Garmin Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch, Black

Hands down my new favorite watch! I love everything about it! I do a lot of running and other exercises, but wanted something reliable and cheap so that when it comes to inevitably replacing it I wont have to break the bank. I've tried several fitbits (charge 6, inspire 3, HR) and the google pixel watch 2 too, but none of those compare to this Garmin Forerunner 55. The GPS on this Forerunner 55 is ACCURATE. It's waaaaaay better than the built in GPS on any of the fitbit watches. This watch is so simple to use use and I think that's what I like the most about it. The interface on both the watch and the app tells you so much useful data and lets you organize it any way you want. You can even create your own watch faces and use whatever picture you want!!! I didn't realize that when I bought it, but I freakin love the customization on this watch. The watch is easy to read when it's super bright outside and it's waterproof up to 50m too! My only gripe is that there isn't a strength activity to track which makes sense because this is primarily a running watch. To fix this I just set it to track cardio and turn gps off when I'm tracking a strength workout so that I can still log time, calories, heart rate. Then I just rename the workout to "strength" or whatever.

Great

This Garmin 55 is perfect for the serious runner, at a somewhat advanced age, who is not looking for all kinds of bells and whistles. Certainly don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars more for some additional monitoring. I get plenty of data out of this watch.

I have owned this watch for a while so that I'm now familiar with many (but not all) of its functions. I originally used it for running. Now I use it for walking/hiking, cardio workouts, HIIT, and strength training. And that is just scratching surface of what it will do (please don't ask about other functions -- there are many I have not used). It holds a charge well and the time it takes to recharge is fast. The watch receives a GPS signal quickly when preparing to walk or run. When saving an exercise activity, it will sync to your smartphone. You can then upload the data to the Garmin online app. You can review the details of your activity when done with the phone app which provides a wealth of information. The heart rate data appears to be reasonably accurate when I have compared its measure of resting rate to that of other devices. Finally, if you get a text message to your phone and the phone is nearby (in your pocket, etc), the text will briefly appear on the watch. While it is not the top of the line Garmin watch, I am hard pressed to find any fault with it. Sure, some Garmin models play music. But on those occasions where I want music, I can either use my phone or my mp3 player.

I've used this watch for about 2 weeks so far, and logged about 34 miles on it over several runs. Below are some initial impressions. THE GOOD: --light, easy to use, controls and menus are relatively intuitive to navigate once you get the hang of them --great battery life - have taken it on several runs so far, had it 2 weeks (wearing most of the day) and only used 70% battery, with GPS tracking on my runs - to be specific, using both GPS and GLONASS. --waterproof, and I actually prefer having physical buttons to push - makes navigating the various menus much easier when running in cold weather and wearing gloves. --heart rate monitoring is helpful and seems accurate. Have not used it for sleep tracking. THE BAD: --I wish it had a USB-C connector to charge and transfer data, rather than a proprietary connector. It's one more cable to manage, and more electronic waste. That said, if the only way to achieve its waterproof rating is with this proprietary port, I can live with that. --The auto-pause feature takes a few seconds, and tends to only trigger on quick starts/stops. If you slowly ramp up or down your pace, it won't trigger auto-pause. This tends to be a little annoying when I first start off from a stop - it will start, immediately pause half a second in, then resume a few seconds later when it realizes I've kept running. --GPS tracking is slightly off at best, and very inaccurate at worst. I've been trying to troubleshoot the issue with Garmin support (who have been responsive and helpful), but if my expectations are too high, that's disappointing. I have tried all the troubleshooting steps listed in Garmin's online support options. GPS tech has come a long way, and though I'm not a pro athlete by any stretch of the imagination, I expect reasonable accuracy, especially with the fact that I'm running on roads and marked trails in a suburban area near Chicago without tall buildings and without much dense foliage. Details are below; I measured my runs using onthegomap.com. All runs were taken early in the morning under cloud cover (the cloud cover may affect the measurements - we just can't get any sun here near Chicago lately). -----Run 1: Distance just over 5k (3.1 miles), error -0.08 miles, ~2.5%, not terrible but not great. -----Run 2: Distance just under 3 miles, error -0.50 miles, ~17.5%, not acceptable. -----Run 3: Distance about 7.2 miles, error -0.07 miles, ~1%, pretty good. -----Run 4: Distance about 3.5 miles, error -0.02 miles, ~0.5%, very good. -----Run 5: Distance about 4.4 miles, error -0.15 miles, ~3.4%, not terrible but not great. -----Run 6: Distance about 9.4 - 9.6 miles (indefinite trail markers), error -0.1 to -0.3 miles, ~1% - 3%, not terrible but not great. Tree coverage, while the branches were bare, were relatively dense on this run, so that's understandable. -----Run 7: Distance about 4 miles, error -0.01 miles, ~0.2%, very good. If my expectations are too high, I can live with it, but I do expect a lot from a multi-hundred-dollar product, especially from one with the Garmin name on it. Edit 1/23/23: After talking with Garmin support, who were polite and responsive, they didn't really have any other advice than the advice already listed in their support articles (which, I should add, were helpful). They did suggest considering a higher-tier option with a dual-band GPS transceiver for better accuracy, such as the one found on the Forerunner 255. The Forerunner 55 has a single-band transceiver. I've also gotten better results by standing completely still (not walking around or anything) for 1 - 2 minutes before beginning a run, after acquiring a GPS signal. I plan to keep the watch and may upgrade later, but half the reason I got it was so that I could just go run and not have to worry about figuring out distance after the fact, which is somewhat annoying.

It works and is accurate--no problems

Great watch for my son who runs cross country and track. He loves using it with the Strava app to see his progress.

Yes, it’s a “beginner-friendly” and affordable option. However, I recommend spending a bit more and getting a longer-lasting smartwatch. The FR55 has serious limitations in its supposedly incorporated functions like an inaccurate speed/pace monitor and frequently failing GPS sync. It also doesn’t support accurately other activities like weightlifting, which the older Polar H435 does.