I went from a Forerunner 225 to an Apple Watch series 4 (for about 5 years) and have now returned to Garmin. The Forerunner 965 blows my mind! It has so many features, and personally, is surprisingly easier for me to use than my Apple Watch. It has some awesome fitness apps, it has Garmin pay, it’s extremely customizable, and I absolutely Love the long battery life. It’ll last for many days without a charge, depending on how you use it. Being a runner, I like loading music playlists from my library, and the Garmin Express app is many times easier than wrestling with the Apple Watch app on the iPhone. I’m very grateful for the extra storage space the Garmin has. The feedback and data Garmin shows is very valuable to me when I’m training. I wasn’t crazy about the ... MoreI went from a Forerunner 225 to an Apple Watch series 4 (for about 5 years) and have now returned to Garmin. The Forerunner 965 blows my mind! It has so many features, and personally, is surprisingly easier for me to use than my Apple Watch. It has some awesome fitness apps, it has Garmin pay, it’s extremely customizable, and I absolutely Love the long battery life. It’ll last for many days without a charge, depending on how you use it. Being a runner, I like loading music playlists from my library, and the Garmin Express app is many times easier than wrestling with the Apple Watch app on the iPhone. I’m very grateful for the extra storage space the Garmin has. The feedback and data Garmin shows is very valuable to me when I’m training. I wasn’t crazy about the watch-faces initially, however cosmetic, though they’ve come out with some super cool ones lately that I’m digging. It is a bigger watch than my Apple Watch, though everything is easier to read with the larger surface aera and ultra bright screen. While you can receive texts and notifications, you can’t respond to them. I think Apple has made that an option only possible by using their products. I did replace the default Garmin watchband with a slimmer and sleeker band. The 965 is an awesome watch! I can’t wait to do some hikes with my wife and try the map features out as well! Happy trails!

A screen I can read!

I upgraded to the FR965 from a 6 year-old Fenix 5x. Three reasons prompting me to upgrade were trouble charging, extremely inaccurate OHR readings due to the cracking that took place on the HR sensor, and my aging eyes just couldn't read the data screens during my workouts.The FR965 took care of all of these plus has added features that my older Fenix never had, (ie...training readiness and the body battery).The Fenix line is probably more suitable for a wider range of activities, but I don't plan on base jumping in a squirrel suit or training for a free diving world record...I have given up cycling and now run exclusively so the Forerunner is perfect for me and does more than I'll, (and daresay ANY recreational runner will), ever need.My training runs and ... MoreI upgraded to the FR965 from a 6 year-old Fenix 5x. Three reasons prompting me to upgrade were trouble charging, extremely inaccurate OHR readings due to the cracking that took place on the HR sensor, and my aging eyes just couldn't read the data screens during my workouts.The FR965 took care of all of these plus has added features that my older Fenix never had, (ie...training readiness and the body battery).The Fenix line is probably more suitable for a wider range of activities, but I don't plan on base jumping in a squirrel suit or training for a free diving world record...I have given up cycling and now run exclusively so the Forerunner is perfect for me and does more than I'll, (and daresay ANY recreational runner will), ever need.My training runs and workouts take place between 3am and 5am during the week before work. I run with a headlight and my favorite feature of the 965 is the brilliant amoled screen that lights up and displays my pace, HR, running power, and next step in my workout.My power-based training plans written by Steve Palladino, sync to my Garmin Connect calendar from Final Surge and I follow the workouts on my watch using the Stryd power zones data field in native run mode. I'm also using a Stryd footpod and Garmin's HR Pro+ heart rate chest strap to track HR and running power. Everything is connected through ANT+ and/or BLE and works together flawlessly! Oh yeah...I also have my Jaybird Vista 2 earbuds connected to my watch and I'm listening to my running playlist on Spotify through all this.The battery life on the FR965 is much longer, despite the well-lit display, than I was accustomed to with the Fenix 5X. Even tracking over 30 miles of runs and workouts, I only charge the watch once per week...even then it's still around 30% when I put it on the charger.I've had several Garmin running watches/activity trackers over the years and the FR965 is hands down the best one yet. I considered the Epix 2 before deciding on this one and I have no regrets at all. I would recommend this model for anyone serious about their run training and the data that this watch can provide.

Amazing health features. Limited Apple integration

If you are switching to Garmin from Apple you are likely doing so for the health and metric benefits. From that aspect, this watch will not disappoint. I love that my exercise minutes are now based on a week vs day, as well as more points for higher intensity vs less intense. This watch seems to assume you want to be healthy and gives you metrics to gradually improve your fitness. There’s so many helpful functions: upcoming race, digital coach as well as sleep, VO2, body battery and so many more. I have no complaints on the athletic functions and need to continue to explore more. I know this watch is more marketed to runners but as an avid mountain biker, I find it just as useful. The display is great, maps are nice, and it is a lot lighter than the Epix.Now the ... MoreIf you are switching to Garmin from Apple you are likely doing so for the health and metric benefits. From that aspect, this watch will not disappoint. I love that my exercise minutes are now based on a week vs day, as well as more points for higher intensity vs less intense. This watch seems to assume you want to be healthy and gives you metrics to gradually improve your fitness. There’s so many helpful functions: upcoming race, digital coach as well as sleep, VO2, body battery and so many more. I have no complaints on the athletic functions and need to continue to explore more. I know this watch is more marketed to runners but as an avid mountain biker, I find it just as useful. The display is great, maps are nice, and it is a lot lighter than the Epix.Now the down sides. Coming from an Apple watch my main complaints are, I can’t send a quick “yes, no, maybe,” canned reply for text messages from my watch. I get that there is no speaker to dictate messages but a dozen canned replies would help a ton. I also do not like that all of my notifications are lumped into the “text” icon on the watch, i.e. if i have two unread text messages and two other apps also sent miscellaneous push notifications, the text icon shows 4 unread messages. I hope Garmin will change, in a future update, the ability to only show actual unread text messages in the text number icon vs every possible notification your phone generates.All in all, this watch is excellent. It will likely improve your health but it does come with one or two drawbacks from the Apple integration side.

Back to Garmin and I couldn’t be happier!

This watch is awesome! I’m into running and triathlons as an amateur. I started looking for a smartwatch in the summer and got my first 965, worked perfect, but I decided to return it after trying it and got an Apple Watch Ultra thinking it would match better my lifestyle and would be easier to connect with my iPhone, but missed these top 965 functions which made me come back to Garmin:1) Garmin Connect: it has all the data I care (and more) and graphs with great insights. I rarely check Strava or other Apps now other than to check out friends (and to see my live feed while riding the bike)2) Training readiness: showing me the hrs I need to rest and it is really accurate.3) Morning report: it is that nice that I want to have the watch overnight to confirm that ... MoreThis watch is awesome! I’m into running and triathlons as an amateur. I started looking for a smartwatch in the summer and got my first 965, worked perfect, but I decided to return it after trying it and got an Apple Watch Ultra thinking it would match better my lifestyle and would be easier to connect with my iPhone, but missed these top 965 functions which made me come back to Garmin:1) Garmin Connect: it has all the data I care (and more) and graphs with great insights. I rarely check Strava or other Apps now other than to check out friends (and to see my live feed while riding the bike)2) Training readiness: showing me the hrs I need to rest and it is really accurate.3) Morning report: it is that nice that I want to have the watch overnight to confirm that the way I’m feeling matches the report.4) VO2 max with predictions for 5k, 10k, half and full, and comments about how my training is impacting my fitness overall with recommendations.5) Battery life is awesome, I even removed the state of charge from the watch face because it rarely needs to be charged and when it does it charges super quick while I take a shower or so.I wish I could just connect with Apple Music and stream music instead of only Spotify.. and having a phone line with speaker also gives me peace of mind while running in a trail by myself but that’s not super common.Overall the 965 is an awesome watch, super light, accurate while running outdoors and o. A treadmill, and I love the yellow band!

Excellent product, good warranty by Rebel

I purchased this watch on 26 Jan at Rebel in Sydney. On 28 Jan, the watch face cracked vertically for no apparent reason. Rebel immediately replaced the unit, without argument, under warranty. My web investigation suggested this crack had happened to a tiny minority of users over the last 9 months since release. Probably due to "flex" pressures on the plastic watch frame and thus gorilla glass.Product is interesting from an analytics point of view. I own in addition to a Garmin Forerunner 965 (all purchased in last year):1. Fitbit Charge 6 - to try out their google analytics2. Amazfit GTR4 - to test all around value3. Huawei GT4 & GT Runner - to replicate their reputed accuracy and use the latter elegance4. TicWatch Pro5 - to understand whether google wear ... MoreI purchased this watch on 26 Jan at Rebel in Sydney. On 28 Jan, the watch face cracked vertically for no apparent reason. Rebel immediately replaced the unit, without argument, under warranty. My web investigation suggested this crack had happened to a tiny minority of users over the last 9 months since release. Probably due to "flex" pressures on the plastic watch frame and thus gorilla glass.Product is interesting from an analytics point of view. I own in addition to a Garmin Forerunner 965 (all purchased in last year):1. Fitbit Charge 6 - to try out their google analytics2. Amazfit GTR4 - to test all around value3. Huawei GT4 & GT Runner - to replicate their reputed accuracy and use the latter elegance4. TicWatch Pro5 - to understand whether google wear ecosystem will survive; and5. Polar H10 chest strap - to get an accurate HR reading to feed into most watches or watch appsI have also tested a latest release Apple watch, but do not own one.Each of these products does something that I value, that the others do not. Hence my excessive expenditure on this hobby.In the end the Garmin Forerunner 965 looks less elegant and is slightly less accurate in gathering data compared with a Huawei GT4 (or an Apple or Google watch), BUT feeds data into the most vibrant analytics ecosystem at both the mobile and web-based levels. In the latter it also currently does better than Google Wear/FIT or Apple Health.For instance, when one investigates the estimated Vo2 max of these devices, in my case, the Garmin device is nearer external test reality. In my case, FitBit (Google) and Polar over estimate and Amazfit and Huawei underestimate. The difference appears to lie in how each of their algorithms use actual resting and maximum heart rates, and age of respondent, as opposed to assumed values for a particular age and sex. GPS and thus distance data variances/accuracy are less of an issue.The Garmin Forerunner 965 looks cheap, but delivers good analytics. I will keep it, along with my Huawei GT4 (to check accuracy and look better) and Polar H10 chest strap, but have abandoned my FitBit Charge 6, Amazfit GTR4 and Huawei GT Runner.

Fantastic run/sports watch and health motivator!

The watch face is large, ie fitting a dress shirt or jacket cuff is sometimes a pain. But the large size enhances the beautiful OLED display. The 965 is fabulous for all its features. Bottom line is it enhancing my training motivation, my health consciousness in now monitoring my sleep quality, my recovery status, my VO2 max progress, my HRV, and more. I literally want to get a good night’s sleep just so my morning report upon waking gives me a good sleep score! I love the GPS accuracy in monitoring speed, distance, mile time. I even just programmed a 5k’s route using Garmin Connect online which will track via Garmin mapping when I run the actual race in April. As for activities, I’ve only so far used run, treadmill run, and strength train. I don’t know how it knows ... MoreThe watch face is large, ie fitting a dress shirt or jacket cuff is sometimes a pain. But the large size enhances the beautiful OLED display. The 965 is fabulous for all its features. Bottom line is it enhancing my training motivation, my health consciousness in now monitoring my sleep quality, my recovery status, my VO2 max progress, my HRV, and more. I literally want to get a good night’s sleep just so my morning report upon waking gives me a good sleep score! I love the GPS accuracy in monitoring speed, distance, mile time. I even just programmed a 5k’s route using Garmin Connect online which will track via Garmin mapping when I run the actual race in April. As for activities, I’ve only so far used run, treadmill run, and strength train. I don’t know how it knows what kind of strength rep I just did, but it does, and I can’t figure out how it knows my sleep stages too. I thought I would prefer the simulated analog EpixPro watch face imported through Connect, but the widgets don’t work, and I prefer most the circular colorful digital face as advertised. There are so many more features, and I know I am just getting started. The watch also connects quickly to my Polar H10 chest strap as soon as the activity is activated. Battery life is quite good and I can get a full recharge in the time I’m done with my shower! For highly informed fitness training and health monitoring, this is an impressive watch! When will I put my Rolex Submariner back on? I just don’t know!

GREAT WATCH - WORTH EVERY PENNY

User: 72 year old male – fitness fanatic (workout 4 days a week, 4.5 hours each workout.Bought the Forerunner 965 to replace a competitor’s watch that I had issues with.Uses: bike (paired with a TACX Flow Smart trainer), running, and strength training (arms, abs and legs).This watch is fantastic. The build quality of the watch is very good, and I cannot find any issues with it.Highlights: screen, activities, health, and performance stats.Screen: the screen is bright, and the sun does not wash it out and it can be seen while wearing sunglasses. I had issues with these on my previous watch.Activities: there are many types of activities to choose from.I use the running activity and I set up my main screen with an eight field data screen (time, heart rate, ... MoreUser: 72 year old male – fitness fanatic (workout 4 days a week, 4.5 hours each workout.Bought the Forerunner 965 to replace a competitor’s watch that I had issues with.Uses: bike (paired with a TACX Flow Smart trainer), running, and strength training (arms, abs and legs).This watch is fantastic. The build quality of the watch is very good, and I cannot find any issues with it.Highlights: screen, activities, health, and performance stats.Screen: the screen is bright, and the sun does not wash it out and it can be seen while wearing sunglasses. I had issues with these on my previous watch.Activities: there are many types of activities to choose from.I use the running activity and I set up my main screen with an eight field data screen (time, heart rate, average heart rate, pace, average pace, distance, timer, and calories) I do not have to scroll through multiple screens to see this data.Bike: I do not use the watch when riding my trainer – I use the computer software that came with my TACX trainer. I use the Garmin Connect to view the data from the bike.Strength training: I have an activity set up to collect heart rate, average heart rate, timer, calories.The weather screen is real nice feature. It even shows the radar conditions and alerts you when it might start raining.There are too many features write about. So I will end it here.Bottom line: You won’t find a better watch than the Forerunner 965.P.S. I have used Garmin cycling computers on my bikes when I was a cyclist.

Great watch but not super great for CrossFit yet

I received this watch as a gift a month ago, and I was so excited because I've been wanting to use a Garmin watch for all the cool data points and such.The watch is great, but it's mostly for runners or cyclists and activities that don't require much use of the hands or wrists. Those who use it for CrossFit/HIIT/Functional Fitness may experience some difficulties. For instance, when extending the wrist or bending your wrist back, like for a front squat or a handstand push-up or wall walks, the workout start button gets pushed accidentally, so your workout is constantly starting and stopping as you go through the workout. Also, it'd be great if it could sense the workout itself and begin tracking automatically. It's also difficult and uncomfortable to wear with ... MoreI received this watch as a gift a month ago, and I was so excited because I've been wanting to use a Garmin watch for all the cool data points and such.The watch is great, but it's mostly for runners or cyclists and activities that don't require much use of the hands or wrists. Those who use it for CrossFit/HIIT/Functional Fitness may experience some difficulties. For instance, when extending the wrist or bending your wrist back, like for a front squat or a handstand push-up or wall walks, the workout start button gets pushed accidentally, so your workout is constantly starting and stopping as you go through the workout. Also, it'd be great if it could sense the workout itself and begin tracking automatically. It's also difficult and uncomfortable to wear with hand grips or anything that wraps around the wrists. I've been thinking about wearing it upside down (so the time is upside down) so it places the start button furthest from my wrist. I also thought about trying to wear it a little higher up on my arm.It's a wonderful watch, but there is still room for improvement to be functional fitness friendly.

Great watch for trailrunner

This is a great watch. I choose the 965 because of the AMOLED display, the display size, maps and navigation, and the lightweight plastic design. Screen is much better than MIPs displays of past watches. Colors are vibrant and maps are what you want in 2024. Battery life has been great. There's a ton of features that I've yet to use, but so far things are as good as advertised.My only criticism is around music support and route building in trail running mode: I'm primarily a trail runner, and I live in an area with a trailhead across the street and hundreds of miles of linked trails; however, when attempting to make trail running routes via the watch, the suggested routes all had long sections of road miles. (I'd like the trail running route building to be on ... MoreThis is a great watch. I choose the 965 because of the AMOLED display, the display size, maps and navigation, and the lightweight plastic design. Screen is much better than MIPs displays of past watches. Colors are vibrant and maps are what you want in 2024. Battery life has been great. There's a ton of features that I've yet to use, but so far things are as good as advertised.My only criticism is around music support and route building in trail running mode: I'm primarily a trail runner, and I live in an area with a trailhead across the street and hundreds of miles of linked trails; however, when attempting to make trail running routes via the watch, the suggested routes all had long sections of road miles. (I'd like the trail running route building to be on trails and not on city streets) Also, when using the software on my computer to build routes, there are holes in the software that won't allow trails to be followed as they are, but instead the route "snaps" to a road making the route I'm trying to build nothing I want to follow. YouTube Music isn't supported unfortunately.Garmin maps and navigation are definitely the best in the business, but they can and should do better.Technology makes such small changes from year to year; however, the changes to the display of the 965 is significant. It's a great watch.

Overrides and ignores user input.

Beautiful screen. Navigation is passable, but routing is slow. Integration with phone is not as bad as I'd thought, but still marginal.Before this I had an Epix Pro 2. On that watch, the buttons were all reliable. On this watch, they're not--sometimes I think I've pressed them but the watch ignores the presses. Just a cheap mechanical system, I think. Pity Garmin couldn't put reliable buttons in its "cheap" watch...This is more comfortable to wear at night than the Epix, especially if you have company. That would be important if it were good at sleep tracking, but:I'm sending it back because of "sleep tracking". You can put the watch into sleep mode and take it out again (and even set up instant buttons to make this convenient), but the watch overrides you. ... MoreBeautiful screen. Navigation is passable, but routing is slow. Integration with phone is not as bad as I'd thought, but still marginal.Before this I had an Epix Pro 2. On that watch, the buttons were all reliable. On this watch, they're not--sometimes I think I've pressed them but the watch ignores the presses. Just a cheap mechanical system, I think. Pity Garmin couldn't put reliable buttons in its "cheap" watch...This is more comfortable to wear at night than the Epix, especially if you have company. That would be important if it were good at sleep tracking, but:I'm sending it back because of "sleep tracking". You can put the watch into sleep mode and take it out again (and even set up instant buttons to make this convenient), but the watch overrides you. You tell it you're going to sleep, and it takes itself out of sleep mode half an hour later. You tell it to get out of sleep mode when you wake up, and it continues to claim you're sleeping for another hour. Garmin's brilliant idea: you can give yourself a strict schedule for every day of the week, and if you go to sleep and wake up when you've promised, sleep tracking works ok (but see The Quantified Scientist's youtube reviews for gory details). But if you deviate from that schedule, the watch overrules the information you give it, and demands that you obey your schedule. If I wake up earlier than promised and take the watch out of sleep mode, it keeps putting itself back into sleep mode until the scheduled wake-up time. If I want to sleep in, it leaves sleep mode on the predetermined schedule. There is no way to work around this or disable it, and Garmin's "tech support" has assured me that there never will be, because it's Correct to obey a fixed schedule or something.Oh also, there's an option to display "speed" rather than "pace" for some sports. NOT for rowing, which is just moronic, but for walking, running, cycling, kayaking, etc. However, the setting has no effect that I can see: everything is still displayed as pace if the watch decides it should be, with no regard for your choice.Basically: Garmin developers think that your user input should be overridden and ignored. OBEY THE WATCH, STUPID HUMAN!Time to try Coros.