GPS Running Watches / Garmin
Garmin Forerunner 170 (43mm)
Garmin's best cheap road-running AMOLED — but single-band GPS and no triathlon mode.
Overall score 6.8/10
Pros
- + Adds a barometer, gyroscope, wrist running power, Training Readiness and open-water swimming over the Forerunner 165 it replaces
- + Every training and recovery metric is free — Connect+ at $6.99/mo adds nothing a runner's plan depends on
- + Pairs with ANT+ and Bluetooth chest straps, so $60 of strap fixes the wrist sensor for intervals
- + 20 h of GPS-only battery covers a road marathon several times over
Cons
- − Single-band L1 GNSS only — in city streets or under canopy the trace drifts, and multiband costs $250 more (Forerunner 570)
- − No multisport/triathlon mode at all, so it cannot record a triathlon; DC Rainmaker flags this as the headline omission
- − No maps of any kind, and no turn-by-turn — breadcrumbs only
- − Music is a $50 upcharge: the base model has zero song storage and no Wi-Fi
- − The 10-day smartwatch claim drops to 4 days the moment you enable the always-on display
Garmin Forerunner 170 (43mm) review: what the specs say
Garmin's best cheap road-running AMOLED — but single-band GPS and no triathlon mode. At $299.99, Garmin's 2026 model sits among the cheapest we cover — the GPS Running Watches we compare run from $249 to $1,199.99. It scores 6.8/10 overall, calculated from published specifications across 8 categories rather than from a subjective impression.
Its strongest showing is Display at 8.4/10 — brightness, resolution and daylight readability, weighing AMOLED sharpness against MIP's always-on-for-free behaviour.. The weakest is Navigation & Maps at 2.5/10, which is the trade-off to weigh before buying: if that is the specification you care about most, one of the alternatives below will serve you better.
Worth knowing before you buy: single-band L1 GNSS only — in city streets or under canopy the trace drifts, and multiband costs $250 more (Forerunner 570); and no multisport/triathlon mode at all, so it cannot record a triathlon; DC Rainmaker flags this as the headline omission. Every specification on this page comes from Garmin's own documentation or a verified retail listing — where a figure is not published, the table says so rather than estimating it.
Specifications and price last verified . Report an error
Full Specifications
| Display | 1.2-in 390x390 AMOLED touchscreen, optional always-on |
| Smartwatch Battery | 10 days |
| Always-On Display Cost | 4 days with always-on display — the headline 10-day figure assumes the screen is off between glances |
| Battery, Single-Band GPS | 20 h |
| Battery, Multiband GPS | No multiband mode exists on this watch; all-systems (L1 only) runs 14 h h |
| GNSS Bands | Single-band L1 multi-GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS). No L5/dual-frequency — DC Rainmaker's hands-on and the garminrumors spec wiki both confirm this; the5krunner's spec page loosely calls it 'multi-frequency', which is wrong. Multiband starts at the Forerunner 570. |
| Onboard Maps | None. Breadcrumb course-following only — no TopoActive maps, no turn-by-turn, no ClimbPro. |
| Music Storage | Only on the $349.99 Forerunner 170 Music: 4 GB with offline Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer. The $299.99 base model reviewed here has no music storage and no Wi-Fi. |
| Training Platform & Subscription | Garmin Connect is free and every core training metric — Training Readiness, Training Load, Training Status, HRV Status, Body Battery, recovery time — is Firstbeat-derived and free on the watch (Garmin bought Firstbeat in 2020). Connect+ is $6.99/mo or $69.99/yr and adds only AI wellness prompts, 3D maps, Trails+ routing, extra badges and nutrition logging — nothing a training plan depends on. |
| External Sensor Support | Pairs with both ANT+ and Bluetooth chest straps, footpods and Stryd — the cheap fix for wrist-HR interval errors |
| Data Export | Full .FIT file access over USB/MTP plus free automatic sync to Strava, TrainingPeaks, Runalyze, intervals.icu and others through Garmin Connect. |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi (Music edition only), NFC (Garmin Pay) |
| Material | 43 mm fiber-reinforced polymer case, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens, 41 g with silicone band |
| Warranty | 12 months |
Compare Garmin Forerunner 170 (43mm) With
Cheaper Alternative
COROS PACE 4 (silicone band) — $249.00
Premium Alternative
Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro (48mm) — $399.99