Im looking at both the 745 & the 945. It seems the main difference is the storage and music…to be honest I’m not sure I will use music anyway so the 745 will prob do the job for me.
Whats the 745 like?
Is the battery good? How long does the battery last ?
Any views on this would be appreciated or any other options I should consider?
I don’t have the 745 but my 945 has been rock solid.
had / have a 935, great watch. i “upgraded” to a 945 because the 935 wouldnt work with my form swim goggles. the battery life on both of these watches have been fantastic. no personal experience with the 745.
straying from the main topic a bit…
i had a triangle screen of death on the 945 a few months after i got it. it wouldnt work consistently and essentially was toast. no clue what happened. i contacted support and i had a brand new one on the way without much questioning.
i will say garmin support has been awesome for me. i had issues with two sets of vector 3s and both times they treated me very well regarding troubleshooting and customer support, and finally refunding my purchase in full.
We happen to have a 745 review on the site: https://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Garmin_Levels_Up_with_the_Forerunner_745_7767.html
I have used the 745 and own a 945. They are both truly great watches. I never ran out the battery on the 745, but there are a few Garmin forum threads about maximizing battery-- like you can get it to well north of 15 hours if you turn a lot of stuff off.
My take is that if you only do HIM or shorter, the 745 is a perfect match. The 745 is a little smaller and lighter, which is a huge plus to me. I think the only real feature difference is mapping.
I have a 945 and would continue owning this generation because I want mapping (I used it a lot during Covid). I also like the convenience of forever battery.
I had the 735xt and now have the 945. Both have been excellent watches. Storage and music are the main different yes, but more importantly, battery life. 945 will last anyone a full Ironman. The 745 you’re going to have to be pretty quick.
I had the 735xt and now have the 945. Both have been excellent watches. Storage and music are the main different yes, but more importantly, battery life. 945 will last anyone a full Ironman. The 745 you’re going to have to be pretty quick.
SO I wonder which it is. Have to be pretty quick, or can it in fact last 15 hours if you don’t use all the features??
In a multisport event, if just tracking time, distance and HR, will it easily get through an Ironman?
When the Forerunner 745 is configured with these settings, battery life of up to 24 hours can be achieved.
https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=RMO7ny2RRm5w1Zth3P4ttA
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According to Garmin, I think GPS mode for the 945 is 36 hours, and the 745 is 16 hours. I know with the 735, which probably has a little worse battery life than the 745 I functionally got about 10 hours of "race " use, which included HR, power meters, and all that kinds of stuff. That said, it was probably able to extend that an hour or two longer depending on some of the settings you have on and off.
I have a 745 and love it. I switched over from a Fenix 5 mainly for size/weight and swim hr. Love the watch, have no issues with battery life. I use a Garmin cycling computer on the bike so in race day in ‘triathlon’ mode I keep my watch set on very basic metrics. Just did a 70.3 with it, started the day at 98% and ended with 64% (5:30ish of use time).
don’t forget along with the music… the 935/945 also does golf.
To me that was the deciding factor.
after switching over from the 935 to 945 I’ve started to really appreciate the mapping feature … and will never want another watch without this feature!
So if you think this is a major dealmaker for you as well, then 945 if not I don’t think you would really miss out on anything with the 745
(ps, not sure whether nfc/Garmin pay is available on 745 … used it a couple times, and actually once saved me in the supermarket)
or you could ofc. wait for the 955 (whenever that might be … it’s about time @Garmin!) or the 755 
The 945 has the follow features that the 745 does not: altimeter/barometer, full on maps, much longer battery (don’t have to turnoff all other settings), and more activity trackers (more golf features). 945 has a watch face size of 47mm while the 745 is smaller at 44mm. Display quality and weight are nearly identical. Currently REI has the 945 for $550 and the 745 for $500. If the 945’s large face is comfortable on your wrist, seems like the price point makes the 945 an easy choice.
With the 245 and 945 being over 2 years old and their prices being discounted as of late, I’m holding out for Garmin to release updated versions so the current 945’s price goes down further. Then I’ll get one.
The 945 has the follow features that the 745 does not: altimeter/barometer.
According to DCR they do have a barometer.
As an owner of several models of Garmin with barometer i say “Great another device that will eventually break” 
Thank you for the correction. Looks like I got the 245 and 745 mixed up with the altimeter/barometer. Too many watches to keep track up.
My guess is that both models will die just after the warranty period expires - Garmin products have the worst life expectancy of all consumer electronics - I have had at least 5 Garmin watches die without warning on me over the years - all my team mates have had similar issues - honestly how do they get away with making such shonky products??? Why do we all keep buying them like lambs to the slaughter???
My guess is that both models will die just after the warranty period expires - Garmin products have the worst life expectancy of all consumer electronics - I have had at least 5 Garmin watches die without warning on me over the years - all my team mates have had similar issues - honestly how do they get away with making such shonky products??? Why do we all keep buying them like lambs to the slaughter???
I’m still using a 910xt and it’s going fine still. …so I’m not sure I agree with that.
Thanks all for your feedback on this.
…you are the lucky one. Garmin have a horrible reputation for reliability and longevity.
I am still running a Fenix 3 at the moment and my FR 305 still “works†but the battery won’t hold much.
I was planning on upgrading when they drop the 955/ Fenix 7. For those with Forerunners, how durable is the plastic body? The top edge of my Fenix has been scraped against it’s fair share of rocks, but it still in pretty good shape.