Garmin Enduro vs. Forerunner 945

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m going to compare the Garmin Enduro to some of the other comparable GPS watches on the market. For this one, I’m going to look at the Garmin Forerunner 945.

To be transparent, I did buy both of these myself, although Garmin did sell me the Enduro for a small discount. For the Enduro, I paid $799 for the stainless steel model; the 945 retails for $599.

So let’s see if the Enduro is worth the extra cash – $200 or $300 more depending on which version you want.

TL;DR

Physical Size

The 945 comes in at a respectable 47MM wide by 13.7MM thick. But if you like a larger watch, the Enduro is going to be the watch for you with a body of 51MM by 14.9MM. Don’t just think about it on your wrist, if you’re looking at these two watches, it means that you’re probably a multi sport athlete. So, you need to consider what this will look like strapped to your bike. Or if it’s on your wrist, how fast you can look at your wrist and get your hands back on the bars or while you’re at the wall during a turn in the pool – to me, the bigger display is better.

Display

So let’s talk about that – the 945’s display has a diameter of 30.4MM and the Enduro 35.6MM. Both are visible in direct sunlight which means that Garmin has adjusted the lens material with an antiglare coating. Now, the size of the two displays aren’t that different, I mean, 0.2 inches, but the resolution really comes into play. The 945 has a resolution of 240X240 pixels which with is great, but the Enduro is 280X280 which is like going to 11. It’s you know, one better.

So what can you do with them?

Well both are smart watches, so you can wear them all day every day and see text messages and who’s calling you without taking your phone out of your pocket. Both do a variety of health monitoring like all day HRM, respiration rate, stress monitoring, sleep monitoring with a sleep score and detailed timeline, and women’s health monitoring among other things.

Both watches will track everything you have come to expect like steps, calories burned, intensity minutes, etc with sensors that include, satellite tracking, wrist heart rate monitor, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, thermometer, and pulse ox blood oxygen saturation monitor.

A quick parenthetical, the Enduro includes acclimation with the Pulse Ox monitoring.

The Differences

There are very few difference between the two watches, here are the ones that stand out to me.

If you’re a “work out with music” type person, you won’t be able to use onboard music with the Enduro, because it doesn’t have that option. But the 945 does.

The Enduro does not connect to Wifi, so no auto upload when you walk in the house. The 945 does. You’ll need a phone or connect the Enduro to your computer.

There are no different battery mode options with the 945. And that brings us to the most significant difference between the two and what I think sets the Enduro apart from other watches on the market, not just other Garmin models.

In a word, battery.

To start with the comparison, you have to make one of two choices when you fire up the 945 to work out. Are you going to listen to music? Or are you not? If you listen to music while using the GPS you get up to 10 hours of battery life. GPS without music — up to 36 hours. Or, if you’re not working out and are just using it as a smartwatch the battery will last up to two weeks.

Like I said, I think battery life sets the Enduro apart from other watches on the market. But before we get to the different options, you need to know that the Enduro is one of the watches in Garmin’s lineup that comes with solar charging. If you look closely at the face, you can see that just inside that green stripe there is 1MM strip around the edge of the display. That’s the solar charger. The lens is also made of a material that Garmin calls power glass that also helps charge but to a much lesser degree. So on to how long it will last between charges.

There are a number of battery modes to choose from depending on the kind of activity you’re doing, how long you need to do it and what sensors you want to use:

Smartwatch: Up to 50 days/65 days with solar

Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 130 days/1 year with solar

GPS: Up to 70 hours/80 hours with solar

Max Battery GPS Mode: Up to 200 hours/300 hours with solar

Expedition GPS Activity: Up to 65 days/95 days with solar

I know, right? What activity are you doing that you’ll need GPS tracking for 65 days?

So which watch is right for you? I can’t answer that question. You need to decide what you’re going to use it for, how much you want to spend and how much you can get away with without telling our significant other. Are you an Ultra runner? Run multiple marathons a year and like to cross train with a bunch of different kinds of endurance sports? The Enduro could be the watch for you. However, the 945 packs a huge punch and is a lot more cost effective, although 600 bucks is nothing to sneeze at.

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My Current Running Gear

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