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Review

Tracking an entire hike is more than possible with the Garmin Forerunner 35 GPS tracking watch. I used it on the South Downs Way and countless hikes in Wales including the Welsh 3,000s. So why the Forerunner 35?

Why the Garmin Forerunner 35?

While not being as stylish as an Apple Watch, or as capable as a fully-featured GPS unit, the Forerunner 35 has an incredible battery life, able to track an entire day’s hiking without running out of power. It’s also very accurate and much lighter than a stylish smartwatch. It has a very fast charging time and I enjoyed watching the miles rack up and viewing the data when I returned home.

What’s there not to like?

I did find the silicone strap would get a bit sweaty on hot days, but the least favourite feature is the very unique crocodile clip style of charging cable it uses. If you lose it the only other place you can get one is on Amazon or Garmin’s website. If only it used a Micro USB cable, everything comes with them these days and they’re not hard to find, plus you wouldn’t need to bring that extra cable with you and save some weight in the process.

What was your favourite thing?

My favourite thing to do with this watch was to track my progress and route via GPS and then upload it to Relive which is a really cool service that takes your GPX files from Garmin and exports them into these amazing 3D interactive maps and animations. I’d then use them in my videos. Such a cool service which used to work through Strava.

Value for money

£114 is a lot of money, but the Garmin Forerunner 35 isn’t the most expensive tracking watch on the market and you get just the right amount of features for hiking. If it’s maps and an SOS beacon you’re after, there are watches out there that offer those features, but the battery life will likely be questionable and you’d be better off getting a Garmin InReach Mini or for the full suite of features, the Garmin GPS Map 66i.

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