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Forerunner 245 for hiking

3275747
over 5 years ago

Hi!

I am between forerunner 245 and Vivoactive 4.

I like day hiking, biking, go to the swimming pool sometimes. 

Now I am thinking to run a bit (hope  I will do it more often ;)

1.Do you think Forerunner 245 music would be a better choice over Vivoactive 4 in my case? I really dont care about grade, or total ascent/descent while I'm hiking.

2. Is FR245 going to show the correct distance while hiking (without barometric altimetr?)

3. Is there another watch worth to think about that would cover my needs? ;)

Best regards!

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    1. For basic usage, the biggest difference may be the 5-button interface of the FR vs. the touchscreen plus button(s) of the VA. Many people prefer physical buttons because a touchscreen can be challenging with wet fingers.

    The FR245 will give you more options to collect running data, including Garmin Running Dynamics with a compatible chest strap or foot pod (HRM-Run, HRM-Tri, RD-Pod). The VA4 has golf and may include more native profiles for recreational activities like water sports.

    I find navigation to be handy while hiking and running. The FR245 can navigate you back along the route you've taken if you get lost, or you can plan a course in advance and follow it. Natively, the VA4 can only point you in a straight line toward your start or a POI, though you can get course navigation with Connect IQ apps, e.g., dwMap.

    2. They should be comparable in measuring distance. The barometer should give better altitude and ascent/descent, particularly when GPS is iffy, and is necessary for floor counting.

    3. The FR645 will give you the advantages of the FR line plus a barometer, Garmin Running Power (with a compatible accessory), lactate threshold HR detection, Garmin Pay, and perhaps a few other things. From the FR245, you'd give up pulse ox, heat-adjusted VO2max, PacePro, and perhaps a few other things.

    The VA3 Music should do everything you've asked. If you don't need music, there's the original VA3, older Forerunners, Instinct, and various non-Garmin watches. If you want to eventually combine swim/bike/run, the FR735XT will do triathlon without music, while the FR945 will do triathlon plus music and maps.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    I currently have the FR245 and before i had the Garmin Venu (similar to VA4 but with AMOLED ), all great watches... but....

    THe Forerunner 245 can stop an activity, which you can later resume. This is a big thing for me if i am hiking. VA4/Venu stays in the save/cancel screen and after 15 minutes the activity is saved. On the FR245 you can do longer breaks or more day activities and just resume it. A big deal for me.

    I also have no problems with distance and the missing altimeter. Data comes from GPS and works fine for me.