Recommend a GPS watch

[Pete1w]

Ran for 38 minutes but only covered 3.2K according to mapmyrun. If I'm going to take this seriously I can't rely on this app. I'm going to treat myself to a watch. A guy at work has the Garmin vivoactive 3 but over 200 quid might be a bit expensive. I've looked at the Garmin forerunner, which is just under 200. Any recommendations for a good GPS Watch at a reasonable price. Cheers. By the way the run felt good this morning but I have no idea if I have improved or not. Very frustrated.

[Hidden]

Any Garmin running watch, if you want to be serious about your stats. You can pick them up used very reasonably on eBay if you don't want to splash out too much.

[Jell6 Graduate10]

I can't offer advice about the gps watch, but it it felt good, I would say you have improved!🤩

[Pete1w in reply to Jell6]

But you could say if it felt good it was maybe too easy? Should I be pushing the distance a bit more?

[Jell6 Graduate10 in reply to Pete1w]

If you still got something left in the tank you could aim to go a bit further, but you don't want to push too hard as there is always the risk of injury.

You're following JuJu's plan aren't you?

I would stick to that, and be pleased that you are coping so well with it

[Pete1w in reply to Jell6]

I think I'm following the plan..... Mapmyrun would beg to differ.😁😁😁

[Dexy5 Graduate10]

I’m very happy with my forerunner 35. It does everything I need and more . Bought as lots on the forum said they had it. If you want to record swimming you will need to pay more but this is for dry sport and exercise.

Have you tried Strava instead of mapmyrun - I used that before getting my Garmin. In fact Garmin still downloads to it.

[Sadie-runs Graduate10]

Garmin Forerunner 30 is around £125 new, and it has been perfect for me, I love it!

[Flyingred Graduate10 in reply to Sadie-runs]

£99.99 from Decathlon (I'm not connected with them, just found a good price online).

[Pete1w]

Thanks all. I think Garmin is the way to go. I get a bit bogged down with all things technology so please keep the recommendations coming. Ideally I don't want to spend more than £150. I thought that running would be a cheap way to keep fit🤔🤔.

[tony_a Graduate10]

I’ve got a Forerunner 235 and am very happy with it, but as others have posted there are cheaper and more expensive ones that will all do the job 😀

[Pete1w in reply to tony_a]

I think this is the one I'm going to buy. It gets good reviews and although a little more money than I wanted to spend it seems to have all the features I'm ever likely to need/use

[MarkyD Graduate10 in reply to Pete1w]

My FR235 has been an absolute joy. I love getting notifications on it from my iphone, and I can actually answer a phone call from the watch - useful if the phone rings and I am not within arm's reach! Still have to run to pick up the phone, but at least it did not go to voicemail.

FR235 has been bombproof. Occasionally loses the connection to my phone, but it is easy to connect the again.

By the way, the FR235 has GPS, of course, so it is not necessary to take your phone with you on a run for the FR235 to do all its stuff. But I'd recommend always having a phone with you on these longer runs, just in case.

[SaskAlliecat Graduate10]

I have a Garmin Forerunner 10 and love it. It is bare bones, but tells me what I need - distance, pace, time and can be set up for intervals and for pace monitoring (although I've never used these features).

[Pete1w in reply to SaskAlliecat]

Is it a heart rate monitor?

[SaskAlliecat Graduate10 in reply to Pete1w]

This one does not have a heart rate monitor.

[ju-ju- Graduate10]

I’ve always liked Garmin and I started with the Forerunner 10 which is super simple but does the job. Try EBay for bargains.

[Pete1w]

Mmm mmm. eBay? I've been stung before buying from auction sites. Things aren't always as they seem. I'd rather go in a shop try the product and talk to a person. It costs more but at least I get piece of mind. Thanks for the advice.

[Dexy5 Graduate10 in reply to Pete1w]

Just an extra piece of info, I bought mine from John Lewis and they give a longer warranty plus you can buy accidental damage for £10. Depends if the price is right for you though.

[MarkyD Graduate10 in reply to Pete1w]

If you choose to buy from eBay, as the seller a specific question about battery life. Eventually the batteries wear out on all electronic products, and you don't want to spend money and then find that the battery needs replacing.

[Hidden in reply to Pete1w]

If you pY with PayPal then you get your money and postage back if you bought a dud or if it never arrived. My iPhone X came from there as did my Garmin Fenix 5s, both bought for much less and both in good nick

[telford_mike Graduate10]

Garmin Forerunner 235 here. Love the heart rate monitor and the insane amount of stats it spits out. I'd say just set yourself a budget and buy whichever Garmin is approximately priced - you won’t go wrong.

[icklegui]

not advice about a watch but

where do you run? If along roads and paths, you can trace your route on a map (on mapmyrun in a browser, or mapometer ) and see how far you really went

[Curlygurly2 Graduate10]

I've got a FR 35, it does heart rate and cadence on top of the basics. You can pair it with a Smart phone. I think it's the dogs whatsits, and cheaper than a lot of watches, I paid around £120... worth every penny x

[Pete1w]

Looks like Garmin is the one to go for. At the moment I'm torn between the FR 35 and the 235. I'm deciding if the 235 is worth the extra 50 quid. I prefer the look of the 235 but that is purely personal choice. I like the round face as opposed to the square. As for the technical bits I guess the 35 would do all I need so it's a question of do I pay the extra money solely on how it looks? Decisions decisions!!!!!!!

[Sqkr in reply to Pete1w]

It also depends how much you like looking at stats, the higher up the Garmin chain you go the more metrics you get with your run breakdown. If you're not fussed, go with the square guy. If you think you might become interested in the graphs, go with the round one.

I've a 235, he's great. I also chose this model for aesthetics to an extent—but thought as I progressed I might like the additional information. And I've become a bit obsessed with graphs as a result 😂

[Hidden in reply to Sqkr]

What she said. Those obscure readings like VO2 Max and cadence begin to make sense as your running progresses Pete1w - oh, alright,I admit it, I’m a geek 🤓

[mountaindreamer Graduate10 in reply to Pete1w]

Just as an extra comment on the Forerunner 35, although I’m generally very happy with mine, the model may have a bit of a software issue with pace figures. I’d read on Google about others struggling to get them to switch from mins per mile to mins per km (despite all settings appearing to be switched to metric), but today at Parkrun mine even appeared to switch from mins per miles to per km mid run!! So if you’d like to know your current pace (like I would) then I’m not yet sure about the answer with this model.

[Pete1w]

Essentially all I want this bit of kit to do is tell me how far, how fast, where I went and is my heart rate ok? I've got more than enough to do without monitoring every run to see if my stats are within the desired range. I think the square fella is winning so far. But I DO like that round face....AAAAaaaarrrrgghhhh.

[Hidden]

I bought the 235 for my daughter for her last birthday and she loves it. Look around for the best price 😊

[Ang33333]

I've just got Forerunner 35. Does what I want it to! Sold my fitbit on eBay to pay for part of it! 😁😁

[Myrar in reply to Ang33333]

Love my forerunner 35 too 😀😀

[Pete1w]

I've taken the plunge and put in a bid for a 235 on eBay.......wish me luck.

[Pete1w in reply to Pete1w]

Lost that 1 😁😁,