First Garmin GPS Watch

Both are good but prefer the 935 as indeed it is the latest and greatest. As to where to buy, where do you live? Quite a few threads on here about that.

Thanks for the input! I live in central Iowa and checked the local REI and a running store and they didn't seem to know anything about it. But, I'm not sure where all to check in Iowa.

I'm looking to pull the trigger on my first Garmin GPS (triathlon) watch. My main uses will be for running/biking (with a bit of swimming when I'm triathlon training), everyday wearing, heart rate tracking, general fitness tracking, and whatever else I figure out a watch of this caliber can do. At this point I've narrowed it down to the 735XT or the 935. I've always been a "get the latest and greatest" kind of guy, but don't know if the 935 will be over kill? If I were to decide on a 935 is there a place where you suggest trying to order online so I could get it the soonest ;)

Thanks for the help, I've very new to this game! I've always been an Apple guy so I figured I'd just get an Apple Watch if I was going to get a smart watch, but with my running/biking/triathlon I realize this is a better way to go.

There's no reason to get a 735XT now. At MSRP the 935 costs $50 more but you get WiFi, (which is way more seamless than BT for syncing runs), a barometric altimeter, more advanced metrics (including some like Training Load that actually make sense), a better heart rate monitor, better battery life, a better screen and more memory (meaning potentially better CIQ apps and watch faces).

Either 735XT or 935 are equally good watches with limited issues. Main difference would be battery life. If you will be doing Ironman length events withtiems greater than 12 hours I would go for the 935. From there the 935 looks a little better, but this is subjective, and the 935 will have newest features and interface, including better OHR recording (more often giving better data).

As far as where to buy; REI has best return policy and you get a 10% member dividend you can spend on other purchases. Overall REI is probably best place overall to purchase in the US based on these 2 things. Second option would be Clever Training, which offers also a dividend for members (sign up through DC Rainmaker) and also has no tax, so total cost may be cheaper, but more limited return policy.

I'm looking to pull the trigger on my first Garmin GPS (triathlon) watch. My main uses will be for running/biking (with a bit of swimming when I'm triathlon training), everyday wearing, heart rate tracking, general fitness tracking, and whatever else I figure out a watch of this caliber can do. At this point I've narrowed it down to the 735XT or the 935. I've always been a "get the latest and greatest" kind of guy, but don't know if the 935 will be over kill? If I were to decide on a 935 is there a place where you suggest trying to order online so I could get it the soonest ;)

Thanks for the help, I've very new to this game! I've always been an Apple guy so I figured I'd just get an Apple Watch if I was going to get a smart watch, but with my running/biking/triathlon I realize this is a better way to go.

if your budget is flexible (i.e., if the extra $50 doesn't break the bank), i'd say the 935 is easily worth the $50 over the 735XT:

- better screen
- higher sample rate oHR
- lower profile oHR (at least for me, it's more comfortable)
- wifi upload (not significant to me, but a nice have for some people)
- more memory (which will help with Connect IQ apps in the long run)
- the latest UI (735 was fine, but this one seems more functional to me)

don't get me wrong, the 735XT is great watch, but unless Garmin drops the price, i would suggest the 935 because of the tangible "upgrades" with the 935. now if REI (as they often do when a new model comes out) has a sale this summer with the 735XT at 350 or so, then, i would recommend the 735 over the 935 with that big of a price jump.

As a current FR735XT user I can say that from my point of view the 735 has only 3 advantages over the 935:

• It is slightly smaller and lighter, and thus more comfortable for wearing 24/7.
  
• It is more mature, meaning that all software and hardware issues - if any - are well identified from user feedback.
  
• Where I live it is way cheaper. The 935 - being new - is sold at the official retail price exclusively, but for the 735 special offers are easy to find.
  

In any other regard the 935 seems better. I bought my 735 last december, but if I were to make my decision now, I'd probably go for the 935.

Well, as a current owner of the 735XT and having ordered the 935 (but having owned the Fenix 5 for a short while) I can say the following:

• The Fenix5 screen, and thus the 935 one, are way nicer compared to the 735xt. More crisp and sharp (the 735xt now actually feels low-end, even though I had no issues at all with it before to be honest) and also the backlight is way more beautiful.
  
• The 935 has real 24/7 OHR, the 735xt had a 'smart' one which at times only measured once every hour or so. Depending on activity.
  
• I like the SW of the 935 more, but that's personal
  
• 935 seems to last longer, battery wise
  
• More apps and connect iq stuff available for the 735XT at the moment
  
• 735XT is way cheaper here (say a 200 dollar/euro difference, and secondhand even cheaper)
  

Overall I do prefer the 935/Fenix5 quite a bit, but not functionality wise as both watches are just about the same in that aspect (apart from sw implementation differences). Whether it's worth the price difference is up to you, someone mentioned 50 dollars above and then it's a no brainer for me. But here the price difference is 200 which is less clear.

It wouldn't be overkill in the sense of functionality (not more then the 735xt would be). Perhaps an option would be to go for a second hand 735xt, and if you keep enjoying everything upgrade to the 935 (and sell tghe 735xt again, that way you will hardly loose anything). It would be worse moneywise to buy the 935 and find out you'll stop actually using it after a month or 2 ;)

My "summary" take would be to get a 935 if you can afford it but otherwise the 735 is a very good watch.

I am hedging my bets right now and wearing both for most things.

If you care about data, the 735 is limited to 4 data pages at a time while the 935 is practically unlimited (according to DC Rainmaker -- I don't know what the actual limit is, yet.) Each data page can have up to 4 fields on it (like pace, heart rate, cadence, etc.)

4 pages sounds like a lot but there have been times when I've wanted more (just so I could have 1 or 2 extra data fields that I rarely look at, without having to change my settings all the time). Especially since some Connect IQ data fields ("apps") take up an entire page. Once you have one or two full-page apps set up, then wanting 5 pages at a time actually isn't that crazy. (At least that's what I tell myself.)

I'm not sure how much difference there is between a 235 and a 735xt as far as look/feel goes, but I just got my 935 over lunch and by comparison, it makes my 235 look like a toy.

The backlight is better, the vibration is better, it looks much nicer... the UI is different enough where it does take a lot of getting used to, and I doubt I will never use the full power of this watch, but it is *very* nice. It also fixes a ton of issues I had with the 235. It is much more customizable, the attention to detail is much better (this watch actually notifies you when you hit goals!)... I'm sure I will find some issues with it when I start actually using the workout features of the watch, but for day to day, I can already tell the upgrade from my 235 was well worth it.

Can't wait to run a half tomorrow with this thing!

Finally, to OP, do not buy an Apple Watch. The fitness functionality is for very casual users, at best, and the battery life (only 5 hours in GPS mode!) will drive you nuts. I had one of the original Apple Watches because it interfaced with the running app I'd been using for years, and it sucked hard. I sold the Apple Watch, got the 235, and was then sold on the concept of a dedicated running watch. The Garmin ecosystem is much nicer than the Apple one by an order of magnitude. Frankly, you're better off even going with a Fitbit watch over the Apple one, just due to how awful the Apple ecosystem is for fitness tracking (and I'm talking as a guy who uses a Mac as his primary computer, along with an iPad and iPhone!). Apple is a long way from touching Garmin, Polar, Suunto, even Fitbit as far as catering to our market.