8,153
edits
Changes
Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Garmin 235 Review}} The {{Garmin 235}} has one of the nicest mixes of features in any running watch, and having tested its predecessor, the Garmin 225 I hav..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Garmin 235 Review}}
The {{Garmin 235}} has one of the nicest mixes of features in any running watch, and having tested its predecessor, the [[Garmin 225]] I have high hopes. I'm still testing the 235, so this is just my initial impressions, not a full review.
* The 235 is a nice size, looking more like a watch than a brick. I find it a lot more comfortable than the Fenix 3, Epix, or 920XT, though I have rather tiny wrists.
* The color display is bigger than the [[Garmin 225]], though it is neither square nor circular, but flat on the top/bottom and round on the sides, which is odd. Some of the screens end up with the edges cut off, which can make the graphs confusing.
* The Optical HRM does not work as well as the [[Garmin 225]] and I don't think its good enough to be viable. I've found it's wrong too often for me to trust it. Tightening the strap really tight helps, but does not completely resolve the issues.
* I love having continuous hear rate monitoring, especially to get things like [[Resting Heart Rate]]. However, the accuracy problems limit the value, and the continuous monitoring seems to add problems where the 235 gets "stuck" at a particular value.
* My initial [[GPS Accuracy]] testing suggests the 235 is rather grim, though I don't have enough data to say more.
* [[Connect IQ]] allows the 235 to include rich apps to extend its core functionality. For instance, the ActiFace app make the activity monitor far more inspiring.
* The battery life is annoyingly poor, even for fairly casual running when the watch is used as an activity monitor. I find myself having to charge the 235 far too frequently and it seems to take longer than I'd like to recharge.
* The 235 will automatically pair to a heart rate strap without being in a pairing mode. This means it will link to someone else's strap, which is mightily annoying.
* The 235 will automatically detect when you go to sleep and wake up, rather than having to be told. This makes the sleep tracking a lot more convenient, as I tend to forget.
* You can enable notifications from your smartphone, which was not possible with the earlier 620/225/220. This relays the phone's notification messages, such as texts, calls, or other things you've enabled. For instance, it will notify me when someone joins my conference line.
* The 235 has some [[Firstbeat]] features that normally require a heart rate strap, such as recovery time, training effect, and [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]] estimation. Yet again, the issues with the heart rate accuracy limit the value of this.
* The 235 can be charged while running, though the optical heart rate is turned off. This may make it more viable for ultrarunning.
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}
The {{Garmin 235}} has one of the nicest mixes of features in any running watch, and having tested its predecessor, the [[Garmin 225]] I have high hopes. I'm still testing the 235, so this is just my initial impressions, not a full review.
* The 235 is a nice size, looking more like a watch than a brick. I find it a lot more comfortable than the Fenix 3, Epix, or 920XT, though I have rather tiny wrists.
* The color display is bigger than the [[Garmin 225]], though it is neither square nor circular, but flat on the top/bottom and round on the sides, which is odd. Some of the screens end up with the edges cut off, which can make the graphs confusing.
* The Optical HRM does not work as well as the [[Garmin 225]] and I don't think its good enough to be viable. I've found it's wrong too often for me to trust it. Tightening the strap really tight helps, but does not completely resolve the issues.
* I love having continuous hear rate monitoring, especially to get things like [[Resting Heart Rate]]. However, the accuracy problems limit the value, and the continuous monitoring seems to add problems where the 235 gets "stuck" at a particular value.
* My initial [[GPS Accuracy]] testing suggests the 235 is rather grim, though I don't have enough data to say more.
* [[Connect IQ]] allows the 235 to include rich apps to extend its core functionality. For instance, the ActiFace app make the activity monitor far more inspiring.
* The battery life is annoyingly poor, even for fairly casual running when the watch is used as an activity monitor. I find myself having to charge the 235 far too frequently and it seems to take longer than I'd like to recharge.
* The 235 will automatically pair to a heart rate strap without being in a pairing mode. This means it will link to someone else's strap, which is mightily annoying.
* The 235 will automatically detect when you go to sleep and wake up, rather than having to be told. This makes the sleep tracking a lot more convenient, as I tend to forget.
* You can enable notifications from your smartphone, which was not possible with the earlier 620/225/220. This relays the phone's notification messages, such as texts, calls, or other things you've enabled. For instance, it will notify me when someone joins my conference line.
* The 235 has some [[Firstbeat]] features that normally require a heart rate strap, such as recovery time, training effect, and [[VO2max|V̇O<sub>2</sub>max]] estimation. Yet again, the issues with the heart rate accuracy limit the value of this.
* The 235 can be charged while running, though the optical heart rate is turned off. This may make it more viable for ultrarunning.
=Comparison Table=
{{:Best Running Watch-table}}