Forerunner® 165, Running Smartwatch, 43mm, Black

I’ve been running for over 20 years and have only ever used by Apple Watch and before that my timex iron man running watch. Getting a dedicated running watch like this is a game changer. So many more metrics and options to use while running and to review after running has really made me a better runner. I’ve had this watch about 8 months now and have had no issues at all. Heart rate functions great for all day monitoring. I have used a chest strap for a long time for activity monitoring. Even w this watch chest strap heart rate monitoring is the only way to go for accuracy. Wrist based monitors are ok, but if your training and trying to hit certain heart rate zones I would to recommend a chest strap. W that said. Compared to my Apple Watch this wrist based monitor is better. It locks on faster and seems to be pretty accurate. Screen is easy to see in bright sunlight and inside as well. U get access to free training plans within the Garmin app which is easy to use but looks a bit outdated. W this watch you don’t get training load or training status or readiness like the more expensive Garmin watches but u do get training effect for each workout for aerobic and anaerobic metrics. I use iPhone and have the watch set to notify for calls and text only and the rest of my phone notifications are send silently to my notification widget on the watch which I love. Helps minimize distractions. The watch stays connected very good to my iPhone 14 and always syncs w the Garmin app. The strap the comes w it is comfortable but I did switch it out for a nylon strap which I feel is better and lighter. I would highly recommend this watch for its functionality, metrics and price when u can find it on sale. Overall Garmin products are over priced. But having a worry free experience when paired w an iPhone and accurate training metrics is worth it for this particular device.

Ok so I purchased this Garmin 165 watch for just $200. So the price was excellent. It has a nice bright amoled screen and has a good build quality. However, I only use this watch as a fitness, wellness and running watch. That is, I turned off the notifications. I don't see the point of trying to read a notification or message on a watch face when my phone is right next to me. So with notifications turned off I got 13 days of battery life before the watch went down to 9%. I also do not have on the "always on display". With this set up you can get 13 days of regular (non smart watch) use. This is what I wanted the most, a descent battery. So having to just charge the watch every 2 weeks or twice a month is really great. I also wore the watch every day and did walking workouts. One thing to note : I DID NOT SLEEP WITH THE WAATCH ON... I do not know if that helped the battery life but I generally do not sleep with any watched or rings or anything restrictive when I sleep.. I need comfort... lol.. But I did sleep one night with it and it was comfortable.. just not my thing... but great watch, connected to GPS is seconds, gives good info in the app and is comfortable. Highly recommend for someone who is into fitness... it can track most activities like running, walking, swimming, hiking, trail run, in door run etc.. most general activities.... look... there is really no need to go out an buy a $500 or $900 watch.. this one does the job at $200.. no point getting a watch that gives you tons of stats that you will not use or understand... if you do triathlons or want those pretty maps on the watch then by all means get the more expensive watch but if you just want to keep healthy and run.. then this watch is prefect..

I've had my Forerunner 165 for a little over a month and I love it. I'm not a runner, I purchased this watch to help me improve my health by keeping track of it. I do hike/ walk, and workout. Had a Garmin vivo years ago which was excellent (2015-). Have had several lower priced smart watches recently but they just weren't accurate. So, I decided to go back to Garmin, and they still had my info from my Vivo days. Pros- Extremely clear (AMOLED) screen, even in full sun. Large array of watch faces (many paid) in connect IQ. The watch face in my first photo is a paid face (BLACK GRID). Swipe face- you do not have to press buttons. Just too much work if I had to press buttons continually for changes and settings. Speaking of- SO many cool settings! Lock device - took me a few weeks to realize I had this option. Locks your watch face screen so your movements don't change your watch settings. Weather, GPS, maps, TONS of stats (some of these need paid faces to show). You can join Garmin Connect + for a ton of additional stats and info and health tracking. Too many positives to list here. For the price this is an excellent smart watch. It fits my 7.5" wrist well. No irritation from the silicone band. Durability- GET a screen protector. There's no guarantees you won't accidently hit the face on a hard surface. I've learned from cheaper smart watches the faces can crack. The outter shell is very durable on this watch. Overall this watch is comfortable, you can change bands if you wish. It's mostly extremely accurate (few glitches and inaccuracies as I'll mention in cons). Very clear, bright, easy to read face even with my 66 year old eyes. Cons- These cons are not negatives just issues to deal with. Most people dont have "perfect health" so Garmin is going by your stats it picks up-yes, but doesn't know pain, fatigue, overall doesn't know your daily health conditions. No way to input your health conditions If you're sick, can't input this info either, so you'll be getting move, water, etc. reminders. Kind of silly in my opinion. Why not have an option in the Connect app to add these daily stats? Recovery times can be extreme- I try to follow the suggested recovery times but Garmin sometimes makes them extreme. Example - walking slowly around my small yard, dead heading flowers with clippers during recovery time (this moving around felt good) the Garmin felt I was exerting myself too much and added 7 hours to my recovery time. So it's not guaging my movements and stats correctly all of the time. Take it with a grain, its a "machine". Any activity drains battery. I've scaled way back on watch activities like messages, GPS maps, etc because they REALLY drain your battery. I'd have to charge it daily (or more) which I don't want to do. These are all fun activities to use on your watch, but they are very draining. My watch has days where it disconnects and connects to Bluetooth constantly. Don't know if its a watch issue or an issue on my end but it drives me crazy some days. I've restarted my phone and watch and sometimes this resolves the issue, sometimes not. It does NOT affect the watch performance though. It is still adding steps, etc. EXCELLENT smart watch.

This has been my favorite purchase in a long time. I bought the 165 to replace my current Apple Watch and couldn’t be any happier. It has been great at tracking all of my activities, sleep, and is very easy to use. Most notably the battery life is amazing, with only having to charge it about once every 4-5 days. Additionally, the watch face is very customizable and the garmin phone apps themselves are easy to use. There is also a lot of unique bands and cases to customize the watch.10/10.

Best purchase I made all year. I started running recently, training for a marathon at the end of the year. I used to spend my time trying to take my run time and miles to try and calculate my pace. Now I just look at my watch and all the metrics are right there for me. It can take all of my runs and predict my race times. I no longer have to guess how many miles I put in for my run or for the entire week. It gives you heart rate, HRV, VO2 Max, step counts, sleep scores and suggested training plans. Battery life is good. If you’re running a lot and using the GPS, the battery will drain faster. I tend to charge after my long run. If you’re in training, and looking for a good sports watch, consider this one.

My first Garmin and I love it! Even though it’s an older version it does everything I need it to. Love the battery life and the step tracker. Links well with Strava and tracking my walks and runs. I especially love the heart rate monitor and pace tracker. Definitely a game changer if you take running seriously. I love the break down as well of the zones and seeing where you can improve. Has all the same features as the iwatch but better. I’d say the only downside is not being able to reply to messages off the watch. But I’ll take it.

I've had the Forerunner 165 for a few weeks now, having upgraded from a three-year-old Forerunner 55. A few of my initial impressions and thoughts are below. They'll be framed partially as a comparison to the FR55. === FEATURES AND OPERATION === This model has an AMOLED touch screen while retaining the physical buttons used on the FR55. I like that you can navigate by touch or by buttons depending on the situation. The screen brightness is much, much higher than the FR55, even at the lowest setting, which I bet is a limitation of the AMOLED screen. Additionally, the screen remains off when not doing an activity to conserve battery life, and can be woken by a touch, a button press, or a wrist movement. The annoying thing is that if your sleep schedule is inconsistent (as mine is, with a 6-month-old and two toddlers), any motion in the night tends to turn on the screen and somewhat blind you, which neither I nor my wife appreciate. I haven't figured out yet how to change this setting, so I usually just don't wear it to sleep. The buttons have good tactile response, and so far, I've noticed no change in the response speed with touch inputs. I use the same third-party watch face downloaded from Garmin Connect that I used with my FR55, and it looks good. The unit is slightly larger than the FR55, but not crazy. === WORKOUT MODES === I really like the additional modes included in the 165, such as weightlifting / strength training. The exercise detection is OK for free weights (dumbbell or barbell work), but doesn't work very well on resistance-based machines, which is to be expected given the occasionally-limited range of motion. I also have not yet figured out how to add custom exercises in Garmin Connect, as sometimes I like to do exercises that are not explicitly listed. I wish it came with a built-in boxing app, but there are ones available through Garmin's Connect store. The GPS accuracy on the runs is good; I had some issues with my FR55 at first, but have had none so far. I also strongly prefer the UI shown on runs now - it's based on dark mode, and is more helpful. I also like the ability to pick up more-granular training metrics (stride length, foot ground contact time, vertical oscillation, etc.). Will I use those, as a very casual runner? Probably not. But I like the data. === BATTERY === So far, so good. The FR55 was *amazing* at first with battery life, usually lasting 2 - 3 weeks, even with multiple GPS-heavy workout sessions. By the end of its life, it usually lasted 5 - 10 days, which is to be expected. The FR165 generally lasts about 10 days, which is still fine. === OVERALL === I would recommend this as a good upgrade for someone looking for something slightly nicer than an FR55, but who doesn't want to spend crazy amounts of money. I'm also still getting used to the new features, operation, settings, etc., but overall, I'm happy. Four stars for now.

As a half marathon runner training for a full marathon, I wanted this watch to be my full time training partner (and bully at times..lol). I notice a large improvement from my previous watch (apple watch series 10 I believe). It has great tracking for mileage, pace, HR, and a more accurate Vo2max. The sleep metrics are detailed well, I just wish the alarms were louder. The set up was very easy to complete, just create a Garmin account, sync your watch, and boom, you’re in. The battery life is insane, up to a week of battery for me (depending on usage) and very fast to charge. I like that the bands are removable to make it easier to clean the watch after getting sweaty or dirty. The watch itself is clean looking, I love the black color with the grey band. However, it was a little confusing for the first few days of me having it, trying to learn how to use it, navigate it, and get the hang of where everything is. The manual doesn’t help much 😅😅. Over all, best (impulsive) purchase I think I have made so far! I don’t regret it and look forward to continue training with the Forerunner series! 💪💪

I have been using a G-Shock GBX-100 for a couple of years now to track my runs but I also wanted to track my heart rate at the same time. This watch ticks all the boxes for me. - track steps - accurate distance (GPS) - track heart rate during runs bonus for me - running courses - coaching - resting recommendations - electronic wallet payment via Revolut (the only credit card supported in singapore) - basic navigation ie: direction/distance to a saved location - sync's with Strava and SG's Healthy 365 app - really bright visible day/night - uses standard quick release 20mm straps - charges very quickly via any USB C power source - lots more features as various apps can be downloaded into the watch, eg: compass, maps Charging is via a USB C cable that pokes into some exposed contacts at the back of the watch. The contacts being exposed to sweat/grime, I don't know how corrosion resistant those are. I had a "near" failure where it charged intermittently but fortunately it was resolved by cleaning the contacts.

I’ve been using the Garmin Forerunner 165 for a few weeks now, and it’s honestly one of the best purchases I’ve made for running and daily tracking. The bright touchscreen is gorgeous—super vibrant and easy to read even in direct sunlight, which makes checking stats mid-run a breeze. GPS is spot-on for pace and distance, wrist-based heart rate feels accurate, and I love the adaptive training suggestions and recovery insights that help me avoid overdoing it. Battery life is solid too—easily lasts a full week with regular runs, and up to 11 days in smartwatch mode. Lightweight, comfortable to wear all day, and packed with way more features than I expected at this price point. If you’re getting into running or want a reliable Garmin without breaking the bank, this is it. Highly recommend!

Primeras impresiones: Minimalismo en estado puro El Garmin Forerunner 165 entra por los ojos si eres fan de lo simple y funcional. No es el típico reloj con acabados premium, pero sí transmite ligereza y un diseño sin cosas de más. Si buscas algo minimalista que acompañe tu día, da el pego tanto para salir a correr como para ponértelo todo el día sin que moleste o cante. ¡Corre sin distracciones! Este reloj es la definición de “ponértelo y listo”. Si lo tuyo es correr (ya sea por hobby, para entrenar en serio o simplemente porque te ayuda a respirar mejor), el Forerunner 165 deja de lado los extras sobrantes y se concentra en lo más importante: medir bien tu distancia, ritmo, frecuencia cardíaca y darte datos útiles mientras corres o andas. El GPS engancha rápido y el seguimiento es acertado, casi sin margen de error como cabría esperar de un Garmin. Salud y motivación al toque ¿No te importa contar pasos? No pasa nada, el reloj lo hace igual. ¿Te mola controlar tu sueño o tus niveles de estrés? También puedes hacerlo con este modelo, aunque no esperes mil funciones premium ni datos mega avanzados. Es perfecto para quien quiere lo básico, pero bien hecho y fácil de entender, sin mil menús ni complicaciones. Autonomía y extras La batería es otro puntazo: aguanta fácil una semana sin drama, incluso entrenando varios días. A diferencia de gamas más caras, aquí no tienes pago inalámbrico ni respuesta a mensajes, pero sí las notificaciones básicas para que no te pierdas nada importante mientras corres. ¿Para quién es? En resumen, el Forerunner 165 es ideal si buscas un reloj para iniciarte en el running o simplemente quieres uno sencillo y confiable, sin gastar un dineral ni pelearte con funciones que nunca usarás. Siempre va al grano, es cómodo y discreto, y cumple con lo esencial para motivarte cada día a salir a correr o moverte más, especialmente si eres de los que disfruta las cosas sin exceso de complicaciones.

Better than the Apple smartwatch, the Garmin 165 helps keep my day organized with excellent tracking. I love this product!

Très belle montre qui fonctionne à merveille. L'écran AMOLED est net et bien lisible en plein soleil. Le GPS est précis, le cardio fiable et la batterie tient plusieurs jours même avec l'utilisation sportive quotidienne. Les fonctions running sont très complètes et les suggestions d'entraînement vraiment utiles. Seul bémol : le cable de recharge est propriétaire. Autrement, un achat sans regret.