Best Garmin watch 2025: track, train, and triumph

The best Garmin watches are trusty sidekicks of elite athletes and casual joggers alike. I should know; I've been testing them for years. Wrapping a Garmin wearable around your wrist isn't just about telling time – it's a declaration that you're serious about your fitness game.

While Garmin's GPS prowess made it a household name in car and marine navigation, it's their foray into wearables that truly sets my pulse racing. Renowned for crafting the best running wearables and best triathlon watches, Garmin timepieces are the gold standard against which all others are measured.

My current top pick for the best Garmin watch is the excellent Forerunner 965. It's a superb choice for training, recovery and general smartwatch functionality. If you're after maximum battery life, nothing beats the Enduro 2. If those two are out of your price range, check out the Forerunner 165 – a brilliant, affordable option from Garmin.

Best overall

The Garmin Forerunner 965 is everything we hoped the Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar would be and more. The watch uses the same sensors and has the same features as its predecessor, but it's lighter and thinner, ideal for a performance wearable worn by professional athletes. The titanium bezel is a nice touch, as are the different colourways, allowing people to buy the best Forerunner in colours other than black.

The AMOLED display is bright and responsive, and the glance view is as good as it's always been. The UI colours are a bit garish for our taste, but at this point, we accept it as a running watch thing. If you need an accurate multisport watch and have enough disposable income to justify the price, the Garmin Forerunner 965 is a must-have.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 965 review.

Best battery life

The Garmin Enduro 3 is a premium multisport smartwatch built for endurance athletes and adventurers who demand exceptional battery life and robust performance. With its titanium design and Power Sapphire solar charging, it delivers up to 31 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, extending to 86 hours in GPS mode.

The watch offers a comprehensive suite of features, including advanced training tools like endurance score, weather forecasting, ClimbPro, and recovery metrics, alongside Garmin staples such as health monitoring and multi-GNSS satellite tracking. The intuitive user interface ensures easy navigation despite the complexity of the data presented.

The Enduro 3 does sacrifice certain features to prioritise its core strengths. Unlike some other high-end Garmin models, it lacks a built-in microphone, speaker, or AMOLED display. While this may deter casual users seeking everyday smartwatch conveniences, it enhances the device’s durability and battery efficiency.

Priced as a top-tier watch, the Garmin Enduro 3 is a niche product tailored for those who need unparalleled battery life and rugged design rather than lifestyle features. For endurance-focused athletes, it remains an impressive investment in performance and reliability.

Read our full Garmin Enduro 3 review

Best affordable

The Garmin Forerunner 165 hits the ground running, carving its niche between beginner and advanced multisport watches. It's a stellar option for runners, boasting an AMOLED touchscreen, single-band GPS, and an array of training features.

Though not as robust as its pricier counterpart, the Garmin Forerunner 265, its wallet-friendly tag doesn't compromise on performance. Sporting the Elevate Gen 5 sensing platform and a slew of health and fitness features, including wrist-based running power, dynamics, and more, it's a reliable companion for tracking and managing training sessions.

With a lightweight design, the Forerunner 165 offers comfort and functionality, ideal for daily wear. While its single-band GPS may not excel in challenging environments, its overall accuracy and battery life make it a standout choice.

Affordable yet feature-packed, the Forerunner 165 shines as a dedicated running watch, offering a compelling blend of performance and accessibility, making it a top contender in the market.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 165 review.

Best outdoor

I'm a big fan of the Fenix series, and the Fenix 8 is one of the better iterations of the watch. From the moment I strapped it on, I could tell this was a serious piece of kit: rugged but refined, with a build that feels like it could survive anything.

I know it's controversial among Garmin fans, but I adore the AMOLED screen. It's bright, responsive and looks great without sacrificing battery life.

Sure, you don't get solar charging with it, but you can always opt for the Memory-in-Pixel screen option if battery life is your primary concern (or get the Enduro 3 listed above). That said, I used the AMOLED model and still got nearly a month on a single charge, so there is that.

What impressed me most was the GPS performance. Thanks to the multi-band GNSS and SatIQ tech, the Fenix 8 locked on fast and stayed accurate even deep in the woods where other devices struggle. Battery life was another highlight.

Beyond tracking hikes and runs, the watch is packed with features, from dive support to a built-in flashlight, that actually proved useful in real scenarios. It’s not the cheapest option out there, but if you need a reliable, do-it-all outdoor watch, the Fenix 8 is worth every penny. This is the watch I’d trust on any adventure.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 8 review.

Best mid-range

The Garmin Forerunner 265 is a standout choice for runners seeking a balance between performance and aesthetics. The introduction of a vibrant AMOLED display is a significant upgrade, offering crisp visuals that remain clear even under direct sunlight.

The watch can provide comprehensive training insights without overwhelming you – a big plus in my books, especially for a mid-range watch that's supposed to help keen beginners up their training game.

Features like Training Readiness and the Morning Report offer valuable feedback on recovery and readiness, which helps tailor workouts effectively. The built-in music storage is a welcome addition, even though there is now no option not to have this feature, making the Forerunner 265 more expensive than its predecessor..

Battery life is commendable, lasting up to 13 days in smartwatch mode and around 20 hours with continuous GPS usage. While the price point is on the higher side, the array of features and the quality of the build justify the investment.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 265 review.

Best for fitness

Those looking for serious athletic coaching or the absolute cutting-edge in exploration and navigation technology are better served elsewhere on this list.

However, the Garmin Venu 3 was a breath of fresh air in the performance wearable market, offering simple but effective health and wellness advice based on the myriad stats and metrics it silently tracks on a daily (and nightly) basis.

If you want to delve deeper into the fitness stuff, Garmin offers up data for days within its Connect app, but if you prefer to keep things light and simple, the watch can simply act as a gym buddy to guide you through a healthy day.

If you want a do-it-all watch that packs Garmin’s legendary suite of health and wellness tracking, the Venu 3 is one of the best out there.

Read our full Garmin Venu 3 review.

Best for golf

As far as golf watches go, the Garmin Approach S62 is certainly at the more expensive end of the market. You can get a cheaper watch that will get you around the course just fine and do most of the things you need it to do, but the S62 goes that extra mile and does things you didn’t realise you needed until it showed you.

The Approach S60 (the predecessor to the S62) is an excellent cheaper alternative and offers many (but not all) of the on-course functions you get with the S62. If the S62 is a little out of your budget, then the S60 is a fine option in its own right, and if you already have the S60, then you probably won't need to upgrade. The Garmin Approach S62 is as good as any golf watch out there, and although it is not cheap, based on our experience, we'd say it is worth every penny. If you invest in one, you will not be disappointed.

Read our full Garmin Approach S62 review

Best for women

Of all the stylish smartwatches we’ve tested, the Garmin Lily 2 Active really stands out for offering substance behind its sleek looks. The petite design doesn’t just look good on smaller wrists – it now hides proper built-in GPS, which means you can track outdoor activities accurately without tethering to your phone.

The addition of a physical button might seem small, but it’s a major upgrade, making navigation far easier than the old touchscreen-only setup. While the Lily 2 Active sticks to a greyscale display, it stays legible and clear, and the etched lens keeps the design premium without sacrificing visibility.

Health and fitness tracking is thorough, with everything from 24/7 heart rate to sleep and stress monitoring, plus women’s health features like menstrual cycle tracking. It’s not aiming to be a sports powerhouse, but it nails the essentials and adds 15 new sport modes, including HIIT and indoor rowing.

Battery life impresses too. We got up to 9 days between charges in smartwatch mode. Sure, it misses out on music storage and a colour screen, but for anyone wanting an elegant, fitness-focused smartwatch that actually looks good day-to-day, the Lily 2 Active hits the sweet spot.

Read our full Garmin Lily 2 Active review.

Honourable mentions

The Garmin Forerunner 570 offers a sharper AMOLED screen, upgraded heart rate sensor, and premium touches like a mic, speaker, and aluminium bezel. However, it doesn’t add much over the Forerunner 265 and costs more, making it a tougher sell unless you’re upgrading from an older model. A refinement, not a reinvention.

How we test the best Garmin watches

Garmin watches are ridiculously overcomplicated fitness wearables. Some Garmin wearables, such as the Fenix or MARQ series, have so many features no people on this earth can test them in depth.

When we test Garmin watches, we aim to use them in various situations, including at least one type of outdoor endurance training (running, cycling, etc.), one type of indoor training (strength training, HIIT, etc.), and, where possible, swimming.

Smart features and health sensors are tested in everyday situations and monitored for at least a couple of weeks to see how they perform.

Read more about how we test at T3 today.

How to buy the best Garmin watch for you

Garmin has one of the most extensive lineup of all smartwatch manufacturers. It's likely anyone interested in fitness trackers, running or triathlon watches will find a Garmin watch that suits their needs.

For passive fitness tracking, we recommend the Vivosmart or the Venu Sq series; these are smaller wearables that have excellent sensors and can track a bunch of health and fitness metrics, even if you don't interact with them a lot. For fitness tracking, the Venu series is your best bet, or, if you can afford them, MARQ watches are also all-around smartwatches.

For beginner athletes, something like the Forerunner 55 or the Forerunner 255 is the best option. These watches have a range of excellent sports tracking modes and have built-in GPS chips. They can also help you train and recover more efficiently. The Fenix, Enduro and Instinct lines are the most suited for off-road adventures (they have the longest battery life, too). The Garmin Forerunner 955 provides the most features and best sensors for pro athletes.

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