A Garmin GPS watch is an excellent investment whether you are interested in improving your fitness or just want to track your hikes with a bit more accuracy. In this guide we are going to be running you through our Garmin range and hopefully helping you decide which watch might be right for you.
We have broken this guide down into different types of personas and with these we will suggest watches that best fit the persona, so whichever one describes you best will be the perfect watch for you, simple!
Persona 1
“I have an active lifestyle, in and out of the gym I want an extension of my digital life on my wrist that will track my daily activities without being an eyesore.”
The Vivoactive 4 as well as the Venu SQ and Venu 2 are perfect options for you. The Venu SQ has a very familiar design aesthetic. The Venu 2 is the most powerful of the bunch from a feature and battery life point of view. The Vivoactive 4 and 4S Are very good more inexpensive options. All of these have touch screens, Garmin pay, music storage as well as access to Garmin Connect IQ “app store"
Persona 2
“I am beginning or re-starting my fitness journey. I am looking for something simple to track my workouts that will help me achieve my goals.”
Good on you! To help you along your fitness journey, we would recommend the Forerunner 55 or perhaps the Forerunner 245 music. The Forerunner 55 is a no-nonsense running watch with a few other sports profiles. With 14-days of battery life in SmartWatch mode (20 hours in GPS) you will not have to worry too much about charging this watch too often. The 245 would be a great update to an older Garmin, if you own one, as it packs a lot of modern features such as advanced running dynamics and recovery time I’m as well as music storage into a relatively inexpensive package.
Persona 3
“I love all things water and swimming, I am often in the pool before work and need a simple no-nonsense Garmin watch to track my swims in the pool and in open water.”
The Garmin Swim 2 is the watch for you. As the name suggests this is a swimming specific watch with 72 hours of battery life in pool swimming mode as well as giving you in-depth performance dynamics on your swim stroke both in and out of the pool. This watch does not have many bells and whistles but what it does it does very well.
Persona 4
“I cannot pick one sport, I ride my bike and I love to run. I guess you could say I am just a mover. The medium doesn’t matter as much as the movement for me. I need a Garmin watch that will keep up!”
So you’re a bit of a triathlete then? The Forerunner 745 or 955 Solar are the watches for you. They are packed with sports profiles, including a triathlon/multisport-specific profile. These watches give you in-depth performance dynamics on swimming, cycling, and running while also so having powerful battery life. These watches, especially the 955 solar, pack nearly all of the premium features available in the Garmin lineup into a more inexpensive, lightweight package compared to the Fenix line.
Persona 5
“Performance is everything. I set myself audacious fitness goals to chase down. I need an accurate Garmin watch that will give me in-depth performance analysis.”
The 955 Solar or the Fenix 7 are the watches we would recommend. These are excellent watches that will track your activity incredibly accurately and give you advanced dynamics on whatever sport you are taking part in. From tracking sleep to mid-activity performance condition, these watches are the perfect partner for your training.
Persona 6
“I love the outdoors. Hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, trail running, I do it all. I love training but for me spending time outdoors is why I do it.”
There are two watches in our range that we would highly recommend to outdoor enthusiasts looking for a Garmin watch.
The Garmin Instinct is a rugged outdoor sport watch that is comparable in feature set to the 245 music. What sets the Instinct apart is its exceptional battery life. The standard Instinct without solar charging boasts an impressive 28 days of battery life in SmartWatch mode with up to 30 hours with GPS on.
The Garmin Fenix is the pinnacle of our range at Great Outdoors, packing all of the incredible features available to them into one premium sports watch. The Fenix 7 is comparable in feature set to the Forerunner 955, however, the Fenix line boasts additional features that are particularly useful for outdoor enthusiasts. Navigation through topographical maps that can be loaded onto the watch offers peace of mind to those that like to push themselves in wild places.
Here is a cheat sheet for the features on our range of Garmin Watches
