*I received this product as a gift from very.co.uk and payment for creating this content. As always all views and opinions are my own and I’m excited to share my thoughts!*
I love keeping track of my fitness and whilst I’m active I’m not always consistent. It’s hard to stay on top of fitness goals whilst juggling kids, work and all the admin that comes with everyday life.
So, working in fitness around family activities just got a little bit easier with the Garmin Forerunner 165 smart watch. It does way more than just track your steps. Let me give you the rundown of all my favourite features.
Getting started:
It’s so easy to set up, plug-in to charge, then follow the on screen set up guide. Download the Garmin Connect app which guides through syncing with your phone and has all sorts of features from workouts to finding trails in your area. All can be saved directly to your watch for easy guided exercise and navigation out and about. The Connect IQ app is great for downloading apps directly to your smart watch. From health and wellness to workout tools, there’s lots of extras to personalise and get the most out of your Garmin watch.
Things I love:
- There are honestly so many features of this watch that I love!
- The colour way: the white and grey paired with the black watch face make it sporty, yet stylish.
- Lightweight: making it brilliant for tracking everyday adventures.
- Water resistant: perfect if like me you get out and about on the water frequently.
- Find your phone feature: I’m forever loosing my phone around the house so this is a necessity for me! At the touch of a button a handy chime sounds on your phone, so it’s no longer lost!
- Up to 11 days of battery life. Fantastic to know when out on a long hike that my watch will have the power to last the day and more.
- The Connect app gives access to short workouts to keep you motivated and inspired. The 10 min HIIT workout is my favourite. It’s on my wrist and gives me easy access to a quick workout to squeeze in even on a busy day.
Running and hiking
Pace, distance and heart rate are all monitored directly on your wrist, there’s also a handy GPS tracker. Checking the recovery time your body needs before your next run is a great feature for in-depth knowledge on the impact workouts have on your body. A very useful feature.
Sleep function:
I love the sleep report. It’s really made me pay attention to how achieving a better night sleep affects my body battery and overall health. The daily morning report includes an overall sleep score and takes into consideration the quality of sleep. Heart rate, duration and sleep stages with helpful suggestions of how to improve your quality of sleep are all included. It has definitely made me more aware of how I sleep and the importance and benefits of getting more rest for my body.
Tracking daily life:
Not only does this watch monitor your heart rate and have a pace tracker for running, but once paired with your phone you’ll receive all notifications straight to your wrist. From reminders, text messages, calls and alerts, to notifications to tell me my dishwasher cycle has ended! It really does help with keeping on top of life! The most important one for me is notifications around my son’s blood glucose levels. He is a Type 1 Diabetic, so it is important to keep track of these throughout the day and night. Whilst it doesn’t show me his blood sugar levels in depth, it does alert me if he has high or low blood sugars. Very helpful if I’m not near my phone.
Be it hiking Snowdon, a run to the beach, paddle boarding on a nearby waterway or just tracking my steps on the daily school drop off, this smart watch has got me covered for all my daily adventures. The Garmin Forerunner 165 smart watch helps me keep track of my fitness and encourages me to stay active and motivated whilst having fun. Be it on land or water it has definitely enhanced my lifestyle.
July 22, 2025
Great in depth research and well written. I want one!
July 23, 2025
Thanks Marie! It’s a great watch!