Garmin Forerunner 955 review – Satisfied only with the best

Tags: Review | Garmin | Smart

3.6.2022 | 13 MIN | 1x comment

Three years. A lot can happen during that time. You can lose weight, gain weight, get married, or start a prosperous business. Garmin took those three years to release a new Forerunner 955 model on the market. And trust me, the wait was worth it. Touch screen, long battery life, solar, or Dual-Band? It has it all.

Yes, the year was 2019, the date 30.4., the good old Forerunner 945 arrived. The biggest hit among Forerunners, which had better functions than the Fenixes, at that time. And that hasn't changed since.

Many people thought, me included, the new 955 would be just a copy of the Fenix 7, but don't be fooled. The iconic Forerunner comes with features that put the Fenix far behind. Here is a quick summary of the new things brought to the table by this the new hit piece:

• Touch screen
• Multi GNSS
• Solar-powered variant
• Widget "Training Readiness"
• Night HRV measurements
• Health snapshot
• Race calendar

What I like the most about the watch

I really like the new, more elaborate appearance. Though it is still all-plastic, it is not the typical ugly all-plastic piece. Another thing is the improved touch screen, which allows you to directly chose activities that you want/don't want to control by touch.

New is also the "Training Readiness" widget which tells you exactly how ready you are to train again. It takes into account your sleep, HRV (heart rate variability), training history, and more.

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There's always an error

I found three errors, two of which are related. The frame around the display remained the same size, and unfortunately, the touch screen itself has some imperfections as well. The third flaw is the firm attachment of the strap.

The main differences between the Forerunner 955 and the Fenix 7

Since the beginning of time, there has been an equal sign between the word plastic and Forerunner, and also metal and Fenix. This model is no exception as the 955 is made of plastic, while its outdoor colleague is made of a combination of metal and plastic.

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The insides are very similar, though we may still find some differences. Fenix stole some touch screen functions, while Forerunner added many novelties such as Morning Reports, the Training Readiness widget, HRV measurements, and many more, which we might see later in Fenix 7 or Tactix 7 as well.

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And the last one is the difference in the battery life, where Fenix has a bit of an upper hand.

Two variants and a change of design

Watches are always compared to previous models, and the new 955 will not avoid that either. You have previously seen the TRI Bundle version of the 945 model. In reality, this meant that you received two chest straps, a bike holder, and a spare strap. However, the accessories are freely available for you to purchase, so this loss doesn't hurt that much.

For the first time in the history of the Forerunner, they also chose to have a solar version. So we have the Forerunner 955 version and the Forerunner 955 Solar version. What does that mean? Increased battery life if there is enough sunlight.

Are you also looking for changes to the case in the photo? First, you might not see it, but if you look closer... On closer inspection, the change is obvious, and Garmin adds a decent portion of elegance. Although the case has grown a bit upwards, it has rounded up beautifully, and you can see that Garmin does care about the appearance, even of the plastic models. Around the perimeter of the case, between the five titanium buttons, there is only a "racing" line, and on the right side, there is the inscription "Forerunner."

The strap is now on the classic spring bars. Before, you had to screw in the axis, but now you can do it with a knife and a little dexterity (my colleague Dominik did it with a fork). It is no problem to remove the original strap, leave only the spring bar, and use any QuickFit 22 mm wide. The new strap got complemented with a titanium buckle and fits perfectly on the wrist.

Technical parameters and comparison:

Touch screen for triathlon watches

We first saw the touch screen on the Fenix 7 and Epix models. Though it works a little different on the Forerunner... Somehow better. From the beginning, you can choose directly which activities you want to control by touch, which is amazing.

So if you only use the "Maps" activity, you turn the touch screen on for it and turn off the rest. You will also enjoy the possibility of setting the backlight during a touch, ie. if you do not want the watch to light up every time you touch it.

It's a pity the gestures, such as returning to the main screen by covering the palm of my hand, are not functional. I really got used to it with my Fenix watch. Also, the old-school keyboard does not work on the watch yet, so it is necessary to turn to an even bigger old school, namely "dialing" letters. You can find the appropriate letter by touch, but you have to confirm it with the upper right button.

The display size increased to 1,3" and the resolution to 260 x 260 pixels. The increase is noticeable, and the maneuverability is fine, but there is still that ugly ring around the display which is about 0.5 cm. Even the Forerunner 255 has a smaller ring (and the same display size as this watch). The display remains transflective, so you don't have to worry about legibility in direct sunlight.

First-class sensor equipment and accuracy

Looking at the highest Garmin models, the same song repeats itself. Barometer, compass, thermometer, heart rate sensor, pulse oximeter, gyroscope, accelerometer, and GPS (dual frequency reception of all satellite systems), which supports GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou. And that's about it. Since the Forerunner 955 and 255 are the lightest devices yet with the latest chipset and heart rate sensor, I would expect high accuracy.

A small barrier has been added around the sensor to protect the sensor when placed on any surface. The sensor is now protected by glass instead of plastic.

I noticed how accurately the watch measures heart rate after a few kilometers. Due to the lightness of the device, the deviations are minimal, and you can watch the real heart rate value. In the first picture, you can see that everything is fine. The second picture shows a running race, which I ran in quite warm weather, so my hand was sweaty, and the Forerunner deviated a little from the belt.

It's almost unbelievable.:-) Blue – the Forerunner 955, purple – chest strap

In the second test, the watch had 2 bigger deviations from the chest strap. The average heart rate was the same, but the real time heart rate was slightly different.:-) Blue – chest strap, purple – the Forerunner 955

There used to be an abysmal difference between the Fenix 6 and the Forerunner 945 in GPS because the Fenix 6 had an EXO antenna that didn't work as well. I was curious how far the technology moved in those three years, so I took the Forerunner 945, the Forerunner 955, and my Fenix 7X for a run. But now check the huge difference between the old and new Forerunners. The Fenix 7X did well in comparison to the FR955, as the deviations were minimal.

The Fenix 7X (yellow line), the Forerunner 955 (black line), and the Forerunner 945 (red line) took a shortcut.

This picture probably most truthfully demonstrates the shift and measurement of dual-band GPS.

The Forerunner 945 went through a pub that stands right where the line leads.

We've never done a barometer test before, so I was wondering how the watch measures altitude with a barometric altimeter. And see for yourself. The accuracy is almost unbelievable. I am not saying that the Fenix 7X is a starting device for measuring a barometer, but I'm fascinated by the measurement consistency of both Garmin devices.

Blue – the Fenix 7X, purple – the Forerunner 955. I really didn't expect the "lines" to overlap.

Can the watch handle Ironman?

The battery life increased compared to its predecessor. You won't need the charging cable for about 15 days when in smartwatch mode. The solar version may extend this period to 20 days.

I tested the Forerunner 955 on the Valašský Hrb race (55 km). The race was wild from the beginning, and the watch handled it perfectly. I started with 82 % and finished with 59 % after having the dual-frequency GPS on and heart rate measurements every second. The watch was relieved a little that I didn't connect it to my phone using Bluetooth. But it is still a solid performance. On average the battery moved by 4.52 % every hour.

Blue – the Fenix 7X, purple – the Forerunner 955. The first line after the graph shows the percentages lost in an hour, the second one estimates the battery life after the activity is finished.

Probably not with a suit, but for a walk in the city?

In high society, this watch could cause a faux pas, but for a stroll in the city, it fits quite well. You will appreciate the possibility of replying to a message, accepting a call, playing music directly from the watch (2000 songs), and NFC payments. Well, if you want to look more classy in the city, you can download more faces on the Garmin Connect IQ page, or you can create your own.

A slight change from the Fenix 7 is that the watch does not yet have the Connect IQ directly in it, and you have to use the good old phone and do it there. But I don't think it's that horrible.

Fitness functions are not just about steps, heartbeats, and calories

Garmin has always tried to move forward but then froze for a minute, and all that the watches supported from the fitness measurements were the steps, heart rate, calories, and floors climbed. But now Garmin started singing a different song, and this watch measures many important values:

• Stress Tracking – reveals your physiological state on a scale from 1 to 100 based on your heart rate variability.
• Body Battery – measures how "charged" your body is on a scale from 1 to 100. So theoretically, you should be at around 100 in the morning, and then it should slowly decrease with your daily activities.
• HRV (heart rate variability) – the watch monitors your HRV all night and shows you the average and the highest value in the morning.

• Health snapshot – in 2 minutes, you get an overall "health snapshot" consisting of your average heart rate, SpO2, breath, stress levels, and HRV values.
• Morning report – Amazing and brilliant thing. When you wake up in the morning, the watch greets you warmly (not like your girlfriend) and shows you the weather, sleep report, HRV, and your training readiness. It also gives you a recommendation for biking and running practice. And concludes it with a motivational quote such as: "Today is yours. Make the most of it!"

Sport first

I don't think it's necessary to talk about all the activities the watch can measure. It is still true that the watch measures all available sports (no, a scooter really is not there if anyone asks) and tries to bring the most detailed analysis of said sport.

All of this is complemented by navigation with mapping data (TopoActive Europe), golf maps, and, of course, incident detection in case you get hurt during the activity. However, you have to have the watch paired to a phone for the watch to send an incident report.

Before we dive into the novelties of the watch, let's talk about the good old classic. The watch has, for example, the Training Status, Training Load, Recovery Time, VO₂ Max value, and Garmin trainer. But now the new features which can only be found in the premium models.

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Training Readiness – improved Recovery Time

A feature that so far can be only found in the Forerunner 955 is the Training Readiness widget. It is a numerical value that helps you with recovery after training and getting you ready for the next one. A numeric value from 0 to 100 indicates your readiness for training based on several factors. These are sleep history, stress history, short-term load, HRV status, recovery time, and sleep.

Primary race a Race Calendar – everything under control

The Garmin Connect app lets you create an entire race calendar and keep it with you at all times. The primary race works on a similar basis, but you enter the race date and a GPX file, which Garmin uses to estimate your final time based on your trainings, VO₂ Max, and more. In addition, it will offer you a countdown timer and weather report for the race day.

Running Power – bittersweet victory

Some of you may have expected that Garmin would come with watts measured from the wrist as we can see it in Coros or Polar watches, but unfortunately, this was not the case. That was the bitter part. You still need the HRM-PRO chest strap to measure watts, but... But the sweet part for people who wants to train with watts is the training according to the STRYD widget, made of power zones = watts (the same as the heart rate zones).

Real-Time Stamina 

A pretty handy feature for beginners and intermediate runners who don't know yet how to distribute their strength. The watch calculates the time you are able to continue with the current load based on your pace and heart rate.

In the end, I have been dead for like an hour. I guess this helper is not used to ultra races.:-)

The best test run for watch quality is to actually race with it

As I said earlier, I got an opportunity to run a race and tried a few watches on the battlefield. I wore the Garmin Fenix 7X on one hand, and the FR 955 on the other. To be honest, sometimes I had to make sure that I didn’t lose my Forerunner because the lightness made it sometimes feel like I lost them on the way. The readability was fantastic, even after 50 kilometers (mostly, I can´t see anything at that point). It was one of the best testing experiences because these watches combine lightness and battery life which is the absolute best combination for ultramarathons.

"Souboj" s Jirkou Petrem z 30km tratě. Alespoň na fotku jsem se za ním dokázal udržet.:-)

Why should you choose Forerunner 955? And is it just for runners?

The lightness is incredible, sports features are the same as in the Fenix series, and battery life is undeniable. We could say that except for a built-in flash light, the Forerunner 955 has absolutely everything.

Let´s sum it up:

• If you are a biker, who is into Enduro, downhill biking, or gravity biking – this model is not for you.
• If you are a long distance runner (almost a marathon runner) looking for light watch with a long battery life – this model is for you.
• If you are an outdoor enthusiast, who does almost every sport – you should consider the risk of your watch breaking, it is up to you to decide whether you need greater resilience, or if a plastic watch is good enough for you.
• If you are clumsy or more of a risk taker who falls a lot and wears the watch everywhere – this watch is not for you.
• If you are a minimalist looking for the most features and the smallest weight possible – congratulations, you found the watch for you.

Well, I am in the clumsy category, so this model is unfortunately not for me.:-)

The top-notch features at affordable prices

In my opinion, Forerunner 955 is the best premium watch in the price-performance ratio. It combines TopoActive Europe maps, a music player, solar power, and incredible battery life while still being much cheaper than the Fenix 7 or 7X. The newest upgrade in this Forerunner is the touch screen and the Multi-GNSS. Therefore, it offers the same features as Fenix 7. Let's not forget about the night HRV status and the Training Readiness.

The only missing feature is the Map Manager and Connect IQ, which can be considered as "fashion statement" and, therefore, a feature you can live without.

I am very content with the watch, and I can even say that I was considering a switch back to the lightweight plastic watch, that is the Forerunner 955. I am going to repeat myself, but the lightness is the best feature of the watch. I especially appreciate the combination of lightness, large screen, and battery life in this watch model.

Lately, it is tough to find a similar watch that would be able to compete with the Forerunner. On the other hand, if you are looking for a watch with the same features but with an even longer battery life, check out Fenix 7 or Tactix 7. Another option might be Coros Apex Pro or Polar Vantage V2.

In case you are not interested in a touch screen watch, dual frequency GNSS, and better heart rate sensor, I would invest in Forerunneru 945, Fenix 6, or Tactix Delta. They are for sure a great option, for which you shouldn’t be ashamed.

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