Second in the series of running watch comparisons, I’m going to look at the Garmin Forerunner 745 vs. the 945.
Garmin Forerunner 745
As I said before there’s nothing super notable about the 745 – the features it offers exist in one or more other models, but it’s a good option for some athletes if you’re looking for a smaller overall watch that has multi sport capabilities.
As I said, this watch will track everything you have come to expect like steps, calories burned, intensity minutes and sleep.
Sensors include:
- Satellite tracking with
- GPS the NA standard
- GLONASS – the Russian standard and
- Galileo – the EU standard.
- Wrist heart rate monitor
- Barometric altimeter – for acescent and descent
- Compass
- Gyroscope for swimming for indoor activities
- Accelerometer
- Thermometer
- Pulse Ox Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitor
This watch sits in between the 245 and the 945 in the Garmin Forerunner line up and is going to be geared more towards the more intense trainer. It can be used as a multisport athlete tool unlike the 245. That said, it’s not as robust in metrics and features as the 945.
So let’s talk about the main differences between the 745 and the 945.
TL;DR
The basic differences
The 745 is slightly smaller than the 945. It comes in at 43.8 mm X 13.3 – as compared to 47 X 13.7.
The display sizes are the same at just under an inch and a quarter which gives you plenty of room for four metrics per screen.
It also weighs a mere 3 grams less at 47g.
Battery life is where you’re going to see the big difference between the watches which shouldn’t come as a surprise given the difference in size.
The 745 can last up to 7 days in smartwatch mine as compared to double that – 14 days – in the 945.
Now both watches have onboard music and I’ll talk about that in a sec, but if you’re listening to music while using the satellite sensors you get up to six hours on the 745 and 10 with the 945.
Satellites with no music? 16 hours on the 745 as compared to 36 on the 945. So, you know, you can wear this during Barkleys or Comrades .
Lastly, the 745 has Ultratrac mode with gives you 21 hours of satellite tracking.
I mentioned that both have onboard music, the 745 can hold 500 songs with the 945 holding 1000.
But, if you’re like me, this isn’t a thing. I make different mixes that I change up depending on my mood, or workout, or any of thousand factors. And none of them, and I mean, NONE OF THEM have anywhere close to 500 song son them.
But, maybe you’re different.
So those are the major difference, so I want to take a few minutes to tell you a few things that I really like about these models.
Body Battery
Body Battery is a feature that tells you how rested your body is. It uses a combination of Heart Rate Variability, Stress, and Activity to estimate your energy reserves throughout the day. It takes a while to get to know your workout patterns along with rest and sleep habits but could be a good training tool to know if you’re feeling fatigue because of overtraining or just not getting enough rest.
Is is accurate? It’s gotten me out of more than a few errands on Sunday afternoons, so does it matter? Wink
Integrated Safety features
it’s sad state of the world that this is pretty much a necessity these days. Especially if you’re a woman. There are some great features The one I think is best is – Assistance which allows you to send a text message with your name and GPS location to your emergency
All you have to do is hold down the power button for 3 seconds. From there it gives you a countdown (in case you’ve triggered it by accident) and then sends the text up to three emergency contacts you list in Garmin Connect. Side note, you need to carry your phone to have any of these work.
The other features include Incident detection which sends a message to your emergency contacts when it detects an incident like a crash and Group Live Track.
Downloadable training plans
You can set them up in Garmin connect and it will walk you through your workout for the day – or you can skip it if you don’t feel like doing it. Or, in Garmin connect you can reschedule the workout if you’re traveling or sick.
It’s really one of my favorite features and it takes all of the work out of remembering your intervals or staring at your watch to find out when you can stop and finally throw up.
PacePro
Gone are the days of the Tyvek pacing bracelet or those temporary pace tattoos. You can have your watch tell you if you’re hitting your pace for a goal time during a race or specific workout.
You can load up a course and Pace Pro will analyze elevation changes along the way to calculate a pace strategy. PacePro event may be created using one of your existing courses, or you can search courses in an area. The strategy calculates when to increase or decrease your pace along the course for the best overall pace.
Distance may be selected for PacePro, allowing you to select a race distance and pace or time to complete. However, in distance mode, elevation data is not used and goals are selected before starting the activity.
Which Watch Should You Get?
No idea. I mean NO IDEA.
There are so many personal factors that go into deciding to buy something this expensive. Like, well, how much does it cost?
The 745 will run you $499 and the 945 $599. Both are pretty steep.
How much will you use it and what events do you do on the reg? Are you a gym rat? Neither watch is probably not the right for you, so bad example.
Are you a triathlete? Either could work. Both have indoor and outdoor swim bike and run features.
Are you long course or short course? Obviously the battery life is going to factor into your decision.
Do you like a large or small watch?
I prefer the Fenix 6X, so I like a big fat watch, although I enjoyed the 945 when I wore it, but I found the 745 was just a bit too small for me.
So it’s up to you. I’m just here to present the facts.
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My Current Running Gear
- Fenix 6X Pro Solar
- AfterShokz Aeropex
- Daily Run: ASICS Gel Nimbus 22
- Long Run: Brooks Ghost 12
- Speedwork: ASICS Novablast
- Trex Air
- Oakley Half Jacket 2.0
- GoPro Max 360
- Merch
- Follow me on Strava
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