For runners, cyclists, and fitness enthusiasts, finding the best fitness smartwatch for that lifestyle can be tricky. It needs to be a bang for your buck, packed with essential features, while all the while remaining comfortable and stylish on your wrist. The Garmin Forerunner 35 is one of those workout companions that checks all of those boxes. It’s an upgrade from the inexpensive Forerunner 25 but is decidedly less costly than the Fenix 3 Sapphire, making it a great budget fitness tracker overall. Though the Apple Watch Series 3 or Series 4 are still better options if you’re an iOS user.
The Forerunner 35 has received a significant price drop on Amazon ahead of Prime Day. This Garmin fitness smartwatch normally costs $170, but now it’s available at a nice discount
This fitness watch is slim and lightweight with an appealing squarish design that’s similar to an Apple Watch. This sets it apart from other Garmin watches, which are normally round. On its right side are two buttons: One for navigating through the menu items and one for selecting your workout. The Forerunner’s 35’s 0.93-inch, 128 x 128-pixel display is bright and crisp and doesn’t fog up when you exercise. It is water-resistant to depths of up to 130 feet which makes it OK for swimming but not necessarily for scuba diving. The watch’s band is customizable and comes in black, light blue, lime green, or white.
The Forerunner 35 has a built-in GPS that tracks how far, how fast, and where you run. The all-day activity tracking counts your steps, calories burned, distance covered, and sleeping time. It features the Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate technology, a 24/7 heart rate monitor that observes your pulse while you work out and when you sleep. You can sync the Forerunner 35 with your smartphone for it to receive smart notifications, and it’s also capable of music control. This fitness watch also has a Move alert: If it notices that you’ve been sitting for a long time, it will lightly vibrate. A Move bar appears at the bottom and grows longer the more you keep on sitting. It will only clear out after a five-minute walk.
This fitness watch automatically uploads your workout stats and aggregates them to Garmin Connect, a free online fitness community where you can check your progress and fitness milestones and share them through social media. If there’s a major drawback to the Forerunner 35, it’s that it only keeps track of running and cycling exercises. Plus, it only syncs with your smartphone via Bluetooth, not Wi-Fi. Still, for only $119, the Forerunner 35 is a pretty sweet deal as long as you use it exclusively as a running watch.
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