS battery numbers and also what’s promised when you’re using the watch in its most accurate GPS mode.
For newer Garmin watches, that’s its multiband mode. You will also want to pay attention to promised battery life in smartwatch mode, so when you’re not tracking and instead using the watch to check the time, check phone notifications or stream music if there’s an onboard music player.
If you’re looking at a Garmin that includes its new colour AMOLED displays, pay attention to the battery numbers listed when that screen is set to be turned on 24/7. Doing this will see the battery decrease quicker, so if you prefer a watch where the screen is on at all times, you’ll have a better idea of what to expect on that front.
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Michael is a freelance journalist specialising in wearable and fitness technology and running. He has written for numerous publications including GQ, Wired, The Telegraph, The Metro, Stuff Magazine and is the co-founder of the YouTube channel The Run Testers. He currently has 20 marathons under his belt with more to come and can always be found with a sports watch or smartwatch on each wrist at any given time.
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