Forerunner 945 or 745 vs Fenix 6S Pro

Hello,

May be you should be considering also a Garmin Swim 2 because it is more in your main activity ?
Otherwise, F745 and Fenix 6S Pro will be two better and excellent choice.
Both can measure hike activity, Garmin Swim 2 can't do it.

Garmin Swim 2 has basics measures on run and bike when F745, F945 and Fenix 6 have advanced measures.

It's depend on what you want to do with ?

Do you need a full Navigation/Cartography capability ?
If yes, go to Fenix 6S Pro or Forerunner 945.
F745 can "only" follow a GPS track but it's not an issue, it's the main use case (for me !)
You can make it by Garmin Connect or Strava or another application.

The battery is more longer on F945 than F745 also.
But all people don't run an ultra trail :-)

I suggest you to look at specifications on Garmin web site and do a functionnalities/price comparison between all this watch.

About me, I had used a Forerunner 235 from 2016 to 2019, I moved on F945 since 2019.
In 2019, Forerunner 745 didn't exist.
I choose Forerunner 945 in order to prepare Triathlon. I wished full measures on run (main activity), bike and swim + navigation for biking and trail running in unknown country, city or forest + barometric altimeter for trail run/bike.
Swim activity and real barometric altimeter (not GPS version) were not available in the old Forerunner 235, it was also a main point for me.

In the futur, may be I will move on next gen F755 because, in fact, it's rare when I use Navigation, I prefer to make a GPS track and use it.
I didn't choose Fenix 5 Plus neither Fenix 6 due to the weight and the overprice for the same functionnalities as F945 (But, I prefer the Fenix design LOL)

I hope my experience can help you in your choice.

Thank you for your very detailed reply, your answer and advice is exactly what I need! I love the Fenix because of the design - as you say - it looks great! But I don't want the watch to be too heavy. I did think of the Swim but wanted some more features which the FR / Fenix offers. I will think about all the points you raise - it's amazing how much time you can spend looking at all the info to make a choice so really appreciate your opinions. Thank you.

Other dude is bang on.  You want the Swim 2.  The open water on the 745/fenix is sketch at best.  My wife has a 945 (identical to the fenix and 745 swim-wise) and the open water tracking blows.  It's super unreliable.  Sometimes it does decent tracks, but is really 50/50 or so.  She only really does open water swims when she races tris so she really doesn't care, but for someone who does primarily swimming, it's a no brainer IMO.  

Thank you! That is very interesting re the open water.

I'm sure I'm going to get blasted for this from the people who do have problems tracking open water swims with the watches you are seeking comparisons. However, if you spend even a small amount of time searching the forums posts for those watches you'll see the usual mix of people who have problems and people who don't - including the Swim 2 https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/garmin-swim-2/207990/open-water and 735XT forums.garmin.com/.../728262

My wife and I are two of those people who have had very few problems swimming with any Garmin watch since they were able to be used for swimming in the open water. I'm more than happy to admit there were times when things did not work so well but those occasions are few and far between and tended to be quickly remedied by Garmin.

My main watch is currently the F6 Solar Pro and my wife is using a 945. I like the features of the F6 but secretly prefer the heft of the 945. That said I don't feel the weight of the F6 as being a problem.. However, both do the job required of them and meet our needs for triathlon, duathlon, swimrun.and running.

What would I suggest? Workout the features that are most important to you that you really want? Add to the mix the features that you'd like. Then decide on the model that best meets those wants and your budget.

The watch will come with a warranty so you'll have time to work out for yourself if the watch works for you in the open water and the pool and for other activities.

The majority of posts to any peer-to-peer forums such are these are heavily skewed towards problems. That's just the nature of the beast. However, it does mean that it's very easy to get a jaundiced view about any of the Garmin watches. But consider that Garmin at least has a forum where users can complain and seek assistance. Polar for example does not and some other brands are equally poor at allowing user comment and providing public support.

50g from the 945 versus 61g for the F6S Pro. It's a pretty small weight difference.

There is negligible difference between the 945 and F6 Pro series feature wise - neither is any "more than a training watch" than the other. But there is a good reason to go with a watch that looks good and you would like to wear on a daily basis - the 24/7 HR and stress monitoring will guide you better on recovery than a watch that you put on only for a workout.

The 945 is a larger watch than the 745 or F6S, so it might look oversized on small wrists. On the plus side, it has a larger display, which may be easier to read.

Thank you! Yes, it is actually a very small weight difference. I think I am definitely moving towards the F6S - just watching the process now! Thanks so much for your time and your opinions, very helpful.

Yeah, whichever you go with, you'll be happy with it.  I've had the 235, 645, 935, fenix 5 Plus, 945..  all great watches.  The weight of the fenix did bother me while running; I primarily run, which is why I went back to the Forerunners.  However, I do miss the build quality of the fenix.  The buttons are far better than on the Forerunners, the displays are nicer, they're just better built watches.  Garmin's customer support is also second to none; I'm hard on my watches.  I've had to replace each of the listed watches at least once, and Garmin is very good about replacing them, both in and out of warranty.  

I agree with you about Garmin when you have a problem with your product.
I had buttons issue with the first production of Forerunner 945. All Buttons were very hard to activate.
Garmin replaced my watch by a new one. They sent to me a full new box (Tri version for me) : watch, HRM-Swim, bike mount system, etc...

Recently, in the 2nde year of my warranty, my HRM-Tri stopped to work. I replaced the battery two times but nothing working.
Same thing, I contacted Garmin and they sent to me... HRM-Pro instead of HRM-Tri, very good surprise and appreciate !
I speak about Garmin France, very good after sales services.