Garmin forerunner 45 – any competitors for the price?

Looking for a smart watch for life and to track rides and health etc on a superficial level.
Max I can afford is £100 and the forerunner 45 is £90 on Amazon at the minute

Can it be beaten for the price? Needs to be able to save gpx/upload to strava

I’ve just bought one and really like it. All I’d say is be really careful buying it from Amazon – I got sent 2 empty boxes! Got the first, complained and they sent another one, which was empty again! To be fair to Amazon when I spoke to customer services they were good and gave me a full refund – I then bought it from wiggle for a fiver more…

I realise that doesn’t quite answer your question, but I like the watch now I actually have one!

Wife has one and it does the job nicely. If you want new then it’s decent for the price. You can get a lightly used better model for a similar price as it is has a few limitations but if you really only want the basics it’s pretty good.

They’re great watches for the money. I use mine mostly for running, but it’s fine in a bike too.
The HR isn’t super accurate, particularly when you’re riding the bike, but bar that it’s perfect.
I doubt you’ll find better for under £100.

I love mine.but it failed after 8 months. I got a refund from argos. Couldn’t find anything remotely close to the value. So bought another one.

Battery life could be better. But otherwise does all I need.

Lots of models 2nd hand with warranty here https://uk.webuy.com/boxsearch?stext=Garmin

I’ve bought a couple of renewed Garmins from Amazon. They come in Garmin boxes, have all the cables, manuals etc., and best of all, they were in the boxes! 😉

Got one and really like it. They come in 2 sizes. Both sizes have the same size screen, but the larger one has a thicker boarder. I went for the small. Simple to use. Does more than I need. The Garmin Connect app is excellent.

I’ve got the 45 plus (I have no idea what the plus gives you over the standard 45) and use it for running both outside and on the treadmill, for this I find the heart rate monitor sufficient, I also use it for cycling and on the turbo trainer, in these applications I found the heart rate monitor very un-accurate so I use a non Garmin Bluetooth chest strap when on the bike. My turbo is also a dumb trainer so I also use a cadence and speed sensors with that. All works absolutely fine.

Does all I need, although heart rate reading was very inconsistent. Battery life has improved measurably after an update recently.

I have a forerunner 45 I never use up for sale if you want it.

Let me know.

Fenix 3 second hand as recommended in this parish. Could not be happier. £80ish. Faultless and solid. Can’t see a reason to upgrade tbh

I have one, like it
Went for the small one. Nice and neat on the wrist. Looks very very smart too imo
HR running is accurate
HR biking is not – I’ve never found the watches to be good for it either (unless you use a strap).

I have a Garmin Vivioactive 3 myself. The cycling feature is decent enough. Battery maybe not as good as when I first got it, but it still lasts 3 days now if you don’t go to heavy on the activities. I think they are around €170 though, so a bit out of budget.

I got this Activity Tracker
for my daughter. It was only €35. It’s actually a decent enough smart watch for the price. The features are good and it feels very sturdy overall. From what I gather, there is a cycling feature on it, but I haven’t used it. I don’t think the battery would last quite as long as the Garmin though, as I notice she seems to be charging it more often that I charge mine. But maybe that’s because she is more active than me!

I had one but recently sold it after about 6 months, mainly due to the poor battery which was substantially shorter then the 35 it replaced and the 245 I now have.

might be worth getting an instinct if there’s a refurb for the same price – worse screen but better battery life. Otherwise go for it

I have a 55, bought recently through a work rewards scheme for just over 100, 110 maybe? I think Garmin are involved in a few of these things, blue light etc. Anyway the battery on the 55 is excellent which was what I was coming to say.