Today’s powerful running watches offer GPS, plus a number of sport-specific features, to help you track every step of the run. But some go even further, offering other sensors and technologies to keep you connected for the rest of the day and measure your performance, even when you’re sleeping.
That’s why we know that by buying best watches for runners like this, you’re making a pretty substantial investment that you’ll want to last a few years.
So, whether you are about to buy an advanced watch for the first time, or you are looking for an updated model, we have some tips and suggestions to make sure you choose the right one for you.
Although running watches are rarely stylish, Forerunner 235 is one of the most attractive GPS running watches you can buy.
It comes with a classic 1.23-inch diameter, round, sharp, easy-to-read color display.
It’s bright and capable of displaying up to four statistics on two customisable screens.
But, it’s not touch-sensitive. So, for navigation it comes with five side buttons, which will show you Garmin’s relatively simple menus.
The buttons respond perfectly and are very easy to use, even on the move.
And it weighs just 42g. Which makes it one of the lightest watches on the market.
The strap is made of soft, perforated silicone, which allows for a more comfortable and less sweaty ride.
This strap is particularly useful for longer distances and also adjusts to your wrist to better measure your heart rate, as it has a built-in heart rate sensor.
The Garmin Forerunner 235 tracks your heart rate (HR) from your wrist, but can also be used with ANT+ chest straps if you require greater accuracy.
Forerunner 235’s optical heart rate sensor also supports a VO2 Max reading, or maximum oxygen volume, measured in millilitres per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min).
It has four sport modes: Run, Run Indoor, Cycle and Other, and it’s really handy, so you can customise two data screens with up to four fields to create your own favourite displays in each.
It includes an accelerometer, which tracks indoor runs, while GLONASS and GPS provide the usual metrics for pace, distance and outdoor speed.
You can store up to 200 hours of activity on the clock, giving you plenty of range if you want to search for old information.
Forerunner 235 isn’t just a watch for running, it’s also a complete activity tracker that learns your daily patterns and automatically sets step targets to strive for.
Sleep also counts for Forerunner 235, as it offers a quality time assessment on the pillow.
The battery has a maximum of 11 hours in training and 9 days in clock mode.
