Garmin Forerunner 165 vs Garmin Venu 3

“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).”

“I switched from gw4 to venu3. Garmin watches are years behind gw in term of smart features. Also be aware, that unlike gw, Garmin actively separate even pure software features between models. And do not expect any software support on top of big fixes. Some personal experience: https://gelberhut.com/garmin-venu-3-versus-galaxy-watch-smart-features-comparison/”