Best Garmin Watch (2025): Tested and Reviewed for Running, Cycling, and More

People buy Garmin watches because they want accuracy in their exercise tracking and get very disappointed when it looks like their data is off. However, I give satellite-enabled watches a little leeway for a few reasons. Before you chuck your watch out the window, keep a few things in mind: Is there a lot of tree cover? As counterintuitive as it may sound, watches that pinpoint your location by pinging the location off satellites (which, may I remind you, are in space) have trouble when there's stuff in the way. Possible obstacles include everything from tall buildings in a city, to trails with lots of trees. This is also a reason why your watch might have trouble connecting when you start an activity—step out from under your porch or out from under the power lines. Does the watch have an altimeter? The hypotenuse on a triangle is longer than the bottom side. If your watch does not have an altimeter (for example, the entry-level Forerunner 245 does not), your distance measurements ma ... Read full article.