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Suunto Core Alu vs Garmin Forerunner 945

Suunto Core Alu

Budget Pick

in Fitness Watch

Suunto Core Alu

21 reviews

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Garmin Forerunner 945

Garmin Forerunner 945

137 reviews

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Best Bang for the Buck

OutdoorGearLab · Best Altimeter Watch of 2022

Best Non-GPS Altimeter Watch

Switchback Travel · Best Altimeter (ABC) Watches of 2022

#1 most mentioned

Reddit · r/garmin

Feature-Rich Sports Watch for Endurance Athletes

Switchback Travel · Best Sports Watches of 2022

Great features

Comfortable to wear

Accurate instruments

Intuitive menu system

Sleek look

Great features such as music, an oximeter, and improved battery life compared to the 935

Journaling features are fantastic

Can charge it while it's on your wrist

Strap hog with plenty of options for straps

Compatible with other sports and activities

Not suitable for outdoor use due to scratches and damage

Dim display even when backlit

Battery life could be better

Not living up to its potential in terms of battery life

GPS accuracy is not reliable when running under trees

High price tag

Verdict

The Suunto Core Alu is a great watch for backpackers, photographers, and international-traveler types. It has an intuitive menu system, is comfortable to wear, and has accurate instruments. However, it is prone to scratches and damage if used outdoors, has a dim display even when backlit, and the battery life could be better.

Verdict

The Garmin Forerunner 945 is a feature-packed sports watch with a high price tag. It has great features such as music, an oximeter, and improved battery life compared to the 935. However, it does not live up to its potential in terms of battery life and GPS accuracy when running under trees.

Reviews by Topic

Our analysis shows how reviewers feel about different topics. Please note these are not full reviews.

Fit

Attractive, functional watch – with needed improvements. Please rate, if helpful.

The Amazon.com main image might have you think the display is a purple hue, but it is gray at all angles. Having said all that – if you need a watch for highly critical missions, this watch will likely fall below the range of functional necessity. However, if you need a backpacking, casual or travelers watch, you should be really happy with this watch

I do like it though. I am glad I bought it. It talks to my cell phone which talk to my ear buds which is cool. i like having texts displayed

Battery Life

Good watch with some shortcomings.

I was hoping to love this, but a few things bother me. The good: comfortable to wear, accurate instruments for a watch, sleek look, intuitive menus (subjective) The bad: battery life, prone to scratches/damage if used for its' intended outdoor purpose, fairly dim display even when backlit. At added cost, I would love to see a fortified solar version with a reserve and a backup battery. Water resistance is decent, but no where near my Casio Mudman 9300, which was half the price and put up with a LOT more abuse

Forerunner 935 is better

5 of those were with music) over about 4 days and was down to 14% battery. When new, my 935 would have gotten probably about double that. I don’t know if I got a defective model or something but my commute to and from work via bicycle is about 50 mins each way. Without music, it would drain 8-10% battery

Durability

Excellent Watch

Plus I go swimming daily in the in-ground pool with the watch on without issue. The band is holding up good as new, the face of the watch has no scratches, and all of the buttons work perfectly. After three months of everyday use I have zero complaints about the watch. Glad I bought it

It happened to me and I ended up regretting my purchase big time. Anyone claiming that the FR series is of equal durable to the Fenix series is performing some serious mental gymnastics. Get your hands on both and you'll understand what I mean.

Comfortability

very comfortable watch

The altimeter is a bit complicated and requires input to calibrate on a regular basis. Temperature appears to be biased by being on your arm and is not ambient. These are no big deals for me, i am enjoying the watch, and it is very comfortable to wear.

Like it more than the Fenix 5s Plus

I had the Fenix 5s Plus, returned it and got this. It's much lighter, thinner, and the band is noticeably for comfortable (softer and more stretchy). The Fenix series are just bulky heavy and for some reason the bands are uncomfortable. That means the 945 is more comfortable to sleep with, run with, and wear throughout the day

Comfort

Very disappointed

Even without the button problem battery life is just less than a year. Looking for a new watch. I've not babied this watch but I've not pushed it too hard either. I think Suunto can do better than this

The Garmin Coach?

1 and anaerobic effect of 3.5. Translation? It was time to chill. Instead, I decided to go on a short 2

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