GarminForerunner 265S Running Smartwatch, Colorful AMOLED Display, Training Metrics and Recovery Insights, Whitestone and Neo Tropic 42 mm

I am truly obsessed with my Garmin Forerunner 265s. I haven't owned a Garmin in 10 years and I can't believe it took me this long to switch back to it. I am an avid runner and was looking for a watch to take my training and recovery to the next level. I find the watch to be comfortable when working out but also while sleeping. I have been enjoying tracking my sleep and getting my training readiness stats. I like that I do not have to charge it that often and that the battery tells you how many days left until you need to charge it. It fits well on my wrist and I have a small wrist. My favorite feature with the Garmin is that it creates workouts for you and bases it on your level of recovery.

This is my first Garmin watch, and I’m very, very happy with it. I had a first generation Apple Watch many years ago and didn’t love it enough to repair or upgrade it when the crown malfunctioned. When I got a fitness tracker last year, it was a Fitbit which I really loved initially but eventually outgrew recently when I decided to focus a little bit more on running. I wanted better functionality for running, but I couldn’t foresee being able to adjust to the battery life of Apple Watch. I read many online reviews for Garmin watches, Fitbits, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra. For my needs, I settled on the Forerunner 265S and have loved it.Priorities for me: easy to use for running, reasonably accurate GPS and heart rate tracking, battery life adequate for sleep tracking, watch face size appropriate for smaller wristsPros:- love the user interface. Makes starting a run so easy. Touch screen is easy to use and the buttons are really functional. The display during a run is easy to read and intuitive. It used to drive me bananas when I glanced down at my wrist during a run to check my pace on my Fitbit Charge 6 and it would give me meaningless arrows of some vague significance or a symbols for my heart rate category, and all I wanted to see was actual run data at a glance.- love being able to choose or build workouts and have the watch give cues during the workout- love the metrics and data it gives (VO2 max, body battery, etc). Although I take them with a grain or salt, it’s fun and motivating to see- so easy to send my heart rate to my Peloton bike so I can see it on the screen. I set up one of the buttons on the watch to broadcast my heart rate, and it such a breeze now.- Battery life is great for my lifestyle. I usually throw it on a charger while I shower, but I know it can last days.- High quality materials. The watch feels substantial, and the silicone watch band is somehow better than other silicone watch bands I’ve worn.Cons:- Garmin doesn’t integrate well with Peloton, other than being able to send the heart rate over via ANT+. I knew this ahead of time and was ok with the limitation before buying the watch. My Peloton workouts don’t import into the Garmin Connect app. It seems like the options would be to add it manually as an activity or to use a 3rd party app. It’s not important enough to me since I’m focusing a bit more on outdoor running right now, but if my primary exercise regimen relied on the Peloton ecosystem on their workout machines, it would be probably a clunkier experience with Garmin.- Limited aesthetic options. I chose the Forerunner 265S for the functionality it offered (GPS, heart rate tracking) and the smaller watch face size, although I initially wanted a metallic casing. It was hard to justify the super high end Garmin models that have stainless or titanium casings for my needs, and the Venu and Vivoactive lines skewed more smartwatch than I was looking for in functionality, so I settled on the 265S, knowing it will always look like a sporty watch rather than have the versatility of looking a little bit more dressed up.- Doesn’t seem to have an option for the alarm to adjust to your sleep stage. I used to set my Fitbit alarm to wake me up during non-deep sleep, and I liked the idea of it. I don’t miss this feature though. I’m not sure how effective it was before anyway.Etc: for my needs, it does notifications and smartwatch functions just fine. I don’t need/want the watch to be a substitute for my phone (e.g., texting/calling). I don’t use the music function (wasn’t planning to) but could foresee the limitations in usability if I did since I mostly use Apple Music

Best fitness watch with some smart features. Definitely worth the money to track your fitness and health. Love the sleep tracking as well. Display is nice and bright. The battery life is a tremendous upgrade from my Apple Watch. Don’t think I’ll ever go back to Apple.

Was a little hesitant to purchase due to price. However I needed a better way to track exercises and sleep while training for a mini marathon. So glad I made the purchase! Battery lasts for multiple weeks and I love all the features! It does have a touch screen, which I love but it did take some time to learn which buttons to press to control it. Comfort 10/10 I forget I’m wearing it sometimes and it never bothers me when I sleep!Update 7/1/2025:Still obsessed with this watch. Easy to use and holds a great charge. Love its accuracy and workouts❤️

Why did you pick this product vs others?:Bought this for my wife to upgrade her from her previous Garmin watch. She has it on everyday and loves it.

Switched from Apple Watch to this as I wanted something more related to training. I love all the tracking it’s able to do for my runs.I am still able to get all of the notifications from my phone to the watch which is a plus too!

i got this for my daughter and was thinking she wouldnt wear it....but she LOVES IT!! she wears it to sleep... to school .... everywhere!! she loves loves loves it!! highly recommended!!

Good for use if you work out or run a lot. Not as easy to use as a time device, screen goes dark and you have to touch it to get it to give you the time. Does lots I don't need but works good.