Garmin Forerunner 235

Spend the extra money and get a better product – Within weeks of buying the forerunner 235 the plastic dial cover cracked. From then on it has been downhill, and now it will not recharge or operate. This product isn't as robust as other on the market Show details

Compared to Fitbit Entry Level Ionic, this entry level model is left behind – My review is based on that I had a Garmin Forerunner 235 and because it didn't work very well, I reluctantly bought a Fitbit Ionic watch. Now not so reluctant because it has bells and whistles that the Garmin watch should have. My Garmin watch felt like a lemon from the first in that it wasn't easy to set up and get going and I needed help from… Read more

the Garmin customer helpline. Some days my upload didn't work and so winning streaks were broken through no fault of my own. In the end after a little after a year, it just didn't work anymore. I emailed and then phoned customer service only to find the number was US based and after an hour, they gave me a Australian number which wasn't displayed prominently on their website. Anyway, the Fitbit Ionic extras are sync to my Pixel phone, phone has real time data, you can store 300 songs and listen away with buying bluetooth headphones for extra, I get messages relayed from the phone. I mention this because Garmin Forerunner 235 has none of these features. In addition, the wrist band neatly clips into itself unlike the Garmin product, touch screen controls where Garmin still has buttons, no data drop outs to date as opposed to Garmin's missing sync data destruction. It is a lot more easier and intuitive in setting up, using the watch and the app and a no fuss magnetic cradle to recharge the battery as opposed to the forks in a garmin. As an entry level watch from Fitbit this totally outplays the Garmin Forerunner 235 in every category.

Very Useful Training Tool – I've owned a Forerunner 235 for almost two years after previously owning a Forerunner 15 and numerous Polar HRM watches over the last 25 years. The Forerunner 235 is very comfortable and has considerable scope for individualising the displays. The three-dimensional GPS, stop watch, and step count functions seem to be very accurate and reliable. … Read more

However, the accuracy of LED-based heart rate monitoring can be problematic particularly when running on hard concrete surfaces and also at high rates, i.e. above 160 bpm. Inaccurate HR measurement skews calorie burn results, recovery period, and other HR based functions.

My experience is that a chest strap provides more reliable data than the LED pulse measurement. A recent discussion with a cardiologist confirmed my own experience.

The Garmin Express and Garmin Connect apps provide seamless access to information on my iPhone and two laptop computers. The Garmin Connect app is sufficiently tailorable to meet most individual needs and preferences.

On balance, the Garmin Forerunner 235 is a very useful training tool. Those wanting more reliable HR data might consider buying a Garmin chest strap for occasional use.

Very good running watch – Been using the 235 for about a year now. Very happy with it's functionality. Wrist HRM is so handy compared to the separate chest strap. Includes great information beyond the essentials such as VO2 Max, Cadence and Training Effect. The ability to link my Garmin Connect account with Strava is also a great feature and works seamlessly. The watch is… Read more

light and relatively comfortable. I do find that I can't find the perfect fit with the band (i.e. the eyelets aren't aligned well for my wrist size) and I can get 'watch burn' from time to time. It can have some issues connecting to smartphones via Bluetooth sometimes but for the majority of the time it works perfectly.

Where the watch struggles is general activity tracking and gym sessions. The watch needs to be tight on your wrist to track your heart rate. Not a massive issue, just one to be mindful of. I would therefore only recommend this primarily for running and tracking your daily steps.

Once the 235 dies, I'd consider upgrading to a Garmin that plays music, accurately tracks a greater range of activities and sports (open water swimming etc) and includes more training data.

On balance, this is a good entry level running watch that will suit most average runners.

Solid watch lacking some important features – This is a good basic Garmin and has most of what you'd need to go out and run. My only gripe is that it doesn't support many of the apps, notably Virtual Runner, one of the main reasons for upgrading to a 735XT. Still this model has a good build quality and is reasonably easy to use. Show details

It gives me the runs – This watch makes me run! From the daily steps goal to the weekly step challenge. Link it up with the Garmin Connect App to find your best times and unlock badges. Show details

Good price and reliable – Less expensive than many other GPS watches and if you are just using it for running I don't know how other watches could be better. Very accurate measurements (confirmed by an athletics track).

Unreliable – The Garmin Forerunner 235 is a disaster. I have one for two years now. It’s very unreliable. The hart rate registration sometimes blocks. It shows f.i. a continuous hart rate of 100 during a 15k run. Today I ran an epic round around Marina Bay in Singapore. I finished it and found out that my watch stopped on its own after 2k. This watch makes me mad. Show details

has problems – the heart rate is usually around ten beats higher than my actual heart beat, which can be unnerving when i’m trying to track my resting heart rate. It constantly disconnects from my phone and i have to spend 5 minutes trying to reconnect them. It doesn’t accurately track sleeping hours, the gps can be a little off sometimes, but that’s not a huge… Read more

problem, but one of the biggest issues is the band itself. the days i forgot my watch or have to charge it and leave the house, i have dry red peeling skin where the band was, and when i take off the watch, i can see dead skin in the holes in the band. It becomes very irritated and lotion burns to apply. i try tightening it, but then it hurts and my wrist isn’t restricted, but when i loosen the band it slides up and down my arm. It is destroying the skin, and is a serious issue

Functionality Great. HR monitor not so great – Functionally this watch has everything you’ll ever need. The watch is reliable looks good and is sound enough to use as an everyday watch. Looks stylish on the arm and is easy to read. Is easy to configure, add apps and change watch faces. HOWEVER...the HR monitor at times really sucks (technical term). If your running outside not too bad, if your… Read more

outside on the bike also ok. Get into the GYM FORGET IT!!

Highly problematic and inaccurate. Works on the treadmill then not on the bike,and then it works and then it doesn’t. Way way too intermittent. Only saving grace is you can wear a chest strap if you want which generally solves the problem. Didn’t buy it for that though. There may be new technology out there now that is wrist based but works better, wouldn’t be hard

Very good watch – This watch was very reliable and easy to use. I had this watch for a year and a half and then it started to glitch. I believe it was cased by water/steam getting into the battery. If i knew this I wouldnt have worn it every where eg.showering. other than that very good watch. Show details

Great fitness watch – Great fitness watch for running, as it has wrist based heart rate monitor, so no need for a chest strap, and built in GPS. It has buttons instead of touch screen which makes it reliable on the go. It has Bluetooth connectivity so you can view your messages, however this can drop out at times and needs to be refreshed. Battery life is good. I would recommend this watch. Show details

its okey – I used to have this gariman forerunner 235 for my gym because I had heard about it a lot, but it was not working very well as I expected, I had to gift it someone else. Show details

Highly recommended – This watch is perfect, whether you're a runner, swimmer, bike rider, it covers you all. Counts steps and monitors heart rate and best of all, it is so simple to use and navigate through. Expect the band keeper to only last around 12 months but if you have some old loom bands hanging around they will do the trick, or contact Garmin if it's within… Read more

the warranty period and they will send you a replacement band.

I was concerned about the watch face scratching, but after 1.5 years it is like new - and I am joined to this watch almost 24/7 so that says something about the watch's scratch resistance - it's fantastic.

I have recommended this watch to many and most have purchased it, never had bad feedback and everyone has been thankful for my thoughts so I figured that is was time to actually formally review the watch on here too.

Love the photo upload function – I am no where near a professional runner but it is something I want to get better at and this was a great help. Easy to use, sync and charge were on top of my priorities and this Garmin has been great. I found the image of the face function great! I've loaded an image to inspire me. I've used this watch to walk, hike and run in all climates and it hasn't let me down.  Show details

Fantastic fitness watch! – Absolutely love the Garmin 235. It is so accurate using GPS while I run, but works great on the treadmill also once calibrated. The wrist heart rate is simple to use and the transfer to the phone is done within 30 seconds. The charging cord is more reliable than my partners watch. The cord of the 235 stays on, even if bumped. Definitely recommend the 235 for running and fitness.  Show details

I love my Garmin watch – I love my Garmin watch not only for all the features. Including GPS but for the look as well. I especially love the big face. The only thing I was disappointed with was the user guide or booklet that came with it. It wasn’t very explanatory so I’ve had to figure out a lot of how to use it on my own.  Show details

Quality seems flaky. Love the functionality – Bought it in December 2016. Had it replaced 8 months later when it quickly went from a week+ on a single charge to only 36hrs. Garmin replaces out of “courtesy” and suggested I had been charging it on the wrong Amperage. A little hard when they don’t supply a charger, only USB cord. Since then have always been vigilant with the replacement and… Read more

only charge off a computer as instructed. This one is 12 months in and only holds charge a few days and the Bluetooth is super flaky. Can’t even connect with with my phone at present. A real shame because the watch has been fantastic other than those key issues. I love the faces, the HR, the fitness tracking, sleep tracking etc.

I have a colleague who went through two also and was given a 735xt. Hopefully more reliable. I think I’m screwed because this replacement is a little over 12 months.

good product – really good to keep track of fitness and health. I particularly like how easy it is to see metrics in app (daily average steps HR exercise etc). Support was hit and miss when I had an issue with watch freezing and then had to send it back for a replacement. Garmin shouldn't charge me the postage to send a faulty product back and they didnt have anywhere I can drop it off for no cost so that was disappointing,. Otherwise good product.  Show details

Durable watch – Purchased this Garmin, upgrading from my Fitbit. I wear it every day and it has lasted well. Some connectivity issues with the app and sometimes the HR function takes a while to register, but this is easily troubleshooted. Replaceable band is a great feature as you can always change the colour.  Show details

Great watch – Sometimes a tiny it slow to find GPS but otherwise very accurate with some cool app features. Counts your steps, links to your iPhone via Bluetooth to give you notifications. Very handy little watch. I think Garmin should make a smaller watch face for females. Would recommend this watch. Best gps system in a watch  Show details

Love it but – I love this watch. It has so many amazing features and helps track a number of useful things such as heart rate, exercise and calories. However, I was hoping the 'other' feature was more reliable in the swimming pool. When swimming it has no idea what is going on and therefore, you cant get an accurate session feedback. If I had realised this I would have bought the next model up. None-the-less, it is still great for running and riding.  Show details

Getting Motivated – I have used this as my watch of choice for the last couple of half and full marathons I have completed. Its been great, lasted the whole distance, gave me correct data. Gives me a point to compare all my results. Has not let me down yet. Only negative i can see is the charger.  Show details

Brilliant, good price point. Does what it says – Bought this watch from Harvey Norman awhile back now. Can't say there's much that it promises, that it fails to deliver on. the watch looks good. It was priced fairly (in my humble opinion) though I did have a small discount on it. The battery life isn't incredible but is certainly decent. No complaints!  Show details

Functional, but not practical – This watch does pretty well everything I wanted: - count footsteps - measure sleep patterns - notify of incoming phone calls and SMS - notify facebook messenger msgs I found 3 major problems: 1) Although it's plastic the build quality is good. But the rubber wrist band that came with the device started to cause a serious rash after a few… Read more

months.

2) The bluetooth connectivity was flaky at best. Often my phone - I tried a Samsung S7, Oppo R9 and a Nokia 8 - would not see the Garmin after a while. I had to reboot to the phone to get it to reconnect.

3) I found the lack of a touch screen a pain to dismiss phone calls and messages. I also wanted to be able to quickly select and send short canned replies (Yes, No, Call you later, etc.) from the watch, but that's not possible.

For these reasons I replaced it with the Vivoactive 3 after 6 months.

Will get you motivated! – This will turn you into a heart beat and steps per day fanatic! I was thrilled to learn that my resting heart rate was 42, well below the so called healthy range of 60 - 100. This information will be invaluable in years to come when evaluating my health. The GPS function is accurate, the watch is easy to use, the battery life exceeded expectations. I chose Garmin because of my perceptions that it had better experience as a company with GPS.  Show details

Very good gps sports watch – I like the screen size, easy to read on the run. Aquires gps almost instantly. Very good at pacing keeping you on track. I find it easy to use with very good stats ect on the app. One issue with connecting via bluetooth to the app, but good advice on the net. Pricey but worth it  Show details

Good accessory – Have had my Garmin for about a year now, I really love that it syncs with my phone so easily and gives daily and weekly progress reports. Have had a minor issue recently where the date reformatted to two weeks ago and was unsure how to change this, eventually reformatted back to correct date. Overall, great product for tracking steps, exercise and HR.  Show details

An essential for any runner – I wear my Garmin everyday and take it with me on holidays it is always accurate and never fails me . I could not run without this watch now it is in my essential run kit. I highly recommend this to any runner at any level, it is also great for walkers too.  Show details

Great Simple Convenient – A general running watch with customisable faces and Apps from the Q-store Some Free some Not I use mine at the gym and it keeps a good record of heart beat and pulse , it can be uploaded to Garmin connect and used in conjunction with My Fitness Pal waterproof for swimming and can be bought for between $249-450  Show details

Excellent product – My brother gave me as a gift. I love it, wear it whenver I do exercise or go running. I help me to keep track of my heart rate and compare the pace of the same route to see my progress. And also calculate my steps daily and set goals.  Show details

Can’t live without my Garmin – Recieved this for my birthday and have no time looked back!! Love the funky teal colour and all the features of the forerunner. I’m constantly checking mum heart rate and steps ensuring I reach my daily target of 10,000. Looks great, durable and easy to use. Bought my mum omen for her birthday that’s not how much I loved it!  Show details

its lighter and comfortable – its lighter and comfortable are main punches. it has hourly tracking heart beat, however, I have noticed that if you take off it, it still shows heart beating on screen. I do not know other watches would do same. this is heart breaking finding. other than, battery is alright.there is pretty cool another function that so many themes can be downloaded from Germain open source website.  Show details

Perfect for hiking – I've always used Garmin watches and thi model has given me the best functionality for price. I mainly use the GPS function and was impressed by all the data created and available after hiking. Perfect for when you're training for your next endurance hike. The design makes it more than wearable as an everyday watch too.  Show details