The Best Garmin Watches
We looked at the top 6 Garmin Watches and dug through the reviews from 8 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best Garmin Watches.
Our Review Process
Don't Waste Your Money is focused on helping you make the best purchasing decision. Our team of experts spends hundreds of hours analyzing, testing, and researching products so you don't have to. Learn more.
Our Picks For The Top Garmin Watches
- 1. Garmin 010-02064-00 Instinct, Graphite
- 2. Garmin 010-01689-00 Forerunner 35 Running Watch, Black
- 3. Garmin Forerunner 645 Music, Slate
- 4. Garmin Venu GPS Smarthwatch, Rose Gold & Tan
- 5. Garmin D2 Delta GPS Pilot Watch, Titanium & Brown Leather
- 6. Garmin vivosmart 4 Activity & Fitness Tracker, Rose Gold & Gray
This smartwatch is built with fiber-reinforced polymer to withstand exposure to heat, shock and water. It features multiple GPS systems, plus a 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter. The watch not only monitors your heart rate and updates from your phone, it includes a backtrack feature that follows the same route back to your starting point.
Meets Military Resistance StandardsThis is a great, rugged choice for prolonged camping, hiking or hunting.
The straightforward design makes this easy to understand and use, tracking heart rate, intensity and steps 24/7. This model also includes a music control feature for a Bluetooth-paired smartphone.
Intuitive Control; Constant TrackingA streamlined design makes this watch great for use at a glance and on the run.
This is a smartwatch that can store and play back up to 500 songs without a phone, all while dynamically monitoring your heart rate and running technique. The performance features on this watch‚ including contactless pay and an easy-to-use interface, create a unique sense of freedom.
Offline Playback; Training TipsThis smartwatch is great for tracking and improving your running routine, and it won’t be out of place in your day-to-day life.
A bright AMOLED display clearly shows more than 20 Garmin Connect cardio, strength and yoga or pilates apps. You'll get workouts right on your phone and can download music to boot. This smartwatch is available in different styles and colors, including an attractive rose gold and tan combination.
Wrist-Mounted Workout GuideMonitor the widest possible array of health signs such as energy levels, respiration and stress while remaining active and motivated with this watch.
Buying Guide
Bear in mind how you intend to use your Garmin smartwatch when shopping for one. Is it primarily for tracking your workouts, for hands-free access of your phone’s messages or for monitoring your health? Some watches include the ability to store and play music independent of your phone, while others need to be within Bluetooth range of your phone to do so.
Consider how often you feel comfortable charging your smartwatch, which will vary depending on how you use it. Using the GPS function actively will drain more power than passive tracking. If you want to use more high-powered applications, you will have to charge your watch every day. Having your watch monitor your health and then accessing the data on your phone or computer will allow you to go days between charges.
While all of Garmin’s smartwatches monitor the wearer’s heart rate, stride and location, some will also monitor the oxygen and water saturation of your skin to estimate stress levels. Still others are capable of monitoring details as small as how long your feet are in contact with the ground as opposed to how long you are in the air, in order to suggest more efficient techniques for running. As the precision and breadth of measurements increases, so will the price of the smartwatch; determining where the balance of features to cost lies is up to each shopper.
Why we recommend these garmin watches?
Products Considered
Products Analyzed
Expert Reviews Included
User Opinions Analyzed
Our experts reviewed the top 6 Garmin Watches and also dug through the reviews from 8 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best of the best Garmin Watches.
DWYM is your trusted roduct review source. Our team reviews thousands of product reviews from the trusted top experts and combines them into one easy-to-understand score. Learn more.
The Best Bang For Your Buck
Garmin 010-01689-00 Forerunner 35 Running Watch, Black
Key Takeawy
The straightforward design makes this easy to understand and use, tracking heart rate, intensity and steps 24/7. This model also includes a music control feature for a Bluetooth-paired smartphone.
What other experts liked
What other experts didn't like
What to Look For
- Garmin offers an app available in both the Android and iPhone stores to collect and analyze the data your watch measures. You can use this to keep an eye on trends as well as adjust your watch’s setup.
- The Garmin app is also accessible on their website, so you can still use this function if you don’t want to download the app.
- Several of Garmin’s smartwatches and apps will evaluate your running stride, ground contact-to-air time ratio, breathing and stress patterns. These evaluations are then used to suggest ways to fine-tune your workouts.
- You might consider purchasing replacement bands for your smartwatch if you are going to be particularly active. A broken band will effectively make the watch unusable until replaced, and having spares on hand will prevent losing important exercise data.
More to Explore
Garmin was founded in 1989, and it was originally named ProNav. They have always focused on GPS devices and their first major customer was the United States military. Although the company was founded in the state of Kansas, Garmin has since incorporated in Switzerland. The company still maintains a facility in Kansas which serves as a call center, among other responsibilities.
The Global Positioning System, a satellite-based navigation system owned by the U.S. government, was launched in 1973 and reserved for military use until the 1980s. A minimum of 24 satellites are maintained by the U.S. Air Force as part of the core constellation, although the government usually flies more than that to cover needs such as servicing or decommissioning. As of 2021, there are 31 operational satellites set up in an expanded 27-slot configuration for improved coverage.
Latest Reviews
