Forerunner 945

NorthCascades

It's got everything in the F5+, new features, and 36 hours GPS time!

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/04/garmin-forerunner-945-multisport-watch-in-depth-review.html

dewd2

Including turn by turn directions? It isn't clear from the review.

*Not that I'm interested. I need at least another year out of my overpriced 5x.

dewd2

Plus, if the 945 is now feature equal to the 5x I am assuming the 6x won't be far behind. I can't imagine what Garmin will add to that one to differentiate it.

firef1y72

I'm drooling, but I only upgraded to the 735xt last month, so I'll probably have to wait and see if Santa thinks I deserve it

NorthCascades

dewd2 wrote: »

Plus, if the 945 is now feature equal to the 5x I am assuming the 6x won't be far behind. I can't imagine what Garmin will add to that one to differentiate it.

I take this announcement as a sign that the F6 is around the corner.

My F5x is the original one, I pre-ordered it, it's been more than two years now. The battery is getting fatigued. I'm planning a hike this summer that will probably take about 20 hours. A larger battery is compelling. It could also mean leaving the battery pack behind on overnights.

fuzzylop_

I've got a 935, but I'm trying to resist the 945...but i'm not going to lie, maps and music are features i'd love to have (without giving up a ton of battery life).

I do wonder how using the pulse oximeter for recovery status compares to hrv for recovery status. Maybe pulse oximeter is more of a leading indicator of recovery status, since I know it takes a whle for hrv to reflect questionable recovery status.

dewd2

fuzzylop_ wrote: »

I've got a 935, but I'm trying to resist the 945...but i'm not going to lie, maps and music are features i'd love to have (without giving up a ton of battery life).

I do wonder how using the pulse oximeter for recovery status compares to hrv for recovery status. Maybe pulse oximeter is more of a leading indicator of recovery status, since I know it takes a whle for hrv to reflect questionable recovery status.

Maps are the reason I went with the 5x over the 935. I hated spending the extra $$$ but now I'm glad I did. The maps and turn by turn have saved me a couple times.

scorpio516

fuzzylop_ wrote: »

I've got a 935, but I'm trying to resist the 945...but i'm not going to lie, maps and music are features i'd love to have (without giving up a ton of battery life).

I do wonder how using the pulse oximeter for recovery status compares to hrv for recovery status. Maybe pulse oximeter is more of a leading indicator of recovery status, since I know it takes a whle for hrv to reflect questionable recovery status.

Pulse Ox is almost useless. The way it's measured makes it bad.
It is useful when you are at higher elevations but otherwise it isn't

NorthCascades

fuzzylop_ wrote: »

I've got a 935, but I'm trying to resist the 945...but i'm not going to lie, maps and music are features i'd love to have (without giving up a ton of battery life).

I do wonder how using the pulse oximeter for recovery status compares to hrv for recovery status. Maybe pulse oximeter is more of a leading indicator of recovery status, since I know it takes a whle for hrv to reflect questionable recovery status.

The maps have been with having for me. Great in a lot of different contexts. The round trip routing feature can be very nice in a pinch too.

I don't the blood oxygen saturation will be of much use to most people. Some phones have this feature, you might be able to play with it.

To be honest I'm more interested in the heat feature, mostly in how it affects my VO2max measurements on the bike. And I spend a lot of time at altitude but live at sea level. I can feel I'm affected at 7k, sometimes we camp that high. But summit day is dictated by schedule and weather. It's not like I can get two more days off without asking for them because my watch says I'm not acclimated yet.

NorthCascades

There are $150 off sales at several different stores for the Fenix 5 line. If different stores are doing it, it must be coming from Garmin. Sounds like the Fenix 6 will probably be announced soon, with the 945's feature set.

fuzzylop_

NorthCascades wrote: »

There are $150 off sales at several different stores for the Fenix 5 line. If different stores are doing it, it must be coming from Garmin. Sounds like the Fenix 6 will probably be announced soon, with the 945's feature set.

The only annoying thing about the garmin ecosystem is how common apac versions are, and they tend to be quite a bit behind on the firmware so aren't as desirable, and are often sold without noting the fact that it's an apac version, so I tend to be pretty paranoid about who I buy garmin products from especially if the price seems a bit too good.

dewd2

I got a look at the 945 at the race expo in Philly this past weekend. I questioned the Garmin rep about the Fenix 6. He would neither confirm nor deny it was coming soon.

OldAssDude

I'm going to wait for the fenix 6. I need sapphire glass.

NorthCascades

I agree about sapphire glass. A scratch would bigger me to no end. When I camp, I cook very close to rocks, they block the wind for me. I scratch a watch that way.

The battery in my F5x is kind of fatigued.

JetJaguar

I'm tempted to finally upgrade my old 310XT to a Fenix 5. I don't really care all that much about scratches, but the sapphire watches are also the only ones with wifi. How useful is that, compared to just syncing via Bluetooth?

NorthCascades

It's not very useful in my experience.

It used to be the case software updates would only come down over USB or wifi, so people would use it, even do the phone hotspot anything, if an update came out and you didn't have the cable.

You can send activities, routes, watch faces, etc, over Bluetooth. You're going to be using BT all the time anyway because as much as the smart notification stuff may sound like a gimmick, it's there, and it's actually really useful. Even if you have wifi and no cell reception, your phone can act like a bridge for the watch, with BT.

I never bother to say wifi up on my F5x, it's been a couple years. Used it on my F3 once or twice.

SwindonJogger

the metal bezel scratches way easier on the Fenix than the 945. Just put a screen protector on it. My 935 Still looks brand new and has taken a lot of knocks.