I am curious about the Forerunner 255 and wonder if anyone here has one and what they feel about it? I am thinking of getting one but when I looked at one it felt a bit cheap plastic for the price… any thoughts or experiences to share?
thanks
It is excellent. I am using a 255S, which is almost the same. The 255 Series and 955 Series very similar except for size, software features, battery size, and screen tech (touch & solar). The case and band materials are the same; so, the 955 would have the same “bit cheap plastic” to you.
Given what it is, it is a very good value. These are the features the 955 has that the 255 does not:
Built-in mappingTraining readiness scoreTouchscreen interfaceLonger battery lifeSolar charging optionMore memory (the 955 can hold more songs, for example)Full bike power supportReal-time stamina
Thanks I was looking at either the 255 or 255s. I was able to see a 255 in person and was surprised by how light it was. So based upon the fact it is all made of a reinforced polymer I was interested in people’s experience in daily use of the 255 or 255s.
How have you found the daily use etc with the 255s? Any glitches or things +/- that you can share?
thanks
I am actually using the 255S to write a review for Slowtwitch. I know several people who prefer the smallest & lightest watch they can use. This is the first truly small watch I know of that will easily cover a full distance triathlon. I have experienced no glitches at all. I own a 955 for my personal main watch, and they function exactly the same. The only major compromise of the 255S is the smaller 1.1" screen versus the 1.3" of the 955 and 255. If you need readers, that might be an issue. I do, but I can read the watch fine looking under my glasses.
It is very comfortable to sleep in because of its size. It has an 18mm band, which I think may be the smallest of any of the mainstream Garmin watches. Even the Forerunner 55 uses a 20mm band. Oh yeah, it only comes with a shorter band in the box. It fits me, but I have slightly larger wrists, so I got the longer band along with it. If you have a small frame or prefer a minimal band, then the standard might be good as-is.
I am stealing a little bit of thunder from my review, so consider this the alpha draft. You can pretty much lift-and-shift any 955 review to the 255 Series if you delete the feature differences. Then the major physical things are size, and the small size of the 255S is a material feature if small and light are important.
I am actually using the 255S to write a review for Slowtwitch. I know several people who prefer the smallest & lightest watch they can use. This is the first truly small watch I know of that will easily cover a full distance triathlon. I have experienced no glitches at all. I own a 955 for my personal main watch, and they function exactly the same. The only major compromise of the 255S is the smaller 1.1" screen versus the 1.3" of the 955 and 255. If you need readers, that might be an issue. I do, but I can read the watch fine looking under my glasses.
It is very comfortable to sleep in because of its size. It has an 18mm band, which I think may be the smallest of any of the mainstream Garmin watches. Even the Forerunner 55 uses a 20mm band. Oh yeah, it only comes with a shorter band in the box. It fits me, but I have slightly larger wrists, so I got the longer band along with it. If you have a small frame or prefer a minimal band, then the standard might be good as-is.
I am stealing a little bit of thunder from my review, so consider this the alpha draft. You can pretty much lift-and-shift any 955 review to the 255 Series if you delete the feature differences. Then the major physical things are size, and the small size of the 255S is a material feature if small and light are important.
thanks, Does the 255 have decent bike power data? ie does it show power balance on dual sided power meters? I could not find any review that looked at bike use or that drilled down on those bike related features, though I know it is primarily a running watch, if for triathalon bike feature are useful.
thanks for your feedback.
Does the 255 have decent bike power data? ie does it show power balance on dual sided power meters? I could not find any review that looked at bike use or that drilled down on those bike related features, though I know it is primarily a running watch, if for triathalon bike feature are useful.
thanks for your feedback.Thank you for that reminder… I had actually forgotten about it from the review POV. The 255 Series does not capture and report power balance, phase, offset, torque effectiveness, or smoothness. And it has none of the cycling dynamics like standing vs. seated power time and metrics. It only reports average power, max power, max 20 minutes, and net power.
It is fully a Triathlon watch, just like the 955. All those features are the same. It just lacks off the advanced cycling power metrics. I did a side-by-side 60 mile ride with the 255S and a 1040, and all the core stuff was identical except for the power stuff above (and analytics features like Stamina, etc.)
Looks like the 255 has more data fields according to the manual
3s Power
Average Power
Lap Power
Last Lap Power
Maximum Power
Power
Power Zone
Work
.