Mega Garmin Memorial Day sale is live — 5 deals on sports watches I'd shop now
Garmin has long made a habit of offering big discounts in its spring sale, but this year might be the best array of deals yet, with some of the newest and best Garmin watches being heavily reduced.
Ahead of Memorial Day you can save big on the all-conquering Garmin Fenix 8, which is substantially-reduced for the first time since it launched in August last year, or pick up more affordable devices like the Garmin Forerunner 265 and Venu 3 at their lowest ever prices.
I've tested most of the Garmin watches launched in the past five years and have scoured the sale for what I think are the five best deals to consider in the sales, whether you need a rugged adventure watch or a sleek smartwatch.
The new Garmin Forerunner 570 now supersedes the Forerunner 265 in the Garmin range and has a bigger, brighter screen plus a mic and speaker, but the Forerunner 265 is $200 cheaper thanks to this deal and matches the Forerunner 570 well on sports tracking features. I ran a half marathon wearing both the 570 and 265 recently, and there's still a lot to like about the Forerunner 265 as a lightweight, attractive AMOLED sports watch.
This discount on the Garmin Venu 3 equals the lowest price it's ever gone for, with both the standard Venu 3 and smaller Venu 3S reduced by $100 at multiple retailers. It's a sleek AMOLED smartwatch with features like NFC payments and music storage on top of Garmin's reliably excellent sports tracking.
This is the first time the Garmin Instinct 3 has been widely-discounted, and all the watches in the range are reduced by $50. My pick would be the Instinct 3 AMOLED thanks to its bright screen, but if you value battery life above all then opting for the Instinct 3 Solar is the better call since it can last indefinitely on a charge in sunny conditions.
The Garmin Forerunner 970 has just launched, meaning now's the time to look for discounts on its predecessor the Garmin Forerunner 965, and this $100 saving doesn't disappoint. The Forerunner 965 is an incredible AMOLED sports watch with offline maps and a wealth of sports tracking and training analysis features all packed into a lightweight design. The Forerunner 970 has a brighter screen and some new features like a built-in flashlight, but will set you back $749 right now.
The Fenix 8 is the top dog in Garmin's smartwatch range, and a watch I've used to run two marathons this year myself. The Garmin Fenix 8 only came out last August so to see the entire range reduced by $200 is remarkable. I've used the Fenix 8 47mm and Fenix 8 51mm watches myself, and prefer the smaller watch for comfort, but you do get a lot more battery life by opting for a 51mm device. I prefer the AMOLED screen, but the Garmin Fenix 8 Solar is also reduced and offers incredible battery life.
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