New Forerunner 955 or F7

Yes - 955 Solar. Very pleased with it so far.

Fair few comments about the Fenix 7 in comparison when I browsed through them. Most seemed to imply paid more for less albeit with a watch in hand for some months now which is always going to be one of the issues.

Depends on what you think looks nices...

955 is more sports/casual, F7 is more rugged. F7 is more expensive relatively  but will also get all sw features the 955 has.

Moved from 945 to 955 solar myself and reasons are bigger + touchscreen and improved hw (cpu, sensors, etc). So if you really prefer the F7 looks and don't mind paying a bit extra for that, go for it. Otherwise 955. (Or 945 if you don't care about touch/screensize)

Having had the 945 and now the 955 solar, what’s the conventional wisdom regarding screen protectors? Are they necessary and is there one considered the “best”? I’ve had sapphire on my last two fenix watches (so no protectors) and used BROTECH AirGlass on my 935 prior to that.

i agree with what everyone else has shared. depends on what you want for the looks and what you want to use the watch for. if you are ok with the "plastic" feel of the 945/955, might i also suggest you consider the 945LTE which has more updated hardware than the 945...not touch screen or latest GPS, but latest HR sensor and processor and only $50 more than the 945.

Weight is a big difference that should be considered. I have a F6X and a 955 would be about half of what I have now. I have contemplated a 955 but don’t know if I could go back to a plastic watch. You on the other hand would be doing the opposite. 

As everyone else says looks are quite different but everything else for the *most part is subjective. 

i agree on both counts. i think if one could defy the laws of physics and materials, i would like to have a Fenix, but the weight penalty to me is to great for running and wearing it while sleeping. i haven't weighed my 955 yet, but my 945LTE with Nick Mankey strap checked in at 39-40 g. while thick, i don't notice it on my wrist weight-wise.

i too am a bit surprised that Garmin only offers dual band GPS on the sapphire/solar Fenix models. i'm sure marketing thought about that a lot, but it makes for hard choices for the consumer. i'm so glad that they went with 32gb and dual band for both 955 models, and dual band for the 255. i think for running, the dual-band is a very nice upgrade. 

Just to echo what others have said, I tried a F6 Pro coming from a 245M (also had a 235) and the weight of the Fenix series is a deal breaker for me.  I couldn't get the F6 tight enough (or loose enough) to keep from chaffing the crap out of my wrist while running.  I ended up returning it after 3 weeks.  I didn't find the weight too bad during regular wear once you got used to the increased weight.  Only took a day or two to get used to except during exercise.  I'd recommend sticking in the Forerunner line if that's what you're used to.  I have a 955 on order.

FR955:

[+] full memory, full functionality, nice screen visibility without reflections !

[-] some more bugs present, but within a month it will be on par with the F7

[?] no idea if the EPO file will cover 4 weeks now and what I dislike on the FR955: the MTP protocol instead of normal USB support (no idea if the F7 works similar)

PUFFOLINO said:

what I dislike on the FR955: the MTP protocol instead of normal USB support (no idea if the F7 works similar)

Any Garmin which supports music uses MTP.