Garmin Forerunner Heart Rate Monitoring Sport Watch
Last updated: November 9, 2022
Optimize your running performance with this sport watch, which monitors heart rate and tracks running speed, distance, daily calories and intensity minutes. You can also access an online community and connect this watch to your phone to get notifications.
We looked at the top Sport Watches and dug through the reviews from some of the most popular review sites. Through this analysis, we've determined the best Sport Watch you should buy.
Product Details
Key Takeaway: This GPS watch tracks how far, how fast and where you run, along with heart rate.
In our analysis of 37 expert reviews, the Garmin Forerunner Heart Rate Monitoring Sport Watch
placed 12th when we looked at the top 15 products in the category. For the full ranking,
see below.
From The Manufacturer
Easy-to use GPS running watch tracks how far, how fast and where you run. Estimates heart rate at the wrist, all day and night, using Garmin elevate wrist heart rate technology. Connected features: Smart notifications, automatic uploads to Garmin Connect, live tracking and music controls (when paired with a compatible smartphone). All-day activity tracking estimates steps, calories and intensity minutes and reminds you when to move. Automatically uploads your data to Garmin Connect, our free online fitness community where you can join challenges, receive insights and share your progress as you meet your goals.
Expert Reviews
What reviewers liked
A smart watch that was made for people that prefer simple smart technology rather than overly feature-heavy products like the apple watch that often loses significant battery life over the multiple things it can do. This product is perfect for runners that would like to see their stats during their weekly jogs. All the stats that are recorded through the watch are stored in the Garmin connect app which helps put vital information in a well organized system. This garmin watch was made for consumers that enjoy smart products at a reasonable price.
Simplicity is what makes it such a great GPS watch. It is comfortable to wear and tracks your runs or bike rides while delivering some useful metrics and dynamics. And it has an optical heart rate monitor. But it does provide a thoughtful combination of needed features with a few nice to haves thrown in — all for a great price.
The Forerunner 35 makes it very easy to track both everyday activity and sports, partly because it doesn’t go overboard on features. Runners are well catered for, with several different outdoor modes including customisable interval and run/walk workouts, and a virtual pacer.
For the lazy types, the Forerunner 35 has a Move alert, which will buzz your wrist if you've been sitting too long. A Move bar at the bottom of the screen grows in length the longer you've been sitting, and only a good 5-minute walk will clear it.
If you're looking for built-in GPS and heart rate monitoring, however, it's one of the best values you'll find. It allows you to track bike rides, walks, and runs, and view your resting and continuous heart rate, as well as your heart rate zones. It's all wrapped up in a waterproof design that has long battery life, push notifications, and the ability to control music playback on your phone.
It’s reminiscent of the Apple Watch. It’s also quite a bit smaller than the Forerunner 235 and 735XT, making it a more comfortable fit for people with thin wrists. The battery will last about 13 hours in GPS mode and 9 days in everyday use.
What reviewers didn't like
Stale graphics.
There is no long list of features that come with this watch.
You’re unlikely to want to wear it all the time thanks to its blocky design – it’s clearly a sports watch. It would take quite a while to lock on to GPS at the start of each run – probably 30-60 seconds longer than other trackers.
The types of activities the Forerunner 35 can track are limited to Cardio: walk, run outdoor, run indoor and bike. That's not as comprehensive as the TomTom Spark 3 Cardio, which can also track swimming. The Forerunner 35's GPS took slightly longer than more expensive GPS watches to acquire a signal. I found the Forerunner 35's heart rate monitor a bit slow.
You can swim with it, but it can't track sessions like the TomTom Spark 3 , the Garmin Forerunner 735XT ($299.99 at Amazon) , or some other waterproof fitness trackers.
It comes with a virtual pacer that will alert you when you’re going way faster or slower than a set pace. This might be ok if you live in a flat area. I’m surrounded by big hills where my pace fluctuates a lot, so I rarely use this feature.
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