UKC

At the moment, I've got an old Garmin Forerunner 25 running watch, which is fine for most of what I do, but doesn't seem to have the stopwatch capabilities I really like on my Timex Ironman one that I use for swimming - the Timex is so old that the calendar can't be set past about 2018 and I don't think the GPS function on that actually works any more!

So, I'm considering a new sports watch for my birthday this year and a bit baffled by options.

Obviously, I want to be able to use it for running, potentially cycling (although I mainly use Strava on my phone for that) and swimming (mainly indoor, so easy lap counter - not going anywhere near UK waters at the moment!). MP3 player might be handy, although when running, I tend to carry a mini MP3 player in my hand, so I can easily change tracks if it doesn't suit the mood.

Not sure whether to go for Garmin again, or look at Suuto/something else.

Any hints appreciated - I'm not in a hurry, birthday not until the summer.

Thanks,

Im after another one too ,ive got my eye on the garmin forerunner 255 fits my price bracket and pretty much what im lookong for.

I have a garmin 7s solar, it does everything i need it to.  Swimming (indoor and outdoor), biking, running etc.

Really works for me, but isn't cheap

Nice,but as you say very expensive.

Garmin Instinct?

Hasn't got music but a good value solid watch nonetheless. 

Yeah.  Original solar is a great model.  Unbelievable battery life and (very) basic mapping function.

I’ve just got a Garmin 955 and it’s excellent. Does pretty much everything the the Fenix 7 does for 2/3 of the price. I had an instinct, and was thinking about upgrading to an instinct 2, but the extra to a 955 was only an $100 CAD.  Having said that you can get everything the 955 has in the 255 apart from maps and music (music edition available) for a lot less. 

By the way, there’s rumours of a 965/935 so wait to see and this might and depress the prices of the 955 / 925. Garmin are also good at supporting older models with firmware, etc. for a lot of years. 

Did you mean rumours of new 965/265 to replace 955/255 ?
There's never been a 925, and the 935 is an old, old model

Look out for some of the older models - Fenix 5 and 6 are still great tech and much, much cheaper than a 7. With the benefit (IMO) of not having a touch screen or a gimmicky solar charger. Have music and will work on your bike - although if you are going to drop  500 on a fenix, I'd actually suggest buying two devices - a forerunner for running/daily, and a proper bike computer for the bike.

I've been happy with my Coros Pace. It's mostly intended for running, I think, but has cycling and swimming modes, as well as a few others. Possibly doesn't have the array of menus that plusher, pricier watches might, but it's light, small and simple, and the battery seems to last a good long time

I've not used it for swimming, but I like my Coros Pace 2 for running. The battery life is very good and it wasn't too expensive (though they seem to have gone up in price since I bought mine).

I won't have a other Suunto. Good watch, woeful support.

One of the reasons for looking is that my Foreruner 25 will no longer connect to my laptop, even though the app keeps saying there's a new firmware version available.

Unless I can find a laptop/VM running a much earlier version of Windows to run the update that then makes it compatible with current versions of Windows. Known issue with some older models and very frustrating - best Garmin could offer as support was a small discount on a replacement watch! I can only download data through the app on my phone via Bluetooth.

Fully agree. Suunto, never again. 

I'm running a Garmin Enduro right now which I love. 

OP: basically, find a Garmin deal!