Garmin - Forerunner 255 Series

For me a forerunner was 100% worth it but I never liked Apple Watch, never used mine (hand me down from a parent), and didn’t have the same concerns about Garmin that you have. I am not a smart watch person so the fact that my garmin (255) is basically not a smart watch is ideal for me. I don’t care about look. The training metrics are a plus and a big part of why I love it but nothing anyone needs and if the battery life/24/7 wear isn’t going to be THE factor for you then it sounds like Apple Watch is your watch and you don’t need to convince yourself you need Garmin!

The same I was big on the Apple ecosystem and felt like it was a cool watch just because it integrated so well, but I never even downloaded any apps for it. All I ever used it for was timers and reminders and stuff like that and basic fitness tracking, and my forerunner does all the same stuffbut way better. Should’ve switched sooner

All true except advanced metrics. They are also present in Fenix (it has even more features for hiking) and Instinct. Forerunner is not more advanced. The rugedness is mostly about the bezel. In fenix and instinct it has a rim which gives extra protection to the screen. But that means rugged watches are more bulky what can be a problem in the gym. The real question is lightness of forerunner vs battery life of fenix /instinct

FR 165 may be missing some more advanced options, but it should match your needs and budget (barely). Personally I would go for second hand FR255. If you care a lot about HR, especially during intervals, buy arm monitor like Polar OH1+ in addition to a watch. It is quite cheap, easily pairs with all Garmins and tests prove it is more reliable than almost any watch on the market.

I just switched from an Apple Watch (3.5 years) to a 255. I run and was mostly using my aw as a running watch. As a running watch it was fine, but the battery life sucked and my gps/distance was always a bit off from my friends. I’d much rather a slightly better gps than a slightly better hr sensor. Also, big, physical buttons are also great when doing things when you are sweaty. I didn’t even bother getting a touch screen. From my perspective, I couldn’t find a good reason to buy another apple.

if he is working a lot in the rain, get him something with more than 2 buttons so he would be able to use the watch using only the buttons (without the touchsreen) if he needs to, something like a forerunner, or instinct (doesnt have a touch screen) or a fenix (but a fenix is one of the more expensive ones)

I have both and just got the forerunner. I really enjoy the fitness data from garmin. AW is just a superior smart watch and I am coming to the conclusion that I don’t need it any more. At my age I just need to focus more on my health and fitness.

In same boat. Floridian who knows you can’t touch anything after 10 minutes in the heat and I fear the button loss. Also have owned forerunners

I’ve had and loved garmin forerunners and a coros pace. Slight preference for coros over garmin for battery life. Slight preference for garmin for multi-app interoperability.  I’m actually planning to buy an Apple Watch because it’s fine as a fitness tracker and has better health tracking capabilities on top of the fitness stuff. 

Yes, they’re great. Make sure to download the connect app, that’s we’re all the useful data will be much easier to read.

Their training readiness is unfortunately skewed for cardio like running or cycling. Garmin is not very good at measuring muscle load / fatigue. I would go 255 + Chest Strap. Optical sensors are not very good at detecting sudden changes in heart rate so without a chest strap you will notice a lot of lag and it may not properly detect peaks during lifting. Straining your wrist a lot is also known to interfere with HR measurements.

The only time that I had issues with a Garmin watch they replaced the watch well over the warrant. I got a forerunner that lasted a lot (6 years?) and then I gave it to a friend. I'm sporting an almost 5 year old fenix and I got it second hand. The watches they make are sturdy

Not having a screen doesn't really seem like much of a selling point. It's nice to have the watch function and access to other data bits on the screen. I have an older Garmin Forerunner that I've used for about 8 years.

I’d look for a sale on a 255/955, or second hand to keep costs down. But if you’re for sure committed to this, get a new one haha Having the training plans are so helpful for getting into running when you don’t know what to do.

I've gotten a lot more consistent with my running with my Garmin forerunner. Week long battery life, and basic notifications. I don't think there exists any watch that tracks lifting correctly though.

Depends on what you need, if it’s mainly for running, I’d go with one of the cheaper Forerunner models. An AMOLED display is a nice upgrade though. Also, definitely check the battery life if that’s important to you. I recently switched to the 965 and can say it’s been a solid watch.

This is historically not true. The 255 and 955 have been updated with major updates over the last few years that kept them relevant for users and a high quality option for second hand purchasing.

I'd say you don't need to. It's a choice. Sorry if that comes across as terribly unhelpful. I just used NRC when I did my first three 10ks (very different I know) and the app alone was brilliant. I'm now training for my first half with a Garmin forerunner. The only reason I got one was because my phone GPS kept insisting that I broke the 400m world record and saying I did miles in like 10 minutes - which simply wasn't true. Now, however, I find it really useful to be able to glance down and see my distance / time / average pace. It's helped me get some genuine PBs. It also gives me a training plan and recommended runs each day, but I don't use it. Edit to say Good luck with the training and the run!

Garmin. I have both. Heart tracking on GW is a joke

Any watch with multiband GPS. I got a cheap Garmin Forerunner 255 and it works awesome.

It all comes down to the watch screen. MIP vs Amoled. If you haven't own a smartwatch before, then you won't miss what you don't have if you go via MIP route 255. I see my worker's fenix with MIP screen and I prefer the amoled's visibily. I have a 245 and I'm happy with the 265 jump. If budget is the issue I would just go with the 255.

Hello everyone. I’m having a hard time deciding which watch to commit to using. I have an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and a Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, and I’ve been alternating between the two, which makes it difficult to stay committed and keep all my training data in a single app. First, I’m a 35-year-old man and I started training a bit more seriously about 3 months ago. My workouts are mainly focused on health, since I have a full-time job that I can’t step away from, as I’m the primary provider for my family. However, I’ve been venturing a bit more into triathlon training with a dream—still distant—of completing an Ironman 70.3. I finished my first half marathon two weeks ago. I really like the battery life of the Forerunner 255 as well as the way Garmin presents health and training data. For example, in swimming, the rest intervals show up every time I get out of the water. During runs, there’s an upper graph displaying my heart rate zone or pace so I can check it with just a quick glance. I also really liked the Daily Suggested Workouts and the adaptive coaches that adjust based on my sleep and recent training. But the biggest issue with the watch is that it doesn’t have LTE, nor does it have a microphone or an assistant for timer requests, alarms, Apple reminders, or voice notes. With the Apple Watch, the screen is amazing and vibrant, but it’s not always-on like an MIP display. My workout data ends up split across two different apps (Health and Fitness), and it’s not presented very clearly. I end up using Bevel and WorkOutDoors to improve the layout and presentation, but this data doesn’t influence the training suggestions. My sleep doesn’t influence my workouts, nor do my recent exercises. Everything feels a bit disconnected. But I love going out for a run with just my watch, without carrying my smartphone, and using LTE to receive notifications and calls, as well as Apple Pay for payments. Also, the convenience of voice reminders, timers, alarms, answering calls without having to run around looking for my phone—these things make life so much easier. So, I’d like to know if anyone has gone through this and how you ended up solving it. I believe that if the LTE issue were resolved, I would switch to Garmin for good. I hate running with a smartphone. Do you keep it in your pocket? Do you use a specific Lycra band or something like that? What did you decide in the end?

I would personally always take a Forerunner over the Venu series, as I am pretty serious about my fitness. I don't really care much about smart watch features, just need a bare minimum. And the venu series seems to take tradeoffs with fitness features to accommodate the increase in smart features.

I second this. My Garmin Forerunner has been going strong 4 years now.

I think for lifting, there really isn't any watch that can track things accurately. Nor do the watches I recommend have a music feature. I much prefer to listen from my phone rather than my watch. I've found that the 255 is fairly accurate in terms of heart rate tracking on average, at least compared to by chest strap monitor. But it doesn't do HIIT or vigorous exercise very well. Running and even sprinting, it tracks fairly accurately. Barbell complexes and murphs, it's pretty bad. But on a day to day basis, it provides a lot of good data, at least for me.

I tried both 255 and 265, if you are okay not having the amoled screen, it is better to get a 255 and save around $180 (cad)

I find that both are equally reliable on training. Pace, distance and everything else. Just the way Garmin presents are way better. If only Garmin create a LTE experience likewise Apple.

How much will playing music from the watch be a use for you? Battery life suffers a lot when you use the watch for music, and the 255 specifically suffers a lot. From a week or two of battery to hours. It might be worth it to upgrade to the higher end watch just for the battery life alone.

The first one i broke rock climbing. 245 i replaced with 255 bcs i started trail running and i wanted elevation tracking. 255 was the reasonable choice (price vs function) even though I liked fenix 7 more

https://preview.redd.it/wg9d97ipi9if1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f84417b7afba6b5888afae05c3f7b1b9346c075 Im in the same situation, 1 week with the fr255 and i dont miss my AW at all

If you want a good mid level then the 255 is where it’s at. AMOLED has worse battery life.

Forerunner 55 for the absolute basics. Forerunner 165 is the cheapest with a AMOLED screen. Forerunner 255, 265, 955 and 965 are just discontinued. In my opinion 955 is the most value for money as it includes mapping. 965 is the same watch as the 955, but with an AMOLED screen. If you don’t need mapping, then go for the 265. It is the same as the 965, but without maps. So if you can find a 955 that would be your best bet in my opinion. Forerunner 570 and 970 introduce unnecessary features, such as microphone & speaker, sapphire glass, shiny metal bezels all of which add nothing to running but do increase the price.

>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.

Just get one of the garmin watches with heart rate tracking. Their most budget one with a heart rate tracker, is their vivoactive, and it'll set you back maybe 200 bucks. But I'd personally spend a bit more and get the Forerunner 255. I currently have a 255, and it's fantastic. Battery life is about a week, but I also do a good deal of running. I imagine it'd go up to 10-14 days if I didn't use the GPS function while tracking my runs. It works with the Garmin Connect app, and that doesn't require a subscription at all. It'll also sync your activity data with Strava for additional tracking if you wanted.

I had a Forerunner 45 and then upgraded to a 255 and I am very confident that a 255 is the one to get before the return diminishes verses investment. The daily suggested workouts and the PacePro have transformed my training (runner here) but when I look at Garmins that cost $1000+ I can’t imagine what a watch would need to do for that to be worth it? Really hope you enjoy your 255 it helps you achieve all of your goals!!

You can get a cheap one but the distance / elevation isn't going to work well enough without GPS. And with GPS, other features are going to get bundled because you've already bought the expensive/battery hungry thing anyway. Get last year's (or the year before's) Forerunner 2-something-5 on Amazon IMO. Mine is a 255 and it does everything I need it to.

Been using the FR255 for about a year now and can confirm it's solid for the price. GPS locks fast, battery easily lasts a week with regular running, and Spotify works great once you get it set up. Perfect starter watch that won't make you feel like you're missing out on anything important

If you want it only for running, then look at forerunner 255/265 or 955/965 (these with 5 in the middle have MIP screens, these with 6 have AMOLED). I’m recommending these since they’re smaller and lighter, but if you like the looks of fenix 7 go for it. In terms of HR recording you’re gonna need chest strap for running if you want to get accurate measurements. Measuring the heart rate from wrist is good until it come down to trainings with variable intensity, for example the watch alone is very bad at recording hr during intervals. In terms of GPS, fr 955/965 have the best one (multiband gps). The difference is visible when recording next to high building or in the forest. The type of screen is something where you need to see comparison between these two, I’m personally in love with MIP for its visibility when being outside and way better battery life. But everyone prefers something different so this decision is up to you. I personally have fenix 7s which i bought mainly for everyday use and hiking/biking. But I started to run with it and it’s perfect for me. Everyday training suggestions are very nice, especially if you wear the watch all the time. It’s taking many factors into account (for example sleep, stress, training load, your performance and many more) so every training is adjusted to you, no need to think what you should do.

My experience with the 255 Music is the same as two other friends with the same watch. Playing music had a big drain for all of us. Maybe you got lucky and got a 950 battery accidentally installed in yours at the factory hahaha

I never had any issues with any forerunner (i am on my third, 255 now, using them since 8y ago). I do not use any smart watch features, i disable literally all of those, and i wear it pretty much daily 24/7. I seriously dislike the thought of having my wrist buzz with notifications and similar crap. I guess people moving from garmin to ultra want all the gimmicks on their wrists

I got a 255 for 250 euros. At the time of my purchase the 955 was at 390 euros. I think that's a good deal.

Many of the Garmin lineup support multi sport, and personally I've been on the Fenix track for over a decade now, currently on Epix Gen2. Handles swimming and running spot on paired with HRM-Pro. I have an Edge 1040 for cycling. Wife has a Fenix 8, it's super nice. Weight not an issue for me, Forerunner is a lighter model but gets a plastic case if I'm not mistaken. And go for the Sapphire screen.

I have been using forerunners (245 and 255) for some years and they're pretty accurate. You still need to manually enable drill mode but it's almost perfect for the basic strokes. By the way, it's worth noting that how it detects styles depends also on your technique.

Running is just what the Forerunner targets to be the best choice for. It is a lighter watch, with all the GPS accuracy you can get. It doesn't focus on Golf or diving or being "rugged". So yes, a Forerunner would still be a great option for your situation, and it will just be a plus if you ever decide to run.

No. Buy 255. They're not much more expensive but so much better.