Garmin Forerunner 165 : Scientific Review (My Top Garmin!)

🟡 Twitter: @QuantifiedRob
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Reference devices:

Intro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
License code: OBLD6VBBCTRDFZQP

Timestamps:
00:00 Quick Intro
00:51 Small Complaints
02:11 Heart Rate Test 1 : Indoor Cycling
07:12 Heart Rate Test 2 : Running
10:15 Heart Rate Test 3 : Outdoor Cycling
13:17 Heart Rate Test 4 : Weight Lifting
16:10 Sleep Test
21:08 Sleep Test : Comparison w/ Other Watches
23:36 GPS Test
26:44 Limitations, Recommendations & Conclusions

The Forerunner 165 provides some of the best balance between price and performance in the Garmin line-up, and in this video I am going to use a bunch of data to show you why I think that is, and why it is the Garmin I would likely choose to buy for myself. Still this watch is far from perfect, and there are a few choices Garmin made that I am not completely happy with. In this video we will test the heart rate tracking performance of the forerunner 165 during 4 different types of workouts, we will also compare the sleep stage tracking against an EEG headband that can actually measure my brainwaves, and finally we will take a look at the GPS tracking performance. And, as I said, all of this will be based on actual data analysis, let’s get to it.

Hello everyone, for those of you that are new to the channel, my name is Rob and I am a postdoctoral scientist specializing in biological data analysis. Now, I don’t want to go into the specs of this watch too much, since the focus in my reviews is on actual independent testing of devices. But, there is one thing that bugs me a bit about some Garmin watches, and that includes the Forerunner 165. For some reason, Garmin tends to exclude certain sports profiles and sensor connections from their lower to medium tier watches, and that's also what they did for this watch. So, certain types of sports will not be available on the Forerunner 165, and also certain external sensors, like power meters or Smart Trainers, can not be connected, but this is only possible on the more expensive watches. And I suspect much of this is not really a technical limitation, but just a choice they make to differentiate their watches. Especially for the sports profiles, I imagine it would just be a matter of porting over the firmware from another watch, and it would work fine. So, they are quite likely limiting these watches intentionally. Maybe I am wrong, and the hardware somehow limits these more “low end” watches, like this Forerunner 165, but I suspect it is just a firmware choice. That being said, those relatively small differences would not make me want to pay almost double for for instance the Forerunner 265, and I would still go for this 165 instead. If you want a more detailed comparison, Ray from DC Rainmaker made a nice video about this.

[TheQuantifiedScientist]

🔵 Newsletter: www.robterhorst.com
🟡 Twitter: @QuantifiedRob
* Affiliate (paid) links support the channel by earning me a commission on any sale, and it doesn't cost you any more! My opinions are completely my own, and this content is not sponsored.
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[Darius]

I just want to say please don't stop reviewing Huawei watches, because there are only a few quality reviews about them because of the US ban. I bought the GT4 because of you and it's top quality. Also maybe you could start doing general reviews of watches with specs and overall feature, not only the scientific sports part, because you really are a good reviewer and you would be a top channel for this.

[joecarm]

I've already had the watch for 2 weeks and I love it, but I'm even happier after watching this haha

[shawnspring]

Any chance you'll review the OnePlus Watch 2? Great video as usual Rob!

[frankniethardt]

0:55 you are absolutely right. If you sync the data to runalyze you can actually see what is hidden in the FIT file. As an example the Vivoactive 4 does not have Training effect or recovery time. But in runalyze both data is present. Garmin just chooses to hide it from the user to sell their more expensive watches...

[qwertyCandy]

Thanks to your reviews I got a Pixel Watch 2 and couldn't be happier with it 😍
Your videos are really invaluable.

[excelespinoza]

I’m thinking on buying this watch tomorrow. What a timely upload.

[ucs]

I requested this last week only! Thanks Rob❤❤❤

[ogarriotejada]

I have the Huawei Fit 2 and purchased the new 165. I use them at the same time and they are quite similar in terms of GPS. When I sleep the 165 is better for me since Huawei accumulates my naps with my sleep. With heart rate monitoring they generally have a difference of 2-3 beat, nothing significant. The garmin plataform is excellent as well as its amoled screen, the Huawei price es pretty good as well as its battery life.

[harveyscottz]

Hey Rob!
Please review the latest Huawei Band 9.
You're the greatest in Smartwatch review on YT!

[Sonstwer]

Hi, thanks to your many scientific reviews. I was wondering if you could (maybe in future) add the software version of the watches you were testing. Sometimes software updates can make things better or worse and it would be beneficial for comparison purposes. Thanks for your many great videos.
Also I noticed that many devices have a bad GPS signal near the Ö1 Funkhaus. I wonder if that's got to do with the radio equipment in and on this building

[Elias.H]

cool video! can you review the new galaxy fit 3?

[henrik]

you're the best, comment to get that algo going

[nguyenhieu]

can you do the test with Forerunner 265? Love your video so much, thanks.

[bulltivation]

I'm looking for watch as light runner (5km daily), listening music while running and being able to pay without taking my phone or wallet, so fr165 music is my watch! Thanks for the review ❤

[lucyducyjelly]

Can you make a rewiew about the galaxy fit 3? I bought the fit 3 two days ago, and im happy so far :)

[rscle]

This video helped my wife who runs marathons, half marathons & 5k's often decide on picking this over her current Amazfit GTS4. This looks to track here wayyyy better at an affordable level. I also realized in watching maybe 5-10 of your videos you must be in great cardio shape w/ all the cycling, biking, running to get these tests done hahaha. Great job on the videos.

[eingast]

Imho you judge all these watches by primarily the heartrate accuracy (on your wrist). Display visibility, weight, wearing comfort, durability, software support and all that stuff that contributes to the all day user experience falls kind of short.

[DK-cdun]

Hi Rob! I've noticed that the Withings watches now have many more updated features, any chance you would test them in the near future? Especially Withings ScanWatch2 :)

[kingpin_davis]

When is the galaxy Fit 3 review coming by ?