Welcome to the first in a new series of videos where we pick out the best running watches of 2024, dividing them up into different categories. In this first video we’re looking at the best running watches for beginners, with Kieran, Mike and Nick running through four top options to suit all kinds of new runners.
00:00 – Intro
01:15 – Garmin Forerunner 165
03:40 – Coros Pace 3
06:30 – Apple Watch 10
11:15 – Garmin Forerunner 55
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Hello and welcome to run testers my name Is Nick I am joined by Kieran and Mike And we are going to talk about running Watches so instead of just doing one Massive best running watches video this Year we are basically going to do a Video on each of the categories we Normally have in that video so today It's the best beginner running watches We're also going to have one on the best Value running watches best mid-range Best high-end best smartwatch and that Just means we have a little bit more Time in each of these videos to go Through what we think are the top Options give you the different options That might suit different runners in Different ways without just kind of Running through them really quickly and You get a bit more information and the Video is a bit shorter so you don't have To watch one hour long video which is Not sometimes not not practical it's Just not practical um so today is the Best beginner running watches I think We've got four watches in this category We wanted to pick out and with a Beginner running watch we wanted to look At a few things obviously you got to be Pretty good value you don't want to Spend loads and loads of money on your First running watch it's got to be Accurate and reliable like all running Watches need to be ideally it has some
Kind of features that help you out as a Beginner Runner and we've also picked I Think one or two watches that are just Quite nice watches so if you don't end Up sticking with running you have a Watch that you might want to keep around Anyway because it's just a nice watch Anyway let's dive into some of those Watches now the first one we want to Talk about is a watch that came out I Don't it was the back end of last year Or the start of this year but it's the Garmin 4 165 Mike when did this watch Come out I feel like in my head I was Testing this early early this year but Uh yeah this is um effectively the most Affordable AMOLED for r watch obviously There's been the venue series but this Is in terms of the 4Runner range this is Kind of Garmin giving a more affordable Route into its watch range it's running Focus watch range with a color display So that's really what the story was here With the 165 and you know really Bringing kind of it's you know it's more Entry level what's more in line with Kind of what we're seeing uh in kind of Modern kind of smart watches and sports Watches yeah so Garmin brought AMOLED to More expensive for runners like the 4 a 265 the 965 and the 165 is a cheaper Which is still not very very cheap but It's pretty good value it's got all the Kind of key running fixures you expect
From Garmin some of the ones that are Really good for beginners are things Like suggested workouts you can download Training plans to the watch you know you Are going to get a lot of support on That front as well and it'll give you a Little bit of training node analysis but It doesn't throw a huge amount of data At you it's fair to say Kieran you Tested this watch as well right yeah and I think yeah yeah I have the good the Good thing about this watch is one of Those I think for a beginner yeah Particularly your running might go one Or two ways you might run for a bit and Hate it and decide you're never doing it Again but then you might sort of really Get hooked on it a lot of people do and Then you want to run that watch just Going to give you a little bit of Headroom to help you kind of grow into Running before you maybe in a few years Time go and spend something on a on a Watch that's more fully featured but This watch to me it has enough features That it will cater for your running to Develop over you know a few years I Think it's kind of does a lot of the Basics really well as well you know no Matter how much you're spending you want Pretty reliable heart rate you want good GPS reliability you want something That's light and comfortable with a Decent battery life battery life's not
As long on this watch but it will Probably cover you if you're running Sort of two or three times a week um and Take care of you so that's what I like About this watch it cut for a begin it Kind of It kind of has your back if You're going to kind of grow and become I guess a more regular Runner yeah Definitely it's also a pretty nice Looking watch with that AMOLED screen so You can wear it a bit it's not a Triathlon Watch that's something to note If you're a beginner who does want to do Multi sport would say also we're calling These beginner watches 4 and a 165 would Be perfectly good for my running even if Someone who's very keen and runs all the Time like it would do everything I need But there are some features of more Expensive watches that might appeal to Others but yeah so that's the 4 and a 165 I think in this category the other Really really good kind of entry level Watch within the Brand's range that Doesn't have an Amed display but is a Triathlon watch has longer battery life It's the choros pace 3 a watch that I Think is one of the strongest candidates For me that I would buy if I was going To buy a running watch from scratch Again it's just a really good tiny Little lightweight watch really good Accurate tracking with dual band GPS in It which you don't get on the 4165 good
Battery life because it's got that Slightly duller memory and pixel display But in general just a pretty incredible Watch all around and one that I think We've all enjoyed testing it's fair to Say yeah I think you know of all the Watches we're probably going to talk About um this is probably one that I can Recommend to most people and I think you Know particularly if you are a runnner But also maybe you're doing other things Outside of running this is kind of it Really hits that sweet spot in terms of Price in terms of value in terms of Level of features I think in terms of The choros range as well it's one that Really kind of stands out you know and I Think it's the watch where I think a lot Of other kind more established watch Brands particularly will be looking at Because you know in terms of what you're Getting for how much you're paying for Those features things like dual Frequency GPS the fact that you're Getting some some navigation features Support there as well too at this price As well um and while it might not be the Kind of fully featured kind of Smartwatch that um you know you might See for a little bit more money and mayy From I think particularly from a from a Garment point of view I think it will Give enough for people particularly Getting a music player you're getting
Notifications know things I think will Be enough for most people to have a good Mix of a kind of running watch and a Smartwatch experience and I think Crucially living up to kind of that kind Of good bachy life that we kind of all Kind of have experienced with Kos Watches you know since it's kind of Entered this space yeah I mean I was Just going to say it's one of when you Look at what you get on As you move up The chain in choros you know most of That is here on the uh on the pace 3 Which is great you know you're you're Getting a fully featured watch and that One is definitely one that will grow With you I kind of think of this one as Sort of functional not fancy in terms of The way it's built it's a bit it is a Bit kind of plasticky the materials are Not that kind of Premium there're are Much s nicer looking watches on the Wrist the flip of that is that it's also Really nice and lightweight really easy To wear so if you're coming to it you're Not used to wearing a watch all the time To do all that 247 track and I think This is one of the easier ones to wear Outside of when you're not running as Well yeah it's uh it is a nice little Watch I like the kind of look and feel Of it but it is much more plasticky like You say than even the 4un 165 is all Plastic but it probably has a nice
Design it has better smart features in Terms of music and I think the corus Pace 3 is one that really appeals to Hardened Runners as well so even if you Are a beginner you know or a hardened Runner it's one that really appeals but It's probably one that if you don't Carry on running and doing a lot of Sport it's might not be a watch you wear So much whereas maybe the 165 has a bit More stickability as just a general Watch as well and that's definitely true Of the Third Watch we've talked about For beginners which is one that we Haven't really talked about in the Beginning category before but holds a Lot of op I think this is probably the One I see on the wrist of most new Runners I know these days which is the Apple watch the Apple Watch series 10 is The latest version and obviously here You're getting a smartwatch the Apple Watch which has a whole load of appeal Outside of your running it's much Smarter than sports watches with smart Features got a proper App Store really Easy music proper Apple wallet which is Very handy and now while I think the Native tracking is pretty good on the Apple watch what you're really getting That appeals to beginners here is access To the App Store and a whole load of Apps that will devise training plans Based on your kind of current Fitness
Your ability your background things like Runner Cooper I mean there are loads of These apps now that are really good and It just means they'll guide you through Your steps your first steps in the sport Whether you're training for a race or You know just running in general couch Tok another really good option so I Think that's what's really appeals to me About the Apple watch for beginners is That a you can wear it even if you stop Running almost immediately it's just an Apple Watch and B it's those apps I Think they really are really good idea For beginners would you say that yeah I Mean I think I think we'd probably all Agree in terms of offering a smartwatch Experience it's it's unrivaled I think And you look at from an Android point of View as well too no one's really got Close to what Apple kind of offers from That point of view and then you can see What it's offering from a I think from a From a native kind of running tracking Point of view I think it's getting Better and I think it's it is very kind Of intuitive to use but there's that There's that breadth of apps and Actually you know genuinely very good Quality running apps that really Elevates what you can do with the series I think what has really stood out for me Is that you know the big reason exists I Think and ultimately being a bigger
Watch is that we had the ultra to and I Think people liked having a bigger watch But ultimately what I think Apple's done With a series 10 is grown its kind of Series watch but not make it feel like a Bigger watch I don't think or as hulking Kind of big as the ultra and still Giving you that kind of bigger kind of You know screen estate ultimately um but Still kind of retaining that core you Know feeling experience of using an Apple Watch I think while it doesn't you Know lack things like kind of dual bound GPS which you know is obviously a key Differ from this and the ultra too I Think it still perform very well I think We've all kind of done tests where you Know in race environments and you know Other tests we've done in our review Which kind of shows it still kind of Holds up pretty well so the biggest Thing for me is a battery life but I Think ultimately if you if you can um You can deal with that can live with That kind of level of battery life that You're not getting over you know some Other kind of um dedicated sports Watches then I think there's a lot to Like here and as you said Nick it's you Know from a beginner point of view there It's a very easy watch to get on with It's the bank isn't it I mean this is The one that if you're not sure if You're going to become a full-time
Runner you could buy this one and know That it's going to do everything else That you need it to do as a smartwatch In your life it still has a life beyond Your own kind of running career if that All takes a nose dive I think also for To speak to the battery life aspect as Well like I'm I I'm it's one of the Things I fixate on a lot in terms of Sort of having long battery I hate Charging stuff the rapid charge on the Series 10 is actually it's so quick that You know you whack it on for 5 10 Minutes and it kind of fills the Gap so Even though if you if you don't do that This thing will run out quite quickly Over a day or whatever that it's very Easy to top up and alleviate a lot of That battery life anxiety and for the Majority of people who are just starting Out running you're not going to need a Watch that's going to take you into you Know hours and hours and hours in a Single stint so that is also covered and Yeah I think the what Apple I I guess One of the things they're quite we're Always you know as more I guess serious Runners rather than beginners we're Always a bit like why why haven't you Added this why haven't you added that Feature when's this coming and they're Actually quite good at just layering on Information when they've distilled it to A point where it's quite easy to
Understand and compute and not over Complicated and I think that also Appeals so a lot of their metrics that They add they do it thinking about People um who may not be that well Acquainted with them and I think that's A real positive from the Apple watch as Well as well as L SED and all the third Party apps that that make it kind of Really encouraging and enticing you know Really simple thing for a beginner might Even just be doing enough running to Close the apple rings every day and That's an addictive feature um those Motivational elements do it as well so I Think that's a real positive yeah it's Just a very good just Fitness tracker Like activity tracker let alone running I would say like I do think closing the Rings is one of the best activity Tracking things out there cheaper models In the Apple R you could look at like The Apple Watch series 9 doesn't have Quite as nice a design but has all the Same apps it's still a very good looking Watch similar on battery life accuracy Everything like that Apple watch se2 I've not tested but I think you do lose A little bit on heart rate accuracy for One so Apple series 10 is the one we' Picked out here other little negative For runners is you don't really get a Proper lap button but which is annoying Just why is it's often better to do kind
Of guided workouts from an app which Does the lap for you but yeah it's quite That that is something that does become Annoying at any level of running I'd say But um anyway last watch we're going to Pick out here which is probably the Cheapest one we can think of for Beginners that is still a really good Watch it's now quite old it's the G 455 Now this was the entry level 4un in Garmin's range they've not updated it For a while now still very reliable Small watch very good at tracking runs At a basic level does all the Information not even a basic level it Has loads of information on there you Can do workouts suggested workouts all That kind of stuff it's probably not Going to get a huge amount of updates Going forward from Garmin in terms of Software but all the software you need Is kind of already there and usually you Will see in sales well I'd say probably Mid mid 150 kind of maybe slightly below That if you get lucky it's not dropping As much as I was hoping it was be i' Looking out for it I was hoping it would Get near1 pound but hasn't yet but you It might do in time and that's just a Really good kind of budget option for Beginners I would say yeah I think so I Mean I think I tested this back in 2021 I think but I think you know I still Think it holds up now I mean obviously
We're getting to a point where G's Really rolling out the kind of amet into Its range and we haven't really had a Truly kind of budget version of what We're seeing in the other 4Runner Watches but I think in terms of say Giving you the basics has definitely Given you a lot more on the basics I Think the main things you're probably Missing out from the ones 65 AMOLED Aside probably some of the navigation Support you're getting a little bit more In terms of storage uh which you know is Going to give you a bit more room to to Have More in terms of software on there and Giving it that ability to be updated as Well too so you know if those things you Know don't massively concern you if You're happy with a pretty primitive Kind of Smartwatch experience which you Do get I think a generally very good one Here 55 and you know it's it's it's Definitely one that I absolutely still Recommend and there's not many watches That do sit at around that price range That I think you can say actually this Is a good watch to buy like I agree with All that I mean yeah it does it's again It's like no no thrills does all the Basics as you would want you know pretty Reliable GPS pretty reliable heart rate Not infallible on both those counts for Me when I tested it but does enough um
And there is enough in the package for That price that yeah it's one of those If you've got someone who's just Starting out running they're not going To be that disappointed if you if they Opened this up you know as a present it Would be you know it will keep them Going for that first sort of year 18 Months two years of running I think yeah It's a really solid watch one that You' Probably be looking out for in the sales Now if you are looking at buying a Running watch for someone this Christmas For example uh and like said we've call This beginner watches a lot of these Watches will appear in other videos in This series they're all great watches For runners full stop but we do think They've got a bit more appeal to Beginners so we flag them up here and That is it that is the first Roundup of This series uh look out for the next one Which I think is going to be best value Running watches nicely timed for the Endless barrage of sales we're all Suffering through right now um but yeah That's goodbye from me goodbye from me Didn't tell the guys going to do this so They they' panicked
