Garmin

220 watchers

Fragile Do Not Bend 23 Nov 4:36pm, 23 Nov 2024 12,176 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend For no particularly good reason, I’m feeling the need to upgrade from my FR55. Looking at the various things that higher spec watches do, it’s difficult to know which features are really useful, or just giving you data you can’t do much with. I realise it’s very much a personal taste thing but I’d be interested in opinions on what features (above the basic stuff) people have in their watches that they feel are really worth having.
Fragile Do Not Bend 23 Nov 4:38pm, 23 Nov 2024 12,177 posts	0 Fragile Do Not Bend I should add, I’m veering towards a FR255 as I can’t see the FR265 adds much apart from the touch screen/display but I’m willing to be persuaded.
larkim 23 Nov 4:49pm, 23 Nov 2024 26,172 posts	0 larkim I've posted elsewhere that I'd actually be OK with Garmin charging a (small) annual fee to allow me to have my data exported to other apps. Though I don't think they would do it, as it would undermine one of the USPs of Garmin devices, namely that Garmin Connect to other services is understood to be a core part of their offering when you buy a Garmin watch. ~~strava~~ is a bit of a different beast ultimately. Though it does want to have it's cake and eat it; receive data from 3rd parties, fine. Push data? Nah.
Velociraptor 23 Nov 5:24pm, 23 Nov 2024 72,180 posts	0 Velociraptor I have a FR255 and I mainly chose it because of the battery life. The FR35 I had before did everything I actually need from a wrist based gadget.
NordRunner 24 Nov 11:42am, 24 Nov 2024 4,696 posts	0 NordRunner Fragile Xmas Ornament wrote:…I’d be interested in opinions on what features (above the basic stuff) people have in their watches that they feel are really worth having. The things I use most are Daily Suggestions for training, and the ability to follow a planned route on a map. The latter is especially useful to hit objectives on Fetch games.
SPR 24 Nov 12:39pm, 24 Nov 2024 46,751 posts	0 SPR The FR55 is quite new so I wouldn't think it's missing much that's basic to intermediate. Daily suggestions would be on it I expect. You'd have to go high end for routes. At a guess things like lactate threshold won't be on it but while I'd have wanted it if I didn't have it, it's not been useful now I have it. I think the reality is most high end features are intriguing rather than crucial. If you like data though, it's always hard to resist. I only went to the 255 because my 245 broke, I think the main new feature I'm happy to have is Garmin Pay as I generally only run with my watch so having a way to pay for something (food, water, bus, etc) if I have an issue out on the run is useful and gives peace of mind even if I've rarely used it. DCR used to have a page where you could see absolutely every feature Vs another watch which might be useful to check to see if there's anything you really want.
NordRunner 24 Nov 3:41pm, 24 Nov 2024 4,697 posts	0 NordRunner Good point about the Pay. I haven't used a card or cash for years now.
flanker 24 Nov 7:21pm, 24 Nov 2024 21,342 posts	0 flanker GAarmin Pay is a must have for me. It's dug me out of a whole a number of times (IRL as well as when running). It's really useful for those summer runs where you decide you need to stop for a pint in the appealing pub garden. Ot at the moment, possibly a hot drink.
VernL4 25 Nov 2:08pm, 25 Nov 2024 6 posts	0 VernL4 I have a Fenix 7 solar. I spend a LOT of time outside, so the solar charging makes a difference for me. I also love having offline maps on the watch. We might be hiking or biking in an area with poor cell service, but I still have maps to help me navigate. To go along with the maps, course navigation has also been very helpful for me. Route creation on the watch has also been helpful when I'm in an area that I'm not familiar with. I go outside and tell the watch that I want to do X miles and it creates a route for me. One more thing that comes to mind- the Jetlag adviser feature has given me some useful tips that help when I travel.
Ness 25 Nov 4:10pm, 25 Nov 2024 46,338 posts	0 Ness Thanks for that info, VernL4. It sounds like it does have features I'd find useful. Might have to save up for one.