Garmin's "perfect fitness watch" with 11-day battery life and AMOLED screen falls to lowest ever price

Garmin Forerunner 165 — (Image credit: Garmin)

I'm certainly guilty of having way too many Garmin watches compared to how much I exercise. Surely, one running watch is enough to track my bi-weekly jogs?! That said, when I see offers like this, my hands immediately gravitate towards my wallet. Maybe I can just have one more?

I gave the Garmin Forerunner 165 five stars when it was launched, calling it the "perfect fit for beginner runners" – I still stand by that statement. This clever wearable bridges the gap between truly beginner and intermediate Garmins, offering the best combination of features for anyone but professional runners.

And it’s not just me who rates the watch highly. The Forerunner 165 currently sits at a respectable 4.6-star rating (out of 5) based on 4,689 reviews, with many people praising it for its excellent running functionality and easy setup.

It's designed as an accessible running watch that still delivers many of Garmin’s most useful training tools, featuring a bright 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a 390 × 390 resolution, and five physical buttons for easy control during workouts.

The lightweight 43mm case weighs around 39g and offers 5ATM water resistance, making it suitable for swimming and everyday training.

Battery life is rated at up to 11 days in smartwatch mode or around 19 hours with GPS tracking enabled. Multi-system satellite support (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo) helps deliver reliable location tracking, while built-in sensors monitor heart rate, sleep, stress and recovery metrics.

For runners, the watch provides features such as daily suggested workouts, training effect analysis, HRV status and Garmin Coach plans. More than 25 sport profiles are included, and the optional Music version adds onboard storage for playlists, alongside smart features like notifications and Garmin Pay.

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Matt Kollat is a journalist and content creator for T3.com and T3 Magazine, where he works as Active Editor. His areas of expertise include wearables, drones, action cameras, fitness equipment, nutrition and outdoor gear. He joined T3 in 2019.

His work has also appeared on TechRadar and Fit&Well, and he has collaborated with creators such as Garage Gym Reviews. Matt has served as a judge for multiple industry awards, including the ESSNAwards. When he isn’t running, cycling or testing new kit, he’s usually roaming the countryside with a camera or experimenting with new audio and video gear.

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