Garmin - Forerunner 945 LTE
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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."
655
73
"especially because of the battery life. ... The mouse I had right before this was the steelseries super light one, that was an every other day charge at minimum. Whereas this one is like once a week at most - and I work from home and game all night."
"offers significantly better battery life ... insane battery life"
"Oh, and the battery lasts days even when exercising a lot (weeks without excercise)."
73
5
"The maps in the 955 saved me when I went off course in a night race."
"In my opinion 955 is the most value for money as it includes mapping."
"if you regularly run/hike off-road, the maps are invaluable."
89
3
"There's a "Climb Indoor" activity that I use for both indoor/outdoor roped climbing and there's a bouldering activity for bouldering."
"it works perfectly for what you want!"
"my Instinct 3 works perfectly for cycling."
51
16
"I'm in an ocean swimming group of about 30 regulars. EVERYONE is on garmin. Those that were on Apple have switched, because they never got accurate distances."
"Improved swimming mode allows you to monitor your progress as you swim. ... The app syncs well with Health Connect (Google Fit) and actually syncs my swims as swims, not walking. ... The swim tracking seems accurate and the device is responsive immediately after getting out the pool."
"Next day and ever since it has been spot on mate."
Disliked most:
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"
2
11
"the auto-lap function is completely useless and will result in total frustration as your set of 10x50 gets counted as 125+300+75+400+50."
"when I’d swim in pools it would so often double count my lengths…"
"My garmin 955 is awful for swimming."
1
3
"Apple Pay just trump them all.. fcuk."
"Garmin pay is not available in my country."
"Using Apple Pay in most stores means the Apple Watch cellular model lets you leave your phone behind. Perfect for activities like running. If you have a phone with garmin, why do you need a garmin? lol just get the heart beat sensor."
1
3
"If Garmin fixes it's cellular properly, I might go back one day to Garmin, so it could be worth it."
"the Garmin is far worse from a smartwatch perspective ... my AWU2’s cellular connectivity is above and beyond the thing I care most about on long, remote runs."
"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."
0
2
"The gps chipset they used was the worst regarding accuracy."
"The multiband GPS is nice when running downtown. Only upgrade really."
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 ->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.
r/whoop • Running watch just to run ->>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 ->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.
r/triathlon • Which running watch to buy? ->I don’t like wearing watches at home because the notifications get annoying. For me, 42 hours of battery life is more than enough unless I’m traveling to a mountain or somewhere without electricity for an extended period. I mainly stick to running and cycling, and, even the AWU1 handled those activities perfectly. Ended up selling my Garmin LTE version because longer battery is pointless for me.
r/Garmin • The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has a 42hrs battery life! 🤪 ->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
r/Garmin • Forerunner 965 vs fenix 7 pro sapphire? ->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.
r/trailrunning • I have to choose between the Suunto Race 2 and the Garmin Enduro 3. ->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
r/OpenWaterSwimming • Device to monitor heart rate while swimming ->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.
r/Garmin • Pool swimming killed my Apple Watch, now I want to switch to a Garmin ->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!)
r/Garmin • Pool swimming killed my Apple Watch, now I want to switch to a Garmin ->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.
r/fitbit • I am never ever buying another Fitbit ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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