10 Best Garmin Heart Rate Monitor Watches 2025 in the United States

The Garmin vívoactive 5 is a versatile health and fitness smartwatch featuring a vivid AMOLED display and impressive battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode. It excels in heart rate monitoring, making it ideal for users who want to keep track of their cardiovascular health. The watch also offers extensive GPS tracking, beneficial for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy activities like running, cycling, and hiking.

It's well-suited for fitness enthusiasts with more than 30 built-in sports apps, and special modes for wheelchair users, ensuring inclusivity. The vívoactive 5 provides comprehensive health monitoring, including sleep tracking, stress levels, and Body Battery energy monitoring, which offers personalized insights to help users manage their wellbeing effectively. Additionally, it supports smart features like music downloading, notifications, and Bluetooth connectivity, enhancing convenience.

The design is sleek and comfortable, with a lightweight build and a round, 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen that is both responsive and easy to read. However, some users might find the screen size a bit small compared to other smartwatches on the market. The water resistance makes it suitable for swimming, but those looking for more advanced swimming metrics might find it lacking. The smartwatch is compatible with both Android and iOS, ensuring broad accessibility. While it has a decent storage capacity of 4 GB, heavy music and app users might find this limiting. The Garmin vívoactive 5 is a solid choice for those looking to improve their fitness and health tracking with a stylish and functional smartwatch.

The Garmin Forerunner® 965 Running Smartwatch is an excellent choice for runners and fitness enthusiasts who seek a comprehensive health monitoring device. Its standout feature is the brilliant AMOLED touchscreen display, complemented by a lightweight titanium bezel, making it both visually appealing and comfortable to wear during workouts. The watch boasts an impressive battery life, lasting up to 23 days in smartwatch mode and 31 hours in GPS mode, ensuring it can keep up with extensive training sessions.

One of its key strengths is the advanced GPS tracking, which includes full-color built-in maps and multi-band GNSS capabilities for enhanced accuracy in various environments. This is particularly beneficial for those who enjoy running in unfamiliar areas. The watch also offers an array of smart features, including training readiness scores, personalized workout suggestions, and various sport profiles that cater to triathletes and other multisport athletes.

The Forerunner 965 excels in many areas, but it may be a bit overwhelming for beginners due to its extensive features and metrics. Users not familiar with detailed training data might find it challenging to interpret some of the advanced statistics it provides, such as VO2 Max and HRV status. Additionally, the watch's price point could be a concern for those on a budget, as high-end features come at a premium cost. In terms of design, it strikes a good balance between style and functionality, but some users may prefer a more subtle appearance. Its water resistance is adequate for most activities, though those who plan extensive water sports might want to verify its suitability for specific conditions. The Garmin Forerunner 965 is best suited for dedicated athletes and fitness enthusiasts who want an advanced fitness tracker and are comfortable navigating through a wide range of features.

The Garmin 010-02626-10 Instinct 2 is a rugged outdoor watch designed to withstand harsh conditions. It is water-resistant up to 100 meters and built with a fiber-reinforced polymer case and scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla glass, making it suitable for various outdoor activities like swimming, hiking, and camping. The watch offers excellent battery life, lasting up to 28 days in smartwatch mode and up to 30 hours in GPS mode, which is great for extended outdoor adventures.

GPS tracking is supported by multiple global navigation satellite systems (GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo), ensuring accurate location tracking even in challenging environments. Additionally, the built-in 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter provide useful navigation aids. Heart rate monitoring is a key feature of this watch, alongside other health metrics like sleep, Pulse Ox, and respiration tracking. These features help users understand their physical condition and activity levels better, although it is important to note that this device is not a medical tool. The Instinct 2 also includes various sports apps for running, biking, swimming, and more, along with training features like VO2 max measurement.

Smart features include notifications and compatibility with the Garmin Connect IQ platform when paired with a smartphone, enhancing the user experience. The watch's design is practical with a 1.12-inch screen and button interface, which might not appeal to users looking for a more modern touch-screen experience. Also, some users may find the rugged design less stylish for everyday wear. Despite these minor drawbacks, the Garmin Instinct 2 is a solid choice for outdoor enthusiasts and fitness-focused individuals looking for a durable, feature-rich smartwatch.