Garmin Announces The Forerunner 25, A Jolly And Inexpensive Workout Watch

Smartwatch, schmartwatch – you gotta get you a Garmin! The new Forerunner 25 is a low-cost workout watch that comes in multiple jolly colors and can register your heart rate, speed, distance, and personal records. It also counts your steps and connects to your phone to pick up notifications on the run.

This Forerunner replaces the Forerunner 15 and is essentially Garmin’s entry-level sports watch. We’ve looked at a number of nice Garmin pieces over the years and I’ll have a review of the Forerunner 225 up soon.

The new watch is water-resistant to 50 meters and is thinner than the previous model. It registers your heart rate via a telemetry band you wear on your chest – not included in some packages – and registers pace via GPS.

While it won’t help you train for the Summer Olympics, this is a good couch-to-5K watch and is pretty sassy to boot. The bright colors and big face are evocative of a simpler time and, while it won’t look great with evening wear, it’s not much bigger than a standard quartz Ironman. The Forerunner 25 lasts 10 hours in training mode and 10 weeks in watch mode. I’d like to see your Apple Watch try that trick.