Garmin Forerunner 935 Review

Posted on November 27, 2017 by fjnardo

“Disclaimer: I received a Garmin Forerunner 935 Multisport GPS Watch from Garmin to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

I’ve been using the Garmin Forerunner 935 religiously for the last month and have learned so much from the time I started. My training has been adjusted by the data obtained from the watch. There is so much data that is recorded and shared with the Garmin Connect app every time it syncs. It took just a short while to understand what all of the numbers mean and it was pretty user friendly. While I kept a dozen or so widgets on the Forerunner 935, I’m reviewing a few of my most used features below.

Sleeping Patterns – Being a career firefighter, my sleep patterns are anything but normal. While on duty, I’m lucky to get 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. After using the watch and syncing it to my iPhone and the Garmin Connect app for the last month, I’m seeing the times when I move throughout the night and jump into deep sleep patterns or movement. It was eye opening to see how much light sleeping or moving I’m doing throughout the night. Once synced with my iPhone, the chart shows how much movement I am having throughout the night. I was pretty shocked to see how much unproductive sleep I was getting and wondering why I was so tired in the mornings. While setting up the watch, you can tailor it to your specific needs and wants including how much sleep you expect each evening. If you reach your goal, the Garmin Connect app checks it off of your list and then compares it on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

Training Status/Productivity – The Forerunner 935 has opened my eyes to how ineffective or effective my running and productivity really is. It’s letting me know when my training was sufficient for my body needs and when I need to rest. I learned when my body needed rest and actually how much rest depending on the quality of my workout and activity. The watch would tell you exactly just how many hours you should let your body recover. I found it to be very accurate compared to how my body or my legs felt. Knowing when I was improving or needed to push myself just a little harder to get the results I was looking for. This is one of the main reasons that I LOVE this watch.

Heart Rate – Having SVT, I monitor my heart rate quite a bit throughout the day. I love the option of the optic heart rate and 4 hour HR history on the Forerunner 935. Any time I run, I’m using another heart rate monitor around my chest to sync to the watch. It synced right away by putting the monitor a couple of inches away from the watch and connects automatically when the run begins. Setting the maximum and minimum HR levels also allows me to work in the correct zones for training or fat burning. The additional HR monitor is not necessary as the optic reading on the back of the Forerunner 935 is pretty accurate. It’s also great to see which HR zones I am working in and where I should be. Many of my workouts have been in Zone 3 and 4 and shows me that I need to adjust and increase my cardio-respiratory endurance.

HR Zones.jpg

All in all, I am really impressed with the features and ease of use in this Forerunner. My previous watch was so archaic compared to the 935. I look forward to continuing my experience with the Forerunner and applying the results into my training especially when marathon training comes up. I’ve purchased a few of the QuickFit® bands in a plethora of colors and they were super easy to switch out. You can see more details/features here or purchase one for yourself!