Garmin - Forerunner 245 Music
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 11, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
26
4
"Oh, and the battery lasts days even when exercising a lot (weeks without excercise)."
"I run 5-6 days a week and charge it once a week to top off. Apple Watch was getting charged every night."
"I get close to a month from my forerunner on standby - about 2 weeks with daily workouts. ... the battery life lasts a really nice length of time ... As a fitness wearable Garmin... destroys Apple on battery life. ... There’s really no sensible person running Tris or Marathons using an Apple Watch. The battery life is too poor to last reliably. If you go to the starting like of a marathon you’re really only going to see actual fitness brands on wrists due to battery life alone."
48
4
"a recent update even added Strength training to the Garmin Coach feature. It used to just be running plans. ... But aside from that you can make your own strength training workouts. ... I personally really enjoy the ability to make my own workouts and fill out the calendar in the app to have a custom training plan that I know works for me."
"the load tracking and suggested workout feature alone is worth it. ... The battery of data signals you get to tailor and improve your training is worth the switch alone"
"it has a lot of additional activity features I like (e.g. tracking outdoor swimming, biking , training plans etc)"
22
2
"My 245 music has lasted me since 2016 without issues."
"My forerunner 245 is still going strong 5 years in."
"I’ve had it 4+ years and works just as well as the day I got it!"
11
1
"I have a 245 music and it is a game changer. So easy to grab watch, shoes, headphones and go."
"If you listen to music the Garmin 245 MUSIC is awesome. ... you can download your music apps to the watch so you don't have to carry your phone."
"I can use Spotify in the Garmin and it hasn't glitched on me once."
3
0
"Other than that it was perfect, and I still miss how it was disappearing on my wrist in terms of weight, bulkiness and band size."
"I still miss how the 245was disappearing on my wrist in terms of weight, bulkiness and band size."
"BUTTONS ... hated every minute of using it due to the touch screen for everything interface."
Disliked most:
0
11
"I used to find that wrist HR sucked for rowing"
"when I’d swim in pools it would so often double count my lengths…"
"a forerunner is not great for swimming, cycling, heavy trail running etc."
2
7
"the Garmin is far worse from a smartwatch perspective ... my AWU2’s cellular connectivity is above and beyond the thing I care most about on long, remote runs."
"if you have to take your phone anyway, there's a much better device on you for making calls. ... apple watches can have sim cards and place calls *without* having your cellphone on you. that's a real use case -- go for a run, leave the bulky phone at home."
"fr245 had only 4 ... I needed more fields on my screen"
0
4
"fr245 had only 4 ... I needed more fields on my screen"
"they are really only at best estimates, at worst plain wrong ... ignore all Garmins opaque algorithms for the likes of VO2Max, Training Readiness, Sleep scores etc."
"It just expands on so many data points that I wasn't getting with my forerunner."
1
5
"lack of altimeter is deal breaker for me."
"the deciding factor for me upgrading from the 245 (I know this is not the same watch you mention but still more or less the same) to the 965 was maps."
"Only 945 series and newer (and Fenix) support maps"
4
6
"as an owner of a 245, I wouldn't recommend it almost only because it suffers from a known dead-pixels issue (gone through multiple 245 watches with that problem)."
"Only reason I upgraded was screen size e possibility to have 5 fields on the screen."
"Only reason I upgraded was screen size"
Seconded. I have the music version so I don't have to carry my phone on short runs.
r/trailrunning • what fitness watch you all using? ->I wear my Garmin 245 Music for working out and running, otherwise it’s my Explorer for everything else life has for me.
r/Watches • [Discussion] To all my gym goers on this sub, do you also swap between your smart watch and mechanical watch when you workout? ->Garmin Forerunner 245M. Then I wear my Explorer for any other occasion. I used to use an Apple Watch to workout but I prefer having physical buttons for when I’m sweating and/or it’s raining out or something. Before I became interested in mechanical watches, I wore an Apple Watch exclusively, but I wanted to disconnect from constant notifications and such. We get enough of that on our phones as it is.
r/Watches • [Question] What watch do you use to exercise? ->I use an old Forerunner 245 as I got it for running and I can listen to music without having to take my phone. It does the job for crossfit. I record it as either Strength or Cardio. Or if it's a running WOD, then Workout (tracks distance). It just depends on your budget and personal preferences with aesthetics and fit.
r/crossfit • Watch for Crosssfit ->I have a FR 245 with Music. It does what I need it to do. It can be a bit judgemental if I have a rest day and/or go for a walk (I have been knocked down from Productive to Recovery - so audacious). I like not having to take my phone with me, especially if it's raining.
r/Garmin • Beginner runner choosing a Garmin watch—need help narrowing it down ->I have a Forerunner 245 with Music. It does the job. I have it in aqua blue. It also doesn't cost a gazillion pounds to buy.
r/Garmin • Recommend a ‘girlie’ watch that has the running metrics… ->I use a 245 music for biking, running, weights and swimming. It's great. Has more than enough features, and only needs to be charged every week or two. GPs is fine. HR is fine, though I use a hr chest strap, as they are more accurate. Even without the strap, though, the watch did a good job.
r/Garmin • Garmin Forerunner 255 - Your opinions? ->I have a venu 3 and love it! Had the forerunner 245 music for several years prior to making the switch to my venu 3 this year. I workout everyday and it has tons of tracking options as well as being touch screen and having all the smart watch capabilities.
r/Garmin • Advice on a good watch for wife? ->Been very happy with my Forerunner 245 Music - though I rarely play music through the watch since I carry my iPhone for live tracking anyway. It’s only a few dollars more or less, but if you’re gonna carry another device, you could do without the music part of a 255 forerunner
r/Garmin • Need advice on my first garmin ->I second this. I have a 245 music and it is a game changer. So easy to grab watch, shoes, headphones and go.
r/Garmin • 23M, starting gym + running - is the Garmin Forerunner 255 the best choice ? ->I use a Garmin 245 music and it works good. The Garmin connect app links with my fitnesspal
r/Myfitnesspal • Best step tracker or fitbit that works with the app? ->I have a garmin 245 and am happy with it. If you want it for hiking I would get the one with an altimeter. When I upgrade I’m going to make sure it has it. To select, go through the versions and see what features you want, you don’t need the fanciest one. I do bring a battery to recharge on multi day hikes and don’t use my gps on them.
r/hiking • Anybody have a better fitness tracker ->I switched 6 years ago, and since then I’ve used the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music, Fenix 6X, and most recently, the Fenix 8. Garmin is really good at heart rate measurements, and its GPS accuracy is excellent — you never have any issues with it. And battery life was also the main reason I switched from the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is fine for walking, but for other workouts and sports, you’ll have to switch it. I’m sure you’ll be happy once you switch to Garmin. Kind regards,
r/Strava • Switching from Apple Watch to Garmin — is it really worth it? ->Agree, I have a forerunner 245 and it does what I need it to do. All the different stats are fun to begin with, but imo there are so many unnecessary features on these watches. Maybe it’s just me
r/Garmin • Forerunner 955 or 965? ->I’ve had a 245 music for 5 years now. Still working just fine. I’ll replace it when it stops working. I imagine the 255 will be just fine most people
r/Garmin • Forerunner 255 still worth it? ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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