Garmin - Forerunner 35 GPS Watch - White

I purchased the FR35 mainly for the wrist heart rate and step counting features. I have a Garmin GPS and had a Polar H1 (wrist strap broke). I will go trough the features I have used: HR Seems to be fairly accurate when I checked with my BP Monitor which also does HR. Steps When you do not do a specific activity like running, walking or biking the device counts your steps by your arm motion not the GPS. If you do some activity that makes your arm move even if you are sitting it will count as steps, so you need to be aware of that, but overall I think the step feature works well. Biking Works great, but you need to make sure the GPS is turned on. Walking Works great, tracked well when compared to a GPS Running and Cardio I have not used as of yet Sleep This is a great feature I did think I would use, but it tracks light and deep sleep along with bathroom breaks. Very interesting data reports. Notifications Another feature I did not think I would use but it is handy to get vibrating notifications without having to look at your phone or PC. Software Updates This was the only problem I had. When I got a notification about a Software Update, the device would lockup. After two calls to Garmin Support the Update feature is now working. Be aware of this potential defect. Durability I am concerned about the wristband since there are no replacements available now, but hopefully will come later if a problem. The device seems okay now, but I understand digital devices are only expected to last three years, I am guessing that will be the life of FR35 and supposedly something better will be available then anyway. Garmin Connect Software for you phone or PC The Garmin Connect program is great. after syncing you get all kinds of data including maps, elevation, HR, speed, calories, etc. It is fun to see your progress or lack of over time. That is all for now.

I spent a lot of time looking for a fitness tracker this second time. I had a few important items that were important to me: 1. Accurate Heart Rate 2. Good software 3. GPS 4. Not huge My research brought me to Garmin's Forerunner 35 and fēnix series 5. The fēnix has a substantially more complete set of tools, but it's at least 3 times the cost. So I went to Best Buy and got the Forerunner 35. I have other tools to measure different parts that this does and I can tell you it is pretty darn accurate. HR is spot on most of the time. Distance tracking while cycling is within 1/10% or better. The software is top notch and inclusive. A little bit of both the web and app to get everything, but I like each for their own use. I like that I don't need my phone to get all the capabilities, it synchs with my computer whenever I'm close enough. I have not, nor will I try the phone app. Before this I owned a higher end Fitbit and pretty much the product and the software is a toy compared to the Garmin. This is comfortable to wear all day and night. The strap does not bind, it is much more flexible than the Fitbit, and it does not slide down my wrist when riding hard on the bike. I would have to reset the Fitbit 10-20 times a ride. The Garmin, maybe once or twice, if at all. My photo shows the Garmin next to a small man's watch on my wrist. I don't have large wrists, and as such I didn't want a large fitness band. It's got good battery life, extremely readable screen, and intuitive controls. Once you get it, it's easy to use. Highly recommended!

I wanted a watch to use for aerobic activities, i.e. running, XC skiing, biking. Key required features were GPS for distance/pace, and reliable heart rate plus it needed to operate in the Minnesota cold of January/February. I settled on the Forerunner 35 after extensive review of more expensive versions and other brands. I did not want a smart watch even though this has the beginning of those features. The basic set of statistics as far as pace, elevation, splits, etc is as much data as I want to spend time looking at. I bought this at the local Best Buy and haven't looked back. I tested the heart rate results compared to an older chest band device as well as a recent 'Fitness HR tracker' - this unit matches the accuracy of the chest band unit and far surpasses the Fitness tracker. I also checked the GPS distance accuracy and it agrees very well with a stand-alone Garmin GPS as well as a smart phone. Battery life is as advertised and GPS operation for up to 6 hours at -5F to 10F worked fine with battery life left over. I wear this watch for aerobic workouts and walks and then take it off. I could certainly keep it on but being disconnected when relaxing has its advantages :-). I would highly recommend this watch as a good solid sports watch for those who want to track their workouts against a structured training plan, yet not spend too much time getting lost in extraneous data.

What I like about this tracker is the ability to check progress in real time. It keeps track of things like steps, mileage, heart rate, calories burned (not to mention time and date). I did have an issue at one point where the steps/mileage "page" on the watch face suddenly was gone. This being the prime use in my case for having it, I was frustrated. I worked through the app, which is a bit confusing at first, and found nothing to change this. Went to the on-line owners manual, which was helpful on several fronts, and ultimately had to reset the watch back to factory defaults. Once done, the steps/mileage page was back and has been there since. Like most of these, it relies on arm-swing to measure steps and mileage. This is fine unless the arm is otherwise occupied (pushing a lawn-mower, or pushing a wheelchair around Spain as I did) the steps and mileage don't get counted. Battery life is impressive, I've gone seven days without charging, and the handy battery icon on the main page lets you know how charged the battery is. The display is big and easy to see, the time can be displayed either digitally or analog. The alarm works well, and when synced with your smartphone vibrates to indicate an incoming call with caller ID displayed - a nice feature when in a noisy environment where you may not hear your phone. It syncs periodically with your phone or you can manually sync. There are other features, of course, for runners measuring time, distance etc. You can share all your stats on social media through the app if you are into that. Overall I'm pleased with this tracker, though there is a bit of a learning curve with the app.

I have been through numerous activity trackers/smart watches. I have also read more product reviews and watched more videos about these things than I care to remember. What I would like is a durable smart watch with GPS, HR that is kind of accurate, activity tracking for several different activities, a readable display, and at least 5 days battery life. If I could get all that under $200, that would be great. I bought this Forerunner 35 to replace a Forerunner 235 with broken face glass ($100 to get that fixed if you care to try). The Forerunner 35 has the features I was looking for, the size and looks were not bad, and it came in well under $200. That said, the HR tracking is just as bad on the 35 as it was on the 235. In general, if you want good HR tracking get a sensor that goes around your chest. The GPS on the 35 is very slow to find a signal compared to the 235, and sometimes won't find a signal at all unless the device is power cycled. Sometimes when you power cycle, the device won't turn back on until it gets a few minute to rest or whatever it does. The display is always on and is easier to read than the 235 without the backlight on. The battery lasts 5 to 7 days with the HR tracking turned off at all times (not much point in having it on if it is wrong). Overall, this is the best activity tracker/smart watch I have purchased. So, that should mean it deserves 4 or 5 stars, but the other devices I have tried are poor at best, so this Forerunner 35 is the best of a bunch of poor devices. At this point, I am going back to an actual watch, and I will measure my activity based on sweat and waist size.

I bought this after receiving a recommendation to go with Garmin after the band for my Fitbit Surge broke. The build seems to be good. The band seems to be a bit less rigid that the Fitbit Surge, but I think that may make the Garmin a bit more durable in the long run. There is no touchscreen. Menus have to be scrolled thru by using hard buttons on the sides of the watch face. Not really a deal breaker though. The watch will vibrate with notifications and alerts for apps, and you can choose which apps have that permission. There is a backlight for checking the watch time or other info at night/in the dark, but again, that has to be manually chosen. I actually prefer this to the Surge, which would constantly have the backlight turn on if I moved my arm too quickly or whatever. The charging cable is a bit strange and proprietary, and I feel that it could be longer. However, the Fitbit charging cable was also proprietary in some ways. The Garmin app is decent, but in some ways I liked the Fitbit app's design a little better. The watch works well for what it does, and more importantly for what I need. I can go to the gym to do my workout and feel that it can survive most workouts. I still haven't figured some of the other features it supposedly has, such as rep counting and VO2 monitoring. It works well, but it might still be a bit overpriced. Still, i would recommend it, especially if you can get it on sale or something.

The reason why I purchased this watch is because it monitored all of my exercises like jogging, cycling, and weightlifting, plus it had a built in heart rate monitor. This in turn gave me a very accurate count in how much calories I was burring per activity. Jogging: The heart rate monitor appears to be very accurate when I was out doing my 4 miles lap. It needs to be worn slightly tight above the wrist bone to ensure accuracy if your doing a vigorous exercise where there will be a lot of sweating. The HPM range difference was very noticeable when I was out of shape and then now. It is definitely not just throwing out random numbers. These live HPM update are very useful since it takes out the guessing game for you to maintain you target rate zone. Which is important to burn the most calories. Other features of the watch: You can link it to your phone or computer via Bluetooth, and your information will automatically update with the Garmin Connect app. It is a smartwatch so if your phone is in range, emails, text, and phone calls will pop up on the watch. It also has GPS, so all of your activities will be tracked and saved without having to bring your phone along. Another feature is all of your daily steps are tracked and easily monitored by scrolling through the watch. This watch and the Garmin Vivoactiv are very similar in features, except the later having a color touch screen. I like the forerunner 35 better because I think it is a nicer looking everyday watch and has a better value in my opinion.

The band on my Fitbit gave out so my wife got me this for Christmas. The GPS is very accurate though a bit slow to acquire satellites. Also accurate at tracking steps. But the heart rate monitor is absolutely lousy. The first one I returned after two weeks; it simply would not accurately track my heart rate. Elliptical unit I use would show heart rate of 155 and the Garmin unit would show anywhere from 67 to 86. I tried wearing it tighter, looser, higher on the wrist and lower. Occasionally it would accurately (matched the elliptical) record once I worked up a good sweat. Returned that one for another like it; same results. Have read that you can apply medical monitoring gel to your wrist to get it to work; seriously? Never had this issue with my Fitbit unit; guess I'll get another one of those. The Garmin Connect software is adequate. If you don't want care about monitoring your heart rate, this has some nice features, but I'm not impressed with it.