Forerunner® 255, GPS Running Smartwatch, Advanced Insights, Long-Lasting Battery, Slate Gray

This is a great watch. I've had it for over two years now and just getting around to writing a review because I wanted to see if it stood the test of time. It does. Pros: it's not too big, all the features work flawlessly (music, gps, etc), and most importantly the battery life is spectacular and has not degraded in the years I have owned it. I wear this watch every day and I only charge it maybe once a month. The GPS is accurate, but I did not use it as much as I thought I might (I am a geology student and have to take coordinates regularly, real coordinates, not something on a navigation app). The thing is my iPhone is just as accurate (using specialized geology apps) and much easier to use. I don't use any of my real GSP units either. Guess that is the state of the art of GPS. Cons: I think the rubber band they ship it with leave much to be desired. I bought an aftermarket band with a velcro closure and problem is solved. And, It really does take a while to figure out how to use everything. It is not exactly intuitive and I still get lost in the menus. I'd buy it again.

I LOVE this watch. I've been debating buying a running watch for so many years now and finally decided to do it. I have been doing marathon training and this watch has aided me plentifully. It has cool features when you record runs where it'll tell you every time you finish a "lap" which you can set the distance for - so during a long 10 mile run I have it set to tell me every time I finish 1 mile and what pace I finished it at. It also has cool badges you unlock when you run certain distances, and it will notify you every time you recorded a new personal best mile, 5k, 10k, half marathon, etc. during any long run. It displays a very accurate heartrate as well which I've tested multiple times and it's always within 5 of what I measure manually. You have to download Garmin Connect and Garmin Connect IQ on your phone which can then be used to download your favorite music app right to your watch (I use Spotify). From there, you can download your music/playlists/podcasts/audiobooks right to your watch. You can leave your phone at home then for long runs and just have your watch and your headphones with you; which is a lifesaver personally lol. The second you get back home from a run, it'll connect back to your phone and send the data over immediately. On your phone you can then see all your runs, as well as the pace, average heartrate, calories burned, and a few other cool measures. It can also record your sleep and give feedback on the quality of it, length, etc. but I have yet to use this feature. I sleep like a rock and can easily tell how well I slept when I wake up haha. I highly recommend this product. If you are on the fence as I was for so long, GET IT

I am not a runner but I have been considering a Garmin watch for a long time because I am usually an active hiker. I haven't been as active for a while and I feel like the wellness tracking this device offers is helping me back on track. This has been one of those purchases that I wish I had pulled the trigger on sooner now that I have it. Combined with the web app I really love the amount of detail that I can get and the variety of things I can easily track. I've found the GPS tracking on my longer walks to be very accurate so far. I also enjoy the variety of customization options both native to the watch and through Connect IQ score. I know that the sleep, stress, body battery, etc, are not the most accurate, but they are still a great tool for getting a rough idea of where I can improve. For me, being called out by something as neutral as data is very helpful and I appreciate being able to see trends and make note of things that I could change for the better. I do have to take some of the body measurements with a grain of salt because of medications that I take, like the HRV-based stress readings (always high for me), so you should take that into consideration if you are prescribed any kind of medication that either stimulates or sedates. I am so glad I went with the smaller model, I am a petite person and it feels like the perfect size for my wrist. I don't find it to be obtrusive at all. I don't love the silicone band and went with an alternative that looks better at the office and doesn't bother my skin as much.

Fully charged lasts about 2 weeks depending on how many activities you use. I'm not super techie so it works for everything I need. Tracks workouts, body stats, sleep and manages notifications/ alarms on my phone . Literally all I need it for besides of course telling the time. Good, affordable forerunner. If you want a super advanced watch with a million features, though, this may not be the one for you.

I would like to say I came over from using a Apple Watch Series 6, and wow the difference in incredible. The display you can see at any time of the day, and the quality is amazing. The battery life lasts up to 10 days for me at a time, and I can barley tell I'm even wearing it sometimes from how light it is. Before the weight of my apple watch prevented me from comfortably sleeping with it, whereas the weight of the garmin makes it so easy to have it on without realizing you have it on. The OS is also very fast and it looks great when paired with any athletic outfit. Great value for money especially in comparison with all the competitors on the market.

BACKGROUND I am a former serious marathon and ultra runner, cyclist, swimmer, and Ironman triathlete now in my later middle-age period with revised expectations and goals. I've been a Garmin user since the original GPS "watch" that required an arm band receiver, and have used the Forerunner 10 and 235 as well. I had no complaints about the capability or performance of the Forerunner 235, but was interested in the expanded health tracking features of the new 255 model. I also listen to music and podcasts on Spotify quite often, and the Music features of this model appealed to me. OVERALL IMPRESSIONS AND HEALTH MONITORING First, I am impressed with the sleep tracking of this model, which I find mostly accurate except sometimes when it doesn't distinguish the difference between waking and getting up. I find that tracking HRV (heart rate variability) is a very good indicator of sleep quality in addition to the usual deep sleep, light sleep, REM, awake, etc. markers. This also correlates very well with a feature I especially appreciate, that being Body Battery. I have a standalone pulse oximeter and have not activated that function on this watch. WORKOUT AND GPS TRACKING As for GPS and workout performance and tracking, I have found the unit to perform flawlessly thus far, down to the side of the road/lane on which I have run or cycled. GARMIN COACH I have a deep background and understanding of training load and structure, and have coached triathlon professionally in the past. I have also used sites/apps like Training Peaks as a tool, to good effect. I am currently getting back on the road after being sidelined for a long time with back issues and set the goal of completing a half marathon to motivate me and serve as a shorter term goal. Curious about the coaching functions included with this watch, I signed up for one of the plans that is available through the Garmin Connect app, and so far I have found it to be quite good at suggesting workouts and adjusting load and expectations based on completed workouts. It's a really cool bonus for me to have at my current level of fitness, and I would recommend the watch to newer endurance athletes over similar products based on this function alone. BATTERY LIFE Battery life is quite adequate and lasts for days without recharging under normal activity. A very nice bonus aspect is that it recharges very quickly using the supplied connector. SOFTWARE The only negative I've experienced so far is with the software and Music functions. The Garmin Connect app works great and I love being able to configure the displays. As for Music, I am disappointed that the only way to load music to the watch is via the Garmin Express app, which is clunky and outdated. But worse, this app has crashed every single time I try to access the Music Apps tab to connect Spotify. This has happened on both my MacBook Air and iMac, so perhaps it's an issue with iOS. It is due to this issue and the inability to take advantage of having Spotify on the watch that causes me to deduct one star, and I can say without reservation that if I had purchased the regular (non-Music) version of this watch I would give it a 5-star rating. SIZING & CONCLUSION I purchased the smaller (41mm) version of this watch simply because the larger (46mm) size wasn't available. It feels a little small, but I can live with it. If I were to go back and order any of the 255 variations (assuming equal availability) I would definitely get the larger version and probably skip the Music edition, although I'm still hopeful that will be resolved with a software or firmware update. I would recommend this watch to anyone serious about monitoring their health and fitness, who likes to get out on the road and structure their training. It is an excellent training tool and aid, and a great motivator, and although the Music functions do not work at this time for me and I would prefer the larger iteration, I am still very pleased with this watch.

I’ve been a Garmin user for over 10 years, and I upgraded from the Forerunner 745 to the Forerunner 255. This is an excellent upgrade and immediately feels like a more refined and capable watch. The 255 is lighter and more comfortable to wear all day, and the battery life is noticeably better than the 745. I’m also seeing improved GPS accuracy and more consistent tracking overall. The updated metrics, including HRV status and the newer training insights, provide more useful data to support training and recovery. Performance is smooth, reliable, and exactly what I expect from Garmin. It keeps everything I liked about the 745 while improving the areas that matter most, especially battery life, comfort, and tracking accuracy. If you’re coming from the 745, the Forerunner 255 is absolutely a worthwhile upgrade. Highly recommended.

Garmin has transitioned to making all their devices AMOLED. The more recently released devices have an issue and that is that you cannot control the auto brightness. Their recently released Vivoactive 6 is super dim in very low light. In the prior Vivoactive 5 you were able to control the brightness no matter the light conditions. I say all of that to say this, the memory in pixel display on this particular device is older technology, but ridiculously easy to still read, especially outdoors. Would I buy it again, no. And only because the technology is older. Only reason I bought the watch is so that I could see my notifications, the time on the watch face without turning the wrist like the amoled devices, and the battery life. If all smartwatches had amazing battery life, I would go for example a Samsung watch. But even then, the flicking of the wrist toward you to activate the screen is irritating. This watch does everything it needs to do, just know that it is older.