Garmin Forerunner 165: Runner's Gateway to Advanced Metrics

The Forerunner 165 Music: A Balanced Approach to Running Tech

The Forerunner 165 Music sits in the middle of Garmin's running watch lineup, both in size and design philosophy. It focuses on the essentials, offering a more refined experience than the entry-level Forerunner 55 but without the heavy feature set of the Forerunner 965. This makes it an ideal choice for runners who want more than a basic fitness tracker but don’t need every possible function.

The watch face is designed to be practical—large enough to display multiple data fields clearly during runs, yet compact enough for everyday wear. Its visibility is impressive, even under bright sunlight. One friend, known for being style-conscious, didn’t even notice the watch was on throughout the day. That’s high praise for comfort and discretion.

What's in the Box?

Garmin keeps the packaging simple, including the watch, a charging cable, and a basic booklet. The Forerunner 165 Music features five buttons that serve specific functions. The START button begins or stops an activity, while the BACK button acts as a lap timer or menu exit. The LIGHT button toggles the screen on and off, and a long press brings up shortcuts like a wallet for payments or a flashlight. The UP and DOWN buttons allow scrolling through menus, which can be more convenient than using the touchscreen in some situations.

As a first-time Garmin user, I found the setup process intuitive. The combination of physical buttons and a touchscreen provides a good balance between ease of use and functionality. While some users might initially resist the touchscreen, it significantly lowers the learning curve for newcomers. Physical buttons handle core functions like starting activities or navigating menus, while the touchscreen offers convenience for scrolling and selection.

Daily Life Usage

After unboxing the watch, a colleague helped me customize the watch faces and data options. This allows users to prioritize the metrics that matter most for their training. The "glances" feature provides quick access to essential stats like heart rate, weather, and upcoming workouts without diving into multiple menus.

I have my glances set up with running mileage and training status at the top, along with other useful data like weather, steps, sleep score, and heart rate. I’m not interested in body battery or naps, so those are disabled. The battery life is close to Garmin’s advertised 11-day claim, though it usually lasts around nine days before needing a charge. Charging takes less than two hours.

One thing to note is that the touchscreen can drain the battery faster if accidentally activated. Adjusting settings like screen timeout helps, but it requires intentional use. Otherwise, the watch is comfortable to wear all day, with an auto-brightness feature that adapts well to different lighting conditions.

While the lightweight design makes it easy to wear during sleep for recovery tracking, I found the sleep tracking feature less useful. On one particularly restless night, the watch failed to capture the full extent of my sleep loss, giving a "fair" score of 62/100 when I clearly had a poor night’s rest.

Taking It for a Run

This is where the Forerunner 165 Music truly shines. The customizable data fields are clear and easy to read during runs, allowing multiple metrics to be displayed without clutter. I especially appreciate the ability to create and follow structured workouts through the Garmin Connect app, which seamlessly sends them to the watch.

During interval sessions, I wasn’t as annoyed as expected by the progress indicators. After disabling some unnecessary notifications, the experience improved. Staying slow can be harder than going fast, and the watch buzzes when I deviate from my target pace. This helped me stay on track, even when the weather turned rainy and I was listening to ABBA.

The watch also allows you to keep running past a pre-set goal without losing data. After finishing a run, it asks how hard the workout was and how strong you felt. For post-run analytics, you can scroll through detailed breakdowns of your performance, including aerobic and anaerobic work, training benefits, and VO2max updates.

GPS Accuracy

GPS performance is crucial for runners, and the Forerunner 165 delivers reliable results. During testing in urban areas with tall buildings, the GPS tracking was consistent, typically within acceptable margins of error. Acquisition time is reasonable, locking onto satellites within 30-45 seconds. While there were occasional glitches, they didn’t significantly affect my mileage.

I compared the results with my phone’s GPS and found the Forerunner’s data more accurate. Another feature worth mentioning is the GPS navigation, which allows you to view a pre-loaded path, save locations, and find your way home. While I haven’t tested this extensively, it could be useful for runners who get lost.

Music Functionality

The "Music" feature is where the Forerunner 165 Music falls short. To use it, you must download playlists in advance, and only one playlist can be synced at a time. The process feels tedious, and the interface isn’t very intuitive. For runners who frequently change music preferences, this limitation becomes frustrating quickly.

The $50 premium over the standard Forerunner 165 is difficult to justify based solely on the music functionality. Most runners would be better served using their smartphones for music control and saving money for better headphones or other running gear.