Im wrapping up my first week with the 945, coming from a Fenix 5X and a whole bunch of Garmins before that (back to 305).
I’m really liking the 945 thus far. I’ve used it primarily for indoor cycling, running, trail running, and strength workouts, and this far it’s done well with all of them.
I really like the new metrics around workout type that suggest what type of workouts to focus on, and the music feature is awesome and has me leaving my phone (former music device) at home, although I do think I’ll still bring it on longer runs/rides for incident detection.
The display is also significantly more readable I’d seen this comment somewhere and dismissed it, but I find the display significantly clearer indoors and out versus the sapphire lens of the 5X.
This product also seemed about 80% “baked” on the software side out of the gate, versus Garmins usual 50-70%, so that gives me some confidence they’ll fix the small issues, of which I haven’t experienced any beyond some minor missing features from the 5 like auto-backlight.
in terms of materials, the 5X is definitely more “robust” and has more metal and heft, and looks more the part of an adventure watch, but I’ve found I like the lighter weight, and won’t miss the “premium” materials assuming the plastic lasts my usual 2-4 years before an upgrade.
in summary, there’s nothing I miss, except perhaps the more secure-feeling strap, and lots new that I really like.
