Garmin Descent G1 Solar vs Garmin Forerunner 165
🗓️ Release Year
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: 2022
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: 2024
🏃 Activity
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: The Garmin Descent G1 Solar is a robust dive computer and outdoor GPS smartwatch designed for recreational divers and active individuals, built for durability and extended operational time through solar charging. It accurately tracks dive-specific metrics, alongside comprehensive tracking for steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes. Its activity profiles cater to both underwater and topside sports, offering reliable data for prolonged training and exploration in various environments.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Garmin Forerunner 165 is an accessible GPS running watch designed for new and casual runners, offering essential activity tracking. It precisely records steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes, with a strong focus on core running metrics like pace, distance, and cadence using built-in GPS. It provides valuable data for monitoring and improving running performance.
❤️ Health Monitoring
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: This device provides continuous wrist-based heart rate monitoring, stress tracking, and detailed sleep analysis for insights into daily well-being and recovery. The integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for blood oxygen saturation monitoring, useful for assessing acclimatization at altitude and contributing to dive planning and safety, with sustained monitoring capabilities thanks to solar power input.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: This device provides continuous wrist-based heart rate monitoring, stress tracking, and sleep tracking for insights into daily well-being and recovery. It includes Pulse Ox for blood oxygen saturation monitoring, contributing to a more complete picture of overall health alongside its running features.
🔋 Battery Life
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: A key highlight of the Descent G1 Solar is its exceptional battery life, significantly extended by solar charging. It provides up to 25 hours in dive mode and up to 14 days in smartwatch mode, with the potential for even longer durations in smartwatch mode with sufficient solar exposure, making it an ideal companion for multi-day diving trips and expeditions where charging is limited.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 offers practical battery life for runners, providing up to 11 days in smartwatch mode and up to 19 hours with continuous GPS tracking. This ensures sufficient power for regular runs and daily wear without constant recharging.
😴 Sleep Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: Sleep tracking on the Descent G1 Solar monitors sleep stages and provides valuable insights into sleep quality, contributing to a better understanding of recovery essential for both athletic performance and dive readiness. Consistent tracking is supported by the device's battery management and solar capabilities.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: Detailed sleep tracking on the Forerunner 165 monitors sleep stages and provides insights into sleep quality and patterns, helping users understand their recovery for optimal training and daily performance.
📍 GPS Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: Equipped with built-in GPS, the Descent G1 Solar provides accurate outdoor activity tracking and basic mapping capabilities on the surface. This GPS functionality is also integrated into dive logging for recording entry and exit points, enhancing the utility for documenting dive locations during extended outdoor excursions.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: Equipped with built-in GPS, the Forerunner 165 provides accurate outdoor activity tracking for running, walking, and cycling without needing a paired smartphone. It delivers reliable pace, distance, and route data essential for runners.
🏋️ Workout Modes
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: The Descent G1 Solar supports a variety of multisport and individual workout modes, including dedicated profiles for diving (single-gas, multi-gas, freediving), swimming, running, biking, hiking, and strength training, providing relevant metrics for each activity, with the battery capacity to track even long sessions facilitated by solar charging.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: While primarily a running watch, the Forerunner 165 supports additional activity profiles including cycling, pool swimming, HIIT, and cardio, providing relevant metrics for these exercises alongside its core running features.
💫 Exercise Recognition
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: The device includes automatic exercise detection for common activities such as swimming, running, and cycling through its Move IQ feature, ensuring these basic movements are captured in your activity log alongside detailed dive data, contributing to seamless tracking over extended periods.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The device includes automatic exercise detection for common activities such as walking and running through its Move IQ feature, ensuring these basic movements are captured in your activity log seamlessly.
🍎 Compatibility
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: The Descent G1 Solar is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth for seamless data synchronization, dive log management, and smart notifications, ensuring connectivity is maintained even during prolonged periods in the outdoors.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth for seamless data synchronization and smart notifications.
📲 App Support
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: Synchronization with the comprehensive Garmin Connect app is central for topside activity and health tracking, while the Garmin Dive app is specifically designed for detailed dive log management, analysis, and sharing, providing a complete ecosystem for both fitness and diving data, leveraging the extended operational time provided by solar charging.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: Synchronization with the comprehensive Garmin Connect app is central to the Forerunner 165 experience, providing detailed analysis of running data, activity metrics, health statistics, and sleep insights. The app allows for setting goals, reviewing training history, and connecting with the Garmin community.
💡 Smart Features
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: Beyond its primary focus on diving and sports, the Descent G1 Solar includes practical smart functionalities such as on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and calendar alerts. It also features essential utilities like a compass, barometric altimeter, and thermometer, valuable for outdoor navigation and environmental awareness, all powered for the long haul by solar charging.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: Beyond its running focus, the Forerunner 165 includes essential smart functionalities such as on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and calendar alerts. It also supports Garmin Pay for contactless payments (on the Music version, if applicable, but the data for 167 is just Forerunner 165, so sticking to basics) and allows for controlling music on a paired smartphone.
💦 Water Resistance
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: With a robust water resistance rating to 100 meters (10 ATM) and built-in dive computer functionality, the Descent G1 Solar is specifically designed for scuba diving, freediving, and other underwater activities, providing essential dive data and safety features for recreational use.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: With a water resistance rating of 50 meters (5 ATM), the Forerunner 165 is suitable for swimming and showering, making it a durable companion for triathletes and those who incorporate swimming into their fitness routine.
⌚ Display Quality
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: The Descent G1 Solar features a sunlight-readable, monochrome display with good contrast, optimized for visibility in various lighting conditions, including underwater and bright sunlight. This display integrates the solar charging lens while providing clear and easy-to-read data.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 features a sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) color display, offering good readability in various lighting conditions, especially bright sunlight, which is ideal for outdoor running. The display technology is also power-efficient.
👌 Ease of Use
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: The device utilizes a user-friendly interface with a combination of buttons, designed for easy navigation and access to features both on land and underwater, prioritizing reliable operation in challenging conditions over touchscreen complexity, suitable for outdoor and dive use.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The device utilizes a five-button interface, which is reliable and easy to operate during runs or workouts. The user interface is designed for straightforward navigation and quick access to running data and essential features.
✨ Design and Comfort
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: The Descent G1 Solar features a rugged and durable design built for the demands of outdoor activities and diving, incorporating a solar charging lens. It maintains a comfortable fit for all-day wear and dives, balancing robust construction with practical wearability and extended utility.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 features a lightweight and comfortable design with a soft silicone band, making it ideal for extended wear during training sessions and everyday activities, prioritizing a secure and comfortable fit for runners.
🩸 SpO2 Monitoring
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: An integrated Pulse Ox sensor is a key feature, allowing for monitoring blood oxygen saturation levels during sleep and at altitude, providing crucial data for assessing physiological status and contributing to dive safety considerations, with continuous monitoring supported by the extended battery life.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: An integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for monitoring blood oxygen saturation levels during sleep and spot-checks, providing valuable data related to acclimatization and overall physiological well-being, complementing its health tracking suite.
💖 ECG Functionality
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: It is important to note that the Garmin Descent G1 Solar does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: It is important to note that the Garmin Forerunner 165 does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.
🧘 Stress Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: The Descent G1 Solar tracks stress levels throughout the day based on heart rate variability and offers guided breathing exercises to help users manage stress, contributing to overall well-being and focus, important for both athletic and diving performance.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Forerunner 165 tracks stress levels throughout the day based on heart rate variability and offers guided breathing exercises to help users manage stress and promote overall well-being.
🩹 Recovery Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: The Body Battery energy monitoring feature provides insights into the body's energy reserves based on activity, stress, and sleep data, helping users understand their physiological readiness for training or the need for rest. This is a key feature for optimizing recovery, essential for demanding sports and diving activities, with reliable data available due to the device's battery performance.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: The Body Battery energy monitoring feature provides insights into the body's energy reserves based on activity, stress, and sleep data, helping users understand their physiological readiness for training or the need for rest, contributing to optimized recovery for runners.
💳 Subscription
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: A significant benefit of the Garmin platform is that all core features and data tracked by the Descent G1 Solar, including its dive computer functionalities and access to the Garmin Connect and Garmin Dive apps, are available without an additional subscription fee, providing comprehensive and enduring value for a rugged, outdoor-focused dive smartwatch with solar-enhanced battery life.
2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: A significant benefit of the Garmin platform is that all core features and data tracked by the Forerunner 165 are accessible through the free Garmin Connect app, requiring no additional subscription fees for essential running metrics, activity tracking, or health insights, providing comprehensive value for an entry-level running watch.
🏷️️ Price
1️⃣ Garmin Descent G1 Solar: $899.99
Check Garmin Descent G1 Solar Price *2️⃣ Garmin Forerunner 165: $349.00
Check Garmin Forerunner 165 Price ** If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you