Garmin 010-02156-05 Forerunner 45, 42mm Easy-to-use GPS Running Watch with Coach Free Training Plan Support, Black

How do we know how much we love someone or something? By how much/how little we rejoice when being reunited. Back in August 21', my Garmin Forerunner 230--my second watch of that model--broke when I slipped on a pothole during a long distance run in Jerusalem. Because I wear the face of the watch on the under wrist, it broke while I was breaking my fall. I loved this watch, even though it was an older model that had been phased out of production, and I purchased both it and the previous unit as "refurbished" watches on Amazon. I wore this watch in tandem with a Garmin chest strap to get the most accurate heart rate reading I could during these long runs. When the watch broke, I didn't bother ordering a new one, as I was overseas and preferred to wait until I would be back home in the USA in couple of months. While I missed not having a watch to measure the distances and paces of my runs, I felt a certain "release" and freedom to run without the compulsion to always look down at my watch to see how many miles were behind me, or what my running pace was. I felt free to simply "be in the moment" and enjoy the scenery without defining the moment by my live stats......Until four months later, when I started to miss my Garmin. I was going to look for another outdated, refurbished Forerunner 230, but when I looked for it on the Amazon site, I kept being directed to a new Forerunner 45 instead. The display was very different from the 230, and as I read about its features, I thought it has too many "bells and whistles" that I don't need....like the "body battery" feature, concerning which I was quite cynical as to how accurate such a feature could really be (similar to my cynicism about my previous watch's claim to be able to measure my VO2 max). Notwithstanding, at only $139, I considered the watch a great value and purchased it.Just one week into wearing it, I can't take it off...I'm addicted to it! The most pleasant surprise has been the accuracy and convenience of the built in heart rate monitor, which over the past three long distance runs has proven itself to be every bit as good and accurate as the Garmin chest strap I formally wore with the 230. Now I have around-the-clock, 24 hour heart readings, including my resting heart beat, which again is very accurate (mind you, I wear the watch with the face on the under wrist, which probably provides for a more accurate pulse reading). And the feature I was most cynical about, the "body battery," has also proven itself a delightful and accurate edition to the repertoire of my watch's features. How do I know it is accurate? Simply because it accurately expresses exactly how I feel! It is really amazing. Even the clock display, which I thought I would never grow to like--it displays the minutes beneath the hours--has grown on me in just a week, and no longer bothers me. Whereas I used to take off my other Garmins when I went to bed, as they didn't have any features I felt I need during the night, the 45 model begs to be worn around-the-clock, as it provides vital information--heart rate, sleep, and body clock summaries--the next morning. With these features, especially the "body battery," the watch is tutoring me as to what my realistic fitness aims should be, on a particular day. If the body battery displays a 25/100 charge, I probably shouldn't attempt a 12 mile run, like I did nonetheless yesterday, I failed to complete it before hitting "the wall." I highly recommend this watch an model, which is becoming a dear, dear friend.

Given the proliferation of fitness trackers these days, it was difficult deciding which one to get. My primary requirements :1. accurate heart rate monitor (walking, running biking. Not planning to wear it while swimming). Accuracy is important to ensure maintaining correct heart rate depending on the goal eg fat burn vs cardio.2. accurate standalone GPS to measure distances3. decent step counter4. buttons, not touchscreen (to be able to operate by touch eg while biking). Buttons feel solid.5. able to provide almost all functionality without requiring a smartphone or app ( privacy)this is the review after wearing the FR45 almost continuously for 4 weeks, only taking it off while showering or charging. the FR45 meets all these requirements. the Garmin Connect has a windows application, which can sync directly with the watch over USB. it does require setting up an account with an email address, but no other information is gathered. I am able to use this app to view historical data, trends etc without having to use the smartphone app.Additional benefits:1. the sleep monitor is surprisingly accurate, and somewhat eye-opening in terms of understanding the sleep cycle every night. I think it can drive better sleeping habits2. stated battery life is 7 days without using GPS. I'm able to get about 6 days, using GPS for about 2-3 hours during that period3. If one is so inclined, your profile can be connected to apps like MyFitnessPal to track your calorie intake and get a view of overall calorie input and output. I don't use it4. the Stress and 'Body battery' indicators are fun to see (not sure how accurate/useful)5. you can participate in group activities, challenges etc6. you can track all useful information (distance, HR, stress level, calories, steps etc) easily on the watch itself, though it might be somewhat small to look at7. display works well in most situations, even direct sunlight. there is a backlight button, for very lowlight situations8. Garmin Connect windows app provides a very nice clean interface, and a helpful dashboard to be able to see daily and historical info and trends. there is a lot more in there that I'm not using at this time.9. looks nice.Others have reporting issues with the wristband, i did feel a bit of itching and irritation in the beginning, probably because i wore to too tight, but am able to adjust to it by switching wrists daily and not wearing it too tightly.Some things that could be better:1. the heart rate counter has trouble keeping up with rapid changes. for eg, if I go from walking to running on the treadmill, the watch takes anywhere from 30s to 2 mins to catch up with the new HR. Same with slowing down. This is probably the biggest issue I've faced, but can get used to it. when it does catch up though, its accurate to within 1-2 heartbeats (compared with finger oximeter, treadmill monitor)2. GPS can sometimes take frustratingly long to get active. Syncing frequently seems to solve this issue (i only sync with the laptop once every 5-6 days, so maybe this might be just a problem for me3. step tracker is a bit iffy, I'll usually wake up on the morning with about 100-200 steps in the counter (basically arm movements seem to trigger it). brushing teeth can also give you some steps :) not a big issue, just discount about 400-500 steps from your daily count to account for these conditions.Overall, I'm very satisfied with this purchase, and feels like this would be solid performer for years to come, or at least until the battery gives out.

Great watch. Just realizing I've worn daily for almost 4 years. Very happy with it.