Garmin Forerunner 245 Easy to Use Lightweight GPS Running Smartwatch, Running and Training Guidance, Safety and Tracking Features included, Up to 7 days Battery Life, Slate

Despite the Forerunner 245 being designed for running, above other activities, I bought this for it's swimming functions. I actually rarely run. Thie watch was at a reasonable price point and offered extra pool swimming functionality, whilst still offering decent tracking for cycling and walking/running. When I was reading through the reviews before buying it, I didn't see much about swimming so I wanted to leave a review that covered swimming a little more. This watch does not have an outdoor swimming option, but as I have yet to brave wild swimming, this is not an issue for me. I bought this as an upgrade to my Vivoactive3 primarily because of the heart rate monitor that is now available during swimming activities. It also has the drill log function and allows the user to create and download workouts to use in the pool, which were functions that were lacking on the Vivoactive3. I have found both to be very useful since I have been using this watch. The extra buttons are taking me a while to get used to and initially I did make some mistakes, ending up recording 4 separate swims during one session, but overall (with user error taken out of the picture!) the performance of the watch seems to have been good. It has counted my laps fairly accurately. There have been a couple of extra laps added but I think this is due to the current pool conditions under COVID restrictions and swimming loops instead of straight laps, and sometimes having to stop and start due to other swimmers. I actually think it has been amazingly accurate considering the conditions. I have also used it for hikes and bike rides, both of which it has recorded accurately. The heart rate monitor matches that of the Vivoactive 3 and seems to be very accurate. I have checked my heart rate manually a few times and it has agreed perfectly with my calculations, so I am happy that it is accurate. The information after a ride or walk has been very accurate including the GPS map which was accurate enough even to show which side of the road I was walking on. Looks-wise, I don't think it is as nice as the Vivoactive 3 and I suspect the bezel will scratch fairly easily as it is plastic. I have a screen protector and a case on mine to protect it. My Vivoactive 3 just had a screen protector and survived well despite heavy use. I hope this will be as good. The battery life seems to be good, though I haven't noticed a big difference from the Vivoactive 3. I like the additional function of the body battery, which appears to be pretty accurate. One thing that did surprise me though, was the need to plug it into a laptop when I received it, to get the latest software update. I couldn't do this from my phone or Chrome book. I was also surprised that it had not come installed with a more up-to-date software version. However, once I realised what I needed to do, it was easy enough to follow the on-screen instructions and update it to version 5 rather than the version 2-point-something it had come with. Once that was done, I installed a few watch faces and chose one that I like. The face is clear, even in low sunlight and without the backlit option. The strap is comfortable and fits without adjustment due to the number of holes running all the way around. There is plenty of adjustment so I cannot imagine that there are many people it would not fit. All in all, it is a nice upgrade from the Vivoactive 3 which I have been very happy with. The added functions are great and I am pleased with it. At the price, I think it offers a good range of functions and is accurate.

Only had the Garmin forerunner 245 for a few days and the battery is amazing! On 63% in 3 days and I've got heart rate on constantly and bluetooth to my phone. Not used for gym yet but walking and getting everything set up ready to start doing weights in the gym with rep counter and sets. Setting favourites so I can select it quick before the exercise to log it. Also be using cross trainer later and see how that is. To say the battery is only that us good cause its still evening out, I read the watch will use more for the first week till it settles down with my needs. It's bright enough, I first thought it wasn't but you get used to it. Using for work on 12 hours at a steelworks and it's fine. Got weather, temperature, heart rate, time, steps, date, battery percentage, miles walked all on one screen face. You can customise for free on the Garmin Qi app. Brilliant. Right down to the colour of each thing. I would advice getting a cover for the face of the watch and added warranty, I got 3 years for £15. The covers are on amazon for like £6 for 3. The only con is the strap, I think I'm allergic to the rubber abit as I got wrist burn abit when at work so ordered another stap that's nylon. No big deal. Love the watch, glad I got it. You can link your fitness pal app to it too. I use it for sleep to track and steps. Had a fitbit years back and the steps would mount up cause I was driving so that put me off. Not tried it under water yet as its waterproof upto 5 metres I bealive. I like the push buttons instead of touch screen. Light watch but tough also by how it's made. Messages and calls appear on the interface which is good so I can read the whole message on my watch instead of opening my phone and I can make my own short pre message to replay quick if I'm working out. Glad I went to Garmin instead of samsung. My sister has the samsung watch and she says every couple of days it's dead and it's new. Why should you have to disable features to save battery?? You want the most out of the watch. Sister is looking into getting one of these now, good all around and I'm not a runner but a gym guy that walks abut and wants to track sleep and respiration, heart rate. It's perfect. I'll update if my mind is changed.

Bought this watch after watching/reading countless reviews as it's a relatively big purchase at this price point, so wanted to get this right.. Previously I have been using a Galaxy watch active which has been great, but I wanted to take the next step with purchasing a forerunner. Initially was going to go for the 55 but the 245 was reduced in black Friday so went for this. Anyway, on to the watch itself... My first impressions are really positive (only had for 1 week) and I love this watch. Yes, the screen resolution isn't up there with the likes of apple/Samsung, however I didn't buy this watch for that. As a running watch, the display is clear, easy to ready and actually looks great with a traditional LCD display. The watch itself is light, comfortable and the battery life is amazing, really. It's lasted 5 days so far and still have over 60%!!!! Garmin have created a fantastic app (garmin connect) which is super easy to use and is nice to look at. What's really good is that you can see a snapshot of your daily stats (heart rate, stress, body battery) etc on the watch itself, or, you can access the app for a more detailed overview. The daily suggested workouts are a really nice touch and really mix up your running routine which makes it fun to use. What I didn't expect is how good this watch is as a day to day smart watch, as notifications are displayed really clearly and its quick and easy to respond to texts etc. So far, I have no complaints and if you are considering purchasing this watch, you won't be disappointed. Highly recommended!!

Great watch that is comfortable and the Garmin app is great, which syncs easily between watch and phone, with GPS tracking.

Upgraded from a Vivoactive 3 and was surprised by how much of an upgrade it feels. Loads more data now available on Garmin Connect which I've found really useful. However, it's clearly designed for runners (the clue is in the name I guess), if you want a general 'smart' watch this is not it, buy a Fenix or Apple watch. However, as a runner I love all of the training features and LOVE PacePro which allows you to upload a GPX file of the course you are running and guides you to the pace you need to be running at each individual section to hit your target time, it's brilliant! Battery life is SO much better then the Vivioactive, it lasted a week even including a Marathon! Unfortunately, I don't like the silicon strap that it comes with, it irritates my skin and I don't have sensitive skin. I've never had an issue with watch straps (including Garmin watches in the past) but this causes red patches and soreness and I know from talking to others that this issue is not uncommon; others tell me you can apply vaseline to the sore spots regularly but surely this isn't something you should need to do regularly! I have now bought a fabric strap from a third party which has solved the issue but it's been annoying. Overall a great RUNNING watch, not a great 'smart' watch and you'll need to budget for a new strap.

My other two smartwatches were an original Motorola 360, then a Samsung Galaxy Sport 2 and they were more fancy watch than sports trackers. I loaded up all the watch faces and apps and it was great. Then when I decided to start jogging and realised I needed something better to log my distances. After much web browsing I decided on the Garmin 245. No, it doesn't have the fancy Rolex look alike watch faces, but it does the exercise stuff really well. I've been using Strava and Adidas Running apps and it's been mapping my daily excursions since the original lockdown began. I went with one of the standard watch faces as it had all the information I need at a glance. The battery lasts for aaaaages and charges quickly too, so it's always on my wrist. Am I any fitter? No, because it seems I have a heart condition that requires major surgery in the near future, so that was a not pleasant surprise, but it's keeping me healthy enough. This version also comes in a different model, Forerunner 245 music that has a bit more memory to store mp3s so you can listen to bluetooth streamed music while you hike, cycle, run, etc. I use my Samsung A52s with wired headphones, so didn't need the extra functionality. It's one of the cheapest watches in the Garmin range and it's perfect for me. Just buy a screen protector for it before you start wearing it, as I found the glass does scratch (somehow).

Bought this to replace both my Garmin Forerunner 35 (which is a great first running watch, but more basic, and blocky in appearance) and my Fibit Charge 4 (which looks smart, but I find useless for running due to the small text and touch screen). Really pleased with the appearance, and how comfortable it is to wear all day. (I even wear it all night without noticing it, which lets me use the sleep analysis function too.) Loving it for running, as I can easily see all the stats I want, and control everything with good sized buttons. Lots of extra functionality that I’m still learning more about (eg recovery time), but also more basic functions easily visible that the Forerunner 35 seemed to lack (eg viewing and monitoring Heartrate all day, even when not triggering exercise modes). I have it hooked up to my Polaris arm strap to monitor heartrate during exercise, for better accuracy - which was simple to do. It also paired very easily with my Garmin connect phone app using Bluetooth (which links to Strava, showing mapping of runs from the device’s GPS data), and seems to be getting software updates from Garmin directly from Garmin Connect. (Another plus point, as my older Forerunner needed hard wiring to my PC to get software updates.) So far, I’m very impressed by the battery life, which seems far better than either device it’s replacing - despite it monitoring more things. All in all, a great, robust, watch for everyday wear as well as for running/exercising. (And I’m enjoying no longer feeling I have to constantly switch between 2 watches!)

I am new to running and have never used a sports watch in the past, so this review will not be a comparison so much as a personal experience with this particular watch. Firstly I will say that I would prefer to have the music version of this watch, however I got this one on sale and I couldn't justify the extra cost. I would say to go for the music version if price is not an issue for you. I was going to purchase this watch after I had already completed my couch to 5k program, however I saw that it was on sale so I bought it very early in to the program. I ended up finishing my c25k program a few weeeks early and that is a hundred percent down to having the feedback on my wrist on how far I'd travelled. Having such a small and accessible device which gives you useful information like your heartrate, your time running, your pace and your distance really helps you to push yourself that extra bit at the end of your run to round off your distance. I also enjoy the mapping features that the phone app offers, it's lovely to go on a jog with your c25k buddy, take a nice picture, then use the garmin app to put your stats over the picture to commemorate hitting the milestones. I love the training programs inbuilt in to the garmin app, they don't just give you a running program, they also tell you useful information about running, fatigue, posture and mindset along the way. I have found this useful as a new runner. This all comes for free with the app (I say this because I jog with someone who uses a fitbit, and they have to subscribe to have access to the content on the fitbit.) I have even been walking more since I got this watch, it gives you a nice summary each day of your exercise, your condition, sleep patterns etc. If you are someone who likes feedback I do think a Garmin watch is a great bit of kit to help you to train up to be a runner. All in all, I really like it. I would not have run my 10k by now had I not gotten my Garmin watch. I would recommend this or something like it to new runners.

I was looking for a smart watch with enough activities to suit my level which is practically an occasional biker/runner and walker. All these are catered for plus a few extras and there is enough data recording to satisfy what I want to see namely time/steps/route/heart rate. The Garmin app is a wonderful tool to delve deeper into the exercise if required. The watch does not have a touch screen but this does not bother me and I actually think works better without. Recommended for those who carry out moderate exercise and want to see a few more stats than the basic watches out there.

Sportwatch dedicato a chi ama correre, leggero, comodo al polso, non irrita la pelle ed è piacevole anche esteticamente. A differenza dei fratelli della gamma forerunner, il 245 ha un display a colori con un diametro di 30,4 mm. Il cinturino è da 20 mm, adatto per polsi femminili anche piccolini e va bene anche per gli uomini che preferiscono la comodità alle classiche "padelle" al polso. Le funzioni di monitoraggio sono molto precise ma ricordate sempre che l'orologio va regolato bene al polso e soprattutto che ci sarà sempre un margine di errore, seppur piccolo, perché chiaramente non avete un macchinario collegato direttamente al cuore ma pur sempre al polso. Quindi è possibile vedere frequenza cardiaca, spO2 (che può essere misurata quando lo decidete voi dall'orologio stesso oppure potete selezionare la modalità continua anche la notte. Il problema è che in base a come dormite, il valore non sarà preciso). L'orologio calcola anche lo stress quotidiano e tramite l'app è possibile vedere tutti i dettagli della giornata comprensivi degli attimi di riposo oltre che di sport. Altri parametri importanti VO2 max, la cronologia degli esercizi recenti e la qualità relativa a questi esercizi, i tempi di recupero consigliati e poi trovate tutta una serie di widget (sono davvero tantissimi) con le varie attività. Per cui non è presente solo la corsa, ma anche pesi, yoga, pilates ecc. Dall'app è possibile partecipare anche a delle sfide che vi permettono di migliorare sempre di più e di muovervi sempre di più. Ad esempio eseguire 300 mila passi in un mese, fare un record nella corsa oppure fare 1 ora di pesi ecc. Appena raggiungete l'obiettivo riceverete un badge. Per ogni bagde vengono assegnati dei punti e man mano che aumentano i punti passerete ai livelli di difficoltà maggiore. La vera svolta, soprattutto nel periodo di lockdown (utilizzo l'orologio da gennaio quindi lo utilizzo da nove mesi), è stata la scoperta di poter collegare l'orologio a Zwift. Zwift è un'app che potete scaricare da pc, smartphone e ipad e vi consente di correre in tempo reale insieme ad altri partecipando a gare virtuali. Idea geniale che mi ha tenuto compagnia quando eravamo in zona rossa. Quindi l'orologio si collega all'app mediante bluetooth, ovviamente dovete avere un tapis roulant in casa. Appena iniziate a correre, esattamente come avviene all'aperto, l'orologio inizierà il suo lavoro e sul display del vostro tablet o pc, vedrete l'avatar che corre al vostro ritmo insieme agli altri. È possibile scegliere persino dove correre, in quale città, ci sono tantissimi percorsi. Molto divertente. In questi mesi di utilizzo non ho avuto problemi, l'orologio funziona perfettamente, senza intoppi. La batteria ha una buona durata, riesco a fare 5 gg consecutivi eseguendo parecchie attività con gps.

This is a good training companion. Specially for runners. I have compared this product to Garmin forerunner 645. All sensor values match ok between the devices. It is a delay on the built in heart rate sensor. 1-2 minutes. But in a 5k run the average heart rate did more or less match my forerunner 645. So for running this product is good.

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Je ne suis pas déçu! la montre est légère et cela a l'avantage de l'empêcher de bouger: elle est donc précise pour le capteur cardiaque. Le GPS est très efficace pour l'instant (mais je l'essaye alors que la couverture végétale n'est pas à son maximum). Les données sont globalement très cohérentes et permettent donc de progresser de façon rationnelle dans les entraînement. Les données d'altitude, qui ne sont pas fournies par un équipement dans la montre mais par les données topographiques, sont plutôt précises, même en pleine forêt. Utilisée en piscine, j'ai été surpris de la précision des données, donc c'est un très bon point. Pour le fitness et la musculation, il faut prendre le coup de main pour qu'elle prenne les données correctement en compte, mais ça va aussi... même si de toute façon elle ne semble pas conçue spécifiquement pour ça, donc .... Pour le système Garmin Connect qui permet de récupérer et d'analyser les données collectées par la montre: Pas toujours ergonomique, mais les informations sont trouvables sur Internet (guide de Garmin mis à jour) La comparaison des activités effectuées est facile et pertinente, donc très utile pour progresser. Créer un entraînement sur Garmin Connect est très facile; Seul bémol, on ne peut y indiquer que 50 étapes au maximum. Pour du fractionné ça passe pour mon utilisation, mais pour de la musculation, c'est un peu juste. Bref: la 245 est un appareil léger et pourtant efficace!