My Garmin Forerunner 45s is dying after 5 years. Any recommendations for replacing?

[Timotea]

Had this device for almost 5 years but now I need to charge almost every day and if I do anything over 4 hours (golf!) it dies . It was a lifesaver as it diagnosed my bradycardia . Was wondering about Apple Watch? Would love your recommendations?

[dijep Graduate10]

I loved my forerunner 45 as well and had to replace it earlier this year. After lots of searching and reading all the advice I got on here I ended up with a Forerunner 255s. I really needed a smaller watch as I've got narrow wrists and this fitted the bill, it gives me lots more information which is interesting.I bet you'll get loads of replies, good luck 😊

[Timotea Graduate10 in reply to dijep]

Thank you so much. Keen to stay with Garmin if I can and also have small wrists.

[dijep Graduate10 in reply to Timotea]

My main gripe was that only seem to do the smaller versions in (what I think of as) boring colours. I ended up getting a pink watch, which really wouldn't have been my first choice. I look forward to seeing what you get.

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to dijep]

That's why I got the Forerunner 45. It has a red strap 😁. I've got small wrists too but I like a big watch, easier to read.'Womens' watches in general annoy me so much, daintiness seems to be the only criterion, normally only available in pink or white, hardly any features grrr

[Fionamags Graduate10 in reply to Yesletsgo]

You can replace the straps - less than £10 online. Only thing is you can't change the colour of the watch itself....

[Yesletsgo Administrator Graduate10 in reply to Fionamags]

Good point, maybe I'll get a pink one if the red one breaks then I'll look like a proper girlie 😂😂😂

[MissUnderstanding Administrator Graduate10 in reply to dijep]

I’ve got a while and green forerunner 265s and I love it. I’ve got small wrists and it sits perfectly. Mine was on offer-I’d planned to get the 255s. Maybe I need to look at some fun coloured straps. Felt the same as you about the choice!

[damienair Administrator]

I have a Garmin Forerunner 35 and thankfully it is going strong, still holds full week of charge and is very accurate. I would definitely go with Garmin again. Have you looked at the Forerunner 55.

[MrBassmanjazz in reply to damienair]

I changed from a 35 to a 55 to cover swimming. Got a deal. Very happy.

It would cost me hundreds to get one that also covers Tai Chi. That's a step too far.

[Rabbit561]

I have an Apple Watch and love it. Not sure it’s the best for running but it does what I need. If you have problems with heart rhythm (as I have had) you can record an ECG which is really useful and my main reason I chose it. Works really well with my iPhone too.

[drl212 Graduate10]

Newbie runner here. I've got the Forerunner 265 and am very pleased with it. I've barely gone past the basics. But I like it overall.

[VS1975 Graduate10]

Hi, I’m an Apple convert, OH bought me a Garmin Vivoactive 5. Has more tricks than I’ll use. I know Apple has the ECG but it does advise it’s not a medical tool per say. I did read on here a chap had a certain Garmin that his doctor was happy to use the results of as they are highly accurate. I don’t know if that is true though.

It’s taken me some time to get used to garmin & I do miss find my on Apple when I’d put my phone on a shelf getting changed then gone to go out & thought where’s my phone I miss not being able to just press one button to hear my phone chime.

Good luck with your purchase.

[Ivegottheruns]

Interesting post. I only got my first smartwatch last Christmas after having a very basic fitness tracker. This was before I wanted anything for running so that wasnt a huge consideration beyond a step counter. It's a samsung and I don't get the feeling it's the best for exercise tracking. I listened to the sliced bread podcast about fitness trackers a few months back and I'm sure they said the heart rate monitor on the Samsung was way out. It seems obvious garmin is the most widely used for running so I might have to reconsider when I replace. As it is my battery lasts about 36 hours only which is fairly irritating!

[Fasterthanshizu]

I don't enjoy shopping for, paying for or learning a new gadget, and disposing of the old one also pains me. Consequently, I tend to try to hold onto them for as long as I can. I know other people feel very differently so maybe this isn't relevant...

Have you looked into replacing the battery? The part seems to be available for less than £10. It looks like a similar process to changing a smartphone battery, so if DIY is too intimidating I would expect a phone repair shop to be able to do it.

[Timotea Graduate10 in reply to Fasterthanshizu]

Gosh that is interesting? When I googled it said firmly that battery can’t be replaced 😢

[Fasterthanshizu in reply to Timotea]

Garmin say it can't be replaced, because they'd rather sell you a new one!

There are lots of brave owners on Youtube demonstrating how they do it themselves, but it does look a bit tricky especially if you don't have the right equipment.

[Fionamags Graduate10]

I had a Samsung Vivoactive 4S for quite a few years and I was very happy with it in the short term. However, it did get really glitchy. The GPS took ages to load - sometimes I'd finished my warm up walk and it still hadn't kicked in - sometimes it just refused to pick up at all. This was not in a remote location or obscured by trees either. I had to keep leaving it beside a window to get it to pick up satellites. Finally the battery starting getting glitchy as well so I had to retire it.

After much research (benefiting also from dijep doing similar a bit before me) I ended up also opting for the Garmin Forerunner 255S. I absolutely love it! GPS loads almost instantly and it gives all sorts of stats that I don't understand. 😂😂😂 But definitely would recommend it! It is one model before the current one so it is a lot cheaper than the 265.

[Timotea Graduate10 in reply to Fionamags]

Thank you so much. My garmin has been great although I don’t much like the new app interface. Preferred the old one. 255 seems to be the preferred option. Will investigate. 😳

[Dexy5 Graduate10]

From what I’ve read, the Apple Watches don’t match Garmin as a running watch, but I’m not able to advise you on the current options. I still have my Forerunner 35, 6 years on.

[Timotea Graduate10 in reply to Dexy5]

I am a garmin girl but my 45 is definately dying and I have to charge every day now and it won’t last for on an 18 hole gps golf round!

[Dexy5 Graduate10 in reply to Timotea]

That’s not good.

[Jericho2332 Graduate10]

The new Garmin Fenix 8 solar is out soon, I'm already looking at ways to accidentally buy it 😂😂😂 I currently have the 6, it's a great bit of kit. Can't fault Garmin quality.

[Timotea Graduate10 in reply to Jericho2332]

It looks really nice. Is the face small? Also does it have the ‘torch’ function on the button? Vital when I have to get up in the night😳

[Jericho2332 Graduate10 in reply to Timotea]

So far it's a lot of rumours but it's expected to come in 3 face sizes 43mm, 47mm and 51mm. Also a budget Fenix E version, though I use the term "budget" very loosely as I'm expecting the price to be VERY premium. AMOLED screens expected on all models. I would imagine torch feature would be included but can't confirm.

There expected to launch in September so I would imagine Garmin probably has a huge sale on there older models right now.