But if you’ve been waiting till Prime Day to invest in a new Garmin running watch or smartwatch, you might be wondering if today is a good time to buy. As a fitness editor, I test running watches for a living, and it’s safe to say, Garmin makes some of the best running watches on the market. All of the best Garmin watches have built-in GPS, the ability to track several different sports, giving you real-time data on the move, as well as your steps, calories-burned sleep, heart rate, and menstrual cycle. All of the Garmin watches connect to your phone via the Garmin Connect app, which displays all of your data in an easy-to-read format. But should you invest today? Read on to find out more.
Are Garmin smartwatches worth investing in?
In a word, yes. Although finding the best Garmin watch depends on your needs and your budget. Some Garmin smartwatches are designed to be more of a fitness tracker, that’ll count your steps, distance and calories burned, but aren’t necessarily the tech you’d want on your wrist if you were, say, running a marathon. Others are clearly designed with hardcore athletes and outdoor enthusiasts in mind. Garmin watches range from the $149 Garmin Forerunner 55, to the $999 Fenix 7X Sapphire Solar Editon, so it’s a good idea to know exactly what you’re looking for before investing. As one of the biggest smartwatch manufacturers on the market, Garmin smartwatches are popular for a reason — they are easy to navigate around, they are hard-working and they are extremely durable. There are a number of brilliant deals on Garmin watches today, which we’ve hand-picked below, so if you’re on a budget, today is a good time to buy. A lot of the deals are on last season’s watches, like the Garmin Forerunner 245 and the Garmin Fenix 6, which are on sale because newer versions have been released this year. That said, they are still excellent watches, and well worth looking at. For a sport that is often regarded as ‘free’, running can get expensive. By the time you’ve shopped for a pair of the best running shoes, and paid for entry to a race or two, things can get expensive. Plus, with the cost of living going up, if you are looking to upgrade your tech without breaking the bank, shopping on Prime Day is a good option. Plus, Prime Day falls in the summer, which is right at the start of most training blocks for autumn marathons, so if you do fall into this category, it’s a good time to invest in a new watch. If you’re not a runner, summer is also a great time to be exercising outdoors, and there’s nothing like the motivation of a new watch on your wrist to make that happen. Traditionally, it’s only last season’s watches that drop in the Prime Day sales, so if you have your eye on a newer watch, you’re probably going to be disappointed. If you are looking at the Forerunner 255, or the Fenix 7, the Prime Day sales aren’t going to be for you. That said, we’ve looked at the Forerunner 245 vs the Forerunner 255 and the Fenix 6 vs the Fenix 7, so if you are on the fence, have a read before shopping.