Garmin - Forerunner 735XT Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Have had for almost a month now and I really like this watch. Only reason it did not get 5 stars is because it does not have a "hike" mode and because I still think $450 is outrageous. Love the way it syncs with phone app. GPS and heart rate work very well. For those of you like me that want a watch for hiking and don't want to spend $600 for the Fenix...you can use this watch in "run" mode. Some of the metrics watch tracks in run mode will not be relevant, but it will still track your mileage, elevation, and time. Does excellent in bike mode as well.

I bought this three months ago and use it frequently. It's been awesome! Only reason for a lower review is due to the screen. Read a review that said their screen cracked easily so I bought a screen guard to add protection. However, while walking with it on, it nicked the edge of a door way and it causes a crack that eventually lead to a split down the entire face of the watch (similar to a car windshield). This has been a great watch with a wonderful app. But for the cost and activity level of those who might wear it, the screen should be stronger.

For the last three years I've been using a Garmin 910XT, which got the job done admirably as a purely exercise specific device with almost no modern frills. I decided to try out a Fenix3, it seemed like exactly what this Army, outdoor enthusiast, fitness data oriented person wanted, but I could never stand the weight, especially for sleeping with it on, which negated the sleep tracking, and it just wasn't good enough for being $500+. The 735XT came in and does virtually everything right. the battery life is phenomenal, I get about 6 days including all workouts (but if you're an Ironman-er you might want to go with the Fenix3), it has all the features I need for biking, running, swimming, and hiking. An Altimeter would be nice but that's about all it's missing. The heart rate monitor works better than expected and it's weight is feather-light. The sync to my iPhone is nice

I've been waiting years to buy an activity tracker. I did research to see if I could get something less expensive. Lesser expenses devices couldn't handle swimming as well as giving me a display.

I was reluctant to buy a Garmin because I didn't know which model would best suit my needs. I'm a 53-year old avid runner, and new to cycling and duathlons. This mid-price model turned out to be exactly what I needed. It pairs quickly with Strava so there's no need to run/bike with my phone for GPS measurement. It charges and syncs with software on my laptop and uploads easily to my smart phone. There are applications readily available which allow you to customize the look of the face and determine what and how much information to display. It's fairly intuitive to use, the wrist-measured heart-rate is fairly accurate as is the step counter. It can be a little wonky, so I sometimes have to power it off and on to unfreeze it. Garmin will only support its devices for 5 years (so a representative has told me), but I'm sure I will upgrade to another model before then. I wish I had purchased this item sooner...

I bought my watch back in June and a couple of weeks ago it stopped syncing with my phone and the time has been completely off ever since. I have been able to fix the time issue by plugging the device into my computer but it always ends going back to the wrong time again. Garmin customer support keeps sending me ways to "fix" the watch but none of them have worked. For a watch this expensive to last less than 6 months is ridiculous. Im not pleased to say the least.

When it's working, it's brilliant. That's why it gets two stars instead of one. Unfortunately, it's never working. The 1/22/18 app update completely destroyed bluetooth connectivity, so I have to power cycle the watch and turn off, then turn back on, bluetooth on my phone to get it to sync at all. Since then, the watch has been freezing up a lot, and I've had to restore defaults twice to get it working again. The date and time will be completely wrong at random. It will fail to record steps at random. Sometimes it sends me notifications, and sometimes it doesn't. It's a real shame, because this would be the perfect watch for me if I could keep it working. Alas, I plan on returning it.

Loved this watch while it worked... 13 months in, it is absolutely useless, shuts off just as soon as it is turned on. Garmin will replace it for $110, which is absolutely ridiculous! If you are willing to pay $350 to use it for one year, then this is the watch for you. After doing a bit of research, this is a very common problem and happens quite a bit. It's very disappointing, I thought I had purchased a quality product from a reputable company, no such thing!

Busted after less than one months use. I’m an avid triathlete and used the forerunner 735xt for pool swims and running. After less than 5 pool swims (and probably 15 runs), the display goes haywire constantly flashing on all settings. Watch still worked for runs in terms of gps and heart rate, but the continuous flashing of the display is enough to drive one mad. Also, the pool I swim in is about 4.5 feet deep in the deepest section, so there was no free diving involved to push this smart watch to its limits. I’m very disappointed in this product for its quick breakdown. I’d hoped to get at least a season out of a tri watch, but I am now stuck with a warranty process right in the middle of summer. I love my garmin 520 on the bike and I wish I had the same experience with this product.

I returned the watch after software failure post swim to find out the second watch failed in the same scenario. It was either a major software glitch or watch is not water proof. The watch would restart, light stayed on until battery drained, would vibrate middle of night. I had both watched updates to latest software. I am not quiet sure why all the 5 star reviews unless they have not used it in water.

For my first GPS watch, I've liked the functionality for a mid-range price. Looks nice too, as a watch.

This is the best watch I've ever owned. Had it for several months now and am still thrilled about this purchase. Great for workouts (even multisport workouts) and constant monitoring of activity, heart rate, and calories burned throughout the day. I had the Forerunner 235 before this watch and was disappointed with it. This one is well worth the upgrade.

The device works like it should and then some. Plenty of battery life, smart notifications, respectable assortment of apps and bells and whistles. Just, be prepared to do a LOT of customizing via a non touch UI if you're going to get the most out of it, and finding all the menus takes work. Protip: long hold the "up chevron" to get to a quick menu of various controls. So, if you're prepared to dig into menus, you'll find this watch can help you visualize and track your progress in 3 different ways.

Avoid this product at all costs. My parents bought me this watch for Christmas because I race in triathlons. The UI is extremely slow. When I press a button to move to a menu, it takes 3-4 seconds to respond.

My previous review of a Garmin product (620), I absolutaly destroyed it. It was the worst product I ever used. Simply put, a piece of junk, and swore I would never buy a Garmin product ever again.

After 4 months of regular use, Bluetooth failed and stopped connecting with my iPhone. I tried every procedure and reset. iPhone wouldn’t recognize the watch.

I love this watch. I had been debating between the Forerunner 235 and the Garmin Vivoactive HR when this was released. It has the best of both worlds.

It's the only nice smart watch I've found you can actually swim with. Unless you send your Apple watch, Samsung, or Fitbit in to be water proofed, you can't swim or shower with them. This watch also having GPS is amazing...it seems pretty limitless.

I had a Fenix 3 that I really liked with the exception that it was a little bulky/heavy and that the exact time would drift slightly. I then tried the 920. I liked the fit, but the screen was a lot smaller than it looks like it should be and the screens/functionality are fairly limited. The 920 is a pure tri watch and I was looking for more everyday watch that could also serve as a backup to my cycling computer. The 735 is very light & comfortable. It has more functionality than the 920, but not as much as the Fenix. Overall I'm happy with this watch, but won't think twice about replacing it as the next cool thing comes out.

I purchased this product last fall. I have worn it most of the time since as my primary watch and fitness tracker. I have used it multiple times weekly to track running activities. Over the time that it worked it met my functional needs well and I would have rated it a 4 overall given some desirable features and display options are not provided by Garmin directly - they are available via 3rd party app.

I bought this watch to replace my apple watch, first gen two weeks ago. I wish I had bought it earlier. The 735XT does everything I need it to do and nothing more. Forget a touch screen. This side buttons on the 735XT are far more convenient and your not wiping the sweat off anytime you need to pause/stop a run/ride like I would with my apple watch. Great product. I see myself owning this watch for a long time.

95% of the time it works great. But after the last two updates it had some very irritating glitches for at least 24hours, where it didn't record any steps during a walk, and reset both the format and the time 14 hours ahead. As for recommending it; the 735XT is still better than a FitBit

I have had this watch for almost 18 months. I did have exchange it for a new one when the main power/start activity button stopped working. It has simple functionality but the GPS is certainly not very accurate when running in the forest or mountains and often is off by as much as a mile for even a shorter 8-10 mile run. I know this because I have several friends I run with that have more expensive Garmin's that seem to be more accurate.

Already had a garmin but the low price said upgrade now! The gps pickup is so fast and the battery life is great. My only negative is the directions on how to use the watch are very minimal, it's taken trial and error to try and get the most from the watch and I'm sure I'll find later that I'm only scratching the surface of it's capacity. The visuals on the watch face are much better and easier to read at a glance than my prior Garmin.

My 735XT started reading off, way off, after a few months of use. It would read accurately some of the time, which made it hard to determine that it was variably 20 - 30 bpm off at other times. You can, of course, use the 735 with a chest HRM, but be warned that the optical wrist HR can be 30 or more bpm off, so use data from this watch with caution. I used the high (and inaccurate) HR data for training, which has been a mistake.

I just bought it yesterday and am already thinking about returning it. It was fine when I first charged it and powered it on. But after I paired it with my phone and did a sync, both date and time went wrong. I called the customer support and he said my software is way too old that I need an update. (I just bought it!) Not only that, after the update, I need to go outside to start a run session so I can use GPS to get the correct date and time again. (That didn't work.) I'm very frustrated. It may have all the fancy training features, but I can't wear something that does not show correct time.

I have always used Garmin products for my swim bike run and hike adventures and originally was drawn to the design and features that this watch totes. However I have had to return 3 of these watches due to defects. I exchanged the first after less than a year of use due to the screen freezing and then going blank. I had no problems exchanging the item and will alway buy from REI due to the ease of exchange and that the fact that they honestly back their products. About 7 months later I unfortunately had the same issues with the screen on my second watch 2 hours after an easy, non traumatic swim in a pool. Again, the screen was frozen, this time on lit up stripes and would not reset. After another easy exchange with the sympathetic REI employee who lamented the loss of my swim data with me, I returned to the store again 3 months later with the 735XT after waking up from a nap to the death screen. Two stars because I truly loved this watch but for some reason this glitch has not been fixed and it has proved unreliable due to this defect.

Series of problems: first couldn't get Bluetooth to turn on so,could synchronize. Garmin advised to cycle power - did and worked. Problem continued but no longer can fix. Won't synch by using cable to computer either. Final straw today when could not turn stop watch on for run. No time, no trace, no record. Planning to return.

I liked the watch. But after two days of use, the sleep monitor stopped working(1). Spent 3-4 hours on internet research and with Garmin customer service. Nothing helped. What I found shocking is Garmin did acknowledge it as a known issue but did not have any timeline to get it fixed(2). To me it sounded like they did not really care. Also the quality of material (glass,strap etc.) does not really make the price tag of $350+ justifiable(3). I had return it for those 3 reasons. Hope they update these soon.

I bought this to track my workouts at the gym and mostly for when I go hiking. It works great and has been extremely accurate, simple enough to use. The battery life could be better is why the four stars.

Mine lasted about a year and a half and I used it frequently. My only complaint was that if I ran on the treadmill the distance was off by quite a bit from what the treadmill would say even though I set my height. Took a vacation to Hawaii and went in the pool (I had swam with it many times before!) and when I got out my screen went glitchy and then it completely died. I let it sit for a couple of weeks (maybe it needed to dry out?) and charged it. Now it turns on but the time is not updating, the activity button doesn’t work right. Since my issue stated after a swim I’m guessing it wasn’t waterproof which seems crazy! This is a triathlon watch! Also to only be able to use it a year and a half is frustrating!

I bought this in May of 2017 after my other brand watch battery failed to hold a charge for longer than 4 hours a day. Saw this on sale at REI and decided to give it a go. First few months were great, no problems. Almost a year later, the whole thing crashed. I tried to do one of the many software updates and it just crashed the whole system in my watch. It no longer displayed the correct date or time. Once I set it for a run and it connected to the GPS, it corrected the day, but not the time. I did this several times as I had read other reviews that said this would fix the issue, but it didn't. I took the first one back to REI and got an exchange for a new one. I haven't had any issues with this one yet. Here's hoping!

I received this watch for Christmas (after strongly hinting that I wanted it) and used it as a replacement for my Garmin 405 (which was on its last leg). So far I am very pleased with this watch. It is easy to switch between sports, it finds GPS quickly, it paired easily with my foot pod, speed/cadence sensor, heart rate monitors, Zero Runner and phone. It gives me all kinds of information I don't know how to use, but is cool to know, and a bunch of information that has been useful in training.

Great watch until it broke after about 1 yr and REI would not stand behind their product. Just buy it for cheaper on Amazon. You have no more protections for the higher prices here.

I started with a Fenix. That was too big and bulky for me to wear. While this watch does not have all the features as the Fenix it has more than enough to cover your training needs.

Replaced my old Garmin 405CX. The 735XT is lighter, thinner, easier to read, more comfortable (no more thick stiff band), offers easy band replacement (did that on 405, NOT easy), and syncs via smartphone without having to mess with ANT / USB connectivity hassles. The heart rate monitor is fantastic, I gave up on wearing the chest strap with my 405CX, now I have it on my wrist -- appears very accurate.

I was hesistant to spend this much money on a watch, but so far I've been really impressed. It's light weight and has battery life for 6 days. I like that it does all three sports and differentiates between indoor/outdoor activities. You get a ton of information about each workout through the app or your basic stats on the watch. The buttons took a few days to get used to, but no problem after that.

Never had a GPS/ HR watch before this, and blown away by data coming at me.

I purchased this watch last month, but so far, so good...I love this watch! I also love the Garmin Connect dashboard. I love the eco-system Garmin has created; from the accessories to the apps...awesome stuff! Side note; my wife uses the Garmin Forerunner 235, which has died twice...she's now on her third watch. Hopefully, the 735XT holds up in time...

I have been trying to decide - for a long time - on a watch to track my running activity. Finally purchased the Forerunner 735XT and I love it. It is easy to use, the right size (not too big or small) and tracks everything I need. Battery life is 7 days which means I recharge once a week.

I bought the 735XT to keep track of my daily workouts which currently include: running and biking. The step counter has been an add enjoyment! I love how the watch reminds me to move. The heart rate monitor and blue tooth have been a super treat. I love the watch!

The list of features implies that is tracks your pulse when swimming. It does not. You must purchase an additional strap, according to the manual.

The watch in general is great. Lightweight, functional, easy to use. Based on reviews some folks didn't like how the display wasn't as bright as advertised but it's plenty bright at night. It took a while but I finally got the chance to go swimming with it and it died a terrible, terrible death. Just contacted REI to see what the fix or replace options are.

I bought this watch about a month ago, and I absolutely love it! I previously used the Garmin 310XT, and this watch is a HUGE upgrade. It's lighter, quicker (to load GPS), and more advanced! I highly recommend it!

great watch, excellent for triathlon training especially swimming. I like the bike and run settings as well, only with there was a setting for HIIT, such as an Orange Theory Fitness workout. great battery life.

I bought this to replace my fr630 (didn't like the touch screen) and absolutely love it. The optical HR is great for training runs when you don't want to bother with a chest strap.

Everyday style- great for working Professional and serious athlete. This watch keeps me from growing soar with reminds me to move. When I cannpt hit the GPS, it keeps me honest paired with a foot pod and heart rate monitor it's easy to train on pace regardless of fast or slow treadmill. In addition, the cadence, height, side to side % foot time on the ground make me aware of staying balanced regardless of road camber. Overall, in my 15 yrs with Garmin products, it is my favorite.

Low battery life is the only con of this watch. Its super light and great for triathalon training or any of the 3 individually. Can be worn with almost anything and look spiffy.

Tons of great features, very light and comfortable and very customizable.

Good watch. Took it out for its first tri and was easy to use.

This watch has been great for triathlon training, but take the time to learn how to use it before you are recording workouts. There are many functions, and figuring them out during workouts has wrecked some of the recording. Still haven't quite mastered creating custom workouts, or how to consistently sync with the Training Peaks app. But the distance is very accurate, pairs nicely with garmin connect!

This watch accurately, from what I can tell, tracts swim bike & run. However the sleep stats are way off. I work night shift sometimes & it thought I was asleep. Also if you want super accurate HR you’ll need the chest straps. Happy sweating!

Just so you know, I'm a complainer. I just wanted to get that out in front, and let you know that I do think this is a good running watch. I don't know about triathlons because so far I have not subjected myself to one of those! My complaint about the watch is the accuracy. The trail I run on is under heavy deciduous tree cover. On days with cloud cover the GPS isn't great at knowing where I am so the pace on the watch can be off by as much as a minute per pile. Usually it isn't off by more than 30 sec per mile, but for me that is too much to be used as a pace setting guide. How do I know? There are mile post every 1/4 mile on the route I run, so I know exactly how I'm doing. On the flip side the overall distance is pretty good. I can use that to compute an overall pace for my run and that agrees well with the overall pace the watch shows me. Usually on an out and back (as opposed to a loop run) it shorts me a little bit on the distance, seemingly because it doesn't know exactly when I reversed directions. Still the overall distance is +/- 0.05 miles over five, seven, eight or thirteen miles so what am I complaining about? It's pretty close to the true distance. In the end I'm very happy I bought the watch because of the apps for tracking my runs, equipment, performance, records, heart rate etc. I bought it originally because I was tired of running long legs of relay races and not knowing how much further I had to go so that I could properly ration my water and energy. It's great for that, though I wish it could give me more energy! While I'm on that topic, I've had it for three months now, and the battery lasts about five to seven days with three long runs a week and a number of walks. It charges quickly (1/2 hr?) which I like.

This is the second time I am sending my Garmin back to be repaired. I can't seem to acquire a satellite in order to correctly tell the time! They were good about replacing it the first time but this time I have had to hound them for a response. NOT GOOD GARMIN.

This watch is working great! The only issue I've had, that makes it just shy of perfect, is it lost me for about 75 yards in the pool on one of my swims. It was also tricky to sync to iPhone at first, but the Garmin community boards helped me troubleshoot.

I had to return this watch. GPS accuracy while hiking is very poor. On windy trails in the trees or in remote areas, the elevation is very inaccurate. Syncing location with GPS takes forever. The performance is better in a wide open area.

This watch does everything I want it to recording my activities, swimming, biking, running. I have not accessed all the features yet but am very pleased with its performance and all the data it gives me about my workout on Garmin Connect.

In the wood we go for a mapped ten miles and this spits out 8.5 miles. It can't even hold the line on concrete under the open sky! Bummed I missed the chance to tak it back... I'll be pulling my old sunnto ambit2 out of retirement

This is a great product for tracking biking, running and swimming, not to mention monitoring all the things the Fit Bit does. Only better! This is the best fitness product to which I've been exposed.

Bought this last December and wear it everyday. Used the running program to train for a half marathon. This watch gave me all the details I needed to be more consistent with my workouts.

I received the watch about a month ago. I use it for biking, kayaking, and indoor training. It helps me to improve my fitness and having the GPS allows me to see where I have been.

Heart rate it reads is pretty accurate, it's an important tool in all triathlon trainings. It's lighter than Fenix 3, and I still get a lot of compliments about its looks.

Has a ton of features, but was unimpressed with the build quality- materials felt on the cheap side for the high price. The side charging was also awkward. Returned it.

Love to be able to track my run mechanics, and i love the ability to track SWOLF for my swims. Heart rate appears to be the most accurate of all wrist-based devices.

Such a fantastic tracker! Love how much I'm able to do with it. Having it shipped directly to my house was great too! Showed up way earlier than anticipated!

I am in love with it!!! I used to have a samsung watch but this one is way better. If you're into running or cycling this is definitely the watch for you

I purchased this watch in late 2017 after my old forerunner stopped working. I use it mainly for outdoor running and indoor lap swimming. Overall it works well, however it has some strange quirks. The clock, for example, keeps changing itself back to a 12 hour clock no matter how often I switch it to the 24 hour format. The heart rate monitor struggles at higher rates, sometimes getting stuck on 85 (it’ll just read 85 for an entire run). Sometimes it’ll show a varying heart rate while sitting on the counter top. When swimming, it doesn’t detect a lap unless I do a flip turn (and sometimes even then it doesn’t pick it up). After a couple of years it started having trouble connecting to my phone to update and refresh; I noticed that for the past few months unless I turn the watch off after every activity, it won’t sync with the app. Now it won’t connect at all; if the hard dock update with the computer and Garmin Express doesn’t work, I’ll have to replace it. This is incredibly disappointing because everything else on the watch works sufficiently well, and something as technologically basic as the Bluetooth would cause a $350 running watch to fail.

Purchased less than 2 months months ago. Completely nonfunctional. Don’t waste your money.

Has done everything I have wanted it to do. I sue it everyday and through every activity.

Makes Biking, Swimming, Running easier by being

This is a great watch for tracking everything from sleep to mountain bike trails

Does not track runs very well, will probably return. Not very happy

Great product

I love the watch. the look is great and it works great on all the sports. I have found that the heart rate is accurate and love not having to use a strap around. I use it every day for exercise and every day life. the swim function is good, the running works great. I like the interface with strava. The running function works great. My only complaint is the autostop function if I run trails. if I go slow it stops and does not count my time or distance. I have had to replace 2 times, I am on my third and dont want any other versions. but I am surprised that I have had to replace it that many times. all within the warranty period. the last issue was that it would start scrolling even when not in scroll mode until it used up the battery. My battery lasts at least 3 or 4 days. It charges very quickly. the computer interface works well, although some of my downloads have not worked well. some times it takes a bit to syn with the phone. but if I stop fussing it updates quickly. for people with glasses it is some times to see the screens with 4 functions. I also have a hard time setting y heart rate alerts. still working on getting those right given that in the bike or the run they are critical. I do not have any of the other elements for bike or additional heart rate monitor. but I dont want or need more. I really like it and depend on it.

I got one of these when they came out last summer

I'm not one usually to write reviews, but I have been so happy with this product and it's performance I had to tell the story. This is my 3rd Garmin watch over the years, and I have had this watch for ~2 years now. I bought this watch right after I ran my first half marathon. I had a 910xt at the time that I had used for a couple triathlons. I traveled a lot for work and it was always a struggle remembering to bring my watch along in my suitcase and make sure it was charged, or remembering to bring the charger. This watch came along and it was a watch... not just a fitness device that I put on right before a run or swim. It had the battery life to survive on my wrist all day in the office and then track my evening runs all week while I was out of town. And it had so much more - all the lifestyle tracking features, the pairing with my phone instead of the ANT device you used to have to use to upload your runs to Strava. Anyway, after 2 years of amazing everyday use, countless runs in winter snow and summer humidity, a climb up Mt Rainier and many other mountains and multiday backpacking trips, 5 more half marathons and even my first full marathon, it broke. I went for a swim a couple days after my marathon and it hadn't been in the pool for awhile and it started behaving strangely, vibrating and scrolling. What I really am happy about is Garmin's customer service. They replaced it at no charge, even though it is out of warranty. What a great company, and product! I am sold on Garmin for life.

I loved this watch for running! The heart rate seemed accurate, battery life was great, it was a decent size for everyday wear, it picked up a GPS signal pretty quickly,...