Garmin - Forerunner 945

Yeah as he said not an insane sale but a reasonable one. The mapping is nice and the battery lasts a long time. (finished a 100 easily with it)

nah not 945 ha, i upgraded from it to the 970. So much better in every way, especially the quality of gps tracking

The forerunner 945 is on sale here https://www.walmart.com/ip/Forerunner-945-GPS-Running-Smartwatch-in-Black/219688585?athbdg=L1600&from=/search I love this watch.

Weird mine lasted me for the full Hennepin 100 so 26 hours

I have been a Whoop wearer for 4 years. I have had a Garmin 945 for 5. This is exactly my use case—run and strength (and whatever else) with the Garmin and whoop for the overall experience.

I think you are in a hard spot here! When someone is serious about something, it is difficult to gift them something about that something. In the same way that you cannot gift a mouse to a software engineer unless it's the Logitech Mx 3 or superior, you cannot gift apparel to a serious runner unless it's something really good. My point is, if you want to gift him a watch, it is difficult to recommend you something that is below $300 or $400. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of watches out there that cost less and may work. For example, you can buy the Garmin Vivoactive or Instinct for around $200, or the Amazfit T-Rex Pro for $150 (this is a really good watch for the price). However, if he is really serious about trail running, you may have to consider a Garmin Fenix 6 (between $350 and $400 on Amazon) or a Garmin Forerunner 945 (I just saw it at $319 on Amazon). If he is into both road and trail running, the Forerunner may be a good choice, but if he is getting more and more into trail running, the fenix is the best option. Note: You won't get navigation in budget-friendly watches, but I haven't meet a racer that needed it. Generally, the course is marked and people carry their phones (I have offline maps just in case). Note 2: You can save a lot by purchasing the previous-generation model (that's why I recommended fenix 6 and forerunner 945).

Garmin Forerunner. I have the 945 and it still going strong. Does a great job with running, swimming and biking. Add in a Garmin Edge eventually for your bike. I do know several people that are quite happy with their Coros though. Not sure what they offer for cycling computers though.

Can't speak for the Instinct, but I got my Garmin Forerunner 945 in 2019 and it's still going strong. Passive battery life a week+, GPS battery is still close to 24h (I think, haven't done a race that long in a bit). No issues with connectivity, bluetooth, charging, nothing. Some of their newer models are a little bloated and they're adding a ton of features at the cost of battery life, which is the only disappointing part. For ultras the only thing I _really_ care about is battery, and their out of the box battery life says 26 hours or something now, instead of 32+. Either way though, they make really good devices.

Yep, great watch. I've had mine 12 months now, and I ocean swim about 4 times a week, plus trail running and MTB. Does it all, very nicely integrated on Apple devices.

This must depend on your model. I often use the buttons of my FR 945 while swimming (usually because I forgot to start the activity!)

I have the 945 and it’s also excellent. Might save you a few dollars whilst being nearly as good.

I have garmin forerunner 945. I really like it and it is great for running as well. I can also listen to music, podcasts etc. You can find deals sometimes so that it might fit in your budget.

How quickly does it charge? I've gotten used to popping my Garmin (FR645, FR945, Fenix 7s, then Fenix 7s Pro) on the charger for 10min or so while I shower and that is enough that I never have to worry about the battery. Think the same would be true of the Venu 4?

well, the 945 is now 3 generations old so I'm honestly surprised it's come up that often to even make the list. I have a 955 and i feel like it's dated being 2 generations behind now. I'm more surprised the 965 isn't on the list. Maybe 945 is there because it can be had for cheap if buying used?

I did a three day 26 mile backpacking trip on one charge. The watch is 3 years old. You’ll be fine. The best thing I once saw posted here about Apple vs Garmin. Apple Watches are extensions of your phone with health and fitness tracking as an afterthought. Garmin watches are designed to be health and fitness watches first and foremost with the phone connectivity as an add on.

I got a second hand forerunner 945 and it’s a great tool for running, cycling, mountain nav, sleep tracker and training readiness. It even tells the time

I love my 955. But I've had a 945 since 2020, I've used it an awful lot for swimming, cycling, walking, golf and the map function has got me out of the shit of couple of times. Recently (December 2024) the screen started to delaminate, Garmin sent me a 955 and it's fab. Touch screen is very good, the overnight report is really informative and it even gives you a weather report. I'd say it's a nice size, not crazy big. Well worth it

I’ve been a Garmin User since the 945 came out back in 2019, just ordered AWU3 on release. I constantly take my watch off to shower as I use a nylon band and don’t want a wet wrist for hours, so charging constraint are negligible. Garmin interface is kinda archaic, I’ll admit they have made some great strides over the past couple years. Nowadays having an actual smart watch seems more appealing over a fitness tracker, I will be keeping my Garmin for ultras though(Fenix 7x SS).

No, it's just two generations old. You're going to find it lacking a lot of the more recent derived metrics Garmin included that Even the 255 and 265 can provide(training readiness, sleep score, hrv status, body battery,hill score, etc...) at the same price, But without mapping. Just about what features are important to you.

My 945 tracks pretty well, the thing is you need to put the pool size in as gps isn't going to help you measure distance 3 floors beneath a building. Occasionally it misses a lap but generally consistent.

Yeah, in my case I actually stopped using the Fenix 8 MIP and reverted to the 945. I should revise my flair.

Garmin is good in the pool. Forerunner 945 and Fenix 7 Pro user here. Used for everything listed. But at some point after 6 months+, my experience is that the elevation tracking for running/swimming gets all messed up due to weird things that happen when water dries on the sensor, and you need to get a replacement. The other nice thing: Garmin replacement is great. And I know you’re not asking this, but I stopped using the watch in the pool for workouts due to the elevation stuff and after two replacements. I started using Form goggles. Form is even better than Garmin for lap detection, strokes, etc. And is a great aid for OWS with its compass when paired with my Garmin.

Hi, I own forerunner 970(before that multiple forerunner devices 945, 955 solar, 965) fenixes(6 pro, 7 solar, 7 pro, 8) and edge 1050(before 530 and 830), also im reviewer for suunto in my country. Based on cycling, its ok... i mean it never will be dedicated bike computerm but its ok, U can pair multiple sensors. Power sensor works ok, but U can't set avg power counting with 0 or not like in garmin. About app, its really nice, even it shows peak power and speed for 30sec, 1min, 3min, and 5min. I had it before launch to this day and it is pretty stable(also i never experienced losing training session on garmin). About indoor cycling, smart trainers are not supported and I hope this will change soon because garmin in top in this matter. For running its also great Now there are some diffrences between app and watch with recovery metrics at this moment

I always recommend getting a Garmin off fb market. I bought a new 945 in 2018 and they replaced it like 6 years later when the charging port started acting up. I sold it and both a used 955 solar. It had an issue and they replaced it even though i was the second user.

You can certainly use both. If you want all day health tracking though you'll want to stick with one platform. I prefer Garmin but it isn't a smart watch app platform. I use Garmin Connect, the Garmin heart strap, and the Garmin scale. If I take up cycling I would use the Garmin cycling products also. For me it's about my fitness training, not having an extension of my watch on my wrist. The Venu (which I have) does have some some nice capabilities to receive alerts, phone calls, as well as tracking an EKG. I also have a Garmin Forerunner 945 that I use for running. I have a high end Samsung watch (it was so cheap on sale I couldn't refuse) that I wear very occasionally when I want an app platform on my wrist. The battery life on the Garmins are just amazing and seal the deal.

After buying a few of the lower end models and having a lot of problems, I decided to pay the money and buy the 945. Now 4 years later, this thing still works as well as day one with only a smidge of less battery life.

Garmin is only a smart watch in terms of activity tracking, the true smart watch features are rudimentary and rely on your phone being close by. There is only one Garmin, the FR945 that can have cellular and it is not even a true cellular watch, it is only for emergencies and not regular use. I can unlock my doors, turn on my lights and leave my phone at home everyday. I can pay for things too - Garmin pay is not available in my country. Being able to have cellular on the watch can't be overstated. The true ability to go run or hike without your phone and still be connected is a huge safety feature and the find my app is far superior and easier to use than Garmin's live tracking. You can get all the data you would from Garmin with an Apple Watch with a couple apps, WorkOutDoors for all the mapping and your choice of what app you want to use to correlate you fitness data, some are subscriptions but some great ones are free.

I have both Garmin 945 and Apple Watch and they both get really close. Have doublechecked them against a polar device on my temple and all three were comparable.

I swim with my 945. I don’t need a fancy screen.

Haven't had either model, but really happy with my 945 I bought at around the same time in the product lifecycle you're currently considering the 955. Not sure if the 255 you're looking at is a music model or not. Didn't think it'd be that important for me when shopping, but now that I have it it's been great to still have music on long runs without needing to bring my phone. That feature alone is worth a bit of $$ for me. The maps you get with 900 models are nice and I use them a bit while mountain biking, but I could be fine without it in all honesty.

FR945 already had offline navigation

I upgraded from a 945 to an enduro 3 this year and the enduro 3 is awesome on the course. Its a bit bulky and expensive but I think its got all the golf features rolled in and crazy battery life. I've got a map on screen where i can move the target to get yardage to a hazard and such and its easy to track scores and the shot tracking works well. Love the fabric strap and am used to the larger size now. The 945 was nice too, front, middle, back distance helped a ton, the shot tracking never really worked. The enduro might be overkill but I run almost daily and frequently run ultras so its perfect for me.

I’m not the commenter you replied to - but my husband has a Garmin Forerunner 165, got it for $150, and it has been phenomenal for tracking swimming metrics. I have a hand-me-down Forerunner 945 which is a “fancier” watch (was like $500 new) and his watch does almost every single one of the same things, plus a couple mine doesn’t do. You can get a swim-ready Garmin for under $200 for sure.

Gps life not even close to 24 hours for anyone interested. Mine hasn't made it past 12ish hours

Oh damn maybe I got screwed

I have the 945 and love it. You can’t go wrong with any as long as it has the functions you’re looking for

I agree with all of this with a few notes: Garmin Connect, their app/ ecosystem is not very intuitive and downright frustrating at times. I have a forerunner 945, it's a 5-6 year old and will not get any updates, but it has been a very reliable watch. Even with that old of maps tech. Coros has caught up with some of the maps stuff, and in the short amount of time I've interacted with their newest watches, I think the maps functionality is better than Garmin, and for 100s less. Their app doesn't have as many features but is much easier to use and navigate, and has all the data I need as an amateur runner. For my money, a used or highly discounted old Garmin or new Coros are the best options if you wanna keep it under $500 usd.

Can def recommend the 945 or 955 the 965 is the upgrade . My favourite function is can save music on watch so can play with just earphones in gym , even had waterproof earphones used to swim with .

Apple Watch Ultra as 1 and Forerunner 945 as last has me questioning a lot.

Agree with the dated aspect of it. I have one myself and I’m hard pressed to replace it because it does literally everything I need it to up to 140.6 races. I guess the new fancy screens and more data points is cool but fuck I’m overwhelmed enough with the data my 945 gives me lol.

Yeah you can’t say no to that. I’ve been enticed by the new 970, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I’ve had my 945 for 2 years now and really don’t have a reason to get rid of it yet.

3rd. Not really much of an upgrade over the 945. But the colorful screens look great

I switched from Forerunner 945 to Suunto Race 2 and so far I love the race 2 much more (to be fair - it’s much newer 😅). From my feeling sleep tracking and Body Battery are much more realistic on Garmin. But the App, the watch quality and simplicity is outstanding 👌. I use a Garmin Edge for tracking rides and have HR Sensor, Powermeter and Radar connected. Using RunGap to transfer it to Suunto, Strava and so on. Friends use Wahoo instead of Edge which seems to be slightly better (especially hardware buttons). But both do a fantastic job.

Depends what you want. I have a garmin fenix 7S pro. Great watch. Bad for cycling honestly. I do a lot of other stuff though. I use the watch for heart rate and that is it. It can broadcast my heart rate to my bike computer. I did about 2500 miles purely with a watch and the day I got my garmin 1050 I was mad at myself for not buying it sooner! If you’re doing multiple sports, running, lifting, swimming, doing whatever, AND cycling, maybe get like a Garmin 945 AND a Garmin 850 this a good budget option. If you’re just riding your bike, you have the money or something, I’d say just buy a 1050 and a heart rate strap and call it a day.

Both my Garmin 945 (which I use as a dedicated swim watch after retiring from daily use), and my Garmin Epix Pro gen 2 seem to have believable heart rate data during swims as long as I wear the watch snug. I remember comparing it to an old HRM-Tri when they first enabled optical heart rate during swims and it seemed pretty close, which was good enough for me. If you want absolute accuracy, you’ll have to get a Garmin watch and an HRM-Swim. You won’t have to pour over an excel file, it will sync the HRM-Swim data with the Garmin watch swim activity.

It’s very good for both swimming laps in a pool as well as open water swimming. You can set pool length size, create pool swim workouts, do auto rest to detect when you’ve stopped and when you’ve started an interval. It detects what stroke your swimming, has good optical wrist heart rate, and some advanced swimming metrics like SWOLF. I actually use an older Garmin 945 as my dedicated swim watch, as it’s smaller than my Epix Pro Gen 2 which is my daily/running/hiking/other sports watch. The main downside I’ve experienced is it will occasionally miss a 25 yard lap if I’m doing sprint sets of 50s in a 25 yard pool. I’m decently fast for an older guy (multiple 50s at low 27 from a push is no problem) so it’s either the speed or my form breaks down and it didn’t detect my flip turn properly. One other downside I thought of, but is actually a benefit to me is it doesn’t detect drills or kicking. I’ve seen the Apple Watch supports kick detection. I don’t mind and actually like to put the watch in drill mode, then at the end of each interval you tell it how many yards/meters you’ve done.

Had a FR945 before and then my wife gave me AW8 for my birthday. Everything about the 945 is better - exercise, steps, battery, vo2max and all BUT Apple Pay just trump them all.. fcuk. I soo want to get the 965 or 970 but i don’t to invest in something i won’t be using daily.

My 945 is 5+ years old and it deserves a medal of honor for the good work it has done

I use both. Apple watch is on my wrist 24/7, Garmin forerunner 945 on the other wrist when I’m running or cycling. I record workouts on both.

I went from a Forerunner 45 to a 735, then to a 945. The latter two support golf course distances which sold me on the upgrade. If I didn't golf, I'd look at the 265.

I got a refurbished 945 for a little less than that (about a year ago) mainly because in addition to running, hiking, biking, and swimming I wanted golf course distance info. If I didn't need golf, the FR 165 sounds like a winner.

The Garmin 745 is available on Amazon for $230. For the running, swimming, and overall health metrics, it is a very capable watch. As pointed out by others, it probably isn't great navigation on the watch itself. I have the 945 only because it supports golf course distances, so its worth the extra $180 or so. The 965 with the newer touch screen probably is great, just pricy.

How are the Forerunner 265s and 255 in the top five but the FR 245 is near the bottom? You've got a similar problem for the 945 vs the 955. Any methodology that produces such disparate "rankings" for two watches with similar features, build quality, and price is pretty suspect.

I just picked up a Garmin Forerunner 945 on FB Marketplace for $325 CAD. It's an absolute gem. Buying good quality used can save so much money. I love the watch, it's super lightweight and it lasts days of non stop use on one charge and I hardly know I'm wearing it. I even wear it to sleep to track how well my sleep is. It also has a million great features. Strongly recommend.

I’ve got the updated 945s and they’re as fast as they’ve always been; the only thing to watch out for is battery life, which can be a big issue with used watches.

I just ordered the Venu 3 because my Forerunner 945 has the glass delaminating issue. I wanted something more elegant than my 945.

FR935/945/955/965 all have maps. No need for Fenix.

I had the 945 and then, thinking I left it in a hotel, upgraded to the 955. 18+ months later and its still a great watch. The biggest change from the 945 to the 955 is the way that running workouts were implemented. On the 945, if I was doing an interval, the interval pace used the average pace. For short & fast intervals, this wasn't very useful. The 955 fixed this problem and uses my instant pace for alerting me if I'm hitting the range (pace, HR, power...whatever). As for all of the other metrics...its fully compatible with all of Garmin's advanced metrics still and gives access to the new journaling feature. I honestly can't imagine what I would want off of a new watch that I don't get today

Many of us have been here. Just get the best Garmin you can afford and you’ll never look back. I bought the EPIX 2, and love it, but the Forerunner 9xx series are probably the best bang for buck if you’re into fitness training.

Forerunners are great even if you don't run. None of the watches are great for the gym btw. For hiking you basically want an altimeter (which all new watches have) and maybe maps (which only the most premium watches do). I think the main advantage the Instinct has over the Forerunner is that it comes with Garmin Explore integration (for offline realtime mapping with the companion app on the phone). Only the Forerunner 9xx series support this. I think an Instinct 2 or 3 will be a great choice for your use

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.

Fenix/Epix are the same, Forerunner 9xx has 99% same functions but a bit lighter and not as tall, but only available in one size

Ive bought a 9 series forerunner. Id come from an apple watch too, after the initial excitement of talking to it I just found it limited in functionality for sports. I'm very happy with the forerunner, itis not the Apple watch at all. It's excellent. I dont need any more if that helps.

I've used either a Forerunner 9xx or a Fēnix for about 6 years. If you give it about 5 minutes before you swim to leatch onto as many satellites as possible after it says it has a GPS fix it's pretty good. If you dive in as soon as you get the tick, it's crap.

V2 Form goggles will do all of that. On the plus side, they're cheaper than most watches that will do the same. On the minus side, they're expensive for goggles and they have no other uses. Edit: and I didn't read the land workout bit. Garmin Forerunner 9xx definitely meets your needs. I suspect the 2xx series will as well.

Here is my reason, have you noticed that the major reviewers even when they are testing Garmin or Suunto watches are always wearing the Apple Watch Ultra on their wrist? Here is why, as great as Garmin watches are and I back this statement up , I have owned 3 Fenix's and 2 forerunner 9 series over the years. Running and Cycling are in comparison small parts of my week, even though I run 30 K a week and cycle almost 200K a week. The rest of the week, I am an employee, check email, read and respond to texts, I am a husband, a father , a podcast / music listener , a walker ,a gym goer and the Apple Watch is just an all round everyday watch for me with all the smart features. Sorry for the long winded reply.... and with regards to your last comment, I totally agree , when I was a Garmin Wearer, 99% of the time I saw someone with a Garmin, it was easy to strike a conversation as they were a runner or a cyclist. With the apple watch.....not so much lol

For sports, always Garmin. No one else comes close for multisport watches, and I don't need a bunch of useless "smart watch" features that just waste battery.

I use a Garmin Forerunner watch, and it displays heart rate while tracking activity. The reading is pretty visible to me even with slightly foggy goggles but ymmv. They have a lot of models with this capability, so maybe you can find one with a bigger screen. The default heart rate screen also has a colored Zone indicator, if that's easier to see & you're not looking for exact numbers https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=kbOXNev7NS4DQcc3IjAV49

I use Garmin forerunner watch, sync Strava with Garmin Connect and sync Komoot with Strava. It works like a charm.

I have a Garmin Edge bike computer and chest based heart rate because I like to see my speed on the handlebars rather than having to look at my watch. It also navigates for me on more adventurous rides and race courses I'm unfamiliar with. For local social rides I just track on my Garmin Forerunner watch.

A Garmin head unit. You could buy used to reduce the cost. I do ride wearing my forerunner watch, however it is purely for heartrate (linkeded to display on headunit) In reality you could buy the headunit and an inexpensive chest heartrate monitor such as magene. I do however like that my watch provides lots of other daily data such as resting heartrate, steps and so forth. There is benefit to headunit + basic level sports watch.

Runs are the same concept as rides. Personally, I use purpose-built devices to record: Garmin Edge bike computer, Garmin Forerunner watch (they also both do navigation, connect to heart rate sensors, watch does music, etc.). When I stop an activity and hit save, it's uploaded to Strava before I can even get the garage door open. I don't want to carry my phone on a run, and I don't want to run down the battery on all-day rides.

Obviously a Fenix 8 Micro LED. For real though, Fenix/Epix watches will give you full golf functionality minus a feature or two which are reserved for the golf specific watches. If you are budget conscious I would look for a Fenix 7/epix 2 series watch. If you have money to spend, a Fenix 8 will be great for everything you can imagine. Forerunner watches do have some golf features but they are dumbed down a bit to basic distance to green and score keeping.

Ive had a few Fenix versions, they are great/ top of the range. Last few years ive been using forerunners which have all the functionality - 9xx series is great, or 2xx for something easier on the pocket. My activities include trail running, hiking, triathlons (and running/swimming/riding only), golf/disc golf. Navigation and battery are good, and glass is strong. Lifestyle is great for sleep, general hr tracking, step counts, tap to pay. The 955 i have also has great multimedia (music). Cant go wrong with a forerunner (solar if you are doing ultra's or multiday). Fenix is a nice splurge

>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.

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