Best Garmin Devices

If you’re in the market for a smartwatch or health and fitness tracker, don’t sleep on Garmin. They may not be as popular as Apple or Samsung, but they’ve got a roster of devices that cover a wide variety of needs, and they tend to be both less expensive and just as capable as their better-known rivals – and they also won’t lock you into a single ecosystem, but allow you to use both Apple and Google phones with equal ease. RELATED: Best Running Watches Garmin’s devices also have one major advantage over their better-known competitors: they’re not afraid to specialize. The Apple Watch is great, don’t get us wrong, but it’s also very large and heavy, even in its smallest form factor, and especially when compared to the lightest Garmin trackers. Assuming you’re going for a long distance run, which would you rather have on you: the device that does everything you need but weighs more than it needs to, or the lightweight device with the same great feature set? It doesn’t stop at the form factor, either. Garmin makes specialized devices for distance runners, outdoor adventurers, swimmers and even golfers. Read on to discover some of the best Garmin devices available today. Garmin fēnix 7X Pro Hybrid athletes, fitness junkies, and endurance runners, the Garmin fēnix 7X Pro might be the ideal watch for you. Featuring a large, bright 1.4" display with a built-in Power Sapphire solar charging lens to maximize battery life and energy return, this beauty runs 24/7, comprehensive health and wellness monitoring, tabulating multiple variables to give you a concise and accurate picture of your wellbeing, covering everything from your sleep quality to how well your body is acclimating to altitude changes. $999.99 at Amazon.com  Garmin Forerunner 255 (Music Edition) If money is no object and you want a hyper-capable smartwatch with excellent build quality and a full feature set, pick up the music-enabled version of the Garmin Forerunner 255. You’ll pay a bit more for the ability to download up to 500 songs straight to your watch, allowing you to ditch your smartphone without sacrificing your favorite tunes, but we think that trade is totally worth it. Additional features include an always-on, full-color display, contactless payments, excellent GPS tracker, heart rate variability and sleep tracker, and adaptive workout suggestions to help you successfully balance your training and rest. $399.99 at Amazon.com  Garmin vivosmart 5 If you’re working on a tighter budget or just want a more compact, simplified fitness tracker, something that will take up a lot less wrist real estate, check out the vivosmart 5. It doesn’t have built-in GPS but can piggyback off of your phone’s GPS to help you track runs and walks, while its fitness and health monitoring features are all top-drawer, including the standard workout & sleep assessments, plus respiration, hydration and menstrual cycle tracking. The whole process is also gamified, so you can “level up” by beating your previous scores – improving your health and fitness in the process. $149.99 at Amazon.com  Garmin Approach S62 If you’re a golfer, you know how important a good caddy can be. Club selection, distance gauging, wind readings, course layout info – the Garmin Approach S62 may not be able to carry your clubs for you, but it can do just about everything else a caddy can do. We love the vibrant, 1.3” color display, excellent battery life, and more than 41,000 pre-loaded course maps. And when you’ve completed your 18 holes and want a post-game drink at the clubhouse, the contactless payment system will help you take care of the bill. $499.99 at Amazon.com  Garmin Forerunner 55 If you’re an outdoor runner and want an inexpensive way to track and map your runs, we strongly recommend the entry level Garmin Forerunner 55. It’s got incredible battery life (up to 20 hours with the GPS activated), dedicated workout tracking, respiration tracking, and even active pace guidance, so you can use the watch to help you discover your ideal speed to complete a run. $199.99 at Amazon.com  Garmin epix Gen 2 If you’re really an avid outdoorsman, and not some weekend casual, forget the Apple Watch Ultra and pick up the Garmin epix Gen 2. You’ll get an always-on AMOLED display, a massive battery capable of up to 30 hours of GPS service or 16 days of minimal use, and multi-band GNSS connectivity to deliver pinpoint accuracy, wherever you are. Skiers and hikers can take advantage of the preloaded maps of over 2,000 ski runs and hiking systems, $629.99 at Amazon.com  Garmin tactix If you have the coin to spare and want absolutely every bell and whistle packed into a nigh-indestructible form factor, the aptly-named tactix is the smartwatch for you. Built-in solar charging enables up to 48 days of battery life, while a pin-point-precise GPS ensures you'll never get lost, even in the deep wilderness. Outdoor adventurers, this is the Garmin for you. $1,399.99 at Amazon.com  You Might Also Dig: Best Cheap SmartwatchesBest Fitness TrackersBest Watches Under $500