Garmin - Forerunner 955

Mine is the solar, and clearly the best choice TMM if you don’t care about the Amoled screen. MIP is clear all the time and better battery life What’s your quadrant model ? Mine is Linear Panel or Tronic

Mine is the solar, and clearly the best choice TMM if you don’t care about the Amoled screen. MIP is clear all the time and better battery life What’s your quadrant model ? Mine is Linear Panel or Tronic

955mip or 965 amoled, go try

45s>265>epix pro gen 2>instinc 3 45>vertical 2>255>enduro 3. That was my way. After couple years can say- 255/955 mips are one of best ever for lot of sports and mip lovers, their amoled sibilngs are also great. Instinct 2,3 also great rugged tanks. A little smaller screen for me (like 6-8 metrics for one screen during runs, ins.can go up to 4-5). F7 pro or 7x for bigger wrist, epix pro gen 2- fanstastic options but bulkier- just dont swim with them because buttons can get smooshy (mine did!). Flash and newest opt.hr great! Dont like too bright screens on vx1 and 970, and lame battety. Now enduro 3 comes in a way. It is truly fantastic. Smaller wrist about 17.5cm and it is not heavy like epix pro gen 2 47mm. Battery is 40days with little sun a day and 1h of gps 6 times a week. Crasy. Didnt now what to except, many here adore it, but now- I am one of them.

I have Epix pro gen 2 47mm ss, it is great, got it for 50% off. Don't pay 800, look for discounts, also don't go for newest models, Instinct 2 solar or 2x is great, also Foreruner 955... Find some store and go try them and seek youtube for further info- chase the summit, desi fit...

Why top notch, go for foreruner 255 or 955

Foreruner 255 anad 955 with maps, they are mip screens, always on, 965 is amoled and more power hungry but still great one, if want bulkier fenix 7 or epix pro gen 2

Torch on that watch will not help you to see path in front of you if runing in dark, it is good for every day use. It is great but 955 is still great also, go with it

It is a great watch. Make sure to get the non-solar version, much more visible screen. Probably the last good screen from Garmin, all new screens have touch, solar, sapphire, each making it less visible. It has maps. The display is 1.3", MIPS. A bit smaller than Fenix, which is 1.4", but totally useable. In Europe it sells for €360.

If you do regular sports, get the watch with 5 buttons, it is so much better in daily use for sports. As for features, the FR255 does Everything you need, its only incremental updates since then. If you want maps for running, to follow a course, there is the FR955. All other aspects are more about wants, taste, looks, preference, in terms of needs, FR255 fills all the needs for doing sports. Which is also ok. A watch is also a fashion statememt, something that you look at all day, so choosing something that you like is also a factor. ECG, PulseOx, etc. are not that useful in real life, in my experience.

Any Garmin watch can do this what you need. The improvements have been very incremental in the past 3-4 years. ECG, microphone, LTE are not very useful, ignore them. Here are a few watches that stand out and I would buy for myself. I use Garmin watches since 2017, and had like 10 different models. I trail run, bike, and swim. Approx prices. For exercise outside, the 5 button setup with MIP screen is the best IMHO. Forerunner 255 is great price/performance, light, slim, does everything. $250 Enduro 3 is top of the line, latest tech, a few weeks battery life easily. But it is a big watch. Has maps and navigation. $800 Instinct 3 Solar Tactical has great battery life and looks cool (all black), is rugged. $450 Less optimal, I wouldnt buy: If you want more a smartwatch style, with bright amoled and touch screen first, check out the Vivoactive 6. But with sweat, sun etc. the buttons and MIP is much better in practice. Cheapest Maps would be Forerunner 955. You can expect 2-4 years from your watch.

That price range works well for older models. Watches that came out after Fenix 8 (Sep 2024) cost significantly more than before, Garmin just increased prices. Best is to get an older model on discount, as in the past years not much significant new was added. They track the same way, and bugs are still corrected. For sports, any of these fitness watch type of devices excel for running, cycling, swimming. Other sports kinda work, but for example to detect repetitions can have mistakes, treadmil relies on distance data entered, etc. For payment, you need NFC among the watch features. I prefer full button control, especially during sports. Almost all Garmin watches can control music on your phone. The "Music" models can download music onto your phone, and play offline from the watch to your earbuds. My 5 year old Fenix 6X Pro can do this, and I never used it. For good heart rate, get a Polar H10 strap. The best wrist heart rate will never be as good as a poor strap. For more sport oriented: Garmin Foreunner 255 can do all you want, except touchscreen. It has also an 255S version, smaller. Forerunner 955 has maps. Maps are useful for creating courses, running circuits on your phone, and the watch navigates you along. This is most useful for running in nature. If you want a more smartwatch style: Venu 3S or Vivoactive 5 can work. They are more touch screen operated. They are less practical to start stop exercise, as they need using the touchscreen. But they have a nice amoled screen. You can also have a look at Garmin Instinct 2 non-solar version. It is a Casio G-style look, has no NFC. You can get probably 2-3 years out of your watch before it fails, or battery gets poor. 4 years is not uncommon, and several people on reddit are using 5-6 without issues. Garmin usually offers a discount on a new watch, if the warranty expired, and you want repair (they dont really repair watches). Our Venu 2S died after 3 years, 6X Pro after 3.5 years, my colleague's FR945 after 2.5 years. For cycling, most people get a dedicated head unit for cycling, to complement the watch.

I see you started off with Fenix and guess you are looking for a rugged watch for your gym work. If that is the case, you can also look at Instinct 2/2X/3 which is also solid and more affordable. Between 570 & 965, hands down I would choose 965. It is more value for money. However, I would always prefer the MIP 955:with its lower cost and features. Though it may not have the latest bells and whistles from Garmin, it has all stats required for workouts and Garmin is still updating the watch.

955 here. Good watch, value for money.

Personally, I love my 955 and would always recommend it. However, looking at your preference (more tech & features) and use case scenario (no running but more fitness/swimming focus), am wondering if an Instinct 3 or Fenix would meet you needs better. Nevertheless, between the two watches, I think you would prefer 965.

Wait till 255 fails unless you have too much money to spend. I would rather go 955 or Enduro 3 rather than the always on/off Amoled 970. But as long as my 255 is working, I will not switch.

I also support Forerunner 255 music. Only issue is it doesn't have mapping functions like the 900 series watches. You can also consider 955 or 965. Coros Nomad also has all that you are looking for. Music not streaming but downloading MP3 files only watch.

Depends on your needs. Quite a few of us holding on to our 255 & 955 are doing well. A few of us do not see the need to update for mediocre changes since our watches are serving us well while others do not like the battery drain from the Amoled. My 255 had just received12 updates when I was charging it this morning, meaning Garmin is still actively updating it. It might not get the latest bells and whistles like the 570 but Garmin is still fixing glitches and patches to keep it going strong and safe. So yes, I would still recommend a 255.

Totally agree that they are not worth it. I would personally choose 955. However, if you feel it might be too old for you, can also consider 265 or 965 during BF too.

Both are excellent for running. You can also look at the Forerunner 955 (MIP screen) if the AMOLED screen is not an important criterion for you, you will be able to save money. The advantage of the 955 compared to the 265 is that it has integrated mapping (so if one day you want to go hiking or trail running it will be very useful to you). In any case, both are excellent devices for progressing in running. Good luck to you 🏃🏻‍♂️💨

The Forerunner 965 is an excellent choice. However (aside from the AMOLED vs. MIP screen), it has no other differences compared to the 955. If price is a major factor and the user doesn't necessarily want an AMOLED screen, the FR-955 is also a great choice for their needs.

I have the forerunner 955 and it supports training status, running dynamics, etc. You can change the charhing mode to support recording activities while charging. I dont think thid is specific to the forerunner. It looks like you can open settings->system->USB Mode then change it to "garmin" so it will support charging during an activity. https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/777655/

Oh yeah i guess people want amoled but i prefer mips because it doesnt blind me when the screen turns on at night or while im sleeping LOL. I honestly love the 955 specifically more than any other garmin because it felt like the best compromise between features and battery life. 

Yes. That's true. But with the intended use of the OP a Oled screen doesn't have to be always on. Besides that there are very little non-solar mip watches that have an equal or similar batterytime as the Fenix 8/epix2pro 51mm. Only the instinct 2 is close with 28 days but short GPS time. The non-solar FR955 only has 15 days for example. Watches known for their longer battertime The enduro 3, instinct 2X, instinct 3 all have solar as standard.

I think you already got your answer but I bought 955a few weeks ago as well and it's awesome

This bad boy is a game changer for me. I got the regular (not solar) edition. I got it for general smart watch usage as well as for running which I got into in April. I can't stress how happy I am with it. Apps for it work great. The touchscreen is excellent and having 5 buttons on top of that is very welcome. It has 32 gb internal storage for apps and music so I don't need a phone when I'm on a run. The battery lasts about 10 days with my normal usage and would easily last more than 14 days if you don't use the gps, which is the biggest drainer (I track my runs with gps so when doing a 5-7km run it would sap about 7-10% 🪫). It's smaller than other more premium watches so it's easier to sleep with and the connect app makes tracking sleep and training progress easy. Unless you're looking for an AMOLED watch I would def recommend this one. 😊

This is exactly the type of suggestion I’m looking for. Forerunner 955 has MIP display and 42 hrs of battery life vs. 30 in GPS mode compared to the Forerunner 965 with the AMOLED display. Thank you! Also it looks like the 955 is going for ~$450 right now from most retailers which is very reasonable IMO