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Garmin Forerunner 745 vs 245
Are you looking to take your running, swimming, or cycling game to the next level? With a high-tech GPS watch packed with dozens of features, you can track key metrics and analyze your progress.
One of the most popular brands of sports watches is Garmin. They have several lines of watches geared towards everyone, from budding athletes to experts. Today, we will be comparing the two newest models, the Garmin Forerunner 745 vs. 245.
Garmin Forerunner 745
- Numerous profiles for various types of athletes
- Has many of the same features as the 945 but at a lower cost
- Includes the music option without offering a different product
Garmin Forerunner 245
- Offers music and non-music options
- Reasonable price
- Includes a wealth of features for runners
About Garmin
Garmin has been a leader in the technology industry for several decades. When they started the company in 1989, the founders managed the business in Kansas. Ten years ago, they moved their headquarters to Switzerland.
They are now a multinational company with 80 offices worldwide. They create GPS navigation and advanced technological products for the aviation, automotive, marine, and sports industries.
Garmin Forerunner 745 Overview
The Forerunner 745 is Garmin’s newest watch and replaced the older 735XT model. The company included dozens of new features that make it very similar to the advanced Forerunner 945 model.
With the added features comes a higher price tag, but the watch is excellent for all kinds of athletes. It has profiles for everything from skiing to swimming to kayaking.
Pros:
- Numerous profiles for various types of athletes
- Has many of the same features as the 945 but at a lower cost
- Includes the music option without offering a different product
Cons:
- Higher price
- May have too many features for novice athletes
Garmin Forerunner 245 Overview
The Forerunner 245 watch is part of the Garmin 200 series and came out in 2019. You can choose between the model with music or without. Of course, if you select the music variant, the price goes up slightly.
The Forerunner 245 is a stellar option for serious runners or intermediate athletes. While it does have some cycling and swimming features, most of its functions focus on health stats and running metrics.
Pros:
- Offers music and non-music options
- Reasonable price
- Includes a wealth of features for runners
Cons:
- Not for serious multisports athletes
- Does not have all the features of the 745 model
Face-to-Face Feature Comparison: Garmin Forerunner 745 vs 245
Both of these watches are very popular and newer models. They have many of the same features, so we are going to compare those first.
Overall Design
When it comes to aesthetics, the Forerunner 245 has slightly more options in color. You can choose between black, white, teal, gray, and berry. However, the latter two options do not have the additional music option.
The Forerunner 745 only has four color options, including white, red, teal, and black.
Both watches have silicon material, but the 245 is slightly smaller. It measures 42.3 mm x 42.3 mm x 12.2 mm. The Forerunner 745 comes in at 43.8 mm by 43.8 mm by 13.3 mm.
Additionally, the Garmin 245 model has industry-standard quick-release bands.
The most significant difference between these two watches’ overall design is the weight. The 245 is significantly lighter, weighing only 38.5 grams, while the Garmin 745 weighs 47 grams.
Winner: Garmin 245
Display
These two watches are incredibly similar when it comes to the display. Both have a screen of 240 by 240 pixels and a diameter of 1.2 inches.
Additionally, you can easily read both of them in direct sunlight, and each one has transflective memory-in-pixel technology.
Each display screen has a fiber-reinforced polymer bezel supporting the display screen.
The only significant difference is the lens material covering the display. The watches both use Corning Gorilla glass, but the Forerunner 245 uses level 3 while the 745 utilizes the DX glass. Thanks to that slight difference, the Garmin 745 wins this round.
Winner: Garmin 745
Battery and Storage
The Forerunner 745 has three different battery lives. In the Smartwatch mode, you can use the watch for seven days. While using the GPS mode and no music, you can utilize the watch for up to 16 hours.
However, if you do decide to play music, the battery will only last for six hours. Finally, the 745 has an UltraTrac mode in which the watch will last for 21 hours.
Similarly, the Garmin 245 will last up to seven days in the Smartwatch mode. If you use the GPS mode with no music, it will last six hours.
The difference between these two watches is the battery life in the GPS mode without music. The Garmin 245 model can last up to 24 hours in the setting, while the Forerunner 745 only lasts 16 hours.
Regarding storage and memory, both watches can store up to 200 hours of data.
Since they are so similar in these areas, the deciding factor is the difference in battery life while using the GPS mode without music.
Winner: Garmin 245
Price
Since the Forerunner 745 is specifically for serious athletes who participate in various sports, it includes many more features. Understandably, this increases the price substantially.
When purchasing directly from the Garmin website, there is about a $150 difference in the Garmin Forerunner 745 vs. 245 (if you choose the Forerunner 245 with music).
Winner: Garmin 245
- Choose between the 245 and 245 Music model
- Access a huge selection of performance metrics
- Add more functionalities with the Connect IQ store
- Wear a comfortable GPS watch with a stylish design
- Read data easily thanks to the bright and colorful display
Stand-Out Features: Garmin Forerunner 745 vs. 245
Since the Garmin 745 watch is for a broader range of athletes, it has numerous features that the 245 model doesn’t. Here is an overview of all the additional gadgets you will get if you opt for the Forerunner 745.
Garmin 745
- Health Monitoring
- Respiration rate throughout the day: This feature lets you compare your resting respiration rate to your rate while exercising. The watch gets this information from your heart rate variability.
- Advanced sleep monitoring: The optical heart rate sensor lets the Garmin 745 monitor your sleep statics, including your sleep cycle, Pulse Ox, and respiration.
- Sensors
- Gyroscope: This sensor helps accurately count reps, distances without GPS, and general performance.
- Thermometer: The thermometer averages the temperature between your body and the environment.
- Daily Smart Feature
- Connects to Wi-Fi: You can check your social media and emails easier with a local Wi-Fi connection.
- Garmin Pay: With this feature, you can pay for food, coffee, and other purchases while exercising.
- Safety and Tracking Features
- Group LiveTrack: You can share your location with other people who are using a compatible Garmin device. This feature can help in any emergencies.
- Calculated Features
- Double Grid Coordinates: If you need to use multiple maps, you can access the coordinates from both.
- Activity Tracking Features
- Floors Climbed: When hiking, the watch senses changes in the barometric pressure and calculates how many floors you have climbed while hiking.
- Gym and Fitness Equipment
- Pilates profile: Instead of just a yoga profile, you can get a more specific option just for pilates.
- Yoga workouts: Previous models just focused on cardio and strength workouts. The yoga offers exercise options for yoga fanatics.
- Pilates workouts: As an added plus, you can access activities specifically for those who love pilates.
- Training, Planning, and Analysis Features
- HRV stress test: HRV stands for heart-rate variability. The watch analyzes this metric and shows you how your body is managing stress. The stress score is on a scale of 0 to 100.
- Heat and altitude acclimation: If you plan on hiking, skiing, or snowboarding, this tool shows you the altitude and temperature you are at and adjusts your VO2 max numbers.
- Training load focus: The training load is the weekly sum of your excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), or how long it takes for your body to regular oxygen consumption.
- Primary benefit: This feature includes seven training effect labels showing what training load each exercise has.
- Auto multisport activities: This function lets you automatically total times and distances between multiple sports, specifically for triathletes.
- Manual multisport activities: You can manually program the watch to total times between sports.
- Garmin and Strava live segments: You can track your personal goals and achievements while bike riding or running.
- Round-trip course creator for running and cycling: Design your course you would like to take with this feature.
- Trendline popularity routing: This feature helps you choose a route based on where other people decide to go.
- Hotkeys: You can decide to map the keys to direct you to various options.
- Metrics for biking, running, and swimming
- Extensive outdoor activity profiles from kayaking to skiing
- Streams music
- Workout suggestions
- ConnectIQ options for applications
- Outdoor Recreation
- Profiles for hiking, rowing, paddleboarding, kayaking, skiing, and snowboarding: The watch isn’t only for triathletes. You can choose from any number of profiles to accurately track your sporting metrics.
- Barometric trend indicator: If you are hiking, skiing, or snowboarding, it is vital to track the barometric pressure. This feature lets you keep track of any air pressure changes.
- Storm alert: You will receive alerts about nearing storms based on the barometric numbers.
- ClimbPro ascent planner: As you’re hiking, the ClimbPro feature shows you each aspect of the nearing inclines. You can track the elevation gain, grade, and distance for each ascent and see how much energy you need to expend in each area.
- Trail run auto climb: If you are traveling uphill or through various terrain, turn this feature on to detect when you go uphill automatically.
- Vertical speed: Like regular speed, this tracks how fast you are moving uphill using barometric pressure data.
- Total ascent and descent: These features show the total distance traveled, but they will not always be equal. For example, if you took a slightly different route descending, the numbers will not be identical.
- Future elevation plot: This graph shows future elevation changes in blue and past variations in green.
- Area calculation: With this function, you can select a track, and the watch will calculate the area.
- Hunting and fishing calendar: With Connect IQ, you can view the hunting and fishing calendars to see your area’s regulations.
- Sun and moon information: Get all the data about the sun and the moon’s location and strength with Connect IQ.
- Cycling Features
- Mountain trail biking profile: The watch has a separate profile specifically for mountain climbers.
- Bike lap: This feature of the Garmin 745 lets you keep track of each lap you make.
- Lap maximum power: This shows you how much power you can exert per lap.
- Functional threshold power: The watch lets you know how much power you can continually exert until you reach exhaustion.
- Compatible with Vector: Vector is a separate product that measures power from your pedals. You can use the Garmin 745 with Vector and get advanced support.
- Power meter compatible: You can connect your watch with third parties to measure your power.
- Swimming Features
- Open-water swimming and swim-run profiles: Instead of just choosing the pool option, you can set your watch to these other profiles.
- Metrics for open water: Many other watches focus exclusively on pool swimming metrics. This watch takes it to the next level and analyzes metrics in open water.
- Auto rest: You watch can automatically tell when you are taking a breather. As you rest, the watch will create a rest interval.
- Alerts for time and distance: Your watch will let you know when you have hit your target time or distance.
- Pacing alerts: While swimming, you can easily go faster or slower than your desired pace. The pacing alerts help keep you on track with the rate you designated.
- Countdown start: If you are prepping for a race, use the countdown start to begin swimming.
- Critical swim speed: The Garmin 745 lets you know the maximum pace you can go without exhausting yourself.
- Heart rate from external HRM: If you use an external heart rate monitor, you can sync that information to your Garmin device.
Final Thoughts
It is an incredibly close race between the Garmin 745 vs. 245. While the Forerunner 745 may have more features, the 245 has a better design and plenty of components for novice athletes.
Use Garmin Forerunner 245 if:
- You are a beginner or intermediate athlete
- You like to focus more on running than any other sport
- You have a lower budget
Use Garmin Forerunner 745 if:
- You participate in multiple sports like snowboarding, paddleboarding, or kayaking
- You are a triathlete
- You can afford a more costly watch.
Now that you have an in-depth look at each of these excellent watches, it’s time for you to check each of them out on your own to see which one would work best for your lifestyle and favorite activities.
Garmin Forerunner 745
- Numerous profiles for various types of athletes
- Has many of the same features as the 945 but at a lower cost
- Includes the music option without offering a different product
Garmin Forerunner 245
- Offers music and non-music options
- Reasonable price
- Includes a wealth of features for runners
Robby McClung
This article was written by the editorial staff of the Canaan Valley Running Company and Robby McClung. Robby is the founder of the Canaan Valley Running Company. You can read more in the about section of the website on Robby and the Canaan Valley Running Company.
