Garmin - Forerunner 245 Music
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Jan 3, 2026 Scoring
Liked most:
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45
"Oh, and the battery lasts days even when exercising a lot (weeks without excercise)."
"Battery lasts me about a week?"
"my battery lasts about a week while using the oxymeter all the time as well as using it for tracking my workouts for about 7-9 hours a week."
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"The HRV and stress is not gimmicky in fact it was the heads up for my sister in law being diagnosed with cancer …her stress was screaming with no other really identifiable reasons (in 2022) ... in my case my stress was exceedingly high … for months & months and I kept having warnings and then I completely crashed with full on burnout ... Post my hysterectomy I saw crazy stress again ( not as bad as when I burned out but pretty intense) for the first 6 weeks & then it improved a little but it’s only come back to a normal place post 12 weeks & energy levels too only back to normal at 5 months …I didn’t have keyhole. But all that data correlates with the recovery pattern for major surgery & the fatigue was chronic for weeks ... the stress marker was defo the alarm bell for my sister in law and was indicative for me."
"I've taken it on a 2 day 100km ultra marathon, with full GPS throughout, and it was fantastic at tracking everything and still had battery by the end!"
"What I love most are the customizable data screens. ... I’ve tailored the cardio profile specifically for my workouts. ... For example, in a “CrossFit Rounds” workout, I’ve set it up so I can track laps during an AMRAP and see if I’m going faster or slower than the previous round. ... The customization options are endless."
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"My forerunner 245 is still going strong 5 years in."
"I’ve had it 4+ years and works just as well as the day I got it!"
"My 245 music has lasted me since 2016 without issues."
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1
"If you listen to music the Garmin 245 MUSIC is awesome. ... you can download your music apps to the watch so you don't have to carry your phone."
"I have a 245 music and it is a game changer. So easy to grab watch, shoes, headphones and go."
"I can use Spotify in the Garmin and it hasn't glitched on me once."
3
0
"I still miss how the 245was disappearing on my wrist in terms of weight, bulkiness and band size."
"Other than that it was perfect, and I still miss how it was disappearing on my wrist in terms of weight, bulkiness and band size."
"BUTTONS ... hated every minute of using it due to the touch screen for everything interface."
Disliked most:
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11
"I used to find that wrist HR sucked for rowing"
"when I’d swim in pools it would so often double count my lengths…"
"Garmin only adds load when you are tracking an activity, so it can miss a lot if it's not a planned workout."
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"wtf no time settings in a watch?"
"google's software features and fit-and-finish is lacking for their watch ... there is no option on a pixel watch to just automatically turn on the screen when a notification comes in to view the notification; you have to manually interact with it by either tapping the screen within a few seconds or lift-to-wake the watch, which is very unreliable ... that actually was a dealbreaker for me"
"it does not show new notifications as they come in without some sort of manual action ... unless you tap the screen or lift your wrist when you get the vibration, you don't get to see anything ... 75% of the time my pw2 wouldn't recognize a wrist-raise gesture, so I'd miss whatever the new notification was"
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"One big con for me: OPW3 doesn’t show training loads (low/high aerobic, anaerobic) — which is huge for me. I split my training into HIIT, Zone 2, sprints, and weight lifting based on those metrics. ... The watch doesn't give you training loads, which is basically how I scheduled my workouts."
"it is absolutely lacking Training metrics. ... not for the serious runner."
"Ability to send training courses or routes directly to the watch."
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"lack of altimeter is deal breaker for me."
"the deciding factor for me upgrading from the 245 (I know this is not the same watch you mention but still more or less the same) to the 965 was maps."
"missing barometer for elevation tracking."
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"as an owner of a 245, I wouldn't recommend it almost only because it suffers from a known dead-pixels issue (gone through multiple 245 watches with that problem)."
"Only reason I upgraded was screen size"
"Only reason I upgraded was screen size e possibility to have 5 fields on the screen."
I am also using an AMOLED (epix pro gen 2), which replaced a fr245. I had a tough time in some scenarios with the MIPS display, such as on shaded trails and around subset (both common in my users). In these cases I am happier with the AMOLED.
r/trailrunning • Want to get a watch for trail running. Is MIP screen best in all circumstances? ->A few months ago I made the transition from the FR245 to the Epix Pro Gen 2 Sapphire and have been enjoying the change, I especially like the larger and brighter screen. I hope you have a great time with the new watch!
r/Garmin • Forerunner 255 -> Epix pro gen 2 ->Use forerunner for swimming and it works great. So happy I no longer have to count my laps and I can just swim.
r/Garmin • Swimming watch ->if he is working a lot in the rain, get him something with more than 2 buttons so he would be able to use the watch using only the buttons (without the touchsreen) if he needs to, something like a forerunner, or instinct (doesnt have a touch screen) or a fenix (but a fenix is one of the more expensive ones)
r/GarminWatches • Buying for my boyfriend! ->I recently switched to Garmin from FitBit because I wanted GPS navigation on the watch for hikes. The Garmin run coach has sucked me into running and now I have to remember to include hikes. Seeing the Vo2 Max score go up has been motivating. The GPS navigation is really neat, I can go to a trailhead and tell Garmin to calculate a hike for X miles and it will. I don't think all of the Garmin watches have that feature, but its great for exploring. Makes walking more interesting.
r/Garmin • Garmin watch for someone who mostly walks ? ->The same I was big on the Apple ecosystem and felt like it was a cool watch just because it integrated so well, but I never even downloaded any apps for it. All I ever used it for was timers and reminders and stuff like that and basic fitness tracking, and my forerunner does all the same stuffbut way better. Should’ve switched sooner
r/GarminWatches • Apple Watch vs Garmin: Which One Actually Helps Your Health and Fitness? ->There is Garmin Swim (IMHO essentially it is a ForeRunner, but swim has been put in focus; review here https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/10/garmin-openwater-review.html). However, modern Garmin watches are all able to track pool swim as well as gym workouts (you might have to set exercises later in the app if you want to track muscle groups affected). Essentially ForeRunner is for runners mostly, Forerunner 9xx is focused on triathlon, Fenix is mostly for outdoors - but again, all of them can do almost the same. I’d go with Fenix if budget allows.
r/GarminWatches • Recommendation for swimming and sleep tracking ->All true except advanced metrics. They are also present in Fenix (it has even more features for hiking) and Instinct. Forerunner is not more advanced. The rugedness is mostly about the bezel. In fenix and instinct it has a rim which gives extra protection to the screen. But that means rugged watches are more bulky what can be a problem in the gym. The real question is lightness of forerunner vs battery life of fenix /instinct
r/GarminWatches • Too many watch models ->I have been using forerunners (245 and 255) for some years and they're pretty accurate. You still need to manually enable drill mode but it's almost perfect for the basic strokes. By the way, it's worth noting that how it detects styles depends also on your technique.
r/Swimming • Garmin Swim 2 vs Form vs apple vs ole fashin pen & paper ->I’ve had and loved garmin forerunners and a coros pace. Slight preference for coros over garmin for battery life. Slight preference for garmin for multi-app interoperability. I’m actually planning to buy an Apple Watch because it’s fine as a fitness tracker and has better health tracking capabilities on top of the fitness stuff.
r/XXRunning • What fitness tracking watch do you use? ->Depends on what you need, if it’s mainly for running, I’d go with one of the cheaper Forerunner models. An AMOLED display is a nice upgrade though. Also, definitely check the battery life if that’s important to you. I recently switched to the 965 and can say it’s been a solid watch.
r/runninglifestyle • garmin watch recommendations? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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