This week we have a guide to the 3 Best Alternatives to Garmin 945 multi-sport GPS watch. The Garmin 945 is a class leading triathlon watch but what else should be considering?

Garmin Forerunner 945 multi-sport watch

The number one triathlon watch

Garmin_Forerunner-45-Running-Watch

The pinnacle of triathlon watches and a masterclass in multi-sport smart watch technology.  Unfortunately all that pedigree and capability also comes with an eye watering price tag against alternatives to the Garmin Forerunner 945.  Garmin have worked to refine the recipe since the 80’s inspired 910XT.  Each rebirth of this classic has added more functionality and slimmed down the profile.  The latest model being lighter and thinner than any previous while still delivering a wrist based heart monitor.  If you are serious about triathlon this is a real contender.  If you are looking for options we have a top 3 alternatives to the Garmin 945 to help you make your decision.  

Garmin Forerunner 945 Specifications

Lens material: Gorilla Glass
Display size: 1.2″ (30.4 mm)
Display: 240 x 240 pixels colour display
Weight: 50 grams
Battery life: GPS mode with music – up to 10 hours, GPS mode without music – up to 36 hours, Smartwatch mode – up to 2 weeks

Best price for the Garmin Forerunner 945

Buy Garmin Forerunner 945 for £449 from Chain Reaction cycles.

Top 3 Alternatives to the Garmin 945

1. Suunto 9 GPS watch

Incredible battery life endurance watch

Suunto_9-GPS-Multisport_White

Read our review of the entry level Suunto 5 multi-sport watch for more on Suunto.  The Suunto 9 is their top of the range and a real competitor to the well established Garmin 945.  Suunto’s 9 comes with an all new intelligent battery with three predefined battery modes: Performance, Endurance, and Ultra. The modes provide from 25 to 120 hours of recording time with GPS tracking on. The watch comes with 80 different built-in sport modes the watch comes with specific metrics for each sport. The modes include swimming, cycling, running, and much, much more.

Suunto 9 Watch Specifications

Lens material: Protective Glass
Display size: 1.4″ (35.6 mm)
Display: 320 x 320 pixels colour display
Weight: 81 grams
Battery life: Training mode with GPS  up to 120 hours.  With 24/7 tracking and mobile notifications up to 7 days.  Time mode up to 14 days. 

Best price for the Suunto 9 GPS watch

Buy Suunto 9 for £269 from Wiggle.  Currently with massive discounts,

2.Coros Apex watch

Best in class display size GPS watch

coros-apex-gps-multisport-watch

Compared to Garmin, Coros is a relative newcomer in the multi-sport smartwatch game.  The Chinese company has a range of premium GPS watches for endurance athletes and the Apex is our pick as a viable alternative to the Garmin 945 watch.  The biggest reason to take a look at this is the bigness of this watch!  Coming in 2 sizes we have selected the 46mm device that has a killer display.  The Coros Apex has a 1.8″ (46 mm) display using  Sapphire crystal lens with a resolution of 240 x 240.  Best in class here and hard to ignore.  Well worth a look.  

Coros Apex Watch Specifications

Lens material: Sapphire Glass
Display size: 1.8″ (46 mm)
Display: 240 x 240 pixels colour display
Weight: 55 grams
Battery life: Full GPS mode up to 35 hours.  Ultramax GPS mode up to 100 hours.  Smartwatch mode up to 30 days.

Best price for the Coros Apex watch

Buy the Coros Apex from Coros in their Amazon store for £299.

3. Garmin Forerunner 935

Still one of the finest multi-sport watches around

garmin-935-gps-watch

The predecessor to the Garmin Forerunner 945 the 935 is still an excellent watch today.  Launched in 2017 the 935 delivered a wealth of new features for Garmin.  Wrist based heart rate monitoring and full colour screen transformed the user experience.  Saving £150 on the latest model there is a lot to like here. Full set of triathlon features and accurate GPS tracking with a wealth of metrics to support metric based training.  Thanks to firmware updates benefits from many of the newer version operating system and capabilities.  Also benefits from the excellent Garmin Connect watch application with Bluetooth for data synchronisation.  Grab a bargain now and get yours while you can.  

Check out our comparison of the Garmin Forerunner 945 vs 935 for a side by side comparison of these 2 GPS triathlon watches. 

Garmin 935 Watch Specifications

Lens material: Strengthened Glass
Display size: 1.2″ (30.5 mm)
Display: 240 x 240 pixels colour display
Weight: 49 grams
Battery life: GPS mode up to 24 hours.  GPS tracking in UltraTrac mode up to 50 hours.  Smartwatch mode up to 14 days. 

Best price for the Garmin Forerunner 935 watch

Buy the Garmin 935 from Wiggle who have this discounted at £299.

Read more from Trivelo

Use your multi-sport watch for your swimming and learn exactly what the SWOLF score means for your swim performance. 

If you are looking to enter an Ironman triathlon race next year then read our article on how to set up your watch for an Ironman and make sure the battery lasts to the finish line. 

If you are looking on the second market there are plenty of Garmin Forerunner 920’s available.  Read our full review of the Garmin Forerunner 920XT to help understand more on this earlier generation watch.  

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Billy Ferguson

Having founded Trivelo in 2015 after many years competing in triathlon Billy continues to enjoy training and triathlon. Founder Billy is strongest in the water but continues to try and convince his body that he is an ultra runner.

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