Garmin Forerunner 965
$$$ Flagship$595.00
tldr; Top Forerunner. AMOLED, titanium, everything. Runner's flagship.
$595.00 on AmazonSentiment Breakdown
30%Positive
Positive
30%Neutral
69%Negative
1%Based on 122 Reddit opinions
Strengths & Weaknesses
Scores based on sentiment analysis of topic-related comments
Key Features
- Brilliant AMOLED touchscreen display with traditional button controls and lightweight titanium bezel
- Battery life: up to 23 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, up to 31 hours in GPS mode
- Confidently run any route using full-color, built-in maps and multi-band GPS
- Training readiness score is based on sleep quality, recovery, training load and HRV status to determine if you’re primed to go hard and reap the rewards (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Plan race strategy with personalized daily suggested workouts based on the race and course that you input into the Garmin Connect app and then view the race widget on your watch; daily suggested workouts adapt after every run to match performance and recovery
- Switch between sports with a button press by using built-in profiles for triathlons, duathlons, brick workouts and swimruns — or customize your own multisport profiles
- Using indicators such as HRV status, recent exercise history and performance, get insight into overall effort with training status — and know whether you’re training productively, peaking or strained (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- As soon as you wake up, get your morning report with an overview of sleep, recovery and training outlook alongside HRV status, training readiness and weather (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
Sentiment Over Time
Historical Price Data
Garmin Forerunner 965
Garmin Forerunner 965
All-time low: $449.99(2025-11)
What Redditors Actually Say
What Redditors Say
Best praise vs top criticism for Garmin Forerunner 965
Best Praise
+2 pts“If you really want **live maps + Strava + music without your phone**, you’re already above the “basic smartwatch” level. Quick take: * **Forerunner 165** → great running watch, but no real on-watch maps. * **Apple Watch SE** → fine everyday watch, but not ideal if you want to run without your phone and rely on maps. If I were you, I’d look at: * **Garmin Forerunner 955 or 965** → full maps on the wrist, Strava sync, offline music (Spotify/Deezer), light on the wrist, and way better battery than Apple / Wear OS. * **Garmin Fenix 7S** (or other small Fenix) → same idea with maps + music + Strava, just a bit more rugged look. If you drop the “YouTube on the watch” idea (it kills battery and the experience isn’t great anyway), one of those Garmin models will tick all your boxes: **clean design, phone-free runs, real maps, Strava, music, and you’re not charging it every night.**”
r/Smartwatch
ViewTop Criticism
+1 pts“I just went through a whole thing recently, I bought a Garmin forerunner 965, I used it for about two weeks before trading it in for a AW Ultra 2. I can’t speak on the other models, but the forerunner is a fitness watch before anything else. It’s very limited in the things it can do as a smartwatch. I am pretty active at 33, I do CrossFit 4-5x a week and play soccer once a week but I do all this to stay fit, healthy, and for fun. I don’t compete and the most of the stats the Garmin was providing weren’t really important to me. The forerunner is for serious athletes that’s are either competing still or just really serious about tracking everything. But after 2 weeks, I missed the functionality of my AW. My ultra 2 battery lasts for about 3.5 days which is solid for an AW. (The Garmin lasted me the entire 2 weeks I had it, which is insane.)”
r/Smartwatch
View9 more quotes available below
Related Products
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Garmin Forerunner 965 worth buying?
Top Forerunner. AMOLED, titanium, everything. Runner's flagship.
What do Redditors love about the Garmin Forerunner 965?
Redditors highlight: 👑 Top Forerunner. 🖥️ AMOLED. 💪 Titanium.
What are the downsides of the Garmin Forerunner 965?
Some criticisms include: "I just went through a whole thing recently, I bought a Garmin forerunner 965, I used it for about two weeks before trading it in for a AW Ultra 2. I can’t speak on the other models, but the forerunner..."
How accurate are these ratings?
Our sentiment analysis is approximately 80-85% accurate compared to manual review. Products with more mentions (Garmin Forerunner 965 has 122) tend to have more reliable scores.
122 Reddit opinions analyzed • Last updated 4/4/2026