About Garmin Forerunner 955
The Garmin Forerunner 955 is a premium GPS running and triathlon smartwatch designed for athletes seeking advanced training features and extended battery life, with solar charging options available to further enhance its endurance capabilities.
Power Glass Solar Charging
The Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar incorporates Power Glass solar charging technology, extending its battery life significantly. In optimal conditions, this feature provides up to 20 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 49 hours in GPS mode.
The solar charging lens doesn't fully recharge the battery but slows discharge, making a noticeable difference for outdoor enthusiasts.
Users can monitor solar intensity through a dedicated data field or glance, with higher intensity indicating more effective charging.
Training Readiness and Recovery Insights
The Garmin Forerunner 955 introduces a new Training Readiness feature, providing athletes with a comprehensive score (0-100) to gauge their preparedness for workouts.
This score is calculated using six key metrics: sleep, recovery time, heart rate variability (HRV) status, acute load, sleep history, and stress history.
The feature offers color-coded guidance, ranging from "Prime" (purple, 95-100) to "Poor" (red, 1-24), helping users determine the optimal intensity for their training sessions.
Training Readiness differs from the existing Training Status feature by focusing on immediate readiness rather than long-term progress.
It complements other performance metrics like Training Effect, which measures the impact of activities on aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
Multi-Band GPS Navigation Features
The Garmin Forerunner 955 features advanced multi-band GPS technology, significantly enhancing its navigation capabilities. This dual-frequency GPS system combines L1 and L5 satellite signals, offering superior accuracy and reliability compared to traditional single-band GPS.
Key benefits include:
- Improved accuracy in challenging environments like urban areas and dense forests
- Better signal penetration and jamming resistance
- Ability to pinpoint specific lanes rather than just roads
- Clear, detailed color maps with routable navigation
- ClimbPro feature for analyzing elevation and climbs on routes
Users can choose from multiple GPS modes, including the high-precision "All + Multi-Band" setting, which provides the most accurate tracking at the cost of increased battery consumption.
Extended Battery Life
The Garmin Forerunner 955's extended battery life offers significant advantages for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts.
In smartwatch mode, the standard model can last up to 15 days, while the solar version extends this to 20 days with sufficient sunlight exposure. During GPS-enabled activities, the watch provides up to 42 hours of tracking, with the solar model pushing this to 49 hours in optimal conditions.
This impressive battery performance allows users to:
- Complete ultra-endurance events without recharging
- Track multiple activities over several days during training camps or multi-day adventures
- Utilize advanced features like multi-band GPS and music playback without frequent charging
- Rely on the watch for extended periods in remote locations
The solar charging feature effectively slows battery drain during outdoor activities, making it particularly valuable for long-distance athletes and frequent outdoor users.
Sleep Quality and Recovery Metrics
The Garmin Forerunner 955 offers comprehensive sleep tracking and recovery metrics to help athletes optimize their performance. The watch monitors sleep stages, including deep sleep and REM, providing a sleep score based on the last three nights. This feature recognizes that poor sleep can have lingering effects on recovery.
Additionally, the device tracks Heart Rate Variability (HRV) during sleep, offering insights into overall health and recovery status. Higher HRV generally indicates better recovery and readiness to train.
Key sleep and recovery features include:
- Sleep score and breakdown of sleep stages
- HRV status for deeper understanding of recovery
- Pulse Ox sensor for blood oxygen monitoring during sleep
- Body Battery feature to track energy levels throughout the day
- Training Readiness score, which incorporates sleep quality and recovery metrics
These metrics help athletes make informed decisions about training intensity and recovery, potentially reducing the risk of overtraining and injury.
Heart Rate Variability Tracking
The Garmin Forerunner 955 incorporates advanced Heart Rate Variability (HRV) tracking, providing athletes with valuable insights into their physiological stress and recovery. The watch analyzes HRV during sleep, measuring the time between heartbeats to assess autonomic nervous system balance.
- This data is used to generate an HRV status, displayed in color-coded zones:
- Green (Balanced): Seven-day average HRV within baseline range
- Orange (Unbalanced): Seven-day average HRV above or below baseline
- Red (Low): Seven-day average HRV significantly below baseline
HRV tracking on the Forerunner 955 requires consistent nightly wear for at least three weeks to establish an accurate baseline.
This feature complements other metrics like Training Readiness and Body Battery, offering a comprehensive view of an athlete's physiological state.
Higher HRV generally indicates better recovery and greater resilience to stress, while lower HRV may suggest fatigue or overtraining.
By monitoring these trends, athletes can make informed decisions about training intensity and recovery periods, potentially optimizing performance and reducing injury risk.
Why Choose Garmin Forerunner 955?
The Garmin Forerunner 955 stands out as an exceptional choice for serious runners and triathletes seeking advanced training features and long-lasting performance.
Its robust GPS capabilities, including multi-band technology, provide unparalleled accuracy even in challenging environments like urban canyons or dense forests.
The watch's extensive battery life, especially in the solar version, allows for up to 20 days in smartwatch mode and 49 hours in GPS mode, making it ideal for ultra-endurance events and multi-day adventures.
Key advantages include:
- Comprehensive training insights with features like Training Readiness, Morning Report, and suggested workouts
- Accurate heart rate monitoring and advanced sleep tracking with HRV status
- Touchscreen functionality for easier navigation, especially useful for maps
- Triathlon-specific features, including auto-detection of swim, bike, and run segments
- Extensive smartwatch capabilities, including music storage and Garmin Pay