Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS Running Watch with Wrist-Based
Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS Running Watch with Wrist-Based Heart Rate and Workouts – Black
| Dimensions: | 24.6 x 3.6 x 1.3 cm; 37 Grams |
| Model: | 010-01689-10 |
| Batteries Included: | 1 CR123A batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Garmin |
| Department: | Unisex Adult |
| Dimensions: | 24.6 x 3.6 x 1.3 cm; 37 Grams |
| Origin: | Taiwan |
I really liked this device as a very basic fitness tracking device. Found it to be efficient and relatively accurate. But it is very basic.
It is not a smart phone. It’s very good for what it is, very simple to set up and use which suited me but I am totally NOT clued up on latest devices and not confident setting these sorts of things up but I found this even too basic for my needs so returned it and upgraded to the Garmin VENU which is (in my humble opinion) absolutely fantastic!
I have had this watch for just over a year. Overall I am happy with it. Given that it is bottom of the range in terms of price, it’s hard to complain. It does what it needs to – as a runner I use it for tracking duration and pace of runs and heart rate. Though the heart rate function is rather suspect at times. There have been times – possibly half a dozen in total out of hundreds – where the stats have been completely inaccurate and unreliable. However, it is rare and so generally I say it is pretty good for the price.
Very light watch. Great that it has a HRM within the watch so I don’t have to wear the chest strap. Easy to sync to Garmin app and Strava. Seeing who’s calling my phone and sending messages on the watch is a plus!
I have received the item back from repair on 22-12-2020, I sent the item in the purchase box with all packaging and the charger, the item has arrived in a bag minus the box, packaging and charger. The item will not turn on and I have no charger to charge.
I bought this watch in Feb 2018. Still going strong and would definately recommend it. Easy to use and link to Garmin connect online and Strava. I have just had to replace the strap a couple of times through wear and tear. Can use for cardio, walking, cycling and running. I use it for running. It has various useful modes to help motivate and track performance. Had a forerunner 10 before this which I liked but this is worth the extra cost.
All good and met expectations. Would prefer it to be smaller overall. The pre set activities are a little limiting (e.g. can’t log yoga) but happy otherwise. Great mobile phone app that I link in with MyFitnessPal
My old VivoSmart was getting on so I decided to replace it with the Forerunner.
I wanted to keep all my historic sleep and other tracking data so kept with Garmin.
Initially I was dissapointed that unlike my VivoSmart it wasnt touch screen.
As I’ve come to wear the watch the fact it isn’t touch screen doesn’t seem to be a problem.
The watch works as well as my VivoSmart, was cheaper and I kept all my historic tracking data.
Battery life is around 8 days.
I generally charge it as it get to the last bar rather than have it run out during the day whilst I’m out.
Good buy and a god replacement for my VivoSmart for the features I used.
I was a a bit worried that it might be a bit too “budget” but after over a month I’ve been very impressed by this Garmin. The sleep tracker seems accurate and the run tracking (the main reason I bought it) is excellent. I would definitely recommend it.
I bought this to track my steps, and heart rate. Not planning on using many other features but have been pleasantly surprised by it. The mapping of my runs is perfect, rarely needs charged is comfortable. Bargain price at less than 80 too compared to other models and makes.
Being over 75, there are a lot of functions I don’t use. Nonetheless a great fitness watch. Strap needs to be longer – I don’t have a large wrist, but have difficulty doing it up
Purchased for my son who really loves the watch. Does everything he needs it to do.
Easy to use with a nice, crisp display face.
Just a pity Amazon had the same watch on offer the next day for 20 less than what I paid for it!
Excellent watch used by my 12 years old son. He tracks steps, cycling and other excercise with it. Gets email/message notifications from his mobile. The watch looks great too. I may get one myself for Christmas as well. 🙂
works well. I find I get 6 hours battery life if it’s tracking my cycling. And if you are only using the watch feature you can get a week without charging.
The app you download to use the watch on your phone, is fantastic.
So detailed and insightful.
This is my first ‘proper’ smart watch (i have ordered a cheapy version previously and was very unimpressed). I am really happy so far. It is correct that it takes a while to pick up the GPS signal but i turn it on before stretching/warm up walk and its ready for when i want to start running. The screen is clear and buttons easy to use. Helpful updates at 1km intervals etc meant i achieved a PB on the first time of using! very happy.
This watch ticks all the boxes and I love the app that comes with it. I got it for walking as I’m trying to get stealth in my muscles and joints, you can track your sleep, BPM low and high, weight, steps calories etc. Excellent fro the price and the App is great.
Looked around for a GPS running watch and settled on this after initially considering the forerunner 30. I am glad I spent that extra 10 or so. Excellent product, really easy to use and so many useful functions like receiving your mobile messages (Whatsapp, text messages, FB notifications etc) on the watch. The Garmin connect app is great too. Battery live was as advertised if not better, after 5 days it still had 2 bars out of 4 and I had been using it lots as it was new so lots of fiddling getting used to it! Cannot recommend this watch enough.
Love it. Display is large enough to see with my old eyes! All functions are great, the app is very good also and easy to use.
I don’t wear it at night but did once just to try it and it worked fine.
Have used it for running, cycling and walking.
Brillia
It looks and feels like an ordinary watch – not a flight console.
Battery life is v good. Needs charging every 2 weeks to give daily wearing as a watch (not overnight) and 1hr GPS tracked exercise 3 times per week. I don’t do long outings so I’m not sure of the single hike battery duration.
It would be nice if it had ordinary stopwatch and countdown timer fucntions and perhaps altimeter reading display. All the data is in there and its got the brain the size of a planet!
Garmin app is good.
The integrated heart rate monitor is pretty naff, it gets my heart rate wrong quite a lot so instead have paired it with a wireless chest strap instead which works much better.
I charge it for an hour every 5 or so days, I normally record about 1-3 hours of events during that time. The rest of the time I wear it as a normal watch and receive notifications from my iPhone.
I’ve replaced the strap once, and I think if the main unit broke now I’d just buy another of exactly the same model.
Garmin Forerunner 35 is fine and provides far more information than I need because my fitness training is confined to a rowing machine. Nevertheless with the Garmin Connect app (easy to download) provides a mass of fascinating data I was not expecting. The major downside is learning how to use the buttons, even with the downloaded manual, I found/find it very difficult. I think the HR reading is accurate which was a worry having used a chest strap device for years.
All the basic functions of the 235 just without the colour! I have previously owned the 235 but thought I’d try the cheaper option after losing my previous model. It tracks my runs with precision, heart rate is accurate and the actual monitor actually imprints less upon the wrist. Another great buy from Garmin Forerunner range! The only thing I can think of is the time to get signal, but that is most likely my location in the Lake Distric
This watch is just what I needed and at a great price. The watch is simple to navigate and easy to set up whilst looking smart. Im not exactly a racing snake who runs everyday but I wanted to track my progress on my 3-4 runs per week. The app is simple to navigate and gives you much more information than I was expecting. I’m very pleased with this watch and would 100% recommend buying i
Bought this for my husband as I use Garmin this watch doesn’t disappoint and the app is easy to sync with the watch and strava. Another good activity watch from Garmi
I’ve used this watch for around 18 months now with many tracked runs. Comfortable, decent looking, easy enough to navigate the menus. Definitely a great watch to have to assist you with the management of your runs.
The only downside for me is the accuracy of the GPS. It’s not bad but it isn’t perfect. I usually do a 6.2km run but the watch accuracy means it often tracks that run at 6.15km to 6.22km. Not too bad I guess but not perfect. It does also seem to take a good few minutes to acquire a GPS signal before the run and I live in the middle of a town.
Overall though, I’m pleased with this purchase and would definitely buy it again if I had to. (I’d give 4.5 stars if that was an option)
I’m well impressed with this, and seams fantastic value for money for the features! It is built to the usual Garmin quality & is reliable, accurate, appears durable & has lots of features, linking up to Garmin connect etc. I have mainly used it for walking but, also for cycling & running too. For cycling i still prefer to use my garmin computer because I don’t like wearing a watch, but, it is still wearable if needed. For running it’s great and with good HR monitoring. It also monitors steps, your average HR & you can see your latest weekly activities (if you’ve done any of course!) I’m happy with the battery life, I can’t really remember how often I charge it, maybe every 4-5 days or so? So, overall very happy, hopefully it will last a long time, thanks Garmi
I had a forerunner 10 prior to this and was very happy with it until it finally died a couple of years ago when I decided to replace it with this – the 35 – with its in-built heart rate monitor. It’s been really good. It’s only experienced the odd glitch (heart rate anomalies and sudden dramatic positioning jumps with GPS) and syncs with Garmin and Strava with no trouble whatsoever. I suppose the only real shame is that it’s already been replaced by the 45, despite it’s relative newness. However, at the price it now retails, it’s definitely worth a shout, especially if you’re reluctant to shell out for the newer, much more expensive, watches.
I got this as a gift for my partner and he absolutely loves it. He initially wanted it just for running but he now doesn’t take it off as he is so interested in all of the information it provides about his sleep, his calorie expenditure, his steps. He isn’t very savvy at electronics so wasn’t planning on using all of the extra functions but it is so user friendly he is able to answer phone calls with it. Really really pleased with this gift for him .
For the price, this is a great entry level GPS watch. Does everything i need it to do, couldnt ask for anything else.
Tracks well, easy to upload after run, sleep tracking does ok – and great that you can change tracks for music on the watch to! Overall – great watch and would recomend to anyone who wants an entry level watch
When I bought this watch I wanted to time my runs. I now find myself with a window on how I live my life, at work, at leisure and even asleep.
Waited a couple of months to write this.
So far so good.
GPS is accurate for parkruns
App is very good and tells you all you need, it also syncs with Strava perfectly.
Recorded activities gives a more accurate reading (constantly reads heart rate). If the watch isn’t recording an activity it takes heart rate reading less frequently.
Battery is good, although heart rate didnt seem to work properly when low so best to keep it at 3 bars or above.
Bought this as a replacement to an entry level Tom Tom to track runs primarily and I suppose this would be an entry level Garmin. The only criticism is that it could be more attractive to wear as a normal watch, it looks a little ‘childish’ but I suppose it’s obvious what it’s for. For the price I think this is an excellent activity tracker and the battery life is far better than the Tom Tom, I charge this around every 5 days. The GPS is accurate and links to Strava through the phone app automatically. It tracks heart rate at all times and basic sleep pattern. The app records all activity from steps to sport and heart rate etc.
Pros
* Battery life is around a week with 4-5 hours on active GPS and some casual everyday use
* Backlight and display is clear with large digits
* Vibrate alarm works well with 7 presets
* Configurable options for most features
* Robust and fully waterproof allowing for worry-free use, but it doesn’t track swimming dynamics.
* Strap is secure and has lasted well. Again better than my son’s fit bit.
* Bluetooth sync is a big bonus over my last model.
* Quick recharge
* Battery life has so far not deteriorated.
* Not the most stylish looking watch!
Over long term use there have been a few quirks but nothing major:
* Heart rate can spike for an unknown reason even when resting which if you are tracking intensity usage can cause over estimates.
* Struggled to connect to other Garmin bike accessories over ANT. But its a running watch, not primarily cycling. Worked fine with a chest heart strap.
* Sleep tracking is interesting but not very accurate, relaxing after watches bed time and watching TV seems to count as sleeping. It seems to always tell me I had a better nights sleep than it felt!
* Dedicated charging clip means to you have to remember it when travelling
* Can struggle to connect and sync with Garmin Connect app. Often does a partial sync rather than a full sync recently
Does what you want it to. Looks good and is useful. Not convinced the heart rate monitor is 100% accurate though. I compare it to the monitor on the treadmill and it takes a while before they are synced
Nice watch fits my purposes well. I don’t use all the silly track my pupil dilation while sleeping nonsense that seems to be going round but if you want to track your exercise this is a great watch
I bought this as a running watch to replace my approximately 15 year-old one. In fact it’s so much more than a running watch and I wear it all the time. You can use it for a variety of sports or just wear it as a watch. It constantly records your steps and heart rate. All the data syncs seamlessly onto the Garmin connect app via Bluetooth, so much better than previously. It gives you daily or weekly targets for various parameters so whatever your level of fitness you will be motivated to improve on it!
For the price of this watch you can’t really go wrong. I bought it to replace a damaged Forerunner 230 at short notice before a race.
It is a bit slower to find signal and sync with the Garmin app than my previous 230 was but nothing that would cause an issue. Tracks GPS accurately and battery life is great. Very light you hardly notice you are wearing it.
To get a GPS watch with heart rate monitor for under 100 it’s a no brainer.
I’ve had one of these for about 20 months now, so it’s time I said how pleased I am with it. It’s the only sports watch I’ve owned (second, if you include the basic fitbit). It’s been faultless – I’m very happy with it. It picks up GPS easily and within a few seconds, and tracks walks, runs and bike rides to high levels of accuracy. (I sometimes run exactly-measured ‘official’ distance runs, and this has never been more than about 20 meters out over 5K, usually not even that).
Battery life is OK – depending on usage I probably charge it once or twice a week – it’s so quick and easy to charge it’s no drama. Heart monitor is accurate for me – I have a chest-based monitor as well, but even without deliberately ‘syncing’ the two, they agree to within 1BPM. I can’t comment on sleep tracking accuracy – the timing are certainly right, but who knows about ‘deep’ vs ‘shallow’ sleep?
Unlike some sports watches, it’s not too big – I don’t feel self-conscious wearing it at work and elsewhere – it’s my day to day watch. Alarms are easy to set (vibrate, tone, or both), and in general it couldn’t be easier to use.
The Garmin app on Android is good, and the whole Garmin ‘ecosystem’ is very good – I have other Garmin devices for biking, using the same app, along with other bike-based sensors, and they all ‘play nicely together’. I’ve had no problems that I can remember at all.
Recommended.
Nice gps and works well with the app. Would have really liked it to show max speed on the watch but annoyingly it only shows this once the activity is completed and synced with the app. Battery seems to last quite well and it’s comfortable to wear.
Love this, slightly bigger than I thought but actually really comfortable to wear. Very impressed with battery life, lasts about a week or longer depending on whether I’m using GPS. Good mobile app. Waterproof, worn in shower and swimming with no issues. GPS really good and seems quite accurate. Would like to see a few more options on app to pick, ie Pilate’s, core workout, etc would be nice. All in all though very happy and would recommend.
I have tried a couple of smart watch / fitness trackers and had mixed experiences. The cheap Chinese copies don’t come with good mobile software and as well I don’t trust them with my data. I’ve also had problems in the past with HR monitoring and sleep monitoring on the cheaper watches. I was looking for a GPS watch and this came in at a very similar price to the cheap copy versions with similar functionality.
I’m impressed with the overall quality of the watch, It is fairly light I like the size, strap and the screen is very readable in day and night. The button interface works well, and the phone sync has so far been flawless. I have had no issues with heart monitoring and sleep monitoring. The main appeal of this watch is the built in GPS so you don’t need your phone and that it can do running or cycling. The software offers a good range of fitness tracking metrics and you can set up you goals. I’ve been running with it and played football and it worked great. You can set it up to read messages, e-mails social media and call on the watch like a smart watch which is pretty handy.
If you’re in the market for a GPS watch this offers so much more than a basic Fitbit at not a lot extra cost. I think it’s great value for money and a perfect entry level fitness tracker.
I replaced my old Forerunner 10 with this Forerunner 35 . Apart from giving me my distance and time for my runs, it does so much more. Now wear it all day long instead of just for my running. Heart rate, steps, tells me to MOVE! etc. Great watch, even without connecting it to Bluetooth! (I don’t do complicated technical stuff)
Great first running watch. This has loads of functionality and tracks your day more than enough for the average runner. Love the detail of my run stats and sleep stats. I didn’t want notifications and too much linking to my phone features, so this is perfect. I almost went for the 235, but glad I went for this model. It’s comfy on wrist too, super easy to connect first time and keeps the app updated throughout the day. Love it!
Bought this as a gift for my other half on recommendation. She is petite and has very small wrists but finds it comfortable enough to wear all day. Although, she does not sleep in it.
I got a grey strap from a 3rd party seller also but there are loads available to jazz it up for cheap.
It tracks accurately, does step counts and gps and all the things you would expect. The battery gets wiped from the gps, so expect to plug it in after a run or similar. Without live tracking it lasts ages and you can charge with any regular micro usb device charger (not the silly iphone ones)
She was very pleased and has worn it now for about 10 months every single day.
I already have an old Garmin running watch but wanted something new. Looked at lots of activity trackers and the lower end running watches and after reading loads of reviews decided to go for this one. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with my choice. The watch is comfortable to wear all day and seems to keep up with my steps. I spots when I’m walking to work and records these as “MoveIQ” activities. It will get it’s first proper run test tomorrow – but it worked quickly to find a satellite when I tested just now. The app is pretty good too.
So what don’t I like? The bluetooth connection seems a bit flakey for no reason. Sometimes it’s there. Sometimes it’s not. And the “Move” function that shouts at you if you don’t move around for an hour – I like the idea, but it requires way too much walking about to clear it. Not really practical for work. I know I can turn this off, but I like it in principal so persevering for now!
Update: OK, having worn the watch for a week now, I have decided that my 4* was a little harsh and have upgraded to 5*. The watch and phone almost seemed to get used to one another (no logical sense!) and they now almost always have good connection… And I have started to appreciate the MOVE function and learned how much I need to move to clear it – it is a good prompt not to be sedantry!
Excellent value at 99.
Edit May 2020: Having had the watch for approx 6 months the screen started to display severe pixellation and rather bizarre flashing at odd times. It then settled down for a few months but then the problems came back before the screen failed completely. I tried all sorts of things to resurrect it…….soft resets, hard resets, making sure the firmware was current etc. but all to no avail. There was also a small yellow spot on the screen. The watch had not been abused and had no scratched or any sign of abuse so I was a bit perplexed and rather annoyed.
Eventually I called up Garmin Support as the watch has a 2 yer warranty. The guy there was very good -asked me a few questions and then said to send it back for a straight swap.
Can’t say fairer than that.
Hopefully the replacement unit will be a bit more reliable but downgraded from my initial 5 stars because of this fault.
For the first couple of days I found this watch to be uncomfortable to wear – it actually made my wrist sore. I think that the shape of the watch is designed to keep a good contact for heart rate measurement.
As usual; with this type of device the instructions are just about good enough but lacking in some details. For example, there is an icon on the watch which isn’t in the instructions and an icon in the instructions which isn’t on the watch. However, I have been able to muddle may way through getting to know the watch without reading all the way through the instructions.
I was able to use Garmin Connect easily because I already had an account with my Garmin Edge cycling computer. I find the sleep tracking surprisingly accurate (and interesting) and I like the way the GPS keeps track of where I have been.
So far, I have allowed the watch to automatically set my step targets which is just as well because I didn’t know what level I was at. I seem to be doing an average of about 5000 a day but it swings wildly from next to nothing to over 10000. I had an occurrence of an apparent malfunction with a step count yesterday during an activity where only 56 steps were counted instead of the usual 720. Maybe this was because I was pushing a pushchair!
I also lost an activity so I presume that the memory of the watch was full. I had been avoiding connecting the watch to my PC to find out how long the battery lasts. So far, it has run for 16 days since the last synchronisation and has only just reduced from 2 to 1 segments showing on the battery indicator.
The heart rate monitor works reasonably well but is much more accurate when using the ANT+ chest monitor which I use when cycling. The watch ‘finds’ the monitor very easily.
It would be difficult to understand the information which this watch is providing if it weren’t for Garmin Connect because there are numbers on the watch which don’t have units next to them. It really is a case of learning what everything means. However, this watch is relatively cheap and ideal for someone like me who doesn’t need anything overly complicated and is looking for a bit of fun.
This is my 2nd garman first I had the garman forerunner 15.
This has the same buttons as my previous watch so was easier to use. The watch is very light and thin compared to my old watch.
It monitors your sleep and links to you ph easily and quickly once bluetooth is turned on.
The watch face is large enough for me to see without my glasses on.
I would highly recommend this watch. Was bought for running but wear it every day.
Gives you your heart rate, steps distance.
So Ive had an Apple watch series 3 for 2yesrs but due to changing phone I needed something that worked with android. I didn’t want a huge bulky watch as I was happy with the size of the spoke watch this Garmin matches I’ve had 2 days with it so far my main use is daily tracking and running/ cardio sports throughout the week. I have synced through strava and Garmin connect and works like a dream a bit slower to connect to gps before outdoor runs but it’s just what I need. Perfect for runs and simple use! Don’t regret “downgrading” to this.
I bought this to replace my FR10, which after 4 years is becoming unreliable in terms of battery life. I only use it for running and don’t use all the functions, eg: heart rate monitor, step counter etc. So far the watch has been great. Very quick to find a satellite signal before starting my run. Battery life seems excellent. I’ve run more than 30KM on one full charge and still plenty of battery left. It’s a lot more functional than the FR10, although I guess it’s still an entry level GPS watch. It tracks running, cycling and walking. You can adjust settings via the Garmin Connect App on your smart phone and it syncs via bluetooth. All very easy once you’ve got used to it. It’s also very comfortable to wear. It has a soft plastic strap. All in all I’m very pleased with it.
I run walk and cycle and want to progress from couch potato to half marathon. The forrunner 35 does exactly what I want…mapping activities recording heart rate vo2 max steps calories all presented in an excellent mobile app.
I like: battery life…it goes from full to two out of five bars over 3 days when I recharge. Strap…flexible and comfortable, fits small wrists well. Controls..simple and intuitive, I’ve had 4 button watches in the past which I have never mastered. The 35 controls were immediately intuitive. Syncing to OnePlus 3t…just works. Data….as a casual but numbers obsessed user, just what I want. In particular provides cycling vo2 max on suitable rides which does not seem to be documented.
Less happy about: small software issues, syncing has been incomplete three times in 6 weeks. Once was fixed by a reboot of the 35. Once fixed by syncing several times. Once 4 hours of heart rate data just disappeared after a reboot. Once the watch froze…fixed by a reboot. These really are minor irritants…and I really recommend it…just beware it is not perfect. Hence 4 and not 5 stars.
GPS is a bit slow to find you sometimes if in the countryside. Also found that you can run the same route and it is always a different length. The app wouldn’t go on my phone so its on my laptop and connected to strava that is on my phone
after doing what seemed to be an unending amount of research and reading reviews, the garmin forerunner 35 was recommended to me by a friend. It was a little more expensive than I would have paid, but it has turned out to be well worth the extra. It is easy to use, syncs to my phone, and I also use the web to review my activities. There’s also plenty of ‘how to’s on you tube to use all the functions.
I’m impressed with the battery life. It charges in under 2 hours and lasts over a week.
Easy to use and connects well with the Garmin Connect app and Map My.
On the downside on a number of occasions the watch misreads at the start of the second lap and although it ultimately records the distance etc. correctly when it appears as a map the start point is shown as the beginning of the second lap, rather than the place where the exercise session started. Hopefully future software updates might address this.
I’ve had this for several months now and am pretty happy with it. It’s comfortable to wear, has a pretty good battery life (although perhaps not as long as claimed) and is fairly straightforward to use. My only criticism is that it can sometimes take a few minutes to lock onto GPS, particularly on cloudy days, and it sometimes loses contact in built up or wooded areas resulting in GPS drift. Overall it’s well worth the money though and I’d definitely buy it or another Garmin again.
As such it does a pretty good job. There are a few profiles to choose from – Run, Run Indoor (no GPS), bike, cardio and walk. I would have liked to have seen swim added to this too, but this is left to more expensive watches, along with the ability to combine sports for a duathlon or triathlon.
The GPS performance is OK. I pick up a signal within a minute or two most times. The track seems reasonably accurate, but I’ve seen better. I often find corners are cut or I’m shown running alongside the road, through people’s houses.
The unit is fairly small for a GPS watch and looks smart enough to wear all the time. The screen is nice and clear, both for reading the time and for checking data when furiously sprinting along.
Battery life is good, I charge it every 7-10 days depending on what I’m doing with it. Obviously the more I use it in GPS mode the quicker the battery drains. Even in GPS mode the batter lasts well enough. With a full charge I’ve had no problems tracking a whole day on the bike with GPS tracking for over 7 hours.
One annoying thing I’ve found is that when I pause an activity (usually a ride) and don’t re-start within a few minutes it will end my ride without me knowing. Even though it looks like I then continue my ride afterwards, when I upload it to Garmin Connect (and Strava) it shows as 2 separate rides. I can’t see what I’m doing wrong and I’ve not seen this behaviour in previous watches.
Overall
——–
Pros:
+ Bright clear screen
+ Reasonable battery life
+ Heart Rate Monitor built in
+ Covers the basic activities (run, bike, cardio and walk)
+ Simple to use
Cons:
– Problem with it splitting rides into 2 if I stop for longer than a few minutes
– Would be nice to have swim profile
– GPS could be a little more accurate
Overall this is a decent entry level GPS watch. It’s straightforward and simple but includes a few nice extras such as heart rate monitor. For someone who likes to run, bike or walk and wants to simply track their activities this is great. For someone who’s more obsessive about tracking tonnes of data on all their workouts, there are more expensive options that would probably be better suited.
Heart rate monitoring seems as accurate as my Polar chest band, even without having to have the watch very tight.
Syncing, either via phone or USB cable, is faultless.
Bought the watch exclusively for running, but loved the smartphone notifications once I got it, replacing my old beloved Pebble Kickstarter edition (RIP buddy).
Physically it’s not very attractive, pretty blocky, doesn’t easily slide under a shirt sleeve. My wife hated it and wouldn’t let it anywhere near the bed.
Buttons are super intuitive and it couldn’t be easier to use. Heart rate function is a bit questionable, I doubt my resting heart rate is really 46bpm; HR goes up to more accurate level when I make the watch so tight it’s uncomfortable.
The Connect app is where it all comes together though, it’s really slick; great analytics, records over certain distances, competition with your friends (and strangers), and generally a good place to track your progress. It’s a bit facile, but I quite enjoy getting ‘Badges’ for certain patterns, like logging a workout every day for a week, running before 7am/after 10pm, beating a record etc So much so that despite being really p1ssed about first the elevation function disappearing 3 months ago, followed by the entire GPS function (just sits in ‘Wait…’ forever), that I ordered another one, a Forerunner 235 this time, better looking, more buttons, configurable watchfaces and apps.
Their support were completely disinterested, replying once after a few days with ‘have you turned it off and on again?’ after I laid out in detail all the things I’d tried (I’ve worked in IT for 20+ years), so no use there.
Budget to replace it frequently, and try not to be angry when Garmin don’t care that it broke, it was likely designed to, instead, focus on the fantastic software and beating your best 1/5/10/42 km time.
edit: Added a star because Garmin support have come back and offered me a refurbed one, sent in my sick one there. Decent customer service in the end, if a little bit slow.
UPDATE. It’s easy to use and set up. Battery is good as well. For me though, I just want to know how far I’ve run and herein lies the problem. Yesterday I ran 6 miles round a park with marker posts every 100m and the lap being 800m. It was out by half a mile. So, that means the pace I’m running is also out. Today I’ve walked a lap each way and it’s out 60m and 40m. Now this could be down to trees but they were sparsely spread. I will update after my next run next week using a different location. I’VE NOW USED THIS A FEW TIMES AND FOR WHATEVER REASON IT IS PERFORING BETTER? WHY IT DIDNT AT FIRST I DONT KNOW? THE ROUTE IVE USED I MEASURED ON MY BIKE. CALIBRATED THE COMPUTER AND GOT AN ACCURATE DISTANCE TO COMPARE. THE FR35 AFTER A 10K RUN IS ABOUT 400M OFF. SO I ACTUALLY RUN 10.25 KM AND IT SHOWS 10K. ABOUT 3 TO 4% OFF WHICH I BELIEVE IS NORMAL. UPRATED IT TO 4 STARS. AM I PLEASED WITH THE PURCHASE? YES.
I wanted to get away from a chest strap and phone solution and this works fine. Heart rate seems reasonably accurate over time but can be a bit off; seems to work better for running than cardio, HIIT etc. I have slim wrists and this is just about okay for them, but is a bit of a squeeze for formal shirt cuffs as a daily wear tracker. GPS accuracy is good and I like the VO2 max stats. The app is a bit clunky.
The watch tracks gps well and displays all the data you need it to. You can configure what it shows using the app on your phone like pace/speed, distance, time, calories burnt, etc. The battery lasts long enough but with gps on it doesn’t last more than 6 hours. I ran a half marathon with a full battery and after 2 hours when I finished the battery had less than half full power which I thought it should have more but it did very well. It’s comfy to wear and the heart rate monitor works well. For amateur/competent runners it’s a good watch if you can get it on sale.
Does what it says on the box. Allows you to see what route you have taken on a run or walk which is useful for reviewing progress on your smartphone or tablet with a map. Reliable and easy to read black & white display.
I had some ‘spare’ (sic) money and decided to invest in a new running watch. Why and why the forerunner 35?
* The 15 drains the battery in 3.5hrs (approx)
* It doesn’t measure anything else
* It doesn’t have Bluetooth connectivity and it can only be connected to the Garmin app by connecting to a PC.
I wanted
* Longer GPS life
* Waterproof (resistance)
* More measurements
* Connection to a smartphone
But
* Not so much information, complication as to make me not want to use it.
* Value for Money.
It took me weeeeks to decide. After 1 or 2 false starts etc I chose the Forerunner 35.
* Claims 9 + hours of GPS (enough for 95% of whatever I do or what I will ever want to do)
* Waterproof
* Gives an Idea of heart rate….VO2….from wrist
* Daily steps and calories
* Easy connection to phone
Did I want to play music from it? No
Did I want maps on it? Fun, but not necessary
Has a sleep tracker – OK, a bonus
Alerts from phone? Not interested in that, but it has it as a feature.
What is the reality?
* Comfortable and lightweight
* Purchased a screen protector as screen is flush not recessed.
* Ran an Ultra in a rural setting. GPS took 10 seconds to fix. Did not fail for entire run. Accurate distance measured.
* Most important for me.
The GPS figure isn’t hype.
Before the Ultra I switched off heart rate monitor and Bluetooth. As the photos above show, the run lasted 7 hours and the battery kept the GPS running for the full time…..still with 2 of the 5 battery bars still available. The 2 bars have lasted thru the next day with the heart monitor on.
I would certainly be confident of a 9hr + battery life with GPS.
EDIT
ANOTHER ULTRA RUN; 10HRS PLUS
* The heart rate and VO2 aren’t good enough for medical purposes! But for my purposes they ‘look right’. I am happy with the numbers they give ….in fact I’m rather impressed with how accurate they appear.
* When transferred to my smartphone (painlessly) lap times (whichever you have chosen – miles…km) are shown: as is a map of the course with approximate heights etc shown.
* I have always used Endomondo on my smartphone for mapping my runs using GPS now I can transfer the Garmin information straight to Endomondo, meaning my phone can be used for listening to music (even making an emergency call if necessary – whatever) without the chance of the battery being quickly drained on a long run.
Why only 4*? I’ve had to give it 1 (one) soft reboot…. So it is really 4.79*(!)
will comment further as I use this item more.
EDIT
5* – no more resets needed
I don’t use any of the sporting features. Bought purely to replace a broken Pebble classic.
The Garmin win’s on hardware quality as in I expect the screen will still function properly after 6 months unlike the Pebble’s I have owned.
The pebble wins on user interface. Button placement, menu navigation, call notification, message notification, vibration strength, screen lights up with a flick of the wrist, control of audio devices is much better.
Pebble are out of business so this Garmin is the closest replacement and works for me most of the time.
Love this – not had it long – tracks exercise very well, love the stats. It’s not particularly stylish, but if you’re after something to give you insight into your activity and don’t want to shell out the ‘s for a sleeker model, this is for you. I’d definitely buy again.
This watch is very good for tracking your run or ride. It is quick to locate satellites and seems to be very accurate. The watch is easy to set up and use. BUT, it does not sync with my Huawei Honor 6x phone. I tried all ways, switching Bluetooth on/off resetting every thing. It states it has synce’d but no ride data is transferred. Only buy if you do not have a Huawei phone.
A slow plodder that wanted a step up from a Fitbit Charge 2 with GPS. Garmin 35 suited my needs exactly. I dont need the functionality of the more expensive Garmin ranges as sadly I’m never going to pose a competitive challenge to the great Sir Mo. Connect isnt brilliant, but the Strava connectivity is good. Being naturally clumsy I also got a rubber cover and screen protector and it looks good. Overall excellent device at the level I need. Very serious trainers may want a higher spec however.
Had this watch for over a month now and I’m very happy with it. It has a very clear display with large digits. I know some friends with this watch/similar models who wear it everyday. Personally I use it whenever I’m going out on a run/out on my bike but it is comfortable enough to wear all day if you’re looking for a watch to wear all the time. The battery life is very good- I get a full week easily, using it 3/4 times. I was looking for a watch which wasn’t too bulky as I have small wrists and this watch ticks that box – it is a good size in terms of both the watch face size and the thickness of the watch. You can link it up to your strava account easily to see all your runs there. There’s been a couple of occasions where part of the run hasn’t recorded for some reason (usually at the start of a run), perhaps this was because of a poor gps signal though and definitely not a major issue. Very happy all round and would recommend it to anyone looking for a basic heart rate running/cycling watch!
I have been wanting to buy a GPS running watch for some time but always felt the prices too high. I am a runner but have always tracked my runs via my iphone, which defeats the objective of heading out for an uninterrupted run. The Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS Running watch tracks all the essentials and even measures you pulse and sleep other things which I like to track. It is an intuitive watch.
The watch is fine. The battery lasts days although I don’t have Bluetooth on except when synching with phone. The phone info is good too.
My only reservation is that the manual is limited and it takes quite a bit of time to find your way around. I did not really want it for sports but for walking, heart beat and sleeping. which it does well.
Initially I thought this watch was fantastic, however roll on a few months and there are the odd glitches such as; GPS wont kick in, GPS will give wrong readings. I am also dubious as to the accuracy of the heart beat monitor. Overall its a good tool for monitoring activity.
1) It won’t sync with Google Fit, so your data is stuck with Garmin, meaning if you another brand in future, all your past data will be gone. It also means that you will struggle to share data between devices from different manufacturers.
2) It is very odd about units. You can select Imperial (lb, miles, farenheit), Metric (kg, km, ‘C) or British Imperial (stone, miles, ‘C). This in itself is weird; every other app I’ve used allows me to select which units to use for each parameter. Even stranger is that although the present weather on the phone is always in the selected unit, the weather forecast page is always in Fahrenheit, regardless of setting.
However, that’s all the bad stuff.
The good stuff is:
1) it is easy to set up and navigate – just don’t connect to it with Bluetooth until the Garmin Connect app tells you to.
2) it has a great ‘auto stop’/’auto start’ feature.
3) satellite acquisition was very fast.
4) you can control your music from your wrist
5) notifications show up on the phone, and you have a lot of granular control over which notifications show up. You can also mute them whilst your running.
6) the heart rate function seems to work pretty well, and has the last 4h available graphically.
7) The Garmin Connect app is good with a lot of options, and a lot of data.
8) The strap is comfortable, and the watch is light.
Does everything you need including sleep tracking steps etc and screen excellent both outdoors and in.
Comfortable weight, size and original strap very supple … big / easy to read data elements and texts for those of us with less than perfect vision.
I cycle lots and use an edge 520 for that, so this is mainly going to be used as an additional tool for all the other stuff I do, and at the deal prices Amazon is doing, I would suggest it is fantastic value and the bang for buck is hard to beat.
I previously tried a Garmin 735XT and found it very lacklustre and somewhat “wanting” especially the screen which was lacking contrast and data elements/texts just too small to be legible … the 235 uses a similar screen size etc so not really any improvement.
Garmin do a rather annoying thing though – they hide data they could easily show to users of “lower end” kit in the Garmin connect app … eg time in heart rate zones should be visible to users of Garmin 35’s, similarly they could calculate training effects, stress, recovery time, etc … however they choose not to show this and instead market it as a feature only available on higher end models like 735 or 935 where it is visible on the watch as well as in the Connect app. Understandable I guess to a degree but a little cheap/frustrating as the data is actually recorded on the watch and stored in the fit/gpx files (only diff really is that it would be shown after the event and not in real time on the watch as it is with higher end models)
No major issue if you have other apps or software (eg strava) to do this kind of data analysis for you, but a little narrow minded of Garmin to think their users so stupid not to see this as a bit of a marketing “con”.
Other notable thing that is missing … a simple stopwatch/countdown timer. You can do manual laptmes with all GPS HRM analysis on a button press during in activity, but boiling an egg accurately after a workout is not possible.
Pairs with ant+ devices including speed and hrm from other manufacturers like wahoo and sigma, Sigma works fine however I had a drop out on first use with wahoo so need to do more testing to see whether that was a blip or something worse … doesn’t log power meter data and will not connect to my quarq qzero power meter to log just cadence (I use the edge 520 for that, so no stress).
My daughter will borrow this to track her running, fit or gpx files can be exported and imported from Garmin to other apps like strava with very little hassle … just requires a little manual work to remove her runs from my own activities in Garmin Connect or I need to manually upload and import them to her Strava account or set her something up in Connect.
Oh yeah … 50m waterproof too … whilst it doesn’t do swimming, and the optical wrist based HRM is probably useless in water, you could use the watch with a “cardio activity” selected and use a waterproof HRM strap to do “open water swimming” or maybe even indoor pool swimming (depending on the building the gps might pick up through the roof), then you can simply change the activity once in the Connect app to whatever swimming profile you use. Essentially similar for all activities … ie if you log a “cardio activity” on this watch it can be anything (we’ve tried it for go karting, take-off and landing on a plane at 520kmh, skating, etc …) then later you can re-classify it in the Connect app.
Edit: optical hrm gets a bit inaccurate once to up your heart rate to more than 130bpm … noticed this on mine and my son’s data. I was clocking 150bpm on heart rate strap and edge 520, 35 was only showing 131bpm. This kind of thing is standard with optical hrm, so not a criticism of 35 and i imagine would be same for most wrist based optical hrm watches.
Another reference in case it helps … gps speed tracking on 35 very close to the figures shown by a calibrated garmin speed sensor linked to my edge 520.
So in summary, the main difference between this and more expensive Garmin watches (apart from the looks) is how much real time data you want or can see whilst doing an activity … you want more bling and data elements then buy a higher end watch, you want a more general but very capable sleep, fitness, cycling and running watch to log your steps, tell you to move and record whatever other activities you do in life and maybe as a second device … then you should give this a whirl.
I’ve been using this for several weeks now, and really pleased with it. Worth noting that the Garmin app adds altitude after upload. This means that altitude is added only *after* its sync’ed to any other fitness apps (Strava, Endomondo etc) which then don’t get the altitude information from the GPS. This watch has the essentials in a non fussy way. It would be better if the imperial/metric settings could be applied independently to distance and temperature. Because I prefer miles, I must therefore have Fahrenheit too. Good purchase.
My first ever fitness watch and I love it!! Battery lasts for ages, I charge it once a week. I use it mainly for running and walking. It’s connected to my Strava and also you have to download Garmin Connect which gives you all sorts of analysis about your health from sleep to heart monitoring. I also connected to myfitnesspal and it works great. I am so glad I snapped this when Amazon was doing a deal!
5 *? Because they have the best customer service I ever dealt with! After contacting them I got brand new watch within four days (after sending broken one to them). There is no issues with new one and I’m constantly using it!
Solid all round budget watch. It tracks via gps perfectly and the heart rate tracker seems pretty accurate. Connects to strava via the app or you can just upload the gps files by plugging in your watch via USB and uploading to strava directly.
Only problems is with Bluetooth quite often failing to connect to my phone so I have to reconnect or upload files manually.
If you are looking for a watch in this price range the garmin 35 can’t really be beat.
Good for the price watch.
GPS – I’ve only had a problem once, when there was heavy cloud cover. But once it found me, it tracked my run accurately
Heart rate monitor – It’s major flaw! I would say that every other run i do will have inaccurate data, and after reading about it online, I am not the only one! Its not really something im interested in, so it doesnt bother me, but if you are looking for a watch that does this accurately, i would look elsewhere.
Other than that, its comfortable to wear, looks good on your wrist and doesnt irritate your skin too much ( i have v sensitive skin). Charges quickly and last for 5-7 days depending on how often you run. Personally, i would recommend this to a friend.
A great value GPS watch. The GPS tracking is great while running and it usually only takes a few seconds to obtain a signal. My only complaint is that the heart rate tracker seems to be a bit random at times. I’ve seen it very low when I’m out of breath and around 150 when I’m sat down doing nothing. The heart rate tracker seems to work fine during runs but during day to day activities it is very unreliable.
I was a smart watch guy before, but then the continuous contact with my phone where I received the same notifications made me rethink this passion. Although, I do a lot of sports, and since I work in the office I wanted to have some watch what can track my movements and I can use as well during running and doing other sports.
The look is not to classic, you will not show up with this bad boy, but maybe this is the only down side of the product.
I run, going to a gym and ride my bike the most. Next to these I wanted to have something what tracks my movements and also measures my pulse and should not be too expensive. Oh and it MUST BE durable. Well I have to say, I think I have found the perfect watch for these.
Running: I’m not a marathoner, I run for fun, I need one device with me what tracks and measures my pulse meanwhile. With the full setup on the Garmin app what I found fairly easy, the watch even sets the ideal steps what you need to make daily calculated against you age, height and weight. I think it is also add the previously done activities in the formula, because I recognized during summer, where I move a lot more, it gave me more steps to walk comparing the times where I’m less active.
Durability: As I said, I wanted to have something with waterproofing. To be able to use for more than a day with one charge as I travel a lot and I do not want to show up in Asia with any fancy thing.
Well this watch fulfill all requirements, I can easily hold 5-7 days with one charge, I can swim even in salty water (Must be washed after), I used it during Kitesurfing this summer.
And you know what? It can handle the Finnish Sauna as well!! I’ve been in the steam and sauna for more than 10 times now, and still running.
The app for me is straight forward, but I’m a geek person. It was easy to setup and gives enough feedback from my performance and even sleep patterns. I received 3 updates already in the last 4 months. You can connect it to Runkeeper what was a big plus for me, It somewhat trickier but it works.
I recommend this product if you can overlook the fancy level of this watch. For active people will be perfect.
As I mentioned earlier, wasn’t really looking it at as a lifestyle coach, but even that has proved very insightful- particularly how it monitors sleep patterns and general background activity. Don’t really wear any other watch these days.
Another plus is that the battery, even with 3-5 runs/rides a week typically lasts 5-7 days before a recharge is needed.
My only minor gripe (not enough for it to lose a star) is that the sync with your mobile phone notifications is almost useless as the screen is so small and text so big that you barely get the first couple of words of any text/msg received. You can scroll down but just as easy to look at your phone.
It does what it says – not over complicated, easy to navigate, good for the everyday runner Would have preferred hours, minutes and seconds on the every day watch face – for timing something that doesn’t require a stopwatch. Also it doesn’t display the month – but I guess we know what month it is. Linking with mobile phone is quick and easy and I like the alerts that come to the watch. Need to charge every 5-6 days – not an issue.
So far I’m 3 days and 2 hours or running in and I’m still on 3/4 battery.
GPS lick within seconds on both runs and the screen is incredibly clear even in bright sunlight.
So, I’m smitten with this device and thoroughly ready to recommend it to anyone that’s interested in graduating to a ‘proper’ digital running/cycling companion.
Thanks Garmin!
Firstly, it’s a very comfortable watch, easy to wear as an everyday watch and low profile enough to wear even with shirts and cuffs/cufflinks (try that with the vivosmart!). I wanted a watch I could wear all day and all night (see below on sleep tracking) and it delivers. It has a very easy to see in all-conditions screen, with the time clearly displayed as you’d want moment to moment. It’s really light too – barely notice it. It also does the add-ons that are nice, including smart notifications from your phone (messages, diary reminders, incoming calls, whatsapp, etc, etc), weather app connection (needs phone) and a great battery that lasts several days, even when using GPS a bit for activities.
Secondly, even though it’s a “running watch” it makes a great activity tracker. It’s got a steps tracker that sets your daily target and all that good stuff, it tracks your heart rate regularly and it has the all-important get off your bum bar (“move” bar I think, technically) on the home screen. It syncs effortlessly with garmin connect so you can see your more detailed stats whenever you want on your phone too. Sleep tracking was important to me and it does that very well. Garmin connect is relatively basic in sleep stats (at least from what I can see so far), but analysis of deep sleep vs light seems to correlate to how I feel the next morning and the start and finished sleep points have been pretty accurate. I knew it would confirm I’m not getting enough sleep, but somehow having the stats build it helping me work on that (and work on what stops me getting more deep sleep – phone by the bed’s on the list ofcourse!).
So that’s all the ways I wanted to use it that it wasn’t labelled as. How does it work as what it actually says it is then – a running watch? The answer is pretty damn well. I have a garmin forerunner 920xt which is a (significantly more expensive) higher end watch for running, cycling, swimming, triathlon, etc. You need a separate heart rate strap with it (generally still considered to have better accuracy than wrist based heart rate sensors) and it’s been my training watch for a year and a half now. I love it. So I expected the forerunner 35 to pale against it, less useful and less accurate. It certainly can’t do all the same stuff (no swim option, doesn’t work with other bike sensors like cadence I believe) but on a like for like for what it can do the 35 performs really well. I’ve used it on a few runs and it’s accurate on distance, pretty responsive on heart rate (I’d read it’s slow, but don’t find it bad at all, at least not for a pretty steady effort which is what I tend to do most of) and just easy to use. It picks up GPS quickly too. I used it side by side with the 920xt on a bike ride and the stats were the same (average HR exactly, distance was slightly different but I only paused one when we had a break which could explain). I’ll invariably still use the 920 for most things, but for running I could well use the 35 going forwards. I also love that you can set this up to transmit HR via ant+. meaning if you have another exercise computer (like the 920 or more likely a cycle computer) you can use this for HR instead of the chest strap if you like.
I really can’t find many faults with this. I think the main one (and the drop of one star) is the look. As others have noted it’s pretty damn fugly. There’s no real need for that. It looks like it wants to be like the apple watch but couldn’t really be bothered. I’ve bought another colour strap to jazz it up a bit, but am also happy to go function over form (the vivosmart it’s much more designed, but fell over on the comfort as a result).
Apart from that I really do like it. Yes, it’s not touchscreen but I prefer that – buttons mean it does what you want, when you want it to. It’s also monochrome screen, which falls a bit with the above point but again it doesn’t affect anything and better that than be more expensive to add colour. Would I like it as much at full RRP? Now there’s a question. Probably not is the honest answer. At that stage the vivoactive HR becomes an option and packs in a lot more than this watch, but at the discounted price from prime day, and I’m sure again before long, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.
So a star off for looks and (full) price. Otherwise pretty hard to fault.
Who should get this? A few others have given a pretty good answer to that, but to add my 2 pence worth I’d say it’s great for anyone wants to get active, or is and is run focussed.
Some positives to begin with, which ought to have earnt it 5 stars:
Battery life seems good. I ran a 5 hour race at the weekend and it only dropped to 2 bars of battery from 4.
The steps counter is actually kinda cool and I have tested it out to find it reasonably accurate. I have become a little bit obsessed with my target now despite never having bought it for this.
The HRM is very cool. I wanted to get away from a chest strap and this is definitely much better.
It gets satellites really quickly (305 sometimes took up to 10 minutes, this averages about 30 seconds depending where I am).
The one downside I have found is that some of the settings seem to change at random. I think they probably pick up from my Garmin Connect account when I sync, but it’s still annoying that I will probably have to muck about searching for the solution. In particular, it has changed out of the blue from KM to miles, so I have been running along thinking to myself “blimey, am I only doing 6 min km?” only to find it’s changed back to miles. Also the movement alarm has switched itself back on several times. The most annoying time I was lying in bed asleep and at 5am it just started vibrating and telling me I needed to move more! I did laugh at it vibrating on Sunday evening after I had run 28.5 miles telling me to move, despite having done 48,000 of my 12,000 steps target.
As I say, I can almost certainly Google an answer to find how to stop it from doing it. But it’s still annoyed me enough to downrate it by a star.
I got one of these after going through the steps of basic body HR monitor and wrist band which did not have GPS, to then using my phone with a body HR monitor, which I could not get on with as I would fumble for about 5 minutes trying to ensure that the phone was started and all was ok! Then this came on the market and seems to have wrapped it up into an affordable package. I love it! Gives me HR and GPS and plugs into Garmin website so that you can measure trends over time and sleep patterns etc. As others have stated, sometimes the heart monitor goes off a bit, but not enough to be an issue for me as I am not running triathlons…..yet!!. I would recommend for the money.
In all other aspects it is very good, enough battery life, easy to navigate & configure (I compare it with my old Forerunner 305, this is much better) , very comfortable.
Bluetooth connection was smooth, no issues.