Garmin Forerunner 235 review
We decided to take a look at the Garmin Forerunner 235 to see what it had to offer!
Design:
The Garmin Forerunner 235 looks very similar to its Garmin counterparts except for a few differences. It is definitely a sporty design with slick comfortable straps. It fits the wrist nicely and you hardly know you are wearing it.
It is light too, weighing it at around 42 grams. The display is colorful, showing you your metrics along your run. The display was easy to read in all but the dimmest light, and in those circumstances, its handy backlight provided all the illumination I needed. It was very easy to read outdoors, especially in bright sunlight, thanks to its transflective display.
Heart rate monitor:
A unique addition to this watch is the built in sensor. Using an optical sensor it can read your pulse. Is this an new-break through for built in heart rate monitors or is the chest strap still more accurate? Well I am afraid to say that the chest strap does a much better job.
From experimenting with chest strap monitors we can see that the Garmin Forerunner 235 struggles to get up to speed for the initial first 5-10 minutes of a run. It then levels out to the appropriate heart rate, but even then the strap is still more accurate by a few beats.
So if your looking to get this watch for its built in heart rate monitor I would be too excited. Although it does give you a rough estimate to what your rate is, it simple isn't as accurate as the chest straps!
Metrics:
Along your run the Garmin Forerunner 235 has plenty of different metrics to help you monitor your run. The main ones are distance, time ran, heart rate, average pace and current pace. The GPS built into the watch is very accurate and is rarely off!
When you finish the run you can see your calories burned, your average heart rate, your highest heart rate and your cadence.
You can also set up interval training on the watch to let you know when to run and when to stop e.g. if I wanted to run 5 X 1km in my local park with 90 secs rest I can set that up on my watch and it tells me when i have ran a kilometer and when 90 seconds is up! This also works in minutes aswell.
Features:
This watch has some pretty top end features to help you improve your running furthermore. It shows your VO2 max, a gauge of how much oxygen your body can process. The higher the number, the more fit you are. It also indicates your lactate threshold.
It also tells you how much rest you should take after each run which I would not recommend following as it is way too generous! After your runs you can also upload your runs to the Garmin web app where you can log your training!
Speaking of the web app another feature worth highlighting is the Forerunner 235's ability to load workouts synced from the Garmin Connect web app. In the tool you can build workouts, setting your desired warm up time, workout time, distance or intensity, and warm down period, and have it sent to the watch.
overall:
overall I would say that the Garmin forerunner 235 is a quality watch that is definitely worth the investment if you are serious about running. It is relevantly cheap compared to some running watches and does the job well!