This is my first running watch. I didn't want anything big or fancy or anything that had more than I needed. I've had this watch now for about a year and a half and I absolutely adore it. I use it mostly for running paces and distances as well as step count. I don't really pay attention to sleep data or the body battery, as they aren't really super accurate. I will sleep TERRIBLY one night on occasion and the watch will say I slept all night without waking and my body battery is 100. Not a chance, fam. Also, recovery is usually based on hrv, which, according to the current research, isn't a great measure. So really I don't put much stock in that stuff. Calories burned are also not accurate on most wearables.

I find the HR can lag a bit. I will be GASPING for air at some point during a workout and my HR will say 110. 2-3 mins later, I finally see 160+ show up. But it's not really enough for me to not like the watch - just something I've noticed.

I've never had issues with the gps connecting, but I know that's an issue for some.

The wrist strap will cause me issues if I don't switch wrists at night. I wear it on my left arm during the day and my right arm at night while I sleep and I haven't had any issues since adopting that method.

I love the ability to program the runs my coach programs for me using the app and I find the app to be pretty intuitive.

I am noticing the longer I have the watch, the shorter the battery life is getting. I ONLY use gps for my 3 weekly runs, and those runs are usually only about 30-40 min long. So I'm only using GPS about 90-120 mins a week and I'd say I get about 3 days out of a charge right now.

I'm DREADING the day mine dies. I feel like all the new watches out there come with so many features I don't want or need and this little guy is just so perfect.

It's light weight; it GPS-tracks my runs/rides; there's no touch screen to receive errant input; the display is readable at a distance while moving. Those are the highs. The GPS aspect takes ages to lock on, though, so I often end up standing around when I'm ready to move, impatiently deciding between getting going and waiting to have a solid track of the activity. The detail it captures feels kind of limited in 2023. I've had some Garmin Vivo-type trackers that did more, but those had funky input methods that did me wrong (sleeves and water causing input events, for instance). If you need something basic and light, this might be it; if you're expecting a current competitive feature set, you probably need to add some weight and move up the food chain. I'm still a huge Garmin fan over the competition; app works nicely and gets serious about things that matter outdoors, etc..

Given the proliferation of fitness trackers these days, it was difficult deciding which one to get. My primary requirements :

1. accurate heart rate monitor (walking, running biking. Not planning to wear it while swimming). Accuracy is important to ensure maintaining correct heart rate depending on the goal eg fat burn vs cardio.
2. accurate standalone GPS to measure distances
3. decent step counter
4. buttons, not touchscreen (to be able to operate by touch eg while biking). Buttons feel solid.
5. able to provide almost all functionality without requiring a smartphone or app ( privacy)

this is the review after wearing the FR45 almost continuously for 4 weeks, only taking it off while showering or charging. the FR45 meets all these requirements. the Garmin Connect has a windows application, which can sync directly with the watch over USB. it does require setting up an account with an email address, but no other information is gathered. I am able to use this app to view historical data, trends etc without having to use the smartphone app.

Additional benefits:
1. the sleep monitor is surprisingly accurate, and somewhat eye-opening in terms of understanding the sleep cycle every night. I think it can drive better sleeping habits
2. stated battery life is 7 days without using GPS. I'm able to get about 6 days, using GPS for about 2-3 hours during that period
3. If one is so inclined, your profile can be connected to apps like MyFitnessPal to track your calorie intake and get a view of overall calorie input and output. I don't use it
4. the Stress and 'Body battery' indicators are fun to see (not sure how accurate/useful)
5. you can participate in group activities, challenges etc
6. you can track all useful information (distance, HR, stress level, calories, steps etc) easily on the watch itself, though it might be somewhat small to look at
7. display works well in most situations, even direct sunlight. there is a backlight button, for very lowlight situations
8. Garmin Connect windows app provides a very nice clean interface, and a helpful dashboard to be able to see daily and historical info and trends. there is a lot more in there that I'm not using at this time.
9. looks nice.

Others have reporting issues with the wristband, i did feel a bit of itching and irritation in the beginning, probably because i wore to too tight, but am able to adjust to it by switching wrists daily and not wearing it too tightly.

Some things that could be better:
1. the heart rate counter has trouble keeping up with rapid changes. for eg, if I go from walking to running on the treadmill, the watch takes anywhere from 30s to 2 mins to catch up with the new HR. Same with slowing down. This is probably the biggest issue I've faced, but can get used to it. when it does catch up though, its accurate to within 1-2 heartbeats (compared with finger oximeter, treadmill monitor)

2. GPS can sometimes take frustratingly long to get active. Syncing frequently seems to solve this issue (i only sync with the laptop once every 5-6 days, so maybe this might be just a problem for me

3. step tracker is a bit iffy, I'll usually wake up on the morning with about 100-200 steps in the counter (basically arm movements seem to trigger it). brushing teeth can also give you some steps :) not a big issue, just discount about 400-500 steps from your daily count to account for these conditions.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with this purchase, and feels like this would be solid performer for years to come, or at least until the battery gives out.

This product I use to tell time

Magnificent