(pun intended)
I need to replace my Garmin Forerunner 745 that I lost over the weekend.
I’m budget conscious and don’t use most of the high-end features, so I was thinking of a 165 that just tracks Swim and run workouts since I have a bike computer
I also found the Wahoo Rival on-sale since they discontinued it ($150 thru amazon);
Any strong opinions from the forum on those watches or a better option for under $250?
The Wahoo is so bad they stopped making it. I have one, it is not good.
I got my Epix 2 for a nice discount at 500EUR, usually there is a bargain somewhere around on the web. Personally given how much I use the watch, I don’t think 300+ EUR is that bad if you use it for many years. If budget is the main point, why not go for a Coros? I was very happy with my Pace 2. Only downside is no bike computer and no zwift integration, at least not yet.
The Forerunner 965 is amazing and worth the money if you are a endurance tech nerd and have the funds. The Forerunner 265 series is also fantastic and does most of what the master does, less a few analytics and the screen.
We are in the post-inflation era, so everything is bigly expensive. $450 is a legit chunk of change for a 46 mm Forerunner 265, but that is a fully-capable watch that exceeds the abilities of the Forerunner 935/945/955 watches before it that were similar money.
If I was buying a new watch, it would be the Coros Pace 3 no questions. Just so much more value for the money than Garmin options.
I have the Forerunner 955. Pool water destroys the altimeter in about 4 months (if you swim 4-5 times per week). It starts telling you your six-mile run had 150,000 feet of elevation change. I guess Garmin hasn’t figured out how to fix the issue, so they send you a new one. I’m on my third in less than a year. I’d rather they just fix the problem.
If you’re budget conscious, let someone who loves burning their money absorb the ridiculous value - loss of buying new, and buy second hand, from someone trustworthy. Let them lose the $ 250 on a $ 500 watch simply bc they dared take it out of the box, once. Or even never.
Ask around & post on SM to your ride clubs, race groups, local buy & swap groups if trustworthy, etc. Ask friends & fam if they know any riders, etc.
[ Don’t ever buy a second hand digital device from someone you can’t trust. I’d casually make sure that they’d give me my $ back if an issue popped up in the fist month. If they’re not cool w that, pass. I’m not here to buy their out - of - warranty problems and fund their new replacement gear !! 
]
I have the Forerunner 735XT which cost $120 on sale, it’s been fine. But no longer available…
Coros 3 is what I’d get if buying now,
Same here - I use a 1030 on my bike and only use the watch for swim and run. I’ve had the VivoActive HR, 4, and now 5 and really like them. Use it for an everyday watch as it only needs charging once or twice a week. It has come on sale for $250 and I just saw where the VivoActive 6 was announced so perhaps the 5 will be on sale again. It has a lot of other sports features that I do not use. I do like the sleep and body battery metrics. YMMV
2nd the secondhand. A few stores specialize in and warranty them.
I’ve always bought my running watches second hand and have luckily never had an issue. Most people buy one, use it for a few months then decide they don’t actually like running. Their loss, our gain.
To put things into perspective: the most expensive Garmin wearables are close to $US4,000.
Pogaçar and MVDP win bike races while wearing $US250,000 timepieces that offer no sport metrics, etc.
So while $US400 might seem like a lot for a wearable, the value is high given the relatively modest cost.
Buy the watch you want to keep for years (same advice as buying a bike).
Also, IMO: stay away from the Wahoo Rival.
Vote 2 for the Coros Pace 3. It’s a great watch.
I had the coros 2. The altimeter design/placement has some issue. After a while it stops working. In a two year span I had to replace the watch 3 times. Then it was out of warrant. For me the HR sensor was no where close to accurate.
They did add a lot of features, but then the memory of the device was limited to accept any newer features.
I purchased a Garmin FR255 during black friday. Very happy with it. For me the HR tracks exactly as a chest strap. It also provides HRV and other features which were not available with the Coros Pace 2.
Bottom line: coros is probably good for its price, but Garmin customer service is unmatched in my experience and probably worth the extra $$$ up front.
When my 735xt packed up (pool swimming), I went with a Coros pace 2 for price (745xt was more than I was prepared to pay). The altimeter on this also packed up and the optical HR was awful above zone 2. Missing the better functionality of Garmin Connect I got the 255 which is a pretty good price and offers everything you need for triathlon. Guess what the altimeter has packed up. Still in warranty but really can’t be bothered to send it back for it to happen again and wait two to three weeks every time for the hrv data.
The Coros really seems like a good choice, but anyone in the US who wants one should probably get it right now, while there’s a lull in the tariffs and there are still units at domestic outlets.
Coros Pace3 or Pace Pro. get it and be done
That’s not the reason they stopped making it… and It’s not the BEST watch but it works just fine.
Are you running pool temp?
That’s what kills the altimeter sensor. 955 should be off by default
My Patek Phillipe Grand Complication has been going strong. It stopped intermittently after an open water swim but the tourbillion has kept semi accurate time, accounting for the road bike and running vibrations. Moon phases too!
Huge /s, but i halfway see the point of a beautifully handcrafted mechanical timepiece selling for (hundreds of) thousands. But for a small computer in a CNC’d shell that only saw a human hand to put in into a retail shelf? Why not a Garmin 35 for $100?