If you’re considering a switch to Garmin, you might be overwhelmed by choices and uncertain what you’re looking for. As a runner who’s reviewed a dozen Garmin watches and tested even more, I personally love the Forerunner 165 ($50 off for Black Friday) as a runner, while the Vivoactive 5 ($100 off) is the better deal for other athletes.
Most of the best Garmin watches are discounted for Black Friday, from the Venu 3 and Forerunner 965 to the Instinct 2 Solar and Fenix 7X Pro. But even with these deals, they’re still expensive for fitness watches. If you don’t know if you like Garmin’s training software yet, you may regret spending too much out of the gate.
Of the Black Friday Garmin deals available for a reasonable $199 or less, the Forerunner 55 is way too old for first-timers, the Instinct 2 display is too low-res for people coming from an AMOLED, and the Venu Sq 2 is just too limited in terms of Garmin’s best training tools.
A Forerunner 165 or Vivoactive 5 introduces you to what makes Garmin so popular with athletes. And of these two, the Vivoactive 5 is a well-rounded smartwatch that’s usually pricier, making it the better Black Friday discount.
I highly reviewed the Garmin Forerunner 165 and found it beat other cheap fitness watches for accuracy, so it’s also a compelling option at this $199 price. It has niche running tools like daily suggested runs, running form analysis, running power, training effect, and an altimeter for judging elevation for hikes and stairs — all of which the Vivoactive 5 lacks.
If you’re a regular runner or hiker like me, the Forerunner 165 should tempt you more; I really wish the Vivoactive 5 could track elevation, too. But for other athletes considering a Garmin switch, this Garmin product comparison shows where the Vivoactive 5 pulls ahead.
Essentially, the Vivoactive 5 doesn’t make you pay $50 extra for music storage for your Spotify or Deezer playlists, and it has stronger Gorilla Glass 3 display protection. It offers a wider array of sports modes like basketball, skiing, or rowing, the ability to see greens or hazards while golfing, and even has a wheelchair mode. And if you care about sleep tracking, it has the newer Sleep Coach that guides you on how much sleep you need.
You may prefer the Vivoactive 5’s aluminum bezel to the Forerunner’s polymer bezel, but it’s ultimately a matter of preference. And that goes for whichever of these two you choose; they both offer most of the same training metrics, so only you can decide which will appeal to you more!
