The List Of All Garmin Watches Having A Triathlon Mode
The first time Anna and I bought a triathlon watch, we had never heard about the triathlon mode before. I got it by chance on mine, and Anna didn’t have it on hers. After doing dozens of triathlons, this mode became a must-have feature for both of us.
The triathlon mode allows you to record your swim, bike, and run into a single activity. It lets you focus on your race and not worry about starting and saving each activity separately.
Unfortunately, not every sports watch has this feature. I hope this article for the Garmin watches will help you.
Disclaimer: The Triathlon Tips of My Tri World are reader-supported. When you buy through links, I may earn an affiliate commission.
Here are the current Garmin models, which include the triathlon mode:
If you are looking at previous models, those watches also have this triathlon mode included:
- Forerunner 735XT
- Forerunner 920XT
- Forerunner 935, 945
- The Fenix 5 series, 5 Plus series, 6 series, Chronos
In case I missed one, drop me an email at [email protected]
WHAT ELSE SHOULD I LOOK FOR?
Apart from price and esthetic, four features differentiate the Garmin watches: battery life, music, navigation, and size.
BATTERY LIFE
Battery life used to be my second buying criterion. Apart from the triathletes racing full-distance triathlon, I would not be too concerned for the Garmin watches. All current Garmin models that I listed have a stated battery life of 11 hours or more. In reality, it might be a couple of hours less than that, but it still gives you plenty of time to finish your race.
MUSIC
Some of the triathlon watches will come with internal music storage, others can start and stop the music (you still need a phone), and on some others, you won’t have anything related to music.
NAVIGATION
If you are interested in a navigation feature, really check the detail of it. It can either be a full detailed map on your watch or a simple line without any map, which is way less helpful for guidance.
Garmin 945
SIZE
Garmin watches can sometimes be bulky if you have a small wrist. Mine is relatively small for a man (wrist size 6.10 in or 15.5 cm), so it limits my choice quite drastically 🙂
I am pleased with the size of the Fenix 7S, but that’s quite the maximum I can wear.
MY TRIATHLON WATCH RECOMMENDATION
You cannot go wrong with those two watches:
- Garmin forerunner 745 (Amazon affiliate link) for triathletes racing up to half-distance triathlons. It has all the features you really need and internal music storage. My wife has the previous version (735 XT without music), and she loves it.
- Garmin fenix 7 (Amazon affiliate link) for triathletes racing full-distance events or who want navigation guidance. I upgraded to this watch (7S) for the possibility of using either the buttons or the touchscreen, which is especially helpful when browsing the map.
FIND YOUR GARMIN WATCH
You can use the filters below to narrow your search or sort the watches by clicking on a column header. The battery life is the manufacturer’s stated life using GPS (in hours).