955 vs 955 solar - is battery life noticeably longer

No it's not really worth it imo... You will notice a difference in the summer (if outside fairly often) in smarwatchmode but that's about it. Reason I bought it anyway was 1. That it was actually availabe and 2. The black bezel looks so bad to me without the solar ring so it's more wrt looks (and added bonus of some battery life) then anything else.

But battery life, depending on many factors you'll notice some but nothing extreme and without it's good enough already.

Watch this video, a real life test:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7zYaQ0WpJQ

It seems 12 days vs 10 days.

The downside of NON solar is a huge black bezel instead of solar panel

Ah, that's interesting! Hadn't seen a comparison like this, cool and decent difference.

Mine (solar) is currently at 23% after 9 days with ~4hrs of activities (almost all running with all+multiband) and estimates ~2.5-3 days remaining and this is with hardly any sun (some sun in some of the activities)

Thanks! That looks like a comparison I need, will check that

Thanks. For me function only matters (I really don't expect bezel to be bigger compared to 935), but it looks I still have to to a shop to check it/ compare and not buy online. 

my experience is similar to FlipStone. When i'm active and out in the sun, it does make a measurable difference and i think Garmin's specs are very reasonable (5 extra days of smartwatch range over the 15 days for the non-solar model), but in winter or when i'm mostly indoors, it does nothing. for my backpacking trips, it gives me an extra margin of comfort in not carrying a charger for a several day trip.

yet, i also bought the solar model because i thought the ring would make the bezel less obvious. this has played out nicely for me. IMHO, the watch looks much better with the solar ring.

worth it? for me, it was worth the extra $80 (i got my watch at a 20% discount), but that will depend on an individual's use and financial situation. for me, it was justifiable and i don't regret buying the solar model. for others, i'm sure it would seem like a waste.

The black buttons are an added bonus!

Yes . I had the Whitestone 945LTE which had black buttons and took a while to get used to my 955 (non Solar) with the silver buttons..still considering "upgrading" to the solar within exchange / return window.  Is the screen visibility the same?