Overview The Garmin Forerunner 25 is an entry-level GPS designed for runners looking to track their runs and daily activity. The Forerunner 25 is easy to use straight out of the box, but offers customizations for intermediate users. In my G...
The Garmin Forerunner 25 is an entry-level GPS designed for runners looking to track their runs and daily activity. The Forerunner 25 is easy to use straight out of the box, but offers customizations for intermediate users. In my Garmin Forerunner 25 GPS Review, I only needed to charge the battery twice in three weeks. I found the Forerunner 25 to be extremely comfortable throughout the day, whether I was working, fishing or running. The display is easy to read and offers a backlight to help during twilight runs.
The Forerunner 25 does lack some advanced features such as VO2 max estimate and real-time cadence tracking. Many runners will never use these features, but this may drive some advanced runners to purchase a more expensive model.
The Forerunner 25 can be paired with a bluetooth enabled smartphone and an optional heart rate monitor. Optional notifications display text messages on your wrist so you can decide if they are vital or if they can wait. In my test, I found this feature did not consistently work when paired with the heart rate monitor. The heart rate monitor stayed connected, but the Forerunner 25 did not consistently stay connected to my iPhone 5s. This may be important to some runners. I have not tested this with other devices.
The Forerunner 25 can be paired with a chest strap heart rate monitor (sold separately or bundled), which I highly recommend for overweight runners. As an overweight runner on the wrong side of 30, I find this extremely valuable to make sure I don't overdo it. The chest strap is comfortable and mostly invisible under my shirt. The heart rate strap is not specific to the Forerunner 25, so you can continue to use it years down the road if you decide to upgrade.
Live Track is a very cool feature that allows you to share your run on a map with friends and family in real-time. Not only is this a great safety feature, but it gives me a little extra motivation if I know others are watching. As an added bonus, you could hypothetically require your teenager to enable Live Track when he or she goes out, though I have not yet tested this functionality.
The Forerunner 25 comes with the Garmin Connect app which displays tons of data including daily steps, time splits, distance, heart rate and elevation. Garmin Connect even tracks my best runs and allows me to share my success with my friends. Garmin Connect also tracks other activities such as swimming, biking and even sleeping, though I have not tested these features. The only drawback is that the Forerunner 25 did not consistently sync when connected to the heart rate monitor, but overall I am very happy with the app.
The Garmin Forerunner 25 is an excellent entry-level GPS for beginning and intermediate runners looking for an easy way to track their distance, time and calories. I recommend bundling with the optional heart rate monitor to give you a clear picture of how hard your heart is working. Most of all, I appreciate the Forerunner 25's ease of use: I can simply press the run button and go. Advanced runners may find the Forerunner 25 lacking due to its absence of high-end features such as VO2 max estimate and real-time cadence tracking, but many runners will never use these.
If you are looking for an affordable, entry-level GPS, you cannot go wrong with the Garmin Forerunner 25.
Dustin Gustafson is an Independent Team Beachbody Coach.
