What’s the best Garmin?

[Dodgylungs]

I’d be interested in what people think is the best Garmin to buy in terms of value for money. I was looking at the Vivoactive 4 and the Forerunner. There are so many of them I don’t know where to start.

[Hidden]

This may help (or even confuse you further) but I've got the forerunner 235 and it's pretty much all I need, it doesn't do music though 👍

youtu.be/bhC7TV7kWHI(Not working as expected?)

[Dodgylungs Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks very helpful

[Hidden in reply to Dodgylungs]

Excellent crack that wallet open 🤣

[Dodgylungs Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

😂

[Instructor57 Graduate10]

More than happy with my forerunner 45 .Does everything I want or need for a running watch and reasonably be priced 👍

[Hidden]

Oh runners' watches! It's a minefield of choice out there - I did the same as you and asked the forum. In the end I bought a Forerunner 45s and I love it. I would buy the same again 👍🏼😊

[Dodgylungs Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

It certainly is a minefield of info! Does it have music capability?

[Hidden in reply to Dodgylungs]

No it doesn't play music directly. As I always run with my phone I have always played my music or podcasts on that, but I can control the music through specific buttons on my watch, which is great. You'll need to go to the Forerunner 245 and the higher spec watches for music capability.

[Hedgehogs123 Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Hi, can you swim with the Forerunner 45s?

[Hidden in reply to Hedgehogs123]

I don’t know.... best check out the Garmin website as I do know some of them do, but I don’t think the 45 is one of them. My friend is a triathlete and has an all singing all dancing Garmin that does record his swims.

[JaySeeSkinny Graduate10]

I think for running the best options are the Forerunners. I had a 235 first, until it went crazy on me (it got stuck in some kind of tech mode - as if system data were running all the time) and then I moved up to a 635 Forerunner Music which does a bit more. It doesn’t seem to exist any more and the things it does extra are fun, but not really necessary. When my 235 died on me I considered the vivoactive, but the forerunners came off better for running purposes, which is what I mostly do! Depends what you want and how much you’re willing to pay!

[Dodgylungs Graduate10 in reply to JaySeeSkinny]

I want one that has the usual stuff like heart rate, sleep and water monitor among other things and can also play music.

[JaySeeSkinny Graduate10 in reply to Dodgylungs]

My 635 does all that, although I don’t use the water monitor. As I said though, it doesn’t seem to exist any more! The higher forerunners will also do all this, I’m not so sure about the current 235 (it didn’t play music in my day).

[LadyGault Graduate10 in reply to JaySeeSkinny]

The Garmin 645 is the newer model? And seems widely available at a reasonable price. I did a lot of research earlier in the year but I the end decided to forego a music function. But if it's a deal breaker the 645 seems to be the most reasonable option. Enjoy 😀

[Lizcanrun Graduate10]

I've got a vivoactive 3 music and I love it. Spent ages researching, (knew I wanted a music one). Then I noticed this one in the clearance section in John Lewis - decision made! £99 and you can use Garminpay on it, which is really handy too!

[Dodgylungs Graduate10 in reply to Lizcanrun]

That’s sounds great at a reasonable price too!

[Curlygurly2 Graduate10]

I love my FR 245, I like all the stats, and also got the Running Dynamics Pod, a little gizmo that clips on the back of your shorts, it gives you loads of pretty coloured graphs, like cadence, stride length, left foot/right foot balance and more. I'm not bothered about music on my watch personally, I always run with a phone, but I think there is a model that does music. I paid around £230 I think

[Dodgylungs Graduate10 in reply to Curlygurly2]

That sounds like a good one for sure. For me I need the music along with all the other amazing stuff that you've just mentioned as I'd like to run without the phone.

[Curlygurly2 Graduate10 in reply to Dodgylungs]

I think we should always take a phone, what if you have an accident or twist your ankle or something?

[Curlygurly2 Graduate10 in reply to Curlygurly2]

Oh, and this works with a chest strap too, gives you all the same data I believe. I didn't fancy that but people say they're fine.

[Dodgylungs Graduate10 in reply to Curlygurly2]

That's a good point. There must be a watch you can make calls on?

[Curlygurly2 Graduate10 in reply to Dodgylungs]

Never heard of one...

[Hidden]

I have a VivoActive 4S and am very happy with it. The first months I used the smart watch functions like getting text message on it and such, but I turned it off as it ate battery like crazy. I have turned everything off except for the 24/7 check of heart rate, breathing, stress, sleep, etc. And I use it to track my runs and get all the stats of course. I do roughly a week with 1 battery load now. I chose the VA 4S because it is smaller than most other watches and I use it as a regular watch. I wear it 24/7 (sleep tracking), except when I shower. You can shower with it (you can swim with it), but I use that time 1 time a week to load the battery (I do shower more than 1 time a week though, hahaha).

[Fionamags Graduate10]

I have the vivoactive 4s (the smaller version) and I love it. It does masses of things that I will never use though and records a vast number of different kinds of sports from golf to swimming to pilates.. If I was buying again though I wouldn't bother with the music. On longer runs I feel safer taking my phone. So now I have leggings with a phone pocket and sometimes i use an old waist strap money belt to carry phone, glasses, jelly babies etc.

[Magellan Graduate10]

In terms of value for money, the Vivoactive 3 Music is way cheaper than the Vivoactive 4 and has all the same stuff except pulseOx. (The Vivoactive 3 without music is cheaper still.)

The 4 has slightly better battery than the 3. There is also a 4s which is smaller and has prettier colours but the battery isn't as good as the 4.

[Dodgylungs Graduate10 in reply to Magellan]

Sounds good. Somebody said the battery isn’t too good though with the music on.

[Magellan Graduate10 in reply to Dodgylungs]

It's not. I reckon under 5h with music on. But for the amount I saved compared to a 4 it suited me, and if I wanted to run that far I'd have my phone.

[Tasha99 Graduate10]

I’d get the 245 or 45 👍🏽