Garmin Forerunner 935
A RUNNING AND FITNESS WATCH WITH PHENOMENAL BATTERY LIFE.
IT’S A TOUCH HEAVIER THAN SOME WATCHES AT 49G, BUT THAT’S MUCH LIGHTER THAN THE GARMIN FENIX 5X AND BARELY REGISTERS ON THE WRIST IF YOU’RE USED TO WEARING A RUNNING WATCH.
THERE’S NOTHING BETTER than training with a decent partner – and the Garmin Forerunner 935 promises it can be the very best that you can bring with you.
Whether it’s through extended battery life, more activities tracked than you can shake a stick at or just a strong watch that will stick with you through thick and thin, the Forerunner 935 could be one of the top running watches on the market.
That said, it’s also pretty expensive – so is this the right device for the casual fitness fan, or is it only the purview of those taking on an Ironman-level challenge?
If you’re a fan of the Garmin range, then the look and feel of the Garmin Forerunner 935 won’t be that much of a surprise to you.
In essence, it’s the Fenix 5 – an incredibly powerful watch from Garmin that can manage to track all manner of things – in a more ‘Forerunner’ shell, with less hardened glass and metal and more sleek rubber all around.
It’s less of a fashion statement and more of a refined model – the metal buttons around the display are the most striking element of an otherwise anonymous design.
It’s a touch heavier than some watches at 49g, but that’s much lighter than the Garmin Fenix 5X and barely registers on the wrist if you’re used to wearing a running watch.
We’ve used the 935 as a day-to-day watch for months and found it to be compact enough to fit alongside a shirt or slip through a tight compression top sleeve – it might be pricey, but for the tech you’re getting it’s a good companion for most outfits if you want to have a top fitness watch ready to go at any point in the day.
One of the things that surprised us about the Garmin Forerunner 935 in terms of performance was the slow lock of the GPS signal – it’s one of the worst we’ve seen from the recent Garmin range.
It’s not terrible by any means, but most of the watches we test from Garmin either lock on within seconds or learn where they are well and pick it up quickly the next time.
The heart rate monitor (HRM) is pretty darn accurate though – we found ourselves dropping the chest strap more often than not, as the wrist-based data was actually accurate enough to make decisions about how hard we were going and seemed to correlate well with actual raises and drops of intensity.
The run tracking on the Garmin Forerunner 935 is excellent. It’s really hard to actually fault it, as it does everything you want it to do and more.
Cycling is a big part of the triathlon scene, and while one might not want to have to keep checking their watch when cycling to see how they’re getting on – many will have a cycling computer for that – the ability to transition easily between stages is useful.
There’s a lot to love about the Garmin Forerunner 935, and despite the understated design and the rudimentary interface, there’s little we wanted for from it.