Garmin Forerunner 735XT Multi-Sport GPS Watch
Be a better athlete today than you were yesterday with forerunner 735XT. This GPS multisport Watch is for athletes who want dialed in data for training and a lighter load on race day. Wrist based Heart rate lets you run freer when it’s time to toe the line. For advanced running dynamics and other detailed measurements, add a chest strap and train your Heart out. Includes Starve suffer score, activity profiles for running, cycling, swimming and more. The auto multisport feature lets you transition sports with just one button press. Smart notifications, automatic uploads and connect IQ compatibility for custom Watch faces and apps make the 735XT the ultimate smart watch for athletes.
- GPS running watch with multisport features
- Estimates heart rate at the wrist so you can run freer on race day.Shock resistant. Battery life : Smartwatch Mode Up to 11 days. GPS mode Up to 14 hours. UltraTrac mode Up to 24 hours without wrist heart rate
- Provides advanced dynamics for running, cycling and swimming7, including ground contact time balance, stride length, vertical ratio and more (when paired with a Running Dynamics Pod, HRM Run or HRM Tri Monitor, sold separately)
- Offers VO2 max estimate, lactate threshold (when used with a chest strap heart rate monitor), race predictor and recovery advisor
- Connected features4: smart notifications, automatic uploads to Garmin Connect, live tracking and more
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Jared –
If you’re not into long reviews, the title of this review pretty much sums it up.I’ve only had this watch for a week, but researched for months and knew exactly what features I was looking for.First, my main use cases:Running, swimming, cycling; but majority running. I used to do Triathlon’s but just run and swim now mainly for health (and honestly stress relief). I wanted an activity tracker also and liked the idea of an optical heart rate sensor. Some limited smart watch functionality would be nice also. But definitely waterproof, built in GPS for running, and basic stop-watch functionality and something I could wear 24/7 as a daily watch also.Watches I was considering:Apple Watch, Forerunner 235, 735x, Fenix 3 HR, TomTom Mult-Sport Cardio, TomTom Spark, TomTom Spark+Music, Suunto Sparten, Ambit 3, etc. pretty much any of the GPS sport watches, ideally with the optical heart rate. I don’t train hard or by heart rate really, and have had the chest straps in the past; just liked the idea of checking my resting heart rate at times and the activity tracker that comes on most of these sport watches.Also, the Apple Watch was out, unless I went with the Waterfi version (waterproof version of it at @ $600). Of course, as I’m writing this, the new Series 2 Apple Watch was announced which is waterproof and has built in GPS. Which, may have altered my decision. I am an iPhone user, but in the end, regardless, I don’t really care for the Apple Watch look and am glad I chose the 735xt.I was able to visit a local REI and try on all the Garmin devices. I REALLY love the Fenix 3 HR and the style, but I have small wrists (6.5″) and in the end, it was just too large. It wouldn’t even fit under the cuff of my basic dress shirt, and didn’t see myself wearing it to bed to take advantage of the sleep functionality. The TomTom’s didn’t really look like I could wear them every day as a watch. I did consider the TomTom Spark Cardio + Music as I liked the idea of not having to carry my phone. But then I really decided that I carry my phone not only for the music, but also in case of emergency.The Garmin VivoActive HR had everything I wanted and cheaper, and even would have liked the idea of having golf (even though I haven’t golfed in 10 years), but it’s just darn ugly (IMO).In the end, it really came down to the Garmin 235 vs 735xt. And whether the multi-sport and swimming functionality of the 735 was worth an extra $120. And so obviously I decided on the 735xt. Which I’m glad I did because it works awesome in the pool. For me it just came down to whether or not I wanted to track distance in the pool instead of just time and if that was worth $120.Here’s been my experience with it, using it for 7 days now.Pros:- Looks OK to wear as an everyday watch- Light (very light, which may also be somewhat of a con for some, see below)- Pool Swim function counts distance and time (love how you just enter the pool size and it automatically keeps track of the distance, knowing when you make a turn)- Connect IQ, this is where you can download watch faces, apps, widgets, data fields, etc. I’ve added a different watch face and use a stopwatch, timer app that I got from the IQ store. I use the stopwatch and timer a lot plus I’ve added a nice data field for running that shows HR (and color for zone), Pace, Cadence, Time, Distance all on the same screen- Has some basic smart watch features. Email, calendar notifications, music controls for phone, etc. I really wanted these features in a watch, but have realized since wearing that I just turned them all off. Honestly, I get bugged enough with text and emails and don’t need my watch distracting me also. So I just leave it on do-not disturb, as I do with my phone also when I’m running. Although the watch does have a user profile setting where you can set your sleep hours, so it sets the watch to do-not-disturb automatically during these times- Garmin Connect Mobile App. Pretty good app, full of data and makes it easy to install and customize watch faces. Many watch faces allow you to customize them (how and what data is displayed, basic colors, etc.). It’s pretty awesomeCons:- Only con I can really think of is that the Garmin weather widget on the watch is not working for me. I did download a 3rd party weather widget, but it’s not as dynamic as the Garmin version and only shows temp (hi/low) for the day. This is apparently common and happening with other users, so I’m pretty sure Garmin will have a firmware or software fix for this sometime soon. And I’ve tried about all the troubleshooting fixes I could find (e.g. location services, etc.) on the internet and Garmin forums.Now about the form factor and weight. It is plastic. And this may be a be negative for some. I remember trying on the display model at REI and it felt like a toy. Of course I know these display versions are basically shells and not the real thing, but even the real thing feels a bit like a toy. So if you want a heavy, steel, metal or oversize watch, this probably isn’t for you.The last 2 watches I’ve worn were a G-Shock GW2310FB-1CR and for about 5 years a Lunimox Colormark Chrono (BO) every day. I like light watches. And for me, this Garmin 735xt is light, comfortable, and even though a bit “plastic” feeling… because I guess it is, it fits my use case perfectly. And if it ever breaks, I’m lucky enough to live about 30 minutes from Garmin’s world headquarters and have heard good stories from friends who’ve taken their Garmin devices out there for service.Battery LifeThe specs say a bunch of different things, 14 hours in activity mode with GPS, 11 days in watch mode (activity tracking, smart notification, etc.) But here’s what I’ve gotten from the first week. From a full charge and daily activity I went about 4 days and it was at 25%. But that’s been with me fiddling with the watch a lot.I did a full charge of the watch on a Sunday. Did 8 mile run on Monday, 1000 Meter Swim on Tuesday, 5 Mile Run on Wednesday, 1000 meter swim on Thursday and by Thursday evening it was about at 25% and in the evening it beeped and said “save power mode”, which I wasn’t quite sure what that was at the time so I went ahead and put it on the charger. Looking like it’s about 10-12% per day with at least a 30-45 minute activity with GPS each day. Keep in mind I have activity tracking, continuous heart rate monitoring, and use the stopwatch and countdown timer a few times during the day also.I hope this review helps. I researched (and obsessed) for months on which one of these to buy; weighing features style and price. Of course I’m biased now as I purchased the 735xt, but as of yet have no buyers remorse.So why not 5 stars? I really never give anything 5 stars, but if the weather widget would have worked out of the box I probably would have.
Kyle R –
I did a lot of research on wearables, and followed online reviews for a while before deciding on the Forerunner 735XT. When you’re paying nearly twice what an Apple Watch costs, you want to make sure you’re making the right investment. My choice was heavily influenced by the fact that my sport is triathlon. There are not many heart rate-tracking wearables that are ‘swimming-capable’ watches (e.g. Apple Watch, Polar) so the field was not crowded. Below is a grouping of my pros and cons. Garmin Forerunner 735XT GPS Unit, Black and Gray Pros:-form factor: Garmin has packed a GPS, on-wrist heart rate monitor, and a few other smart-watch features into one of the slimmest form factors around. One of my favourite things about this is that it does *not* look like a running watch. I prefer round watch faces as well.-battery life: somehow that slim form factor also includes a watch that on average lasts a week between charges. Results will vary, but for me that 1 week of battery life typically includes about 5 workouts/week averaging an hour of activity. I turn off the watch’s Bluetooth (and therefore notifications) except for when I need to sync data to my iPhone, which I typically do daily. What this does mean that on a typical 4-5 business trip, I don’t need to take the watch’s charging cable with me.-companion iPhone app. The Garmin Connect iPhone app hits the sweet spot of data detail and graphical beauty. You can geek out if you want on the full gory details of your workout or sleep tracking, or you can just see high-level overviews. The Garmin Connect store has some pretty nice watch faces, many of which are free.Cons:-price: Good grief this thing is expensive. And if you want to unlock the full capabilities (gait analysis, underwater heart rate, etc.) Garmin will upsell you another CDN$150 with their Tri-Bundle. Gulp. Pro or age-grouper triathletes might “need” that extra feature set, but that’s a lot of money.-display clarity: the main way Garmin squeezes a week of battery life in this small form factor is by making the display a passive e-Ink (non-touch) display. In low light conditions you have to use the backlight button. It’s not very bright, and in anything other than bright sunlight, my ageing eyes struggle to make out all the fields.-the desktop app: The desktop app is much less polished than the iPhone app but the desktop app (and USB cable) is the main way you get new widgets and watch faces onto the watch. I think Garmin could work a lot more on the look and feel of their desktop GarminConnect app. I would also love to see more inter-operability with Strava and/or Training Peaks. It would be great to upload Strava challenges or TrainingPeak workouts to the watch via GarminConnect. I’ve tried using the Workout Builder in Garmin Connect to manually add a TrainingPeak workout into the watch. It worked once – after spending 10 minutes programming a swim workout into GarminConnect’s workout builder and uploading it to my watch, the next day which I started that workout, my watch magically told me which swim set to do next, counting my laps and warning me with a buzz on my last lap of a particular set. Since then I’ve really struggled to get the workout widget to work though.-charging cable: why are there still so many competing standards for charging/sync cables for wearables? I understand why microUSB is a bad idea for watches, and metal contacts are the way to go. But Garmin’s ‘clothespin’ type connector seems flakey and possibly breakable. It’s actually not flakey – the contacts on the watch seat right every time. And it hasn’t broken yet but if feels like it could. Here’s where Apple has ‘won’ this battle by having a magnetic induction charger. I would prefer that over something that is proprietary.-heart-rate reliability: i have read a lot of things about all heart-rate monitors (of all kinds) giving inaccurate readings for people with hairy wrists. I have a hairy wrist and my heart rate readings do seem a little high but I have not compared this (yet) with a chest-strap to compare accuracy.
L. Woodside –
I like this watch, but would not buy it again. By way of background, I am a 12 time Ironman finisher and reasonably tech-savvy endurance athleteHere is what it does well (and should at this price) -1. It provides accurate pace (mile/minute) for running.2. It provides heart-rate via a wrist-based optical sensor, which (however) is subject to wild swings in accuracyHere are the problems I have encountered -1. Insufficient battery life. Garmin advertises this as a leading multisport (meaning triathlon) watch. This weekend I used it in the Ironman World Championships. I charged the device to 100% prior to the start. After a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 23 miles of running – the battery failed. It simply did not have enough juice to make it to the finish. Its frustrating to have your watch fail at mile 23 in the Hawaiian Ironman, to say the least. For that reason alone, you should not buy it if you wish to race Ironman with it.2. Inaccurate heart rate. In training I experienced wild variation in HR using the optical HR sensor. For e.g., during a light jog the HR sensor would show 180 BPM, when my actual HR was 120 BPM. This inaccuracy seemed more prevalent in cool morning conditions. Much on the web has been written about this.3. Poor sync tech. Garmin advertises easy data syncing with the Connect app. I have found syncing requires multiple manual attempts, and is inconsistent and unreliableFor training, its OK. But you’d be better off with a far less expensive Garmin for basic pace data (and a chest based HRM), or another brand.
S. arsenault –
UPDATE.I received a refurbished model to replace the one with the broken heart rate monitor. That one has lasted FIVE months before the screen stopped functioning.I have been using for 9 months. Interface is a bit klunky and takes some time to get used to. Intensity minutes measure is pure nonsense. Seems to randomly assign minutes between high and low intensity. But, the worst part is that after nine months the optical heart rate sensor has completely stopped working. I have not seen a flashing green light in quite some time. According the watch my pulse never goes above 101, ever. Even when other devices are coming back with numbers in the 150 range. On the other hand if I take the watch off it continues to register a heart rate. My bedroom dresser seems to have a higher average pulse rate than my kitchen island.Getting through to customer service seems impossible. My message from yesterday has not gotten a response and the promised call back today has not happened.
MochaRoseBat –
I loved the watch while it worked (for about 5 months). It completely died during a swim; and now has fallen into a month long black hold of Garmin service. They have 3 day turn around time to respond to emails; they don’t offer any shipping support to send back a product under warranty (so I had to spend $45 to send it 3 day shipping) and then indefinite period of time before they send a replacement or refurbishment. I could be without a working product for months — its already been weeks with no defined receipt date. They also make it very difficult to contact customer service.If they don’t resolve this I will be working through credit card protection for a refund and go buy myself a Suunto…which was a working run watch I loved and never failed for years.
EdAvila –
GARMIN es una marca muy buena pero esperaba mas de este reloj; no es de pantalla tactil, me indicaron con unos especialistas que este modelo ya es obsoleto y de haber tenido esta información, habria optado por un Forerunner 935 que es un modelo reciente y con mejores caracteristicas…. No tengo idea porque siguen ofreciendo Relojes obsoletos…..
rodtami-0 –
Kindly inform if you send to Brazil?
rafre20 –
Excelente relógio.
ne-trusted-seller –
Great price for a nice watch!
TaniY –
I return the same watch days ago now I am returning the watch that Amazon sent me after I ordered the same one for second time. It looks lke I got the same watch back or all this type of watch have the same issue. I noticed again that the plastic round perimeter is with kind of small cuts that you can see and fill i with you finger. Also the charging spot in the wach has kind of sign of usage. Does not look lke new watch o me. These are the reason that I am returning the watch and asking for refund. If the watches are like this that means that they are poorly build because the watch looks to cheap and not worthy the money. I am sorry to say that because I like Garmin watches, but…
Blair T –
I signed up for my first triathlon and bought this watch as a training aid. I primarily just wanted a heart rate monitor so I could keep my training in specific heart rate zones. I didn’t know anything about GPS watches and chose this one based on online recommendations and it seemed to be the best priced to do the job.It far exceeded my expectations as a training aid. Effectively, it logs all of my training sessions so I don’t have to think about doing that while I am training. I use it for the pool, bike and run.For the pool, it tracks pace, number of strokes per length, number of strokes per minute, number of lengths swam, and total distance. Using a Garmin Tri heart rate strap, I am also able to collect heart rate data.For biking, I thought I would want to get a bike computer to track my rides, but the 735xt does everything the bike computer would do for me. It tracks speed, distance, pace, heart rate, cadence (from a sensor on the bike), and elevation gain. I use a $13 Garmin watch holder on my bike so I can see the display. My eyes are not good enough (without reading glasses) to see multiple data items, so I just keep the screen to display my heart rate so I can adjust my effort to stay in a particular zone. The only reason to buy an extra bike computer would be to have a larger display, otherwise, this does everything.For running, using a Garmin tri heart rate monitor I also get Running Dynamics, which give detailed data on my running form. As a beginner runner this is useful for me to stop any bad patterns before they start. This includes tracking left and right balance, ground contact time, vertical oscillation, and stride length. And, of course, it collects speed, pace, distance, time, and heart rate.There is a lot of functionality in the watch and it took me a while to get familiar with just the functions that I am using for training. Other functions I use include the alarm, Heart rate variability test, step counter, sleep tracker, total activity minutes, resting and average heart rate.My only criticism of the watch is that accessing some of the functions are not intuitive or less convenient than they could be. For example, to turn the alarm on and off it take 14 button pushes and when starting an activity tracking like a bike ride, you need to press the same button to select the activity, then press again to activate, then press again to start. On the bike I am often unsure if I really started the tracking or if it is waiting for another button push.I really like the Garmin Connect software. Everything uploads through my iPhone automatically and then it is also available for viewing from the Garmin Connect website. I can see all the data from by tracked activities and it is also downloadable to excel. I have heard that some people don’t like Garmin Connect, but I am quite impressed. You can also link to other sites like Strava and Training Peaks. I look at doing that, but I did not see any benefit for myself and I find that the Garmin software works well for my needs.The battery life is good – about a week between charges – better than my Fitbit Charge 2. and the watch is comfortable and light enough to wear all day and during activities.This is the single best tool I am using for triathlon training and I highly recommend it.