As woman&home's digital health editor, I've tested my fair share of fitness trackers over the years - almost 100 when I count them all up - but the Garmin Forerunner 255 is one of my favourites.
The Garmin Forerunner 255 comes up top for me as one of the best fitness trackers for women as it's so easy to use, looks good on my wrist, and it's so versatile. As someone who regularly walks, runs, cycles, and goes to the gym, and likes to keep an eye on my sleep habits, finding a tracker that can handle all these is difficult. The Forerunner 255 is versatile enough to handle them all and more, with advanced insights and handy features that have helped me maintain and improve my fitness.
And now, it's over £70 off in the Garmin sale for Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, which runs 8-9 October – so this offer may well end tonight.
Garmin Forerunner 255 - quick review
I've been wearing the Garmin Forerunner 255 for about three months now and whenever someone asks me, 'which Garmin should I buy?' it always comes top of the list - and as woman&home's digital health editor, I've tested a LOT of fitness trackers over the years so that's a tough spot to reach.
When it comes to tracking your workouts, this watch does everything any other Garmin does - but better. You can view sport-specific insights (such as distance, pace, timer, etc for running workouts) and get an idea of how your fitness is improving, with suggested workouts you can choose to follow. However, I found the GPS to be particularly impressive on this device - it's accurate and the Maps feature allows you to bring up a route pre-planned in the Garmin Connect app to follow on your wrist with turn-by-turn navigation. I've just started running again post-injury and this is giving me the motivation to get out there again as I can explore new routes in my local area.
The watch also has a barometric altimeter, which counts flights of stairs and is useful for hiking or trail running to get an idea of your elevation, and lots of connection opportunities to indoor cycling kit. In gym workouts, you can log your sets and reps, along with your weights in the app to keep a record of how you're progressing. It's an all-round winner.
It's important to note that this watch doesn't have a touchscreen. Instead, five buttons on the sides of the watch navigate the screen, which is fully customisable to your liking and preferences via the Garmin app. It's also available in two sizes: regular (Forerunner 255) and small (Forerunner 255s), so women with smaller wrists or who prefer a smaller watch face are in luck.
This isn't just a fitness tracker though - you can also record your sleep. When you wear the watch to bed - which is very comfortable to do as it's lightweight and the smaller size isn't too bulky - it records heart rate variability (HRV) and your sleep stages to offer a Sleep Score. In the morning, you'll see this as part of your Morning Report alongside your Body Battery, a weather report, and other information of your choice. Looking at this first thing really sets me up for the day.
The Apple Watch is always going to be better for smartwatch features but the Forerunner 255 has a good set - including Spotify playback (with the Forerunner 255 Music edition), weather reports, and text notifications.
If you're weighing up Garmin vs Apple Watch, I'd say go for the Forerunner 255 rather than the Apple Watch Series 9 or 10 if you're focused on improving your fitness through walking or running. Not only does is it a more budget-friendly buy but the battery life on the Forerunner 255 is much better - up to 14 days in smartwatch mode.
Is it worth upgrading to the Garmin Forerunner 255?
If you've got an older model in the Garmin Forerunner range or are looking to get more insights than one of the best Fitbits for women can offer, the Garmin Forerunner 255 is an excellent choice - particularly as it's now on sale.
There's not much you can't do with this device, whether you prefer running, walking, cycling, or just like to log your gym workouts. With on-wrist music playback, smartwatch features, daily reports, suggested workouts, and advanced GPS, it's one of the best Garmin devices I've ever had and a great choice for an upgrade if you're looking for a fitness tracker that'll match you where you're at and help you improve.
