Which garmin watch??
 

My sone is a Mt bike guy. Michaux state forest abuts his back yard and he just put together his new Fugitive 138.
He wants a garmin watch and I personally have no experience with wearables that track and all that other stuff. He uses strava on his phone as a tracker but I think he wants to also track HR and whatever else these things do.
So, what watch in the garmin line would you recommend that is compadable with Iphones. Open to other brands also.
Thanks Brian

Just went through this last week

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=276103

My wife chose the fenix and so far likes it.

All the current Garmin watches are compatible with iPhones and most will pass through SMS and some other notifications. But they don’t have mics or their own SIM, like an Apple Watch, so can’t be used as a lightweight phone replacement.

I have a FR645 and it mostly works. It’s GPS chip isn’t the best - in suffers the odd occasional tracking glitch (my track will suddenly diverge from a riverside trail into the River and back, stuff like that). And it doesn’t do maps (just a breadcrumb display, no streeet/trail overlay). So, it works ok for hiking/running in areas I know, but not for backcountry stuff.

The much larger and more expensive Fenix has some more map features and I think a newer GPS chip. I’d consider this if backcountry use is in the cards.

Also might be worth looking at Wahoo’s watch. I’ve had good luck with their cycling computer/GPS.

Wahoos watch is far away from being a Garmin competitor. It might be there one day but not today. The forerunner series is sport focused where the other ones are more casual. The entry level Apple Watch should be on your list also. I use a Garmin 245 music. I also run. I am happy with it except it doesn’t connect to a power meter. Outside of that it’s perfect.


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I've been very happy w my Garmin Fenix 6.

Thanks, I did a search and your thread did not populate on my search for some reason. I'll read through that thread.
I need to get more info on what he wants this thing to do.

Brian

I've been using a Forerunner 230 for years for running, have an Edge for cycling. The battery life on the 230 was getting really bad and I saw an ad this morning for the Forerunner 45 for $130. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it's several steps above the 230 I currently have so I ordered one. It has everything I need for running and the price was right.

Garmin Forerunner 945
 

I've had the Garmin Forerunner 945 for almost 2 years, I like it very much. It is very similar to the Fenix 6, has the same functions, major difference is that it is a plastic case where the Fenix is metal. The benefit of the plastic case it that it is much lighter. I have a small wrist and although the 945 has a large case, its amazing, I don't even know its on my wrist, very light. I wear it 24/7 and its never in the way or feels uncomfortable. It pairs with my Garmin Edge 830 and into Garmin Connect, stores music for when I work out at the gym, provides more training metrics than I will ever use. The crystal is not sapphire, however in the two years of wear it has no scratches, very touch scratch resistant. Overall its a great watch, I totally enjoy it,not the cheapest, but great quality. Hope this helps.
quattro

Fenix 6
 

Id suggest having a look at the Fenix 6, it's on sale now for $349.
If you want to spend a bit less have a look at the Vivoactive 4, it does many of the things you would want and is only around $180

Great time to pick up one of the Fenix 6 variants. They are now at the end of the product cycle, meaning Garmin has worked out the bugs. I made the mistake of buying one when first released, and experienced the well documented HR monitor issues. I returned it, and went back to a Fenix 5 Plus. I bought a 6 Pro Solar a couple of weeks ago, and it has performed flawlessly, with better HR tracking than my 5.

Big fan of my garmin venu, it’s a nice hybrid between an Apple Watch and traditional garmin IMO. I can get several days of battery life if not using GPS.

Alternate to the Fenix line is the 735xt. It's what I use and it's extremely lightweight. Important IMO for any off-road riding, as a heavier watch bounces around too much IMO.


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I have the Forerunner 235. I hate it.
Here's why:

It constantly bleeps as it connects and disconnects with my phone. I mean, why? Choose a spot and stay there -- connected or disconnected.

It doesn't have enough functions. I'd like a walk function on the activity tracking, and maybe swimming (I haven't swum with this, yet). The external builds for other activities are pretty inconsequential, IMO. You can download them, and they work, but ffs, just build it into the watch.

I'd also like a few dedicated timers -- countdown and stopwatch. I'm a longtime Timex Ironman user. I used those functions all the time -- intervals, baking, pomodoro timing, etc. Super useful.

The easy things are bluetooth connections. In particular, it finds a HRM very well, and it's much better at getting a gps location than my Edge 810.

TLDR: I'd say get all the functions you want in your new watch. There's plenty to choose from. I wish I had bought a model up for better features.

I picked up a Fenix 5x plus this summer off of craigslist for a decent price. Check dcrainmaker's site for info on Garmin watches and there is a sports sale page up for the current sales.

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Is the 735XT still relevant?

Seems like they're down to $140, interested in some heart rate and power tracking mostly, and not putting a $400 headunit on my MTB that will see regular crashes.