Garmin Forerunner 25 GPS Running Watch - Small, Black/Purple

I've been using this watch for tracking my runs for a couple of months now, and am extremely satisfied with it. I'm not a pro runner by any means, but am currently working towards a half marathon, and this watch is suiting me down to the ground. I've got the larger version, and it's not too big for my relatively skinny wrists. It's very light, and the strap is replaceable (I think a new strap is about £15). It's an entry level watch, so don't expect it to feel like a premium device, but it's certainly sturdy enough. It was extremely easy to set up, and pairing with my (android) phone was a doddle through the very robust Garmin Connect app. Your runs are automatically uploaded to your phone via bluetooth, and if you'd rather use Strava or Runkeeper, Garmin Connect can automatically transfer the data over. I've actually pretty much stopped using runkeeper now, as the level of analysis you get through Garmin Connect is absolutely brilliant, and it's all for free as well. I've been able to charge it through my phone charger without any issues at all, with the battery lasting for about 10 days of daily activity tracking and about 15-20 miles of running a week. The watch has customisable data fields, so you can see any combination of pace/distance/time/lap time etc. You can only see two fields at once, which might be a dealbreaker for some people, but I don't find the occasional switching between screens too much of a hassle. You can also set it to keep you at a target pace (or heart rate if you use the heart rate strap), or to run a set time or distance. There's also a run/walk function which might be useful for interval training, but I've not used it. The alerts are loud enough for me, but I don't usually run with music. There's no vibrate function. It would be nice to have the ability to put training plans on the watch, but I understand why Garmin have reserved this function for higher end watches. Accuracy/precision are good - it reliably records my 5k circuit each time, and corresponds closely with measurements from an online measuring tool and my phone. There have been a couple of occasions where the watch hasn't picked up a satellite fix for a while, but this is probably less than 1 in 20 runs. Normally you're good to go within 30s of stepping outside. Overall, if you want in depth analysis on the go of your runs, or the ability to be guided through sessions by your watch, then this probably isn't for you, but if you just want to get out there and get running, this is just the thing.

This product has mixed reviews on amazon but the price was great and it did what I wanted most (average pace whilst running). I also loved my old model garmin so I ordered one. In response to some of the other reviews, I have no issue with the strap and can’t see how it would come off. I also find it picks up the GPS really quickly (way faster than my older model used to). It’s really easy to use, the app is great and it’s really doing what I needed it to do - push me out of the door to run! I can see my average pace on the same screen as my calories used which is fab for me. I wasn’t intending to wearing it other than whilst running but the step counter means I don’t take it off. Ok so it’s not a sophisticated looking watch and is clearly a sports watch, but I’m really pleased with it and for the price I’m totally in-love and recommending it to all my friends.

Loses a star for how long it can take to connect to gps, the longest I’ve had is 20 minutes. I have the edge 25 for cycling, that is also cheap and works well but at times can be slow to acquire gps so was sort of expected. I got fed up of running with my phone in a bum bag so decided on this, at the price it’s a no brainer. I don’t care for heart rate and such bumf, I’m not an athlete just a casual runner, but having how fast per Km on my wrist does actually help. Battery life seems excellent so far and it connected easily to Garmin connect. I like it, gps waiting aside, it’s a great bit of kit. Update. Owned and used for a few weeks now and the waiting for gps is becoming a proper pain. If you are tight on time and need to quickly get out and run, then avoid. I get in from work and immediately turn on the device and press start. I can then get changed, put shoes on and be ready, the device is never ready. I have walked round the garden, stood on the drive in the cold waiting, it’s driving me nuts. When connected it works great but if I could return it I would Shame **further update. After doing a bit of googling I have found that gps connection problem can affect a lot of these devices. After following some advice I now leave the forerunner outside on the window ledge facing the sky, whilst I get ready, it now connects within a few minutes. I’m back in love with it.

Bought this to augment a mobile when using a Tickr when running. Big advantage the amt and Bluetooth at same time. The watch is not that hard to set up and lots of YouTube to help. I know it's the basic end of the maret but it does everything I need and is more accurate than the mobile both for distance (gps) and the heart rate. Well worth it for recreational runners. The app that it works with is good but I only use it for running.

When the watch arrived I found the quick start guide not to be worth the paper it’s printed on. When you power the watch on for the first time you’re asked a series of questions, starting with language, your weight, height, and units (miles or kilometres), these all help to customise the watch to your specific training. The Garmin video of the forerunner25 on youtube is more helpful explaining the basics of this watch. They still leave out much in the way of how to use the features. With the help of the manual, which I found online but not on the Garmin website. the watch was quick and easy to setup. The Garmin website only had a webpage manual not a downloadable one. Having read from other reviews that it was important to update the firmware to fix any bugs, I used Garmin Webupdater and will be making a Garmin Express account to upload runs to. The update fixed the watch from occasionally freezing and corrected pixilation on the screen. The on/off button also works the light, during the first week I hit the light button unintentionally, switching the lightly on. If you’re outside in bright sunlight it’s nearly impossible to distinguish between the light being on or off as there is no icon on the screen being displayed when it’s on. The audible alert when you complete a lap (auto-lap feature alert is every mile or kilometre) is high in frequency and about as loud as a mouse squeak. If it’s moderately raining or the wind is rustling through trees, you’re unlikely to hear it unless you have the acute hearing of an average teenager. You can customise what data you see on the screen, and view this when you’re running with a press of a button. Keeping the computer on to charge the watch is not always convenient; having a usb mains charger for a nexus 7 tablet I tried charging the watch with it and it worked. A power charging symbol appears over the battery life bar and stays there while charging. You can buy a mains charger for this watch I also used the Ravpower charger found on Amazon, which worked. The accuracy in calculating distance is not brilliant, did my usual running circuit and according to my mountain bike computer the distance is 6.9 miles. The forerunner calculated the same circuit to be 6.56 miles. The mountain bike computer records physical distance and does calculate the distance between two points, therefore its more accurate. update: Did a test wearing the watch while cycling, both bike computer and watch were set to zero. When 7 miles was recorded on my bike computer only 6.58 miles was displayed on the Garmin watch. This means that for every 7 miles travelled the watch is out by 0.42miles or 0.68km. When you first wear the watch the inactivity bar at the bottom of the screen is not present. After about hour of inactivity it appears and grows as segmented arrows forming a bar while you remain idle. One reason for buying this watch was to alert me to take a break from the computer or from driving on a long journey. On a few occasions the bar has reached the end of the screen but I rarely hear an audible alert or see a visual one (move) even after spending almost an hour and a half in front of the computer and when driving for over an hour. If you start walking segments of the inactivity bar start flashing and then disappear. When the inactivity bar is gone after going for a lengthy walk, the activity bar, a solid continuous bar can be seen on the daily step count screen. This bar represents your progress towards your daily walking or activity goal usually based on the previous day’s activity. When going for a run the GPS takes between 15-60 seconds to pick up depending on the weather. The information on screen is clear and easy read and has continued to work after a heavy shower. There is a good choice of running options from interval training to giving you targets to achieve in time or distance. The end of run summary information is informative giving you times for each kilometre or mile run and showing if you have achieved a new record time for a distance. update: Had the watch for nearly a month now and find that you can get 4 to 5 10Km runs out of a battery charge over two weeks. The auto pause function is useful and works great on a clear sunny day pausing the time when you stop running and then reactivating again when you resume. The auto pause only works if you're standing still or moving within several metres, if you start walking your time will resume. Recently noticed that on a very cloudy day when the GPS takes longer to pick up, the auto pause feature is very precarious taking seconds to stop the time or not stopping at all. Update: Went to Germany and Austria with this watch for a race and the first day it took about an hour to receive a gps lock. On the second day it took about half an hour then on the third it was working normally 5-30 seconds. If you have your watch set to set time automatically it detects you have changed country and the gps lock picks up much faster. It can take at least 24 hours before it detects you have changed country though.

Nice and light compared to my g shock watch, pity it isn't waterproof as I could just leave it on and forget. Takes about a minute to connect to satellites which is too long for some, I just let it connect during stretching/warmup and its ready when I am finished. I like the added features of an alarm and bluetooth connectivity to your phone so you can receive notifications which I had not realised it had. It also works well as a watch with the big display, I like the strap it is comfortable and does not dig in to my wrist.

I bought this (small) for my 7yr old daughter. It fits perfectly and is really simple for her to use and understand. Simple metrics for a younger person - she's doing a virtual medal and needed mileage evidence. Really pleased as the cheaper step counters for kids were terrible. Well worth spending a little more to get something fit for purpose. Intuitive and excellent battery life. My only quibble is that she would have liked a stop watch function.

I've had the watch for about a year, so this is a review taking into account a 12 month plus period. Worked very well for 10 months, apart from fairly slow GPRS pick up on occasion (usually when it's cloudy). From them on its been a nightmare, and the service from Garmin has exarcibated this. It's got an unusual habit of corrupting runs, but oddly not until they're done. For example, finished a 24 mile run this morning and on completion checked my stats. All 24 miles had a timestamp, yay. But upon syncing there was no information for the last 12. The file has gone mental, but after correcting the error it transpires all data stored. Garmin have tried to tell me existing files on the watch can do this, frankly that's cr*p as I delete data now to avoid this. They've offered a switch for £60 ish, but in meantime I have no watch. The service had been laughable, and there are only so many factory resets you can try before throwing the thing at a wall. It's good for 9 months, but beyond that it's trash. And garmin are useless at providing support.