Garmin Forerunner 165
$ Budget$199.99
tldr; Entry AMOLED runner. Good value, training features. New entry.
$199.99 on AmazonSentiment Breakdown
35%Positive
Positive
35%Neutral
63%Negative
2%Based on 296 Reddit opinions
Strengths & Weaknesses
Each axis shows what % of Reddit comments are positive about that topic. Higher = more praise.
Key Features
- Easy-to-use running smartwatch with built-in GPS for pace/distance and wrist-based heart rate; brilliant AMOLED touchscreen display with traditional button controls; lightweight design in 43 mm size
- Up to 11 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 19 hours in GPS mode
- Reach your goals with personalized daily suggested workouts that adapt based on performance and recovery; use Garmin Coach and race adaptive training plans to get workout suggestions for specific events
- 25+ built-in activity profiles include running, cycling, HIIT, strength and more
- As soon as you wake up, get your morning report with an overview of your sleep, recovery and training outlook alongside weather and HRV status (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- With training effect and training effect labels, you’ll see how your workouts impact your fitness and understand the primary benefit achieved from your workout.; recovery time lets you know how long you need to recover before your next high-effort workout
- Safety and tracking features, including incident detection (during select outdoor activities) and Assistance, send a message with your live location to emergency contacts when paired with your compatible smartphone; requires setup and your smartphone to be in an area with network coverage where data connectivity is available
- Never miss a call or text with smart notifications from your paired Android or Apple smartphone
Sentiment Over Time
Historical Price Data
Garmin Forerunner 165
Garmin Forerunner 165
All-time low: $189.99(2025-06)
$25 below 90-day avg
What Redditors Actually Say
What Redditors Say
Best praise vs top criticism for Garmin Forerunner 165
Best Praise
+3 pts“For Garmin, I can’t imagine needing more than the Garmin Forerunner 165. Or, maybe the Instinct 3. I think the feature set tops out at around $500. Gotta have that flashlight! (Do you, though?) Above that is looks, mostly. (They always unlock some feature to make it more tempting.)”
r/Smartwatch
ViewTop Criticism
+1 pts“personally I think the FR165 would be a bad choice as its a much more running, swimming & cycling focussed watch with very little on the outdoor recreational side. It does have hiking, but its got no water sport options. While you could always use other to track paddling activities you would miss out on paddling specific metrics like stroke rate etc. Despite not having elevation data (post activity in the app the app will populate this data based on your gps fixes) and a hiking activity (can just use walking) the vivoactive 5 (VA5) would probably be a much better fit overall for you at the same price level. Note the standard FR165 doesn't have offline music - so would need the FR165 music version, which is generally more expensive than the VA5. [https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/compare/?compareProduct=1057989&compareProduct=1285545&compareProduct=1055469&compareProduct=886785&compareProduct=886725](https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/compare/?compareProduct=1057989&compareProduct=1285545&compareProduct=1055469&compareProduct=886785&compareProduct=886725) Comparison of suggested options - you can see how from an activity point of view the FR165 really is much more focussed on people serious about running, swimming & cycling - has very few leisure recreational activity types that it will track. Personally would suggest looking to see the original Epix gen 2 (non pro non sapphire version - will have 16GB storage) is going for - as its old now and is often at a serious discount, making it super attactive and will easily cover all your needs. if price wise it the Epix isn't there there, and VA5 isn't a go, then would suggest looking at the fR265 as I think it will give you next best fit (or the venu 3 as they are normally similarly priced in most countries) - [https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/compare/?compareProduct=1057989&compareProduct=1285545&compareProduct=1055469&compareProduct=886785&compareProduct=873008](https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/compare/?compareProduct=1057989&compareProduct=1285545&compareProduct=1055469&compareProduct=886785&compareProduct=873008) (Venu 3 instead of FR965).”
r/Smartwatch
View13 more quotes available below
Related Products
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Garmin Forerunner 165 worth buying?
Entry AMOLED runner. Good value, training features. New entry.
What do Redditors love about the Garmin Forerunner 165?
Redditors highlight: 🆕 New entry. 🖥️ AMOLED. 🏃 Running.
What are the downsides of the Garmin Forerunner 165?
Some criticisms include: "personally I think the FR165 would be a bad choice as its a much more running, swimming & cycling focussed watch with very little on the outdoor recreational side."
How accurate are these ratings?
Our sentiment analysis is approximately 80-85% accurate compared to manual review. Products with more mentions (Garmin Forerunner 165 has 296) tend to have more reliable scores.
296 Reddit opinions analyzed • Last updated 4/17/2026