It’s about to be the holiday shopping season, and that means Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) deals.
If you’ve been holding off on getting a new Garmin, now might be a good time to pull the trigger. Or, if you’re doing Christmas shopping for the runner in your life, now’s the time to buy something to put under the tree.
But not all “deals” are created equally. Sometimes, websites just slap “Black Friday Sale” on something – and then sell it for the same “discounted” price they’ve been doing all year.
So I took a look through what Amazon has on offer, and I identified some of the better deals this holiday season. Probably the best deal you’ll find is the fenix 7 Pro Solar – but keep reading below to see what else you can snag for (relatively) cheap. Here are the latest deals for 2024.
Sales on Garmin Forerunners
The Garmin Forerunner is the signature “runners” watch. It’s their most popular brand, and it’s on the lower end of the price range.
The entry level Forerunner – the Garmin Forerunner 55 – is marked down from $199.99 to $149.99. In the past, I’ve seen it going for as low as $169.99, but the current sale is an additional $20 (~10%) off the sticker price. It’s also the cheapest option you’ll find from the current line of Forerunners.
The next model, the Garmin Forerunner 165, is marked down from $249.99 to $199.99. This is a newer model than the Forerunner 55, and it comes with the flashy AMOLED screen. I’ve only recently begun to see it marked down to ~$225 at times, and it’s rare to find it this cheap.
Here’s a comparison of the Garmin Forerunner 55 vs 165 if you’re unsure of which one to buy.
Finally, the mid-tier option – the Garmin Forerunner 265 – is marked down from $449.99 to $349.99. Like the 165, this is one of the newer versions with the shiny AMOLED screen. It still typically goes for full retail, and I’ve occasionally seen it as low as $400 or so. I personally thought the $450 price point was way too high for this watch, but the $350 sale price makes it much more appealing.
You’ll also see “deals” for the Garmin Forerunner 255, Forerunner 955, and Forerunner 965. But the “sale” prices are similar to what they’ve been going for recently.
The Forerunner 255 in particular has been marked down for a while, since the release of the 265. But it’s still a great mid-tier watch. If you want all of the features of the 265 but you don’t care about the AMOLED screen, you can get it for under $300.
Here’s a comparison of the Garmin Forerunner 255 and 265 if you’re unsure of which one to buy.
Deals on Garmin fenix and epix Watches
This summer, Garmin released the latest version of in the fenix line and it ended (for now) the epix line. But the older fenix 7 and epix Pro (Gen 2) watches are still great options.
Now, those older watches are also getting additional deep discounts – making them look even more appealing.
The fenix 7 Pro solar is going for $549.99. There are lots of options, and you can pay a little more for either the Sapphire glass or the larger size. But in any case, it’s $250 to $300 off the retail price. This is a lot cheaper than what I paid for my fenix 7S Pro Solar last summer – and I bought mine at a discount then.
Check out this comparison of the fenix 7 Pro and the fenix 8. There’s very little difference between the 7 and the 8 in terms of features, unless you’re into scuba diving. But the price difference right now is huge. This is a great time to upgrade to the fenix if you’ve been on the fence.
The other option is the epix Pro (Gen 2), which is going for $649.99. This is basically the fenix, but with an AMOLED screen instead of a MIP screen. With the fenix 8, they introduced a fenix with an AMOLED screen and depracated the epix line.
But again, the fenix 8 AMOLED is going for $1000+, and you can get a very similar watch with the epix Pro (Gen 2) for much less. So if you’ve got an old Forerunner or something and you’ve been thinking about upgrading, now’s the time. Pick the epix if you want the AMOLED screen.
These two – especially the fenix – are probably the best deals that I’ve seen.
Deals on Other Garmin Watches
Then there are a few other deals worth looking at.
The Garmin Instinct 2 is marked down from $299.99 to $199.99. I’ve seen it around $250 before, but this is cheaper than usual.
The Instinct is a less popular choice, but it can be a good option for an entry level running watch. It has a few less bells and whistles than some of the higher end Forerunners, but it’s better in some cases than the entry level Forerunner 55. Check out a comparison here.
There are also other versions of the Instinct that are slightly more expensive.
And then there’s the Garmin Venu 3, which is marked down from $449.99 to $349.99. This is another newer watch that rarely gets marked down, so if you really like the Venu 3, now is the time.
This watch is similar in a lot of ways to the Forerunner 265. But it’s missing a couple running features, and in exchange it gets a microphone and access to both voice calls and your phone’s voice assistant.
Check out this comparison of the Venu 3 and the Forerunner 265.
Finally, there’s the Garmin Descent G1, marked down from $549.99 to $449.99. The Descent is a running watch and a dive computer, so it’s a bit of a niche thing for people who are both runners and divers. The fenix 8 has a lot of the same dive features, but the Descent is a cheaper option – and with the discount, it gets a little cheaper.
Happy Holidays and Merry Miles!
There are a couple great deals out there, so I hope you found a new watch to bring home!
I’m still happy with my fenix 7S Pro Solar, but if I hadn’t upgraded last summer I would definitely be getting one of them now.
Enjoy the holiday season – and keep on running!