This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Is there an actual "hike" mode that can be uploaded to activites for the 265s?

Hi! I am looking to be purchasing the forerunner 265s but before I do I need to ask is there a specific hiking mode that will track me where I go? I am not needing maps on the actual watch as I don't believe I will use it. I am happy for the garmin connect app to show me where I have been. However I had a Venu sq for the past 12 months and was only ever able to use the walk mode which would cut in and out whenever I was walking slow or stopping for  view etc, and would be constantly buzzing and vibrating on start and stop and drained the battery alot quicker and was very annoying when I was looking for a more serene time. If anyone can help me out with this I would so appreciate it thankyou. Basically what I want my watch to do is track me on ANY type of hike quietly has a good battery ( I do have a charger for when I do mulitdays) . I also would use for some aerobic/cardio exercise and also yoga/pilates for everyday use as well.

  • I have a hiking app for both the venu sq as well as the fr265 - Hike2+

    https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/116a5b59-29ae-4397-a70e-907d7e5f8e44

    It has a "save battery" mode, and you can charge it (when pausing your hike, taking a break, etc)  You can try it on your venu sq today.

  • The 265 do have a hike activity, and you can set off the auto stop and start, so it will record continuously. It tracks fairly well, with the single issue, that when I do stop for a rest, I never stop the activity, and it records a lot of moving around (while sitting in one place) so it seems to me that it was optimized for running at the first place, and it cannot really handle the difference between walking and sitting - it records everything like no future.

    A dedicated gps (garmin gpsmap) does it much better, recording only some points in these situations. 

    For the same reason, the auto start-stop on the 265 is pure garbage, it stops even when I walking and starts even when I sitting, so I switched that off immediately.

    Also, while having a hike activity, and it works relatively well (I had 10+ hours hiking with it), it lacks many metrics that a fenix has - so hike was just added as a bonus to a running watch, without really designing it as is.

  • I can't find a default hiking mode in my garmin 265S. The Garmin support team also confirmed that there's no default hiking mode in the 265S so I need to download it from a third party developer. Please help if you success to use hiking mode in your 265. Thanks.

  • Is there any kind of instructions anywhere step by step on how to use this for the first time? I have a Forerunner 265S, never had a fitness watch, so I am already challenged and overwhelmed just figuring out all the other bells and whistles (been wearing it just 4 weeks). I have downloaded your app, as I am an avid hiker and would like to record hikes for length, gain and loss, and other features I can monitor about my performance during hikes. I can find nothing on the internet that provides any demonstration.

  • "when I do stop for a rest, I never stop the activity, and it records a lot of moving around"

    The 265 has the ability to save/resume an activity. That's what I do when hiking/biking with my kids and we stop for lunch or long time. You just need to not forget to resume your activity after Slight smile

  • I am not sure how support cannot help on this, it is even on the specs page: 

    Garmin Forerunner® 265S | Smaller-Sized Running Watch

    OUTDOOR RECREATION Hiking
  • Yeah, I am not gonna do that ;). Stopping and starting the activity is an error prone task, I forget once and I will lose important part of the activity.