Confession: Despite making my living writing about fitness and reviewing workout gear, I’ve never been someone who likes wearing a fitness tracker 24/7. There’s only ever been one that’s tempted me to turn into a full-time watch person — the Garmin forerunner 265.
It’s not the fanciest or highest-priced device I’ve ever slipped on my wrist; in fact, it’s only a fraction of the cost of Garmin’s most expensive watches. But it gives me the kind of feedback that actually makes nonstop wear worth it. Plus, it’s small and comfortable enough that I don’t mind keeping it on all day. I’ve tested it out a couple of different times now, and it continues to deliver everything I need to train as hard as I want, whether I’m gearing up for a marathon or just trying to increase my daily steps.
What exactly makes it so special? Let me explain.
How I tested
I’ve tested the Garmin forerunner 265 for two weeks, wearing it consistently, taking it off only to charge it. I’ve used it to track my sleep, day-to-day activities, and workouts like runs, hikes, Pilates, and strength training. I followed a personalized Garmin Coach training plan, completing (most of) the suggested workouts, and also tried the included strength and yoga workouts.
I dug into the settings on the watch and its connected app to check how customizable the experience is. Throughout both testing periods, I considered things like the health and fitness insights it offers, training features, reliability of the GPS, usability, and battery life. You can find a more detailed breakdown of all my testing criteria below.
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Garmin forerunner 265
Dimensions: 46.1mm x 46.1mm x 12.9mm or 41.7mm x 41.7mm x 12.9mm
Battery life: Up to 15 days in smartwatch mode; up to 24 hours in GPS mode
Controls: Touchscreen, five buttons
Display: AMOLED
Connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+, wifi
Water resistance: 5 atm (good for swimming, but not diving)
Why we love it
- Data put into a helpful context
- Customized training plans sync to watch
- Easy to follow workouts
- Reliable GPS
- Long battery life
- Comfortable
- Smaller 42mm size available
- Bright screen
- Offline music
- Tap to pay
- Safety tracking
Take note
- Unreliable sleep tracking
- Takes a while to connect to the GPS
The best fitness trackers all collect loads of data. The problem is that most of us (myself included) don’t always know exactly what to do with all the stats. What sets the Garmin forerunner 265 apart is that it presents all the insights in a user-friendly way, and helps me make sense of what they all mean — in a way that’s meaningful to me.
It starts from the moment I open my eyes: Every morning when I wake up, the watch gives me a “Morning Report,” a high-level look at how I slept, how ready my body is to tackle a hard workout, what the weather will be, how I’ve been doing when it comes to my fitness goals, and more. I can dig deeper into any of the individual data points I’m interested in, and customize what gets shown.
That includes specifics like my overnight heart rate variability, but also a general “Body Battery” score that puts my numbers into context in an easily digestible way, giving me a sense of how my sleep, stress, and activity levels are affecting my energy — along with advice for how to optimize all of it. I can get as granular as I want, but I also don’t feel like I need an exercise science degree to really understand and create an action plan based on what I’m seeing. The sleep data does seem a bit suspect at times, though. There have been nights I’ve been up in the early hours feeding my infant, and the watch tracks it as “light sleep.” (If only.)
What’s more, this watch makes for an excellent training partner. I signed up for a personalized running program and get daily workout suggestions that adapt to how I’ve performed during recent activities, how my body’s responded, and what my sleep and stress levels look like. These sync right to the watch, and it’s easy to follow along with vibrating and audio alerts when I need to start an interval or get back on the right pace. I particularly appreciate that it automatically updates my suggested paces whenever it detects an increase (or decrease) in my fitness — no guesswork required.
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Even with a small screen, the bright (AMOLED) display makes it easy to see all the information I want at a quick glance, whether it’s bright and sunny out or I’m running in the dark. And if it senses that I’ve had an accident, like a fall, it will text my location to my emergency contact (my husband), or I can manually have the watch do it if I ever feel unsafe, which is a nice feature.
The forerunner 265 also makes it easy to cross-train, with free yoga, strength, and Pilates workouts that sync right to my wrist. Plus, it’s got enough battery life to last for a couple of weeks between charges, so I don’t have to worry much about it running out of charge mid-workout.
Workouts aside, the forerunner 265 also works pretty nicely just as a general smartwatch. It’s got features like contactless payment, phone-free music, and turn-by-turn navigation. I especially appreciate that there are two sizes, including a smaller 42mm option that comfortably fits my wrist without getting in the way or looking clunky. It’s so lightweight that, most of the time, I barely feel it (even when sleeping — something I can’t say about most other fitness trackers). Sure, it’s got a sporty vibe, and I wouldn’t exactly wear it to a wedding, but it doesn’t look so aggressively athletic that I can’t pair it with nicer day-to-day outfits.
I will say that the GPS takes longer to connect than some other running watches, namely the Coros pace pro. Sometimes, I’ve had to wait up to 30 or 45 seconds to get a signal. But once that’s on, I find the tracking to be super precise — looking back at my maps, there are rarely any major aberrations.
But otherwise, there’s not much that could tempt me to pay twice as much or more for a higher-end watch. The forerunner 265 has more features and captures more data than I could ever even imagine using. Honestly, one of the drawbacks is that there’s so much to it, I sometimes get lost in the app. Whenever I’m poking around, I discover new features I didn’t know existed. For instance, I recently discovered the PacePro that lets me set a pacing strategy for a race based on the course, distance, and whether I want a negative split — which I’ll now be using for my upcoming 5K. The more time I spend with this watch, the more I realize it has to offer.
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Is the Garmin forerunner 265 worth it?
In many ways, the Garmin forerunner 265 feels like having a personal coach right on your wrist. It not only tracks a ton of stats, but it helps put them into context in a way that’s actually useful. Plus, it gives you personalized workout suggestions that dynamically reflect how well your training is going, how well you’re sleeping, and how you’re handling life’s day-to-day stress so that you don’t end up pushing too hard or underselling yourself.
The price is in the middle of the road for fitness trackers, but the features are top-notch. The biggest caveat is that you don’t get super-accurate sleep tracking. (If that’s your priority, I’d suggest a sleep tracker like Whoop or Oura ring.) But if you’re an endurance athlete on the hunt for a great value, this is my top recommendation.
How was the Garmin forerunner 265 tested?
I have been using the Garmin forerunner 265 running watch for two months. During this time, I’ve considered a whole host of factors, including the following testing criteria:
Why you can trust IndyBest U.S. reviews
Jennifer Heimlich has more than a decade of experience as a journalist within the wellness industry — and has written everything from the best fitness trackers to shoes for standing all day. But above all, she is a reliable and knowledgeable voice when it comes to fitness and running gear recommendations. When not writing, she’s a UESCA-certified running coach and hosts running tours, and has personally completed multiple ultramarathons and more than a dozen marathons, making her the perfect fit to review the Garmin forerunner 265.
