Garmin Watch: Venu, Forerunner and Lily Picks From a Wrist GPS Pioneer

Garmin Watch: Venu, Forerunner and Lily Picks From a Wrist GPS Pioneer

A Garmin watch started with a running engineer and a GPS unit strapped to a wrist, and this edit sorts the Venu, vívoactive, Forerunner, Lily, fēnix and Instinct lines by how you actually live in them. I say when I would reach for each one and what to check on your wrist.

Garmin was co-founded in 1989 by two electrical engineers, Gary Burrell and Min H. Kao, and the name is just their first names, Gary and Min, put together. Fourteen years later, in 2003, the company unveiled the Forerunner 201, the world's first wrist-based GPS trainer. The story goes that an engineer with a passion for running was testing a GPS navigator meant for climbers, strapped it to a wrist, and found it tracked distance and speed pretty well. I love that. The whole category started with someone running with a test unit on an arm.

 

That is why a Garmin watch still feels different to me from a generic smartwatch. It was built by people who track things for a living, and the screens now look a lot more like jewelry than lab equipment. So I sorted this edit by what you actually want the watch to do.

 

First, the everyday AMOLED watches. The Venu 4 41mm comes in periwinkle silicone, in bone with a gold-tone bezel, and in light sand leather, and the leather one is the one I would wear to dinner. The Venu 3S in dust rose and French gray has a 41mm case that suits smaller wrists. The vívoactive 6 in pink dawn and jasper green and the vívoactive 5 in orchid are the lighter, sportier trio.

 

Practical tip: put the watch on and check the case against your wrist bone before you fall for a color. The band swaps, the case does not.

Collage of AMOLED everyday smartwatches, Forerunner running watches, and small patterned and rugged outdoor watches, and a mood photo of a cream smartwatch on a wrist

Venu and vivoactive

Running watches by wrist size

Run the case size test before you look at color: a 42mm or 43mm watch should sit flat under a sleeve without tilting on your wrist bone. The Forerunner 570 is the one I would reach for first, in bone and mango or in whitestone and cloud blue, both with a 42mm aluminum bezel and AMOLED screen. The Forerunner 265S in whitestone and neo tropic is the same idea in a quieter package, with up to 15 days of battery in smartwatch mode.

 

The lighter pair is the Forerunner 70 in soft pink at 43mm and the Forerunner 165 in whitestone or black, which gives you up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and up to 19 hours of GPS. Black is the one that disappears under a blazer cuff.

 

Then the bigger ones. The Forerunner 970 in soft gold titanium has a 47mm case with a French gray and indigo band, and the Forerunner 965 in black and powder gray has the same 47mm titanium bezel. They look good on a wrist that can carry the size, and they are made for long training weeks, with up to 26 hours of GPS on the 970.

 

Check the band loop and the buttons in the fitting room, because you press them with wet, cold fingers.

 

What I would skip: a 47mm case if your longest run is a loop around the block. Pick the 42mm and enjoy it.

Forerunner running watches

Slim, sleek and rugged options

Strap one on before deciding whether you want a watch that shows off or one that hides. The Lily 2 in coconut is a 35mm watch with a patterned lens that hides the display until you tap it, so it reads like a bracelet at brunch. The Lily 2 Active in jasper green and purple jasmine is 38mm and adds GPS, which is the one I would pick if you walk or jog but never want a sports watch look.

 

On the other end, the rugged ones. The Instinct E in charcoal at 40mm and in electric lime at 45mm is plain and tough, with up to 14 days of battery on the smaller case. The Instinct 3 AMOLED in black at 45mm has a 1.2 inch screen and up to 18 days of battery. Wear it with a hoodie and boots and forget about it.

 

The fēnix 8 Sapphire at 43mm is the serious one. The soft gold version with a dark sandstone band and the DLC titanium one with a black and pebble gray band both have a scratch-resistant sapphire lens, and they pass for a dressy watch more than you would think.

 

Test the weight on your wrist for a full minute, then raise your arm like you are hailing a taxi. If it slides, go smaller.

 

What I would skip: the fēnix 8 if you only want step counts and sleep. It is more watch than that job needs.

Lily, fēnix and Instinct

How I would pick one

I would decide in this order. First, wrist size: measure it, then pick a case that fits, which narrows the list fast. Second, what you do on a Tuesday, whether that is a lunch walk, a 10K or a hike, and match the family to that.

 

Third, color, which is the fun part and the one that matters least, because the bands swap. I would pick the one I would put on every morning without thinking.

 

In 1989, two engineers just wanted GPS to be useful. Now it lives on a wrist and comes in orchid. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Trend Watch and Denim, Leather and a Watch.