Watches
Product 2019
Woman, Man

Garmin Forerunner® 45

Being accustomed to the technological “monsters”, the big watches dedicated to all outdoor activities, we were curious to discover what this this entry level Garmin Forerunner® 45 watch could do.

 

This watch is surprisingly very lightweight: 37g. So, you don’t notice it on your wrist. The other big bonus is its very soft and comfortable strap and as it’s stretchy it doesn’t bruise your wrist. We can’t decide if it looks cheap or just minimalist in its design. At any rate, its entry-level product status is carried off with a price below 200 euros. However, you will see that this Garmin Forerunner® 45 isn’t a discount product by any stretch of the imagination, and it was appreciated by runners and outdoor enthusiasts.

 

Let’s face it, we are more familiar with the Suunto universe and its ergonomics so moving to a Garmin could have proved complicated. Not at all, in fact it was a real pleasure to take the first steps configuring the Garmin Forerunner® 45. It is a piece of cake, you are guided step-by-step, so if you have a fear of technology you will be immediately won over by this Garmin Connect: it’s easy and works straight away and also it’s beautiful visually and sleek ergonomically (we find it’s a shame that the Suunto application now has a sad design that replaces Movescount). However, there are a few minor reading bugs with an iPhone X.

 

 

In use we appreciated the classic but efficient and sufficient features for training. Two things disappointed us: GPS accuracy (to a lesser extent) and the heart rate information. The latter, as for most models of this type are whimsical and random, especially at the beginning of the exercise. It isn’t unique to Garmin, we also refer to the Suunto S9 Baro, we noticed the same inaccuracies that required us to ruse the good old heart rate belt.

 

 

The pace, distance, intervals, and stopwatch … we have the minimum on the Garmin Forerunner® 45 and much more! We were tempted by a free training program available on Garmin Connect: it’s very well designed, simple and easy to use, a good way to motivate yourself. It may seem silly at first, but the encouragements that the watch regularly sends is fun and pushes you to do better.

 

 

For us, the key element of this type of watch is not counting calories or the number of steps per day, but the split training feature. The Garmin Forerunner® 45 can of course do this (Start-Activity-Options-Training-Intervals-Modify-Interval-Type). It is a long path and requires many button pushes, but we finally manage to configure our Garmin.

The GPS is limited on this type of watch, which is not intended to guide the user or necessarily bring you back home in case you get lost in the woods (bread crumb function!). The tracking quality (The Garmin uses GPS, Glonass and Galileo) can be read on your Smartphone, you sometimes see minor errors as shown by the two screenshots of the same track using a Garmin Forerunner® 45 and Suunto S9 Baro.

 

 

 

In terms of calculating the distance, the difference is not a lot when running with a top-of-the-range model. The Garmin Forerunner® 45 in this comparison behaves quite honorably. Likewise for mountain biking and road biking, where there are some variations due to more frequent capture intervals. Automatic laps are 5k. Unless we made a mistake, there is no possibility of coupling the watch with a power sensor.

The altimeter is coupled with the GPS, it is not a barometric altimeter.

 

Beyond the training functions the Garmin Forerunner® 45 has numerous widgets and small services that can either be a delight or irritate. We must admit that receiving notifications directly on your watch from your Smartphone is always great: you can then discreetly look at your messages without having to use your phone.

We also must point out that the reduced screen size doesn’t make legibility that great. Which feature did we most like? The one that enabled us to find our telephone! The other great bonus is the Garmin Connect App that indicates the life span of your running shoes: gadget or useful info? A decision aid in any case. The most indispensable function? Long pressing the bottom left button to manage your music on your Smartphone via your earphones: you can read the song list, change the volume, etc.

 

The screen is controlled by five buttons and is not a touch screen. You have to identify each function and you can’t help making the odd mistake when getting used to it.

 

 

The heart of the Garmin Forerunner® 45 does the job for someone who wants to have a simple, lightweight product at a reasonable price. This watch allows you to train without complicating your life. The Garmin Connect coupling offers interesting features for progression. What are its limits? Limited autonomy but we don’t have much feedback on the battery’s recovery. So that would need to be established and also need to check the durability of the Garmin Forerunner® 45.

 

"The heart of the Garmin Forerunner® 45 does the job for someone who wants to have a simple, lightweight product at a reasonable price. This watch allows you to train without complicating your life. The Garmin Connect coupling offers interesting features for progression. What are its limits? Limited autonomy but we don’t have much feedback on the battery’s recovery. So that would need to be established and also need to check the durability of the Garmin Forerunner® 45."

Rating

  • 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  • GPS PRECISION
    7
  • HEART RATE MONITOR
    4
  • INTERVAL TRAINING
    6
  • SYNCHRONISATION
    8
  • BATTERY LIFE
    4
  • EASE OF USE
    8
  • STRAP COMFORT
    9

Price : 199,99

Weight

37

Overall Rating

6.57

LONG TERM TEST

We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:

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      • VIA FERRATA
      • CANYONING
      • SKI
      • SNOWSHOES
      • TOURING SKIS
      • TRAIL RUNNING
      • MOUNTAINEERING
      • CLIMBING
      • MOUNTAIN BIKE
      • ROAD BIKE
      • TRIATHLON
      • TREKKING
      • Hardwear
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