Hey Walter,
I don’t have a Forerunner, but depending on what you are attempting to accomplish I would recommend it.
Things to think about:
- Are you planning on running (inside, outside, track, combination of all of these)? If yes, the go for it! If no, still might be worth it. If maybe, go for it.
- Are you interested in using it for rowing(separate from PM5/logbook)? If yes(for detailed and accurate HR data it would require a heart rate monitor chest strap). Go for it. If maybe, go for it. If no, then….HRM strap anyways for activities.
- Do you do multiple sports or gym workouts? Garmin has some pretty great resources for running(outside) and dumbbell workouts. But if this is the case look at something closer to a VivoActive 4, it’s more geared toward multi-sport.
- Are you just interested in tracking steps/activity level/walking? Skip the forerunner and go with VivoActive or vivomove. They provide basic info but also could be cheaper.
If you have more questions, please let me know. I do believe that there are some newer forerunners that might provide better user support and workload tracking(Training load, recovery time, etc) but the last question to ask yourself is this, what can I afford?…Garmin(while not as expensive as Apple usually) can run $500-$800 depending on what you are looking at. The VivoActive 4 is currently about $250-325 I believe(maybe cheaper…).
Good luck!!! Let me know what you decide if nothing else!
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Hey Jrummel83: So I bought a second hand Forerunner 35. I chose the 35 for its simplicity and super easy to read screen without too much info on it. So far I am liking it a lot. For rowing I use the "Cardio" which gives me my heart rate, calories, duration, etc. All those metrics are only so so for accuracy, which I knew, but do provide a look at the trend. When I open the Garmin Connect app I change the name from Cardio to Indoor Row. The watch I bought is less than two years old so should have good battery for several years. The watch is good for my jog/walk routine also. Have not used it cycling yet but it has a cycling mode. Cheers and thanks for the help you provided. Happy rowing mate.