The Garmin Forerunner® 965 is the latest and greatest high-end sports watch from Garmin packed with the best training insights for running and triathlon. As someone who has been testing the watch for the past month, I can vouch for its impressive features.
New screen
One of the most striking features of the Forerunner 965 is its brand new AMOLED screen. This display is incredibly bright and clear, making it easy to read even in direct sunlight. It is still made from the uber strong Corning® Gorilla Glass lens but it looks so much more modern and sleek than previous models. The Forerunner 965 and the Forerunner 265 are the first two Forerunner devices to feature this type of screen resulting in them looking more like a smartwatch than just a sports watch.
Quick Overview
Events and training readiness
The Forerunner 965 is packed with advanced training features that will appeal to serious athletes and fitness enthusiasts. It can track a wide range of activities, including running, cycling, swimming, multi-sports and even SUP boarding. It also has advanced running training features, such as a training readiness score, daily suggested workouts that adapt with your performance and recovery, as well as a race widget, which provides training tips, course details and completion time predictions.
I plugged in my upcoming events, including London Marathon, to find out if the device could live up to its claims of offering Suggested Workouts that were customised to me. These daily Suggested Workouts would take into consideration my Training Readiness and give me a plan for the days and weeks ahead. These workouts would change, becoming easier, if I had not recovered as expected, and were varied. I had base, slow sessions, as well as sprint intervals to get me ready. It was almost like having a little coach attached to me.
To give a little more context on the Training Readiness feature on the Forerunner 965, it helps the likes of you and me understand how prepared we are for our next workout. It takes into account factors such as training history, recent workouts, sleep and recovery time to give an indication of how ready you are to perform at your best. The workouts suggested are the ideal intensity and duration based on your readiness and designed to help you achieve your desired outcomes, from just finishing the race to smashing a new PB.
One feature I also found useful was the Acute Chronic Workload Ratio (ACWR). This metric helps you monitor your training load and avoid overtraining. It calculates the ratio of your recent training load (acute) verses your longer-term (chronic) load. It can quickly visualise if the balance between acute and chronic is in check or if the load is changing too quickly and potential risk of injury. Essentially, listen to Garmin when it tells you to have a rest day!
Overall, the Training Readiness feature, Stamina Widget, ACWR, and Suggested Workouts on the Garmin Forerunner 965 all work together to help you optimise your training and achieve your goals. These features allow you to monitor progress, track recovery, and adjust training as needed to improve your performance and avoid injury.
GPS and battery life
One of the standout features of the Forerunner 965 is its GPS capabilities. It has the very latest in Multi-Band GNSS, which means you can track you location even more accurately and reliably, even in remote areas. It also has a barometric altimeter, which can track your elevation and help you adjust your training accordingly.
Another great feature of the Forerunner 965 is its battery life. It can last up to 23 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, up to 31 hours in GPS mode. This means that you can use it for extended periods without having to worry about charging it.
Your chance to win
To put the FR965 through its paces, I took on it on a multisport adventure. And here at Wiggle we have got a Garmin Forerunner 965 plus two Foreunner 265's up for grabs. You just have to get outside yourself!
