Which Garmin Running Watch is Right For You?

For many runners, it’s hard to remember exactly what it felt like to run with a basic analog or digital watch. You either guessed at the distance, or you calculated your route by driving it, mapping it online or even walking it with a wheel. While some purists still argue that those were the good ol’ days, we’re thankful for the advent of the GPS running watch.

Modern GPS running watches make it easy to track everything from miles to steps, heart rate to sleep, and some can even pay for our groceries or that post-run beer.

Garmin running watches are some of the most popular smart timepieces on the market because they pack a huge number of features into a premium piece of equipment. From the vivoactive 3 to the fenix 5 Plus, Garmin's offerings come loaded with software to help you train smarter.

In this guide, you'll find a rundown of Garmin's GPS running watches and get a feel for which one is right for you and your training.

Ease of Use
We love the easy-to-use touch screen, swipe function and bright backlight for nighttime running. In fact, the display is easy to see no matter the time of day or weather. We wore it on nighttime runs, pre-dawn runs, blisteringly sunny days and even one run in a torrential downpour.

Functionality
In addition to accurate GPS tracking, there are several key functions we found extra useful when it comes to training. Among them are the ability to monitor daily stress and how we handle it; heart rate monitoring (measured down to the second!) to better understand training and recovery; sleep patterns to monitor restful sleep, restless sleep and how many hours you were awake each night; and activity analytics like steps taken and floors climbed.

Outside of training, Garmin Pay makes pre- or post-run shopping easy while smart phone pairing keeps us connected and, on more than one occasion, helped us find our phone.

Garmin also made the vivoactive 3 waterproof. Rated to 5 ATM—it can withstand water pressure up to 50 meters deep—the vivoactive is great for swimming and can make it through the shower unscathed.

Battery

Garmin gave the vivoactive 3 enough juice to get you through your runs. The watch lasts up to a week in smartwatch mode, and it gets 13 hours in GPS mode.

Durability
It’s a watch for adventure. The fenix 5 is built with chemically strengthened glass (or sapphire crystal in the upgraded model), a rugged stainless steel bezel and a fiber-reinforced polymer case.

Garmin's industrial design withstands the kind of beating that comes with long days in the wilderness whether we’re running, trekking, skiing, paddle boarding or playing golf.

Plus, the Garmin fenix 5 is waterproof. Garmin rates the watch at 10 ATM, which means it can withstand water pressures equivalent to a depth of 100 meters. So, it's suitable for swimming, showering and the worst rain Mother Nature can throw at you.

Battery Life
While we didn’t go on any extended treks, we love this watch would let us. The extended battery life should last 24 hours in GPS mode, 60 hours in “UltraTrac battery saver mode,” and two weeks in smartwatch mode.