Even better if combined with discounted gift card.
The outgoing model is again $399 and is better value than the $949 Forerunner 945. Stock seems very limited in my area (Sydney metro) and the deal finishes tomorrow.
Amazon AU currently have the same price but only 2 in stock https://www.amazon.com.au/Garmin-Forerunner-Heart-Watch-Blac…
I think those extra features are not worth the extra money given current prices.
I was super excited to leave my phone behind before buying a Garmin. All depends on where and how long run is. For example, I was running off-road and sprained my ankle recently and had to call my wife to tell her I will be late. I was lucky that particular day I took my phone to listen to an audiobook (audio controls can be done from the watch).
Good price for a great watch
Awesome watch. Battery life even with frequent sports using gps is amazing.
Great at what it does and good price but can't help but feel most people better off with something a bit newer that can play Spotify and has some smart features.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/03/garmin-forerunner-935-de…
If your doing triathlons then this is a great buy otherwise you might be better off with the FR245
I'd suggest for triathlons you may be better off with a cheaper garmin watch and a decent HR chest strap.
Optical HR sensors are getting better but still can be wildly inconsistent if the fit isn't spot on.
The lower end watches unfortunately don't support multisport tracking.
@dan76n: Good point, I thought when I upgraded from a 235 to 935 that it would be much more reliable HR data wise seeing as it reportedly uses the same optical sensor as the Fenix series, but it was still very hit & miss. Definitely had some added metrics over the entry level garmin, but not as many as the Fenix. Using a Garmin HR run strap added a few more, like ground contact time balance, stride length & vertical ratio.
@JF: I’m still using an fr235 which has served me well. The optical HR Is definitely not as stable as a chest strap but it’s good enough that I don’t bother using my chest strap. In saying that I have an older chest start that doesn’t provide any other data like yours.
One thing I find is the optical HR is more accurate running than it is riding for me. I seem to lose the signal quite a bit when riding for some reason.
I’ve been tempted to update to the 245 but I still use my old Huawei W1 smart watch for everyday usage and only really use the 235 during activities.
and is better value than the $949 Forerunner 945
I thought $2000+ iPhones were ridiculous, but now we have a $1k fitness watch.
:-|
If anyone’s interested, my sister bought this watch 7 days ago and the battery is showing 47%. That’s impressive battery life.
She’s miffed that she missed out on this great price but she’s very happy with her purchase.
Real life battery performance is not quite as good as what Garmin claims but still solid. I've been charging it on average every 8 days and I work out about 4 days a week. It's constantly connected to my phone via Bluetooth for notifications. I also like the sms reply via preconfigured text. Handy while at the stop lights in the car - don't have to touch my phone.
On my way
Will be late
Etc
Owner here. I've been with this watch since June 2017 and I have to say it's a fantastic watch in every way. It perfectly suits my needs in every aspects of my excercise. It's lightweight, battery durable, case tough, all good. Inside it's literally a Fenix 5 (being the mid class of 5S/5/5X from low to high end) and has exactly the same feature as Fenix 5, but it's a lot lightweight, making it ideal for daily workout. Besides it has bluetooth music control, smart phone msg push, step counter so if you plan to wear it everyday into the office or the worksite, no problem at all, especially given this the black accent(mine being the lime one so I had to replace the band with a geniune black band so that it wont stand out in the office lol). In a word, anything I can think of this watch, all good.
BTW, I paid $5xx when I purchased it at mid 2017, so pretty happy about the price and never regret for these years.
Lacks garmin pay and bluetooth music for those after that.