Garmin - Forerunner 745
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 15, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
1938
566
"Been using them for about four years working out in my gym, and cycling daily (45+ minutes on a bicycle outdoors)."
"I even washed them accidentally and still worked perfectly fine afterwards."
"I still have the Kirby my grandma bought brand new in 1970."
98
6
"they were so much more comfortable I struggle to even put my Maxwells back on."
"open back is the only way since gaming you get so freaking hot you need the ventilation."
"Thanks to its plastic-plus-aluminum construction, the Dufu is incredibly light. ... Once you find the right set of ear tips, it practically vanishes on your ears without any sense of foreignness or sagging, ensuring excellent comfort even during extended listening sessions."
224
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."
32
3
"GPS is way better, on the same track, the Samsung "lost" about 100m after each lap"
"In the end, my running results are much more accurate. ... Over my last three runs, this is what I've achieved compared to the Coros Pace Pro: - 10.51 km and 333 elevation gains (Watch3) - 10.60 km and 344 elevation gains (Coros) - 20.01 km and 630 elevation gains (Watch3) - 20.04 km and 663 elevation gains (Coros) - 21.20 km and 208 elevation gains (Watch3) - 21.09 km and 218 elevation gains (Coros) ... In the end, the GPS track matches my route much better, and the distances are more than accurate. ... So I think the watch is perfectly adequate for amateur running."
"It has been extremely accurate with location and distance tracking. ... It’s been very accurate with paddling"
Disliked most:
3
25
"It's the same nozzle size, but it's also heavier than the red, so it's more prone to falling out of your ears. ... I returned both the red and the mp145 even though they both fit me (to an extent). ... Dont even try the 145 if the red's don't fit."
"They're bulky and heavy"
"I find it heavy, bulky and the wire doesn't curve over my ear well"
25
76
"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"
20
47
"I used to find that wrist HR sucked for rowing"
"the hr reading is incorrect. ... 20 dollars band from Samsung does a better job"
"The discrepancy is much higher for HR than running dynamics. ... I think it is straight up irresponsible to rely on wrist-based HR is you’re using HR as a part of training"
2
16
"the UI was so old and slow i grew to hate the watch."
"I tried a Garmin Forerunner but couldn't figure out how to customize it (and I'm pretty tech savvy)."
"Garmin silently stopped feature updates for Fenix 7 and Epix watches it was still selling at high prices, which is much worse than what any other brand did."
0
5
"Garmin's auto rest feature (automatic lap/set vs rest feature) is almost good. The issue is that the motion detection is way too sensitive so if I move my arm at all during rest it thinks I'm still swimming. The algorithm also has trouble with rests shorter than 20s so it's common to see workout sets recorded as one big swim blob with some periods of no movement sprinkled in."
"annoyingly less accurate compared to Finnis goggles and Apple Watch"
"about 20% of my laps are undercounted ... it keeps running up the time well after I stop for a rest - this can even be up to 10 seconds after I stop."
I have a Garmin Forerunner 745 and it works well for laps and open water.
r/Swimming • Thinking of getting an apple watch just for swimming without iPhone ->>Its a Vivoactive by another name. ironically i've been looking at the FR series to upgrade my old vivoactive. lack of altimeter is deal breaker for me.
r/Garmin • The New Garmin Forerunner 570 ->Look for a certified waterproof refurbished Garmin, maybe in the Forerunner family. Personally I would go back as far as the \_55 models (255, 755, 955, etc.).
r/triathlon • Smartwatch recommendation ->I second this. Exact same use case run 3x/week and weight train 3-4x/week. I found the epix pro gen 2 sapphire to be best utility and bang for buck. I tried the FR but was too run focused and I preferred the more tactical look. The fenix 8 was nice but at double the price with same sensor technology it didn’t felt worth it. You do forgo the mic and voice features but I didn’t need it and didn’t want a true smart watch but prioritized a fitness forward watch. 3 months in and I love my Epix pro gen 2 47mm
r/GarminWatches • Somewhat new Runner + weightlifting + daily wear: which Garmin? ->I "upgraded" from a 745 to a 165 and don't regret it at all. While I lost a couple features it was never anything that I really used or care about. The only thing about the 165 is that you need to make sure you buy the music version not the standard version
r/Marathon_Training • Garmin Watch Recommendations ->I use a four year old Garmin 745. This is the watch that dcrainmaker uses as his base for his watch reviews. It is never overly generous or stingy on my swims that I complete without stopping, fueling, resting, etc. I swim two specific routes (3k or 5k yds) and so far this summer, they are consistent within 2 yds per 1000 yds. When there is a greater difference, it's because of the GPS dance if I have to take a break for whatever reason.
r/OpenWaterSwimming • What watch has the best gps for open water swimming. ->Forerunner 745 and Edge 540 way to go
r/triathlon • Best watch for triathlon training? ->I'm a swimming teacher and I'm in the pool 6 days a week, and my Forerunner 745 hasn't let me down once in the two years I've had it now
r/Garmin • Pool swimming killed my Apple Watch, now I want to switch to a Garmin ->**Do all Garmins do these things?** Most do. **Should I grab a second hand older model? Or did I need a specific newer model to do all of these things?** What you mentioned should work on second hand models. BUT I suggest you pick a model that has the latest heart rate sensor (V5) for better heart rate accuracy. And if you can afford a model that has multi band GPS if possible, this makes the GPS much more accurate. [https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=9NWiPDU4gM0JWMfdWFol7A](https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=9NWiPDU4gM0JWMfdWFol7A) Here is a list of new watches with Multi Band GPS (price starts at $400): [https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/sports-fitness/running-smartwatches/?FILTER\_FEATURE\_SUBTRACKING\_CONNECTIVITY=multibandGPS¤tPage=1&sorter=price-asc](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/sports-fitness/running-smartwatches/?FILTER_FEATURE_SUBTRACKING_CONNECTIVITY=multibandGPS¤tPage=1&sorter=price-asc) To research watches, I do recommend you check out [https://www.dcrainmaker.com/](https://www.dcrainmaker.com/), he has wonderful reviews and videos, very in depth. **Watch recommendations** Since you mentioned you are running. I would suggest a watch that has "Training status". Basically it keeps track of your workouts, and suggest more workouts to you. As a runner I love it. Now it is a bit more expensive, the new watches that have this can be found here: [https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/sports-fitness/running-smartwatches/?FILTER\_FEATURE\_SUBTRACKING\_RUNNING\_TRAINING=trainingstatus¤tPage=1&sorter=price-asc](https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/sports-fitness/running-smartwatches/?FILTER_FEATURE_SUBTRACKING_RUNNING_TRAINING=trainingstatus¤tPage=1&sorter=price-asc) But you also have some older models if you buy used, such as Fenix 5 & up, Forerunner 245 & up, Forerunner 745, Forerunner 935 & up.
r/Garmin • Recommendations on Garmin watch ->Forerunner. Any model. Any model from last few years up to now. Great range of watches. Loads out there pre-loved as runners do live to upgrade. FR 745 is vastly underrated / undervalued as a device for the non-elite level runner.
r/Garmin • What's the best Garmin for running these days? ->Yes a 970 is overkill but so what? I use a preloved 745. Does everything I need. I can count the occasions over the last decade when I've needed an actual map on the fingers of one finger. I've never needed a watch to suggest a route to me, and I've no need to use a Garmin adaptive training plan at my stage of decrepitude (64 & 98kgs & 188 cm tall.) Probably better to have features you don't use, than buy a watch which doesn't do what you need, like not playing music. (not that I can currently find my BT headphones.)
r/GarminWatches • I’m a very beginner runner, is the Forerunner 970 stupidly overkill? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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