Even the most Advanced fitness trackers can’t capture everything. While testing the Garmin Forerunner 165 Music, I got severe food poisoning and spent two days in bed. There’s nothing more annoying than your cheery fitness tracker notifying you that you’ve gotten a lot of sleep and your body battery has hit 100 while you’re struggling not to spit out water. It’s almost as annoying as having your child yelling at you asking if you’re still stuck in the bathroom.
When I finally started exercising again, the watch recommended that I build my base with long, slow runs. The pace was eerily slow, especially since I lived next to a college campus full of leggy teenagers whose pace was so energetic, youthful, and hopeful that I felt humiliated. Still, I persisted. My legs feel great. Forerunner got me started on tempo runs and my heart rate was lower than ever. Astonishing!
The Forerunner 165 is the latest addition to Garmin’s Forerunner series, but there is nothing in the Forerunner series. If you’re new to running and can find the barebones Forerunner 55 for under $200, it’s a great fit! However, the Forerunner 165 has enough bells and whistles that, to me, it justifies the extra cash.
More features
The Forerunner 165 looks like a standard Garmin technology watch. It features a familiar five-button layout (three on the left, two on the right) with a chemically strengthened screen, polymer bezel, and silicone strap. NOTE: If you don’t want to get a rash on your wrist, you’ll need to clean your watch band every two to three days. It now also has a new, bright AMOLED display, which I had no problem seeing in bright, direct sunlight.
Photography: Adrienne Su
It’s also a touchscreen, so I have far fewer instances of being unable to operate the button system. Same as when I accidentally called an emergency contact by holding the wrong button for too long. (This is the up button on the left. Don’t hold it down unless you’re in trouble.)
High-end Forerunner models are aimed at multi-sport athletes, but the Forerunner 165 is aimed very specifically at runners. In addition to personalized adaptive training plans, you can now see metrics like running power and cadence on the screen on your wrist, as well as some of Garmin’s more esoteric proprietary metrics like training effectiveness, which can help you determine The impact of each workout is all about your overall performance.
The reason you’d choose the Forerunner 165 over the Forerunner 55 is that, in addition to a better display, you also get more sensors. In addition to the now-standard multi-band GPS positioning systems (GPS, Glonass, and Galileo) that allow you to pinpoint your location for accurate workout metrics, the Forerunner 165 features a pulse oximeter sensor, barometric altimeter, compass, and ambient light sensor.
Photography: Adrienne Su