A look at the Garmin Forerunner 935

"Disclaimer: I received a Garmin Forerunner 935 as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"
 
With so many types of fitness trackers available, it’s hard to choose what might be right for you.  Previously, I was using a Fitbit Surge.  It's on the higher end of fitbits, It did all the basics.  Steps, distance, pace, etc.  Then there are watches that are geared to help take your training to the next level.  The Garmin Forerunner 935 certainly fits into that category!  It is billed as a “Premium GPS Running/Triathlon Watch with Wrist-based Heart Rate”
 

The Garmin Forerunner 935 has a pretty extensive list of features, too many to go into detail here.  There are 14 physiological conditions it analyzes and 6 running dynamics data points. However, I have picked a few features to discuss that I personally had experience with during the testing period.

Huge library of watch faces
I picked a simple clean look initially, and then realized I could change it as often as I wanted to, based on mood, location, etc.  So I started browsing through the library and couldn’t get over the options.  I scrolled through more than 35 pages of choices, all free. I chose the one below, which changes colors based on your calorie burn.  Crazy, right? You can also upload your own image.  You just need to use the Garmin Connect IQ store.

Note: The more extensive your watch face is, the more drain in can cause on your battery life.  I found that I could go 7-10 days on a battery charge.

Conditions Rating
Within the first 10 minutes of your workout (usually around .6 miles for me), I get a notification that shows my performance rating. It can be anywhere from -20 to +20.  According to Garmin, “this metric analyzes pace, heart rate and heart rate variability. The resulting number is a real-time assessment of the deviation from your baseline VO2 max, with each point on the scale representing about 1% of your VO2 max. The higher the number, the higher you can expect to perform.” 

I personally have seen anywhere from -1 to a +9, and I can honestly say that I haven’t “felt” any different on either run. But clearly, my watch might be more in tune with my performance capabilities than I am.

Widgets
The watch comes with  a variety of customizable widgets – from notifications to weather to steps. Basically it is letting you decide what do you want to see on a daily basis that you can scroll through quickly.  I customized a few things like steps goals, etc. I also added a “countdown clock” counting down to a huge milestone event coming up.This watch has the option of sending you notifications for practically every app on your phone! Seriously, as soon as I set up this phone and activated it (which was a breeze), I was inundated with notifications from Instagram, facebook, etc.  and text messages. Luckily you can easily turn those off.

weather widget

Countdown clock widget

The feedback is pretty cool. It will celebrate every victory with you – fastest 5k, 10k, longest distance, etc.

Again, I know that there are a million more things I could talk about for the Garmin Forerunner 935.   For the average athlete, it has far more data capabilities than you could ever need.  However, if you are someone who really likes constant feedback and indicators that could help you improve your training, this is a great watch for you.  It is the perfect watch for triathletes, too – since it is waterproof and can toggle in between sports with the touch of a button.

I'm not quite sure what data to believe. According to V02 max, I'm in excellent condition, but the watch tells me every day that my training status is "Unproductive".  Not sure what I have to do to boost that number.  Requires more research...

The price tag is steep at $499. But again, if you are a data geek who will actually use the data to improve performance, then this is the one for you.

Read what other BibRave Pros are saying about it:
Gina – Lindsey – Jenna – Heather – Samantha – Mark – Meridith – Emily – Brenda – Casey – Angie – Ryan – Vanessa – Lisa – Frank - Mai