Garmin Forerunner 170 vs Oura Ring 5
Our pick: Oura Ring 5 takes it — 86 vs 85.
Both are strong — the call comes down to what you prioritise:
- Garmin Forerunner 170 — You coach runners or endurance clients and want Garmin's readiness and load metrics on a first 'real' training watch, without the €500 tier.
- Oura Ring 5 — You program around recovery and sleep and want the most accurate, most discreet wearable there is — now so small clients won't clock it.
Garmin Forerunner 170
A software-led upgrade on the 165: Training Readiness, Training Status, running power and dynamics and Garmin Pay arrive at the entry price, on the same AMOLED and sensor. Street prices have settled near where the 165 was, but battery is a touch shorter and GPS is still single-band.
Oura Ring 5
The world's smallest smart ring — about 40% slimmer than before, sharper multi-wavelength sensors, and Health Radar. Best-in-class recovery and sleep data stays the pitch; the €429 price and €70/yr subscription stay the catch.
Compare side-by-side
| Garmin Forerunner 17085Scorefrom€250.56Review → | Oura Ring 586Scorefrom€393.90Review → | |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | — | — |
| Battery life | — | — |
| Screen | — | — |
| Sleep tracking | — | — |
| Recovery / HRV | — | — |
| Subscription | — | — |
| Water resistance | — | — |
Prices are our researched reference points.
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