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935 long term impressions

AlmaataKZ
over 4 years ago

I have been using the 935 for a couple of years now and here are my observations:

pros:

- excellent battery life. I think Garmin is a leader in this area

- light and shallow body (unlike e.g. Fenix)

- good level of customisation

- lots of good features that I use almost daily, both sports and non sports

cons:

- HR sensor resin prone to cracking (had to ask for replacement)

- HR tracking only just satisfactory. Optical often inaccurate. I also have accuracy issues even with chest strap

- GPS accuracy OK but not superb

- elevation accuracy is a joke

- software bugs: some widgets do not work properly, phone connection temperamental, occasional issues with time being out of sync

- abandoned development e.g. list of exercises in gc 

- inability to back up and import set up into a new watch

I am watching what Garmin is doing with new models and it is not very exciting. While there are many new features, I do not see anything really significant. Solar has limited effect currently, 945 still uses same resin on the sensor, bugs are still omnipresent.

Having said the above, I still consider the 935/945 the best offer on the market.

What do other long term users think?

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I have my forerunner 935 for 4 years now.

    batterylife is bad. Only about 10 hours in gps usage left (used to be 20+). Just have to charge more often. 

    gps accuracy is good enough.

    ohr doesn’t work for me (neither on other brands) but the sensor is cracked like many users report.

    bluetooth connection to my iPhone is bad. I have to manually restore the connection almost every morning.

    wifi connection isn’t any better (and why does my watch prefer the inferieur slow bluetooth sync over wifi sync)  

    temperature and barometer are useless.

    the watch is full of gimmick features I don’t use.

    firmware is full of bugs.

    The vibrating alert works well (my previous watch lacked vibrating which I found annoying)

    But the basics stil work okay. It records my workouts, connects to my cheststrap, sync to strava. Screen is readable in sunlight and in the dark. Follow the line navigation is ok.

    And I agree with you: no usable new features in newer watches, so no need to buy a new one, but my next watch is not a Garmin. Probable a Coros.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    It's a pretty good summary of the features and flaws. I would add it is amazingly impressive how much is packed into the watch and it manages the compromise between battery life and function very well. Mine has proved to be robust too, having taken a couple of falls at flat out pace and the watch survived better than I did, with only some minor scratches.

    That said, the biggest irritations for me is the elevation tracking - I don't understand how it can be quite so wild - and it's tendency to crash during navigation. Fortunately I use mine mainly for way finding around the city but I couldn't trust it anywhere wilder.

    Better OHR, barometer and phone connection would be progress.