The Garmin Fenix 8 came out recently and while it’s one of the best sports watches available, the fact it has a $999 starting price makes it a difficult sell when several older Garmin watches have most of the Fenix 8’s features and are available at a fraction of the cost.
One such watch is the Garmin Forerunner 965, which is currently going for its lowest ever price on Amazon thanks to a $100 discount that brings it down to $499.99. That’s still a big chunk of change, but it’s half the price of the new Fenix 8 and a great price for such a capable sports watch.
The Garmin Forerunner 965 isn’t just a more affordable alternative, it has a case for being the best Garmin watch available overall because it has all of the key software features of the Fenix and Enduro watches in a much lighter and thinner design.
That design is less rugged than the Fenix 8 and Enduro 3, which offer sapphire crystal screens and thick titanium bezels on some watches, but the Forerunner 965 does have a thin titanium ring around the screen, and the mostly plastic build is part of why it’s so lightweight.
It has Garmin’s excellent color maps and navigation features, plus smarts like music storage and NFC payments. As you’d expect for a top Garmin, it’s also laden with insightful training analysis features including a readiness rating you can use to guide your training each day.
It's laden with insightful training analysis features including a readiness rating you can use to guide your training each day.
I was wearing the Forerunner 965 as my main watch until I pulled on the Garmin Fenix 8 and Garmin Enduro 3 to test them for our reviews. The new watches have some useful upgrades on the Forerunner 965 — the built-in flashlight, mic and speaker on the Fenix 8 are definitely handy — and they offer longer battery life than the Forerunner 965 if you opt for a larger Fenix model.
However, many of the key features are the same across the watches, and the Forerunner 965 still lasts me over a week on a charge even with its AMOLED screen set to always-on, and running every day.
I’ve been looking out for deals on the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro and Garmin Epix Pro now the Fenix 8 has launched, but no noteworthy discounts have emerged yet. This deal on the Forerunner 965 certainly stands out though, and it’s a great option for people who want a watch with Garmin’s top features but don’t want something as large, heavy or pricy as the Fenix.
