Garmin Forerunner 45S GPS Running Watch with Coach Training
Garmin Forerunner 45S GPS Running Watch with Coach Training Plan Support – Black, Small
Forerunner 45S39.5 x 39.5 x 11.4 mm Fits wrists with a circumerence of 124-185 mm
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| Dimensions: | 3.95 x 3.95 x 1.14 cm; 32 Grams |
| Model: | 010-02156-12 |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Garmin |
| Department: | Unisex – Adults |
| Dimensions: | 3.95 x 3.95 x 1.14 cm; 32 Grams |
| Origin: | Taiwan |
Amazing
This is amazing and so great for what i need it for and matches what is says and you can change the screen to what you like with a app
I bought this to use mainly for walking, with the occasional run. The watch is light and no trouble to wear, with a soft rubbery strap that has plenty of adjustment to suit most wrists. It has its own special charger lead, which is short and with a connection I’ve never seen before. It charges pretty quickly, and lasts 10 hours or so with GPS on (I haven’t timed it exactly). There is a battery indicator available on the watch. When switched on, you can start and select from a number of activities (activities can be added or removed in the app). It finds GPS pretty quickly. I only use the time elapsed/distance covered/pace functions, which all clearly show on the face when running. The session can be paused, and is remembered if the watch is switched off. If you have the app, when a session is saved, it will transfer the data to your phone over Bluetooth. The app has a bewildering array of information that I don’t really use (I just like to know how far I’ve gone and my pace). There are many functions that I haven’t used, but for my requirements, it’s pretty good and easy to use. I’ve only given 4 stars as I would have liked the battery to last a bit longe
Tidy little smart watch
Does everything I need, not too big on the wrist, very functional
Great watch with impressive battery life
I’ve owned a few forerunners and bought this new after being disappointed with the battery life of a renovated version of a different model, which died after half-marathon distance. This Forerunner 45 has easily coped with four hours of marathon training and still been going strong for runs on subsequent days before requiring a recharge. The sleep tracking function seems to be pretty reliable, detecting if I wake in the night. Very lightweight and stylish too.
Bought it refurbished, looks brand new
Not disappointed at all with this purchase. Wish I had bought a Garmin sooner rather than waste money on cheaper fit watches.
Great watch in perfect working order. Literally like new. Even has a years warranty as well. Highly recommend
Reliable and easy to use
Easy to use, no problems with anything it does, app is clear and informative.
Nice watch for the price
This is a well built watch by Garmin, unfortunately mine developed a software issue within a few days, therefore I returned it to Amazon and purchased the Motorola at a slightly cheaper price. I’ve always liked Garmin forerunner watches as they have plenty of functions. Also the Garmin mobile app is better than others, it is very clear and easy to see your activity data. Would highly recommend this watch for the runner or for those attending gym classes. Nice looking watch which goes smartly with any attire.
Simple watch but does what it says
I only use this watch for running because the 3G on my Apple Watch was poor. I’ve been using it for a year – It’s a good watch, GPS is accurate.
I bought this to use mainly for walking, with the occasional run, as my old Garmin, at over 15 years old, was showing its age. The watch is light and no trouble to wear, with a soft rubbery strap that has plenty of adjustment to suit most wrists. It has its own special charger lead, which is short and with a connection I’ve never seen before. It charges pretty quickly, and lasts 10 hours or so with GPS on (I haven’t timed it exactly). There is a battery indicator available on the watch. When switched on, you can start and select from a number of activities (activities can be added or removed in the app). It finds GPS pretty quickly. I only use the time elapsed/distance covered/pace functions, which all clearly show on the face when running. The session can be paused, and is remembered if the watch is switched off. If you have the app, when a session is saved, it will transfer the data to your phone over Bluetooth. The app has a bewildering array of information that I don’t really use (I just like to know how far I’ve gone and my pace). There are many functions that I haven’t used, but for my requirements, it’s pretty good and easy to use. I’ve only given 4 stars as I would have liked the battery to last a bit longer.
More than enough features for my requirements. Started off with a basic requirements to record time/distance for walking/jogging activities. The basics needs more than covered. I now have a wealth of other information relating to my wellbeing throughout the day e.g. stress levels, heart rate, calories and so on. All presented via Garmin Connect. I’m sure there are many other features/facilities I’ve yet to discovered. I’m not a Smartphone user so no knowledge of connectivity with such devices.
Very happy with my Forerunner 45
This is a nice compact watch and the GPS and step/cadence features work well. The heart rate measured by the optical wrist sensor is of little use for running however (but is OK at rest): you should get an ANT ECG chest strap or ignore it. The optical HR depends on both running cadence and actual heart rate (even after following Garmin’s advice on optical HR accuracy), so you don’t know when to believe it and the related statistics are meaningless. It often ‘locks on’ to the running cadence giving erroneously high values, but also gives much too low values on steep climbs at low speeds. Conversely the HR reported by a chest strap closely matches perceived effort at all times.
There are a wide variety of watch faces available, but I find a watch with physical hands is much clearer and more attractive. I only wear the Garmin for sports activities turning it off most of the time, which means less frequent charging is necessary.
The Connect app and website is ok for basic information but is a bit limited. GoldenCheetah or the Python SDK might be better if you are serious.
Two years ago, I bought one of those cheap 29.99 “fitness watches” from China. OK they work (as a watch) and the pulse is fairly accurate but the distances tracked are way out (not GPS) In addition , I could not see the small face in anything other than darkness.
I needed a watch so I could keep an eye on my pace and time and distance without keep getting my phone out and looking at Strava so I bought a Garmin 45.
My aim concern being I need reading glasses, was being able to see the numbers on the go. I can confirm they are nice a big on the always on display.
The best thing is the App. So much data is available. The sleep tracker seems accurate, heart rate also. The GPS is more accurate than Strava in my opinion.
There are many features that I haven’t even begun to use yet.
The only question is why do people pay 200+ more for a more expensive Garmin?
Update: The answer perhaps is the battery is rubbish. On a 3 hour run it drained 80% from full charge.
It even drains 20% syncing with the phone app!
One thing for sure, it would never last 7 days as claimed!
Great watch, i use the HR monitor on the regular, helps me calm down when i used to get panic attacks or i think something is wrong with me, you get used to what your regular HR is so actually if i have overtrained or am ill i can tell and relax a bit more than usual.
Mainly use it to help me keep a steady pace and HR during runs tho, was key in the half marathon i did back in 2021, couldnt have done it without this for sure. And timing my daily 3-5k runs.
Also at work i use the timer for my lunch breaks and stuff, its really handy tbh. Good watch, good price. When it dies i will probably buy a more expensive Garmin watch, as they have proven themselves quality.
Superb watch. Really good app. You get almost all the Strava premium features included in the free app, and you can sync to Strava too.
The only thing that I don’t like is the strap is VERY stretchy, so I often over tighten it. Apart from this, it’s an awesome product, definitely buy one.
Nice enough
Appealing design, variety of features incl. VO2 max, easy to use, just not too convinced about overall accuracy. For example, the sleep function shows me as sleeping even when i haven’t been, only because I have been lying pretty still in bed. Also records steps sometimes when I am sittng down during a bumpy ride. I guess it’s OK for someone who isn’t obsessed 🙂
Good size, accurate GPS, limited battery
This if for the 45S, which fits perfectly on smaller wrists.
The GPS tracking compares well with my previous fitness tracker and the demarcations on my local running route. The sleep tracking seems to over estimate the amount of sleep I get but that’s ok. The one downside is the battery only lasts about 4 days.
Good GPS watch
Finds GPS quickly. Accurate tracking. Get use to the buttons eventually. Good battery life. The sleep tracking aunction isn’t great says your asleep whenn your just lying in bed wide awake.
Great watch but strap mounting points are a major weakpoi
I really loved this watch – perfect for staying motivated through lockdown! Until recently I’d have given it five stars – battery life is decent, GPS track seems very accurate, not too big/weighty…. just seems to work well in use, giving all the information required. I love the fact that you can configure it to get help if it detects a heavy impact (actually happened to me once when I tripped and bashed my head into the ground). I was a bit dazed but it was ready to start messaging my configured emergency contacts with my location until I canceled it. Love the VO2 max measure of fitness also which is great for measuring progress!
HOWEVER, my Garmin Forerunner 45 is now two years old (I wear it all the time) but the strap mounting points at the top of the watch have now both broken off. One broke off first and predictably due to the extra load, the other shortly afterward. These are integral parts of the watch (cannot be replaced). I have had to glue the strap on with superglue, which seems to have worked fairly well, but it’s a bit of a poor show on a two year old watch. I am not a super athlete by any means – just slow, gentle running, so it’s not like it’s had a particularly tough life. From what I have read this seems to be a known issue with the watch, unfortunately…Just watch out for that.
I’m an ex-marathon and ultra marathon runner and canoeist who has exercised all my 67 years and made a point of exercising almost daily from the beginning of the Covid pandemic. This is my first smart watch and I’ve had it for nearly 2 years, and it has been a massively good investment. I am a reluctant tech adopter, but this has been an eye-opener. I’ve had it for nearly two years now, using it as a daily watch, as well as to track a fairly limited range of metrics- walking, running and, kayaking distances, and weight, heart rate and shoe mileage. Once set up it’s been almost perfect, and I never wear my other analogue watches. I know I’m not using it to full advantage- I don’t like music while running, I don’t even know if I can change “Other” to “Kayak” on the watch face, but I can do it on the Garmin Connect app (which gives me a decent health log too). In short, it is waterproof enough for kayaking, gives me all the info I need while exercising and afterwards, and although pleasingly small and light, is visible enough while doing so. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of my wife’s iWatch, but I don’t need( or want) calls, messages, music and news when running, walking or paddling though the beautiful countryside in Ireland or South Africa. And the battery life is way better than hers. And having had plenty of resin straps deteriorate, harden, crack and break on sports watches I ordered a spare strap with this one- I’m pleasantly surprised that I haven’t yet used it. The best praise I can give an item is to say that if it was lost or stolen I’d replace it with the same (unless they had an update with even better battery life or solar charging like my Citizen Eco-drive- A solar charging Garmin 45, maybe in stainless steel, would be my idea of the perfect watch).
After using a fitbit for years, I wanted something that did a little bit more. I have small wrists and having read the reviews, I was a little worried that it would be to big. It is a good fit and doesn’t look or feel too big. The sleep tracking is different to fitbit but seems to be fairly accurate. I had a good read of the reviews and the things I have learnt while using it, you have to make sure that it is fairly tight to your wrist to make sure that it will measure your sleep and heart rate correctly and if you want to use it for notifications, it will eat the battery quite quickly but that goes for any smart watch. The only fault I can find is the alarm is far too quiet for me and I have to rely on the vibration to alert me but all in all, a very good fitness tracker.
Poor battery level indicato
Replaced my Vivoactive HR as water damaged after swimming ! New 45 seems in the main to be a Good replacement with some extra features and a better display. One issue is the battery indicator display isn’t very accurate. I run most days, 45 mins to 1 hours using gps. Heart monitor is always on. From fully charged the indicator drops to around 30% after just 24 hours. It then says at that level for 4 or so day’s and then I get the low warning. Ok, 5 days is about right when you include my GPS runs for the overall battery life between charges. The indicated battery level is however poor/ not accurate. note I contact the Gemini chat line to report this and basically got told to report it to “have an idea”. No option to replace or acknowledgment of the issue I raised. Poor service Garmi
Battery can be hit or miss
The first one delivered had a very weak battery – barely 12 hours in watch mode without GPS; this was replaced immediately with another watch of the same model, it has the advertised battery life.
Buttons are preferred over touch screen.
A compact watch, good for small wrist without compromising battery life.
Versatile with regards to activities monitored.
I’ve had a Garmin 405CX for years and it was starting to mess up, missing pieces of runs etc and decided to get a new watch. I run quite a bit – most days, but I really only want the basic info displayed when I’m running – pace of the run overall, pace of the current mile and distance covered. This I was able to setup real easy on the 45. However I quickly changed this over to report my current heart rate – in times past I needed a separate band to measure this and because it was too much hassle, I never bothered. With the watch now measuring this, I soon had my running display showing this and found that I do alot more of my training the current heart rate rather than anything else. If I find I’m struggling on a particular day, the heart rate will probably confirm that quickly for me too. Unloading the training data to Garmin Connect is very easy. In addition to the most important, critical training functionality, the monitoring of sleep, stress levels, and body battery are interesting additions on the app – maybe they are accurate, maybe they are not, but they come for free and are amusing if nothing else. The VO2 Max that’s calculated by the watch at the end of each run, is also very interesting. Don’t know how accurate it is, but I do know that as I get fitter it is reporting my Vo2 Max level to be gradually higher. All in all I could not recommend this extremely well priced watch highly enough.
Have been using this for about 7 months now and find it to be a great watch for tracking what I do and how I’m improving over time./ A real good motivator to keep going.
Some of the reviews here will bemoan missing features compared to premium smartwatches, but if you’re looking for something to track your walking, running or cycling with GPS support, this will cover exactly what you need without breaking the bank.
From a lot of use it seems to be fairly accurate in what it says, and the Garmin app is good for tracking how things are going.
In terms of sizing, I went for the 45s as my wrists are quite small, and it’s by far the most comfortable lightweight smartwatch I’ve tried. If you’re looking at the 45 range due to similar concerns on comfort, you could be on to a winner here.
On the downside, I’d say the sleep tracking is quite poor when compared to fitbit’s equivalent, however I think it does everything else better!
I noticed Garmin have since released thj Forerunner 55, which may be worth a look as a similarly priced model with a few extra features bundled in.
£100 is a lot of money
This is my first expensive sports watch. My previous ones were 20 jobs which had a chest strap. I’ve always been a bit dubious about the HRM accuracy of wrist watches but this one seems ok. Its the HRM I’m mainly interested in, so that’s a tick. GPS will be used occassionally, sleep monitor also occassionally and on exercise days I’ll be using it as a watch. As a watch the screen is quite dark when inside – the attached picture is a good example. OK, so there’s a light but you don’t want to use a light just to read the time. Size. This is supposed to be LARGE but I wouldn’t call it large. Diameter is 40mm and live display is 26mm. This is not large. So I’m a bit dissappointed. Controls are a bit fidly but ok once remembered. Straps have always been a weak point with me (the rubber ones have never lasted very long) so it will be interesting to see how long this one lasts. Is this good value for money? Ask me in 6 months time.
Great for running
Great watch to measure my steps and running distance. I have started using the Garmin coach app to run a half marathon and so far it’s going really well. Very impressed.
Great features and performance for price.
Brilliant with all features. Took a little time to get accustomed to navigating the menus using the buttons, but once I got thr hang of it, it was great. Sometimes takes a few seconds longer ‘waiting for GPS’ than I expected but overall cannot fault this watch.
Great starter running watch!
This is my first Garmin watch that I got for running. I’m a new runner but love my tech so wanted to get this in order to keep me motivated. Really like the watch, the app is easy to use and had lost of customisation and data to look at. Especially for a relatively new runner. Not sure how accurate the sleep data is but GPS and heart rate info seems to be good. Watch is comfortable, only issue is I did get a sweat rash when wearing it 24/7 for a while. So I no longer wear it overnight, or at least change wrists every so often. May look into upgrading the strap sometime. Overall pleased and likely to stick with Garmin products in the future.
Bought middle of 2020 from Amazon for only 116 during an offer period. Have used the watch extensively for measuring distance for running, biking, walking, yoga, cardio and heat beat (resting/active) and sleep monitoring. Occasionally used to find out the time.
I really like it. On a 12h run I turned everything off except GPS (so no heart monitoring or blue tooth) and battery lasted OK.
The default watch screens have info which is a little too small for me to see clearly without glasses, which is annoying, the main issue being the battery level indicator.
Overall, a great piece of equipment that has motivated me to do a bit more than I would normally.
I’ve linked up to Strava and use a PC screen to review data and occasionally look at results on the phone – not during activity though.
I will look out for what comes next after the Forerunner 45; I’d only upgrade if the price was reasonable, the default display slightly bigger and the battery life a bit longer.
Dithered
I just wanted something simple that would work with my iPad – I’m 63 and stopped running a while back but this seems just right for the fun of tracking walks I do for my daily excercise. I maybe should’ve got the larger one as the strap just fastens without much spare but I didn’t want a huge thing on my wrist.
Only had 3 days now and so far am very happy.
great product but hiccup at the sta
he product works great now, better than expected. But at the start I experienced the triangle of death- I had to re-download the app and reboot the entire watch for it to work normally again. Amazon customer service was helpful on this fro
Does what it should and what it needs to. Regular updates come through. Battery lasts well between charges.
The accuracy of the sleep and dream function is dependent on fairly basic measures of pulse and as such is just a rough guide.
I would prefer a more breathable strap, but that’s my own preference.
Simple and clear.
Lovely watch, easy to read and operate. Can take longer that a few minutes to get satellite though. Battery life is excellent. I run 60 miles a week and only have to charge once a week. It stores lots of info aswell.
Really impressed with it. Amazing to have a small watch face option for a smart watch as that is very rare. The watch is unobtrusive and simple, but functional. Only thing that can let it down is Garmin Connect sometimes has issues, but the supports agents at Garmin are excellent and will help you through any issues if they do arise.
My first Garmin product and first smart watch/fitness watch. Got on Prime Day for only 109, absolute bargain for that price. Although this is an entry level watch, it has a lot of functions, is easy to use and very reliable. The Garmin app is great for indepth analysis of HR, sleep, and most of all your workouts. I use this for running, decided to get as my phone with Strava isnt great. The sync between Garmin app and Strava is fantastic so I don’t lose all my historic running data and shared between two apps. The distance tracking is good and the vibration feedback for reaching 1km/1 mile is great. Have already started to see better running results as i can quickly glance at the watch for feedback as opposed to looking at phone. Getting this watch was a great decision (although my Amazon driver stole my first order out of the packaging – not Garmins fault!) and in the future will deffo look at a Garmin if i upgrade!
Been thinking about buying a running watch for a while and this one was on offer so finally took the plunge. Please I did. Easy to set up and use. Didn’t need manual really. Once you’ve downloaded the app and synced phone with device you get loads of stats. Interesting training plans and although I’ll be using it for running and treadmill you can set up for all sorts. Worth the 109 pounds I paid for sure
I purchased this watch for my wife after shopping around loads at various designs and functions, then opted for this one as the design was sleek and one which could be worn daily without being too bulky like other running watches, but also retained all the functions needed to make is useable.
The watch charges quickly and has a good uptime when not used to track and monitor runs which means it is not constantly on charge for daily use and can be worn for a few days without battery issues. It monitors and tracks the run very effectively and is very user friendly to get used it in no time. The menus are customisable so you can choose the widgets to be displayed as well as choosing new faces from the Garmin app to personalise it to your own preferences. It’s easy to read and the watch is comfortable to wear as the strap is quite soft and flexible, and having a “normal” face diameter so it doesn’t look huge on any wrist.
Nice product.. just a shame about the dull and washed out screen.
First the only negative.. If you’re expecting the screen to look as vibrant as the ones in the promotional images then you’re in for a bitter disappointment as the colours are dull and extremely washed out in comparison.
I contacted Garmin support regarding the first watch received and was advised to send it back get a replacement, which I did, but the screen on the replacement is exactly the same.. dull and washed out!
On the upside.. the watch is extremely comfortable to wear and works well. Heartbeat monitor is accurate as is the steps monitor and the GPS connects without much delay. I wanted the watch to track my bike rides, which it does flawlessly and connects to my Strava account seamlessly.
Initial setup to my phone & Garmin connect app was painless. The app itself is brilliant. It contains a wealth of information regarding your activities, sleep patterns etc.. and allows you to tweak your general watch settings and customize downloaded watch face settings.. It’s much better than the fitbit app and a damn site more reliable.
This is my first tracker and apart from the dull screen it does everything I need and has good battery life so overall I’m pretty pleased with the purchase. However I would advise that anyone purchasing the Forerunner 45 to also purchase a screen protector at the same time as the glass doesn’t look like it would take much to damage it.
Got this beginning of lockdown. Used connect and linked to Strava.
Generally all seemed ok.
But if you search the web, you come across hiccups, I came across those too.
Sometimes it would not be connected to my phone, but appears it is. Wouldn’t sync.
Started to not or sometimes wouldn’t connect with my cadence sensor. Changed that and the battery.
No better
Turn watch off and on, all ok.
This became the norm turn watch off then on would connect with cadence and phone.
Sometimes move away from phone, wouldn’t then reconnect. I put up with this sketchy performance for a few months thinking it was just a thing.
Then it seemed to get worse
Sometimes watch just refused to turn on.
Finally contacted amazon and they did exchange the watch.
Wanted to upgrade but they couldn’t do that.
New watch arrived. Set up as required.
If you are using iOS do not use the phone to connect, only use the app.
This watch does behave differently, very differently to my other
But it works totally, I don’t have to turn it off
It always reconnects with my phone and when I go out of range it tells me
It tells me when I’m back in range.
It always connects to my cadence sensor
It always uploads my ride.
So I’m pleased with this watch now, I was annoyed with the other.
I bought this mainly to track my running to replace a dead FitBit Surge, having briefly tried a FitBit Charge 4 as a replacement (dreadful – returned immediately).
Honestly, I’ve never been so impressed with a product.
It is incredibly easy and intuitive to use. The app is brilliant (much better than FitBit) and the watch is controlled with buttons, not by swiping, which means it’s quick and easy to use when working out and sweaty.
The GPS connected almost straightaway after leaving the house (the Surge always took a minute or so, and the Charge 4 never connected). The mapping is super-accurate – even showed which side of the road I was running on, and the altitude tracking seems plausible, unlike the Surge.
There’s a choice of clock faces, so you can see pretty much anything you want all of the time. It always annoyed me that the Surge only showed the heart rate for a few seconds after swiping, but the Garmin shows it all of the time. Added to this it calculates VO2 Max and stress levels (I can’t vouch for the accuracy). Yeah, it’s great.
I really like the design of this Garmin watch and the e-ink screen. Looks solid and minimalistic.
The app and web dashboard are so much better than what Fitbit and Samsung offer.
Excellent battery life.
Reasonably priced.
Areas of improvement are:
– Sleep tracking. It has improved in the past year but the Fitbit I had two years ago was more accurate so Garmin is a little behind on that.
– Changing straps is a bit of a pain on this model. For some reason those little screws are difficult to put back in so consider that if you intend to change straps frequently.
– Decent watch faces are actually very few and you can’t customise the default one. I think Garmin should offer more options on that.
– Doesn’t recognise resistance training. I understand leaving more premium features for the expensive models but it should at least let you manually record the time spent training.
Great watch but no swim app.
I love this watch. I use it for running and it’s great for that. Would have liked it to do aerobics and it has no downloadable apps in Garmin IQ other than watch faces. That was a disappointment because When I looked up about swimming and Garmin forerunner the web said it didn’t track but there was good swim app. Not for this forerunner so beware.A shame when it is fully waterproof. I’m not sure why it doesn’t. It’s gps is excellent and it’s pretty intuitive to use.
Unfortunately mine started to drain battery power really quickly and it had been amazing before that. Amazon customer support was outstanding though and I have my replacement no hassle. That is the only reason I give 4 stars in case the battery issue is a common thing but I’ve not seen anything to suggest that.
I got this solely to keep track of my running, but have found it useful wearing it for day-to-day health monitoring. It finds GPS much more quickly than my last fitness watch. I got the small version as my wrists are thin and it is a good fit.
Just into running and wanted something to wear on my wrist so that I could keep track of my pace without getting the old Strava out ! Light weight, perfect fit (I have very small wrists) – you forget it’s on. Some features but not overly sexy in terms of functionality but then I didn’t want to get into the 200 bracket. Good watch though and would recommend and love the ‘change the watch face’ features.
I love everything about this watch except for one thing. It’s light, easy to use, seems to be accurate to me, gives me good information while I’m running (and much more on the Garmin Connect app), the GPS tracks my run well, it synchs with Strava, and as I use it only when I go running or walking (i.e. I don’t wear it all day for steps), the battery life lasts a long time for my needs. Plus it recharges quickly enough anyway.
The only thing I don’t like (hence the 4/5 stars) is that it can take a fair while to find a GPS when I start it. It’s taken well over two minute sometimes, although there have been times when it’s quicker. And of course, it might just be where I live. But the reviews I read before I bought it (e.g. techradar) did warn me of this, so fair enough.
Battery life was good and this charged very quickly.
Surprisingly easy to use and navigate the menus once you’ve worked out what the buttons do. Becomes intuitive fairly quickly, especially given I’ve not had a smart watch before. Thought it would be complicated or clunky but was pleasantly surprised how user friendly it is!
The watch face is easy to read and the watch is comfortable to wear – I have slim wrists and the 45s is ideal in terms of the face diameter and the length of the strap – which is quite soft and flexible, not hard plastic.
Very customisable menus – you can choose which ‘widgets’ are displayed and in what order. There are quite a few watch faces to choose from on the Garmin app and you can easily make your own from a picture and upload it.
The app is great for tracking patterns in terms of sleep and exercise, planning workouts and using the Garmin coach – would definitely recommend. I didn’t realise my phone calendar could sync to my watch, which is surprisingly useful and easy to view.
I tend to leave the Bluetooth switched on on my phone to receive alerts for calls and notifications during the day, but don’t take my phone out running or in the gym, and just sync the watch when I’m done exercising, which works well, especially with the app to track things.
I found the step counter to be somewhat variable in terms of accuracy – but for running there are three different GPS options, so the accuracy there doesn’t seem to be any problem at all.
Given the watch cannot store music, it’s handy that you can control your music from the watch. I use Bluetooth headphones and Spotify on my phone and can use the basic music control functions from my watch at the same time, and also answer or ignore calls. I imagine having control from the watch is brilliant if you do take your phone out running.
I didn’t want to have a watch that stored music or could do contactless payments, so for an exercise oriented smart watch this is brilliant. I would definitely recommend it to anyone that wants a lower end / starter one – but it packs many more features than I expected for the price and certainly feels like a high end item.
I read a lot of reviews before purchasing this watch.
It is excellent. I find the buttons much better to use the my husband’s Garmin that is waterproof.
There was a glitch with software that meant it wouldn’t sync with the music for a while but that resolved with an update.
It has seen me though my training and doing the great North run.
I like the ease that you can start a “run activity” which is great at start of a park run when you have not paid as much attention- 3 clicks of a button. There is sometime a delay for waiting for GPS so I usually prime it to find GPS then one click to start your run.
I can easily see the display and see your pace and it seems accurate.
I am just a fun runner so didn’t need all the fancier things that came with the more expensive versions. Only thing I would say is I don’t like the sexist colours as would have preferred black and that was only in the bigger size. Having got the white I actually think I prefer it to the black now.
Bought to replace a Vivosmart HR+ – is a definite and seemingly worthwhile upgrade. Updated to software version 2.50 easily enough using Garmin Express on Windows. Watch seems to track well, battery life seems good so far and the interface/button navigation quickly becomes second nature. GPS is definitely more accurate than my older HR+. Watch itself is smaller than I’m used to (normally wear G-Shocks and a 46mm Galaxy Watch) but sits comfortably enough on my average sized wrist (see first image).
Few odd observations that will hopefully be fixed in future software releases:
– Syncing to Strava has resulted in the elevation value being significantly over estimated (seems okay in Garmin Connect). Not sure if this is a Strava issue or a problem with the GPX data (Strava can correct the elevation if you choose it to).
– If you set Workout interval repetition to 0 then it looks if if the watch doesn’t deal with the datatype properly and displays a very large negative number on the second interval. Still works, but need fixing (see final image).
– A few of the custom watch faces are extremely cramped, and even the default Garmin ones aren’t very polished around the edge of the screen (some show a few rogue white space pixels around the circumference). See second image.
Overall though really happy with my purchase. The Garmin Connect app syncs everything seamlessly and (elevation issue aside) it syncs to Strava (and MapMyRun) without any problems.
UPDATE: Excessive elevation issue syncing to Strava appears to be fixed (01/06/2019)