The Best Garmin Running Watches in 2024

There are a ton of smartwatches out on the market that are all vying for your attention — the various versions of the Apple Watch, the Galaxy Watch, and a variety of other Wear OS-based smartwatches. However, if you’re after a watch for the purposes of fitness, some of these advanced and professional smartwatches might not be what you’re looking for. You’re looking for that can withstand the abuse that fitness entails — scratches, water, and more. Not only that, but you want something that can track specific types of activities and workouts with better accuracy — that’s why we like the Garmin Running Watches so much.

Garmin’s smartwatches are made specifically for the outdoors, and so, you’re getting some excellent fitness tracking here, as well monitors for specific activities, such as hiking, biking, skiing, running, and more. Not sure what Garmin Running Watch is for you? Follow along below, and we’ll show you our favouries.

Garmin Forerunner 35

Coming up as number one on our countdown, we have the Garmin Forerunner 35 — the perfect cross between fitness tracking for jogs and runs and affordability. It has built-in GPS to acquire satellites quickly to track how far, how fast and where you run, even under tree cover. Garmin’s Forerunner is water resistant, and actually doesn’t require a smartphone to work!

One of the highlights of this Garmin running watch is that it has 24/7 hear-rate tracking, allowing you to gather data on specific fluctuations throughout the day.

Buy it now: Amazon

Garmin Forerunner 235

If you’re looking for something a little more advanced in terms of technology, software, and design, you cannot go wrong with that’s being offered in the Forerunner 235. Not to be confused with the Forerunner 35, this smarwatch has 24/7 heart tracking, audio prompts, and even vibration alerts.

What we really love about this watch is the larger, and more stylish circular profile. It’s a little more unique in terms of design, giving you a Frost Blue colour actually. The highlight of this watch actually might be in terms of battery life, with it in Watch Mode giving you around 12 weeks. In Training Mode, you get another 12 weeks, or, if using normally with regular functions, you’ll get about nine days worth of battery life.

Buy it now: Amazon

Garmin Forerunner 935

The Forerunner 935 is Garmin’s premier running smartwatch. If you’re looking for a top-end watch from Garmin, the Forerunner 935 will be right up your alley. It’s a comfortable watch, with the strap material being made out of silicon. It has a wrist-based heart rate monitor for 24/7 tracking, and there’s an overall more premium design. Made for activity, this watch from Garmin only weighs a meager 49 grams, which keeps it lightweight on the wrist.

Offering advanced running and multi-sport features, the Garmin Forerunner 935 will be the most accurate when tracking activities and general running and jogging. You can even use this bad boy for swimming activities!

Buy it now: Amazon

Garmin Vivoactive 3

Fourth on our countdown, the Garmin Vivoactive 3 is entirely different than the other Garmin smartwatches that we’ve highlighted for you so far. It’s an extremely stylish Garmin watch, which makes it ideal for fitness and professional environments. It actually comes equipped with more than 15 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps, including yoga, running, swimming and more.

You can swap out the Viviactive 3’s face with thousands of available watch faces for extra customization. This one is actually sporting Garmin’s own contactless payment system, allowing you to make secure payments with your watch. Another unique highlight is that you can monitor your fitness level with VO2 max and fitness made estimates, even allowing you to get specific measurements on how you handle stress throughout the day. It comes in a variety of colors as well.

Buy it now: Amazon

Garmin Forerunner 735XT

And finally, but certainly not least on our list, we have the Garmin Forerunner 735XT. This one is one the pricier Garmin watches on our list, but brings you top of the line fitness tracking inside. It has a built-in heart rate monitor for all day tracking, as well as things like VO2 max estimates, lactate threshold, race predictor, and even a recovery advisor. It has water resistance, allowing you to even complete fitness activities with this watch.

On top of fitness tracking, the Forerunner 735XT has a number of awesome traditional smartwatch features — smart notifications, live tracking, watch face choices, text messages, and more. One of the highlights of this watch is that it is sunlight-visible, enabling you to monitor your measurements even in direct sunlight. It comes in a Midnight Blue & Frost Blue color combination.

Buy it now: Amazon

Verdict

As you can see, there are a ton of excellent Garmin running watches available. We’ve shown you five of our favorites, of which are easily the best on the market right now.

Do you have a favorite Garmin watch?