Garmin Forerunner 970 Review: A Very Extra Running Watch

It has 15 new sports profiles compared to the precursor 965, including things like the snowboard of the hinterland, pickleball and even certain car sports. However, the list is not as extensive as the Fenix 8, which can follow surfing and is now operating as a full diving watch for recreational diving and apédage. It really seems that the lack is just to make the difference between the forecast lines and Fenix, because a software update could do it.

Fortunately, the characteristics of the card were bordered by the Fenix 8, and they are excellent. It comes with extended topographic maps installed. The cards are colorful, bright and easy to navigate by pinching and typing. A new feature is round-trip routing, with corrections (theoretically). If you are in an unknown city, you can tell the watch that you want to make a 5 -thousand race and that will suggest a loop. If you accidentally take a bad turn or see a pretty thing you want to go see, it will redire you fluidity to bring yourself back to your hotel while reaching your distance (within reasonable limits, of course).

It’s a great idea, but I could never make it work. If I went down from the route, the whole watch would crash and I had to make it bicycle. Hopefully this is something that Garmin can correct in a future software update (updates are almost once a month). Uplining, I found that GPS performance was correct, even among trees, cliffs and large buildings.

A lot of competition

Photography: Brent Rose

It should be mentioned that Garmin also launched the new mid -range precursor 570. He has a shorter battery life, less premium materials (Gorilla Glass 3 vs Sapphire, aluminum telescope vs titanium), less memory at 8 GB against 32 GB, no integrated cartography and no flash lamp. However, you get the speaker and the microphone, and there is the option of a 42 mm screen instead of only 47 mm, which is good for those who have smaller wrists.

With everything said, many of these features are available on the Fenix 8. The Fenix 8 has more expensive materials, like a complete titanium body; Some of the same equipment, such as the microphone and the speaker, and better battery life. There are features that are not currently available, such as tolerance for execution, but these arrive via a huge software update that Garmin has just announced.

The Fenix 8 is much more expensive than the precursor 970, but it is also much older. If the Fenix 8 is put on sale, as it sometimes does, it is obvious to obtain it instead. The Forerunner 970 is a premium watch with advanced features that will give you a lot of information and assistance if you are trying to become pro, but it could be exaggerated if you don’t have it and you sometimes like to surf instead.