Coros is a new American company based in beautiful California that has set itself to provide endurance athletes with high-quality sports watches.
Coros first appeared in 2016 with an innovative bicycle helmet. But just two years later, the Coros Pace was introduced, the first sports watch. Shortly thereafter, Coros Apex, a premium multisport watch, followed, and in 2019 the range was expanded with the Coros Vertix, a GPS outdoor sports watch.
The Coros Pace 2 is a lightweight and compact GPS running watch that impresses with its high level of comfort and impresses with its precise tracking and proper training analysis.
The Garmin Forerunner 245 is the successor to the popular FR 235, one of the first excellent sports watches with integrated heart rate measurement on the wrist. To be honest, my expectations of the new mid-range Forerunner were very high. In this review, I would like to explain to you whether these have been met.
The Garmin Forerunner 245 is a generously equipped GPS running watch that can also be used in many other sports and is aimed primarily at ambitious amateur athletes.
General
| Coros Pace 2 | Garmin Forerunner 245 | |
| | |
| $ | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Brand | Coros | Garmin |
| Model | Pace 2 | Forerunner 245 |
| Release date | August 25, 2020 | April 30, 2019 |
| Shape | Round, Curved | Round, Curved |
| Sensors | GPS + GLONASS Gyroscope + Thermometer Barometric Altimeter Stress Tracking | GPS + GLONASS Gyroscope + Thermometer Stress Tracking |
| Display | 30.4 mm | 30.4 mm |
| Compatibility | Android + IOS | Android + IOS |
| Colors | Black and silver | Gray, black, white, aquamarine |
Coros Pace 2
The first thing that strikes you immediately about the Coros Pace 2 is its compact size and low weight. The watch is 42 x 42 x 11.7 mm and weighs 36 grams with the silicone strap and only 30 grams with the nylon strap. With these dimensions, the watch is, of course, also ideal for delicate wrists and should therefore also be large for women. Find approval.
The Coros comes in the classic round watch design, has a crown and a button on the side, which will come back to later, and is available in white and dark navy. You can choose whether you want the watch with a nylon or silicone strap. The manufacturer’s website also lists the colors black and silver, although it is unclear whether these variants will ever be available in the DACH region.
As far as the display is concerned, there is absolutely nothing to complain about. We’re talking about a 1.2-inch LCD with a 240 x 240 px resolution and is therefore completely unspectacular. But this is not meant negatively, because the small screen does a good job in all lighting conditions. The backlight is activated with a gesture, which also works well and, above all, without annoying delays.
Garmin Forerunner 245
The FR 245 is delivered in a surprisingly small rectangular box that contains the clock, a short manual in several languages, and the charging cable. You can find a detailed instruction manual here.
As is now almost standard with modern sports watches and smartwatches, the Forerunner also comes with a round watch design. The materials used and their processing are of the best quality and make a very high-quality impression.
With a weight of 38 grams and a case diameter of just over 4 cm, the Forerunner is a bit more delicate and lighter than some other sports watches and, therefore, in my opinion, ideally suited for the slim wrists of women.
The standard version of the Garmin Forerunner 245 is available in gray and merlot, and the music version is available in black, white, and aquamarine.
For the display, a 1.2-inch transflective MIP (memory in pixels) display was chosen, which has a resolution of 240 × 240 pixels. One can read the display easily in dark rooms or direct sunlight.
Technical Specifications
| Coros Pace 2 | Garmin Forerunner 245 | |
| Display Resolution | 240 x 240 pixels | 240 x 240 pixels |
| Dimension | 42 × 42 × 11.7mm | 42.3 x 42.3 x 12.2 mm |
| Water Resistant | Yes | Yes |
| Water Resistance Depth | 5ATM | 5ATM |
| Weight | 35 grams | 38 grams |
Activity Monitoring
| Coros Pace 2 | Garmin Forerunner 245 | |
| Pedometer | Yes | Yes |
| Calories Count | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Monitor | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Alarm Clock | Yes | Yes |
| Chronograph | Yes | Yes |
| Date & Time Display | Yes | Yes |
| Language | English | English |
| Sleep Tracking | Yes | Yes |
Coros Pace 2
When it comes to recording conventional daily activities, the Coros Pace 2 is rather reserved. There are steps, calories burned, heart rate and sleep recorded. Further features such as SpO2 measurement, stress tracking, respiratory rate, or active minutes are not found in the Coros watch.
This shows that the Coros Pace 2 is a real sports watch; the focus is on recording and analyzing training units and happily dispenses with functions that offer little added value anyway.
In the app itself, you can view the data under the first tab. You get beautiful bar charts for the individual measured values divided into daily, weekly, monthly and annual overviews.
Garmin Forerunner 245
As a fitness tracker, the FR 245 does not offer any big surprises. The available functions are already known from other Garmin models. Perhaps as a small but interesting innovation, the Body Battery energy monitor can be mentioned at this point. The feature was previously only known from the Garmin Vivosmart 4.
The Body Battery shows you how your personal energy reserves are doing or, in other words, how much power you still have in you. Important health data such as heart rate variability, stress level, sleep quality, and activity level are taken into account. The less stress you have, the better you sleep, and the more often you move and are active, the higher your energy level will be. With the help of the tool, you can find out where and when you use the most energy and optimize these factors accordingly.
Connectivity Features
| Coros Pace 2 | Garmin Forerunner 245 | |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Assistant | Voice assistant (Google, Alexa) | – |
| Mobile Payment | Fitbit Pay | Garmin Pay |
| Notification | Calls Messages Upcoming appointments | Calls Messages Upcoming appointments |
| Battery Backup | Up to 20 Days | Up to 7 Days |
| Charging port | Proprietary charging cable | Proprietary charging cable |
Coros Pace 2
A very special feature of all Coros watches is the particularly long battery life. The manufacturer is also promising impressive runtimes for the Coros Pace 2
In addition, the Coros Pace 2 can be connected to any Bluetooth-enabled or + ANT chest strap and training data can be exported as .fit, .tcx, .gpx, .kml or .csv files.
You record a training session by selecting the appropriate sport profile and waiting until the GPS signal has been found. In my case, it never takes more than 30 seconds to establish a stable GPS connection. Then you start the recording by briefly pressing the crown.
You end the training by pressing the scroll wheel longer. A countdown is shown on the display that counts down from 3. Then the current activity will be saved automatically.
You can view all training data directly on the watch.
Garmin Forerunner 245
According to the manufacturer, the battery should last up to 7 days in pure smartwatch mode and up to 24 hours in GPS mode.
As a typical sports watch, the Forerunner 245 is, of course, equipped with a wide range of different training and analysis functions. It can also see very well that the FR 245 is not only a pure GPS running watch but can also be optimally used for many other sports.
The ability to configure the training display yourself by deciding in which layout the desired performance data is to be shown is also very much appreciated.
However, the detailed training analysis finds great interest among amateur athletes and is also used intensively.
Sports Mode Features
| Coros Pace 2 | Garmin Forerunner 245 |
| Track Running | Strength Training |
| Indoor Running | Pool Swimming |
| Pool Swimming | Indoor Cycling |
| Open Water Swimming | Virtual Running |
| Gym Cardio | Indoor Track Running |
| GPS Cardio | Running |
| Strength Training | Yoga |
| Indoor Rowing | |
| Elliptical Training | |
| Cardio Training |
As already mentioned above, the Coros Pace 2 is a real GPS sports watch that likes to do without modern frills. And can also be seen in the smart functions because you really only limit yourself to the bare essentials.
Here are the smart notifications through which you receive notifications about incoming calls, notifications, and messages. In addition, a total of 41 watch faces, some of which are quite successful, are available for installation directly in the app. And as a little extra, there is also a widget that provides information about sunrise and sunset.
The Garmin Forerunner 245 is also packed full of smart functions. This includes
Display designs, data fields, widgets, and apps available through Garmin Connect IQ
Notifications about calls, appointments, messages, and messages
Music function (only with FR 245 Music)
Phone search function
Connectivity via Bluetooth and + ANT
Connect IQ is Garmin’s in-house app store, so to speak, where you can find countless software solutions for a wide variety of requirements.
On the one hand, there are hundreds of different display designs that you can use to personalize your Forerunner. On the other hand, there are several great apps in the store that expand the functionality of your sports watch.
Conclusion!
The Coro Pace 2 is an excellent GPS sports watch for me in a row, with the Garmin Forerunner 245 and the Polar Vantage M stands. In other words, a watch that is ideally suited for the ambitious amateur athlete who wants a more comprehensive training recording and analysis.
The main advantages of the Coros Pace 2 are low weight, excellent wearing comfort, exceptionally long battery life, generous equipment, and measuring accuracy.
If you really want to criticize, you could mention the operating concept using the scroll wheel, which was not entirely comfortable with – although that is more a matter of taste. Perhaps one could also criticize the fact that there is no web portal and can only view all data via the app.
In my opinion, however, these are only minor issues that do not affect the extremely positive overall impression that has of the Coros Pace 2.
The Garmin Forerunner 245 is exactly what it should be – a successful GPS running watch for the motivated hobby athlete, which can also be used optimally for other sports and is conveniently worn as a fitness tracker in everyday life.
The extended training and analysis functions deliver some interesting performance values without overwhelming you with a flood of incomprehensible data. Features such as training load or training effect help you better assess your training’s quality and effects.
In contrast to other Garmin devices, which struggled with some software problems when launched, the FR 245 seems to run absolutely smoothly. The device can neither surprise with revolutionary new features nor disappoint with any incorrect measurements or other technical problems.
The Forerunner 245 is a thoroughly solid sports watch that most amateur athletes are sure to be very happy with.
