Garmin Forerunner 955 GPS Watch Black

A good watch for an excellent price. Has almost all the features of the top tier Fenix watches but in a lightweight/plastic case; full maps, all the sensors and multi band GPS for the price (even without the 15% sale discount that I got) is astonishing. Very satisfied however some of the apps etc feel a little bit 'beta' and I've found a couple of bugs when using the maps such that certain features don't work, including ones which I know do work on Fenix watches. Parts of the menu system and advanced features are also a little less intuitive to use than the equivalent Fenix. Updates continue to be rolled out though (two more in less than two weeks of ownership) so I'm hopeful these bugs and oddities will continue to be addressed and ironed out.Notwithstanding these ... MoreA good watch for an excellent price. Has almost all the features of the top tier Fenix watches but in a lightweight/plastic case; full maps, all the sensors and multi band GPS for the price (even without the 15% sale discount that I got) is astonishing. Very satisfied however some of the apps etc feel a little bit 'beta' and I've found a couple of bugs when using the maps such that certain features don't work, including ones which I know do work on Fenix watches. Parts of the menu system and advanced features are also a little less intuitive to use than the equivalent Fenix. Updates continue to be rolled out though (two more in less than two weeks of ownership) so I'm hopeful these bugs and oddities will continue to be addressed and ironed out.Notwithstanding these issues, it's a bargain and for the most part works perfectly well, just be aware there are (still) a few compromises compared to the Fenix line - mostly unintentional I think!Excellent service from Varuste.

Amazing Watch with Awesome Features!

I bought this watch about a month ago and it is my favorite garmin watch yet! I’ve had a Fenix 5s as a hand-me-down from my sister, a Venu 2 Plus and now a Forerunner 955. I loved all the features that the Fenix has but didn’t need that many features so I upgraded to the Venu 2. The amoled screen on the Venu 2 was stunning! However, the Venu 2 lacked the features I loved in my Fenix. Then, I thought about getting a Whoop band to compliment the Venu but didn’t want two watch bands and two devices to charge. Also, the monthly payment of the Whoop deterred me away. I found the Forerunner and with extensive research, realized the Forerunner 955 was the way to go. The forerunner 955 has all of the health stats and training stats that I could get from the Whoop and some! ... MoreI bought this watch about a month ago and it is my favorite garmin watch yet! I’ve had a Fenix 5s as a hand-me-down from my sister, a Venu 2 Plus and now a Forerunner 955. I loved all the features that the Fenix has but didn’t need that many features so I upgraded to the Venu 2. The amoled screen on the Venu 2 was stunning! However, the Venu 2 lacked the features I loved in my Fenix. Then, I thought about getting a Whoop band to compliment the Venu but didn’t want two watch bands and two devices to charge. Also, the monthly payment of the Whoop deterred me away. I found the Forerunner and with extensive research, realized the Forerunner 955 was the way to go. The forerunner 955 has all of the health stats and training stats that I could get from the Whoop and some! I love the ability to track my HRV, training readiness and training effect. The battery life for the Forerunner is amazing! I charged it once in about my month of having it. It’s lightweight but holds up so good during running and CrossFit. I love the touchscreen and the ability to turn the touchscreen off during workouts. The only negative about the Forerunner is the lack of amoled screen. Other than that, the price of the forerunner is really good compared to the new Fenix’s and Epix. Overall, I highly recommend the Forerunner 955!

Apple Watch or this

If you’ve been deciding a forerunner over an Apple Watch or Garmin in general I hope my review helps.1- The battery life alone is insane. I got my watch 09SEP and didn’t have to charge it until 21SEP. That’s with multiple workouts in a day, downloading music onto my watch, updating my settings, and overall just playing around with it.2.The user interface is simple, and you don’t have to rely on the touchscreen while working out! All you have to use is the side buttons. It takes some getting use to if you went from an Apple Watch, but I never realized how much more convenient it is while running/exercising!3- The morning report is super cool, and gives you pretty accurate data. Sleep reports, body battery, recovery time, recommended workouts, etc. It’s honestly ... MoreIf you’ve been deciding a forerunner over an Apple Watch or Garmin in general I hope my review helps.1- The battery life alone is insane. I got my watch 09SEP and didn’t have to charge it until 21SEP. That’s with multiple workouts in a day, downloading music onto my watch, updating my settings, and overall just playing around with it.2.The user interface is simple, and you don’t have to rely on the touchscreen while working out! All you have to use is the side buttons. It takes some getting use to if you went from an Apple Watch, but I never realized how much more convenient it is while running/exercising!3- The morning report is super cool, and gives you pretty accurate data. Sleep reports, body battery, recovery time, recommended workouts, etc. It’s honestly one of my favorite features.4-It’s nice to see the watch focuses on YOUR health, in regards to just notifications from social media and apps. I have Narcolepsy and I was interested in seeing how accurate it tracks my sleep and it sure enough is accurate.5- This watch doesn’t have a super great display or brightness, but that something that doesn’t even bother me. When exercising outside in the sun, the screen is VERY clear. I don’t know how to explain it, but even with sunglasses this thing is crisp.6- I transitioned into barefoot running/zero drop shoes and wanted to keep better track of my running stats. I’m not a marathon runner or anything like that, but that stats it provides has actually improved my times. This relates back to number 5 above actually. When running I run on trails usually and the fact that I can just bring my wrist up and easily see the screen is amazing.Overall- it’s expensive, but comparing this to an Apple Watch? Hands down choose this. Garmin focuses on you and your health. Never would’ve thought I would’ve loved a watch as much as I do now.

Disappointed

I upgraded from a Fenix 5 to the Forerunner 955. It had the same things the new Fenix had that I wanted but the polymer case gave it a lower price tag. I was so excited I took it out of the box and went for a quick run to check out some newer features and it worked great! A few days later I looked at the body battery and training readiness and it was quite low. I figured it needed a week or so to figure out my patterns. I then realized it was not accurately tracking my sleep. It would either record no sleep data or show me waking up at 2am or only getting 3 hours of sleep. I tried adjusting the tightness, making sure my sleep window was updated under my info and have had no luck. Even when I go in and edit my sleep to the correct time my sleep score, body battery, ... MoreI upgraded from a Fenix 5 to the Forerunner 955. It had the same things the new Fenix had that I wanted but the polymer case gave it a lower price tag. I was so excited I took it out of the box and went for a quick run to check out some newer features and it worked great! A few days later I looked at the body battery and training readiness and it was quite low. I figured it needed a week or so to figure out my patterns. I then realized it was not accurately tracking my sleep. It would either record no sleep data or show me waking up at 2am or only getting 3 hours of sleep. I tried adjusting the tightness, making sure my sleep window was updated under my info and have had no luck. Even when I go in and edit my sleep to the correct time my sleep score, body battery, and training readiness never update. A lot of the new features I was excited about don't display properly because my sleep is never read correctly. Now I'm over here about to have to spend even more money on a different new Garmin to purchase a model that works. After doing some searching I've seen this has been an issue for the 955 and there is no fix.

Good Value and Great Specs, But Buggy

I’ve switched from a forerunner 245M, a 945 LTE, and now a 955 watch. While I loved the option for LTE with my 945, I simply couldn’t resist higher music storage, more accurate GPS tracking, and the addition of a touch screen.I’d say firstly that the best of all these additions was the GPS tracking: it’s extremely fast at getting a reliable signal and I love being able to review my tracks now that they can encapsulate a better picture of my running journeys, and I have yet to encounter an offensive case of miscalculated distances or speeds. The multiband is simply a great spec to have. As for the rest of the features, I’d say they are relatively subjective in their usefulness. I like listening to podcasts on my runs, so having a higher capacity for music and stuff ... MoreI’ve switched from a forerunner 245M, a 945 LTE, and now a 955 watch. While I loved the option for LTE with my 945, I simply couldn’t resist higher music storage, more accurate GPS tracking, and the addition of a touch screen.I’d say firstly that the best of all these additions was the GPS tracking: it’s extremely fast at getting a reliable signal and I love being able to review my tracks now that they can encapsulate a better picture of my running journeys, and I have yet to encounter an offensive case of miscalculated distances or speeds. The multiband is simply a great spec to have. As for the rest of the features, I’d say they are relatively subjective in their usefulness. I like listening to podcasts on my runs, so having a higher capacity for music and stuff like that is a nice thing to have in a watch of this price range. I also do find myself using the touchscreen quite a bit as it’s especially useful for scrolling the menus and viewing the navigation map: the best part of having such a thing on this device. I do feel it is underutilized in some places however, as I think it doesn’t quite make sense not to have a qwerty style keyboard for quick messages, at least for android as iOS is still very exclusive to the ecosystem that Apple has built. All the other features of this watch are pretty much the same as all the available options from Garmin though. I know it now sports a new sensor for supposedly more accurate heart rate monitoring, pulse ox monitoring, and is now being used to calculate HRV, but honestly I haven’t yet observed a drastic improvement over the previous sensor in terms of accuracy. But, for the price Garmin has posted for the 955, it’s a pretty good deal: you get the latest and greatest tech from Garmin in a lightweight device that will last years for a price much cheaper than even their last gen forerunner 945/945 LTE. I really love this device and the practical aspects of owning a Garmin watch, as battery life is fantastic while offering advanced training metrics and options to get users fit, and as a standalone watch, of course it gives you everything you’d want from one, and has mostly satisfactory smart features, though as I mentioned with the lack of a proper keyboard, it still is a bit away from being a perfect hybrid of a sportwatch and smartwatch, but it’s close enough for now.However, there is one big flaw with this device, and that is the numerous bugs. Sometimes I hold the music button and before I can even scroll or do anything, the menu backs out. The map navigation was only a few weeks ago rather finicky with the tough screen, as even a little swipe to the left backed out of the map and moving about the image was really tricky, though it appears to have been fixed in the 11.12 version update. People have also noticed that editing power/heart rate zones is useless as the watch will just revert back to syncing its own calculated values. People have noted battery drain issues as well, though I can’t personally attest to that, it just seems to be a common problem given how many complain about it. Luckily though, Garmin seems to be patching all these things, and that’s the best part at least: all the bugs are absolutely fixable through software, and at the very least, the core functionality of the watch seems to be very stable and usable, which is why I’ve given this product a 4/5 and not a 3.Overall, you’re getting the best of the forerunner Garmin watches in one device, with a better price, and you are also getting new key features and more in the future. I think altogether if you’re new to the Garmin world and want to pick up a watch now for running or marathoning and want more longevity from your purchase, I’d totally recommend this watch or the cheaper 255 as it does pretty much the same things, just less music storage, no touch screen, and shorter battery life.

Great Watch!

I bought the Forerunner 955 two weeks ago, it’s been on my wrist 24/7 ever since that day. I love it, before the 955 I used to wear a Fenix 5 Plus and boy there is a big difference between them. First think I noticed the weight of course, FR 955 is very light hardly noticeable. I mainly bought the FR955 because of the multi gps bands it has. My Fenix 5+was/is very good on that area, but the FR 955 is much better 99%spot on, it takes like 3to4 seconds to acquire the GPS signal but once is connected it stays connected, I love the morning reports, battery life so far it’s been very good, it lasts a whole week, I use the GPS on average for one hour every day, on days I have long runs, it could go up to two hours, with notifications on except during sleep time, no music, ... MoreI bought the Forerunner 955 two weeks ago, it’s been on my wrist 24/7 ever since that day. I love it, before the 955 I used to wear a Fenix 5 Plus and boy there is a big difference between them. First think I noticed the weight of course, FR 955 is very light hardly noticeable. I mainly bought the FR955 because of the multi gps bands it has. My Fenix 5+was/is very good on that area, but the FR 955 is much better 99%spot on, it takes like 3to4 seconds to acquire the GPS signal but once is connected it stays connected, I love the morning reports, battery life so far it’s been very good, it lasts a whole week, I use the GPS on average for one hour every day, on days I have long runs, it could go up to two hours, with notifications on except during sleep time, no music, the Pulse Ox is set to On Demand only, brightness to 30% though. So maybe all that helps with the battery usage. My only cons are that I wish the watch face colors were a little brighter and with more colors to choose from and that the native watch faces were more flexible with the data I want to see at a glance, for example I like to have the battery icon and percent on my watch faces, but not all the watch faces let me add it. I bought the white model, because I thought it would match better with all my Fenix 5+ bands I have and I was not wrong. I really like too all the data I get now, the F5+ doesn’t have all the thing that my FR 955 has, so it was time for an upgrade. Next I think I am going to get the HRM Pro Plus for even more data than I can understand, but that is great to have.

Great replacement for 920XT

Bought the watch a month ago. I use it every day. I am sure I don’t use half of the functions on the watch such as music. Lots of customization is possible with this watch. I have not done a triathlon with this watch yet, but I have been happy with the additional workouts then I had before. Strength training it usually gets the exercise correct when uploading to garmin connect. The linking to existing apps was easy. The setup did take a couple of minutes, but overall easy. I have not set up the ability to pay from the watch yet, but is something I plan on doing.Watch sits well on my wrist and didn’t take long to get comfortable with having it slightly tighter than my 920XT. This is for making sure it reads the heart rate correctly.Overall very happy with the new ... MoreBought the watch a month ago. I use it every day. I am sure I don’t use half of the functions on the watch such as music. Lots of customization is possible with this watch. I have not done a triathlon with this watch yet, but I have been happy with the additional workouts then I had before. Strength training it usually gets the exercise correct when uploading to garmin connect. The linking to existing apps was easy. The setup did take a couple of minutes, but overall easy. I have not set up the ability to pay from the watch yet, but is something I plan on doing.Watch sits well on my wrist and didn’t take long to get comfortable with having it slightly tighter than my 920XT. This is for making sure it reads the heart rate correctly.Overall very happy with the new watch. GPS is good, multiple systems that you can use for increased accuracy.Battery life has been good so far. Maybe charging once a week. Also nice that I can broadcast my heart rate to my smart trainer for my bike and I don’t have to wear my heart rate monitor for the bike.I still use the heart rate monitor for running to get garmin running dynamics using a HRM-TRI unit.I have not really dig into the running setting but I should have power available now on this watch and will be using that in the future.

Lots of helpful features - lightweight and comfort

This watch has some amazing features for training and tracking health and wellness. It's not nearly as big as I had feared, being a small-ish built woman, and it's lightweight and comfortable especially for the size. I like the option of a touch screen along with the buttons. Accurate GPS, great metrics to help me train smarter, and, while not super stylish, passable with work attire. I wish they used quickfit or quick release bands -the band it comes with has to be removed with a tool, but I substituted quick fit bands to make any changes easier. I bought it in white, and it looks nice and clean - easy to view the screen in a lot of lights too. I am a 20-30 mile/week runner, do yoga, hiking, trail running, track running, some weights, and occasionally swim and ... MoreThis watch has some amazing features for training and tracking health and wellness. It's not nearly as big as I had feared, being a small-ish built woman, and it's lightweight and comfortable especially for the size. I like the option of a touch screen along with the buttons. Accurate GPS, great metrics to help me train smarter, and, while not super stylish, passable with work attire. I wish they used quickfit or quick release bands -the band it comes with has to be removed with a tool, but I substituted quick fit bands to make any changes easier. I bought it in white, and it looks nice and clean - easy to view the screen in a lot of lights too. I am a 20-30 mile/week runner, do yoga, hiking, trail running, track running, some weights, and occasionally swim and bike. I am definitely not using all of the myriad of features but all the features I want are there - including pickleball! The Stamina feature is very cool as is the training readiness - it works so much better than previous training load versions of Garmin. I am very pleased.

Perfect for trail running

I've been using it for about 3 weeks. Still discovering new features. It takes a while to tailor it to what you're intending to use it for, especially if it's your first garmin watch but that's just how it is with so many functionalities.I primarily use it for trail running. I draw my routes on swissmobile on my phone and upload it to the garmin app, it's very quick and easy once you've done it once. A couple things to know about the maps: You can't zoom in or out while you're running (or at least I haven't done it right yet). The second thing is that the maps are relatively basic trailwise compared to the swissmobile maps, and from what I've understood you've got to buy the swiss map for more detailed routes (costs over a 100.- ...). This is a bit frustrating ... MoreI've been using it for about 3 weeks. Still discovering new features. It takes a while to tailor it to what you're intending to use it for, especially if it's your first garmin watch but that's just how it is with so many functionalities.I primarily use it for trail running. I draw my routes on swissmobile on my phone and upload it to the garmin app, it's very quick and easy once you've done it once. A couple things to know about the maps: You can't zoom in or out while you're running (or at least I haven't done it right yet). The second thing is that the maps are relatively basic trailwise compared to the swissmobile maps, and from what I've understood you've got to buy the swiss map for more detailed routes (costs over a 100.- ...). This is a bit frustrating when you reach a fork in the road and there's only one road on your watch so you've got to go by feeling. On the other hand, the gps tracking is extremely quick to set before running and it will tell you rapidly when you're off route. Overall it's still sufficient and very useful to guide you through unknown areas so long as you use some common senseI'm doing heart rate training with it and can custom program my runs to do so many km at x HR then so many at y HR and it will signal when it's too low or too high. Note that you can do the same with other parameters such as pace instead of HR and time instead of distance.I find the training status quite good too which encourages you to do a balance of light aerobic, high aerobic and anaerobic sum effort. I put in a race for the race preparation training and race prediction, but I'm pretty sure it's way off, and the training suggestions are based on pace, which makes them unfeasible in the mountainous region I'm from so pretty much useless. If you live somewhere rather flat it may be more useful.If you use it for running, especially if you're going to use the maps, it's a great watch, if you're not I'd just go with a cheaper model.

The Swiss Army of GPS Fitness Watches

This watch does it all. A mindboggling, at times, myriad of activity/applications to choose from. Triathlete activities pre-loaded, but easily removed and/or customizeable, keep the ones you want remove those you do not. Add many others, Nordic, Class, Back Country, Cross-Country Skiing options (for me) Downhill, etc for those that like the lifts and the mountain. Golf, (not so much me) Hiking, Walking, Running, Cycling (road, gravel, mountain, wow!) All me, and Yoga (who is not interested in some flexibility?) Pickle Ball (everyone seems to be playing it) and on and on and on.Those are just activities, how about music? 2,000 songs and or podcast space is available on your watch if you like to groove or catch up on your favorite podcasts while on the active move? ... MoreThis watch does it all. A mindboggling, at times, myriad of activity/applications to choose from. Triathlete activities pre-loaded, but easily removed and/or customizeable, keep the ones you want remove those you do not. Add many others, Nordic, Class, Back Country, Cross-Country Skiing options (for me) Downhill, etc for those that like the lifts and the mountain. Golf, (not so much me) Hiking, Walking, Running, Cycling (road, gravel, mountain, wow!) All me, and Yoga (who is not interested in some flexibility?) Pickle Ball (everyone seems to be playing it) and on and on and on.Those are just activities, how about music? 2,000 songs and or podcast space is available on your watch if you like to groove or catch up on your favorite podcasts while on the active move? Health insights galore. Struggle with sleep? Tons of sleep data, I can about guess my score before I receive my morning review, which also suggests activity level for that day, helps you be kind to your body when your proverbial 'battery' is less than recharged.All that and it looks pretty cool and can be customized to your liking in terms of preloaded or downloadable watch faces.Concerned about too much tech and not knowing where to start once it is your own? Check out dozens of you tube tutorials for added use insights and get out there and have fun in the post pandemic times, it is time to shake off that couch and the FR 955 will help you do so and not need to be tethered to the PC recharging, with a battery that can last up to ~ 14 days so you can get off your softer bits and firm them up for a healthier you!