Garmin Forerunner 245/245 Music review: Everything a runner needs

Garmin had a difficult job with their Forerunner 245, that replaced one of their most popular running watches such as its Forerunner 235. The company stayed to its tried-and-tested method of slipping features down from more expensive watches which resulted in an item that offers all the tracking and analysis that you would expect from a premium running watch.

No matter if you choose the music version or not, there’s an undoubtedly the most complete GPS watch for less than the price of PS300. There are less expensive options however, only if you are able to live without the music feature and the kind of in-depth tracking of sports. To discover the features that make these one of the most appealing sporting wearables available go through the article.

Garmin Forerunner 245/245 music review What you should be aware of

If you take into account that what the Forerunner 235 launched four years ago, there’s no reason to be surprised that the new model has a lot of significant improvements compared to the predecessor. Particularly it’s the Forerunner 245 has a lighter and more appealing design however, it also has better battery life as well as an array of brand-new activities and sports-tracking functions.

The most notable features are depth-based training analysis, the addition of new sport modes (including exercises for strength and swimming) and running technique analysis on the go (when using an appropriate footpod). The new features are available in both the Forerunner 245 as well as the Forerunner 245 Music. It includes music playback as well for the additional PS50.

For Garmin’s Forerunner lineup it’s the Forerunner 245 is a significant improvement over the Forerunner 45. It is also one step lower than Forerunner 645. Forerunner 645, which is with a better appearance and some additional features , including an altimeter barometric.

Garmin Forerunner 245 review: Price and the competition

The Forerunner 245 and the Forerunner 245 Music are priced at £250 or £300 respectively, which puts them in a crowded mid-range bracket which contains a number of top sports watches. It’s true that the Forerunner 245 holds its own with regard to its impressive sports tracking capabilities it has, but it’s the Music model that really stands out because there is no other watch that costs less than £300 offers the same unique mix of features.

The Coros Apex (PS300) is another multisport watch that has the longest battery life along with it’s Polar Vantage M is another solid option, and the price of which is often lower the PS200 mark than PS300. Both watches are better for triathletes over the Forerunner 245 which does not include specifically designed open-water or triathlon functions however neither of them has music.

In line with what you require from your watch There’s also competition from watches in the sub-PS200 range. Garmin’s Forerunner 45 (PS165) is an excellent running watch. It doesn’t come with music or the advanced tracking options on Forerunner 245. Forerunner 245, but many users will still be satisfied with the watch. Then it’s the Polar Ignite (PS175) is an excellent all-around sport watch with some unique recovery options.

Garmin Forerunner 245/245 music Review: The design and important features

I’m a huge admirer of the style Of the Forerunner 245. It’s user-friendly comfortable to wear, and extremely light at 38.5g. It features Garmin’s typical five-button layout, which makes it easy to navigate menus and manage the device in motion and its 240×240 full-color display is bright in all weather conditions. This is the same display that’s found the rest of Garmin’s premium watches, giving the sense that you’re receiving an expensive watch With Garmin’s Forerunner 245.

The silicone band that comes in the Forerunner 245 watch can be replaced with the other Garmin 20mm bands that are quick-release. Although this band as well as the bezel made of plastic clearly identify it as an exercise watch, the design subtle enough to allow you to wear it everywhere without having to worry about drawing unwanted attention.

A precise distance tracker is made possible by GPS GLONASS, GLONASS and Galileo satellites. I have found Garmin’s Elevate optical heart rate sensor to be reliable also, particularly since its small size on Forerunner 245 Forerunner 245 makes it easy to find a perfect fitting on your wrist. Forerunner 245 Forerunner 245 also has a Pulse Ox sensor to gauge the level of oxygen in the blood, however, one sensor isn’t present is an altimeter barometric. It’s included with the Forerunner 645. It can aid in tracking elevation for those who are trail runners who regularly climbs mountains. City runners shouldn’t be concerned about this, but.

You can connect Forerunner 245 Forerunner 245 to external sensors like chest-strap heart rate monitors or running footpods however, it isn’t able to natively support cycling power meters , or Garmin’s Running Power app. It is, however, possible to display your running power with third-party apps available from ConnectIQ. You can also purchase apps from the ConnectIQ store, and connect the Stryd footpod for use with the Stryd ConnectIQ apps to display running power.

The battery life of the Forerunner 245 is excellent, with Garmin saying that it will last for 24 hours GPS tracking, or 6 days of GPS tracking that includes music playback. If you don’t utilize the music feature that it can last for one week of running when you are running most days. If you do use the music playback feature heavily and frequently, you’ll need to connect at least every 2 or 3 days.

A majority of the main features of this Forerunner 245 Music relate to its sports tracking capabilities, which I’ll cover in greater detail later and the ability to play back music is the biggest difference between other watches in the same price range. It’s possible to connect the Forerunner 245 into your computer to load it with your most-loved podcasts and music directly however, it’s much easier to connect with a streaming service such as Spotify and Deezer (assuming that you’ve got an account that is Premium) and effortlessly update playlists. After you’ve downloaded the Spotify application via Garmin Connect on your phone You can choose which albums, playlists and podcasts on Spotify you’d like to bring onto the device in the Fenix 5 Plus itself. After that, whenever you modify your playlists in your Spotify account via your smartphone or computer it will be automatically changed to the Fenix 5 Plus itself when you launch Spotify on your watch. Spotify apps on your wristwatch.

Pressing the Down button in the wristband at any point will play your music and you can create a music-controls display in any sport mode. Another feature included in the new watch is the accident detection. The watch will notify three contacts in the event that you slip while walking, running or cycling in the outdoors. It is also possible to activate the alert by pressing the button for backlight.

Garmin Forerunner 245/245 music review Performance and features for running

Start the running mode in the Forerunner 245 device and choose to display any combination of statistics during your run, with the ability to display up to four data fields on each screen. Alongside being able to customize the Music Controls screen you can also include a dedicated navigation screen, which displays a simple black line along the white path of your running. If you own an appropriate footpod, you can also use Garmin’s Running Dynamics screen, which displays information such as the time you touch the ground to assist you in perfecting how you run.

Another option you are able to add in your Forerunner 245 is a virtual companion that functions as an automatic pace-setter. You choose the speed you’d like your virtual partner to follow as well as the Watch will tell you the distance ahead or behind this pace that you’re at at any given moment. It also has a useful Race Pacer mode on the watch. You can define your goal time for finishing a certain distance, and the watch will keep you on track to reach your goal…or let you know how far you’re falling in the wrong direction.

As I’ve mentioned that the Forerunner 245 offers basic navigation with breadcrumb trails. You can create courses through on the Garmin Connect mobile app or on the website , and connect them to the watch, which displays the line as well as the pointer. It is also possible to program the watch to direct you back to the beginning point using a straight-line pointing device that directs you according to the crow flys – or using the route you’ve chosen to take. It’s not as sophisticated as the maps that are fully featured for the Forerunner 945 (LINK) as well as the Fenix 5 Plus Series (LINK) however, you can be sure that you’ll never lose track of your race when you wear the Forerunner 245 in your wrist.

When you’ve finished your exercise After you’ve finished your run, the Forerunner 245 shows you the effect it been having on your aerobic and anaerobic endurance The watch analyzes your entire training intensity and lets you know whether it’s producing results or not. The status of your training is dependent on the overall load and the impact it has on your VO2 max. This can be seen by the monitor. For example when your load is constant while your max VO2 is increasing the training will be rated as efficient, however, when your workload is too high and negatively impacting your fitness level, you’ll be informed that you’re not doing enough and should reduce the amount of work that you’re undertaking so that your body can recover.

The Forerunner 245 provides the predicted times for races of 5K 10K, half-marathon and marathon. They were initially a bit from my expectations, with times that were much slower than my previous PBs but they grew close to the actual time as I continued to use forerunner245.

You can also make planned workouts using Garmin Connect. You can also create structured workouts in Garmin Connect app and sync them to The Forerunner 245 to be followed on your wrist. The brand new Garmin Coach feature lets you follow all training schedules for certain events, like half marathon or 5K by guiding you through your workouts according to cadence and speed to help you achieve your time goal.

When compared to more sophisticated Garmin devices, such as the Forerunner 945 and the Forerunner 945, the Forerunner 245 lacks few running-related features. A barometric altimeter would’ve been useful but the Forerunner 945 is able to go deeper when it comes to analyzing your running however, I’d suggest that most runners will not have to sacrifice those features, and will be happy with the depth of information and variety of features available on Forerunner 245. Forerunner 245.