Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch Review: The Smart Runner’s Secret Weapon?

There’s a moment every new runner experiences. You’ve moved past the initial struggle, found your rhythm, and now you’re hungry for progress. You’re dutifully tracking your runs with a smartphone strapped to your arm, but it’s a clumsy affair. The GPS is flaky, dropping out under tree cover. The battery dies halfway through a long run. And trying to check your pace means fumbling with a sweaty screen while dodging pedestrians. I’ve been there. That frustration is what pushes runners to seek a dedicated tool—a device built for one purpose: to make you a better, smarter runner. The problem is, dedicated GPS watches can be prohibitively expensive, creating a barrier for those ready to take their training to the next level. This is the precise dilemma the Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch aims to solve, offering elite-level features without the brand-new price tag. But does this refurbished powerhouse deliver on its promise?

What to Consider Before Buying a GPS Running Watch

A GPS running watch is more than just a timepiece; it’s a key solution for unlocking your athletic potential. It provides precise, real-time data on your pace, distance, heart rate, and cadence, transforming abstract effort into actionable insights. This data empowers you to train smarter, not just harder. You can follow structured workouts, pace yourself for a new personal best, and monitor your body’s recovery to prevent overtraining and injury. The main benefit is moving beyond guesswork and building a training plan based on concrete evidence of your performance and fitness level, turning every run into a productive step toward your goals.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone who has committed to running or another endurance sport and wants to see tangible improvement. This includes beginners aiming to complete their first 5K, intermediate runners chasing a half-marathon PB, or even seasoned athletes looking for a reliable, lightweight training partner. It’s for the data-curious individual who wants to understand their body better. However, it might not be suitable for those who prefer a completely unplugged, intuitive approach to fitness. Likewise, elite multisport athletes who need advanced metrics for swimming power or cycling dynamics might find it limiting. For them, a higher-end model like the Garmin Fenix series would be a more appropriate, albeit more expensive, alternative.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Fit: A running watch is something you’ll wear for hours, often in sweaty conditions. The Forerunner 55’s 42mm case and 37-gram weight are designed for comfort, making it feel almost non-existent on the wrist. When choosing, consider the case size relative to your wrist and the band material. Silicone, as used here, is ideal as it’s durable, flexible, and easy to clean.
• Performance & Battery Life: The core of a GPS watch is its performance. Look for fast GPS satellite acquisition, accurate heart rate monitoring, and sufficient battery life to cover your longest activities. The Forerunner 55 boasts up to 2 weeks in smartwatch mode and an impressive 20 hours in GPS mode, which is more than enough for most runners, even marathoners. Features like its adaptive training plans are a huge performance bonus.
• Materials & Durability: Runners expose their gear to the elements. A chemically strengthened glass lens and a fibre-reinforced polymer case, like those on the Forerunner 55, provide resilience against bumps and scratches. A water resistance rating of 5 ATM (50 metres) is also crucial, ensuring the watch can handle torrential downpours or even a post-run swim.
• Ease of Use & Ecosystem: A complicated interface can be a major distraction during a workout. Garmin’s five-button system is a hallmark of their design, offering tactile, reliable control without needing to touch a screen. Equally important is the companion app. The Garmin Connect app is a powerful, comprehensive platform for analysing your data, tracking long-term trends, and connecting with a community.

Ultimately, choosing the right GPS watch is about finding the perfect balance of features, comfort, and value for your specific needs.

While the Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch is an excellent choice for runners, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models and navigation technologies, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: Is “Renewed” a Compromise?

Unboxing a “renewed” piece of tech can be a slightly anxious experience. Will it look used? Will it be missing accessories? Our unit arrived in a simple, non-retail box, but inside, the Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch itself was pristine. There were no discernible marks, scratches, or signs of wear on the Whitestone case or the silicone band. It was, for all intents and purposes, indistinguishable from a new product. The package included the watch and a proprietary Garmin charging/data cable, which clicked into place satisfyingly. The initial setup was straightforward, guiding us through pairing with the Garmin Connect app on our smartphone. The watch is incredibly light at just 37 grams; after years of testing heavier, metal-bezel watches, the Forerunner 55 felt refreshingly liberating on the wrist. The 1.04-inch transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display, while not a vibrant AMOLED, is a strategic choice: it’s perfectly readable in direct, harsh sunlight—exactly where runners spend their time. The five-button navigation is classic Garmin: robust, intuitive, and infinitely more reliable than a touchscreen when your fingers are sweaty or you’re wearing gloves. This first impression blew away any reservations about its renewed status; this felt like a premium device ready for serious training, and you can check the renewed quality guarantee yourself.

Deep Dive: Putting the Forerunner 55 Through Its Paces

A spec sheet can only tell you so much. To truly understand a running watch, you have to live with it, sweat with it, and rely on it when you’re pushing your limits. We spent weeks with the Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch as our sole training partner, using it for daily runs, structured workouts, and 24/7 life tracking. This is where it truly revealed its character—not just as a gadget, but as an indispensable performance tool.

The Core Running Experience: Precision Where It Counts

The moment of truth for any GPS watch is when you press that “Start” button. We were immediately impressed by the Forerunner 55’s GPS acquisition speed. In an open area, it locked onto satellites in under 10 seconds, and even in a more built-up suburban environment, we never waited more than 30 seconds. This is a significant quality-of-life feature, eliminating that frustrating pre-run shuffle. During our runs, the GPS tracking proved to be exceptionally accurate. We tested it on a certified 5K race course and it measured the distance at 5.02km—well within the acceptable margin of error. On wooded trails, where lesser phone-based GPS signals often get lost, the watch held a consistent signal, producing a clean and accurate map of our route in the Garmin Connect app afterwards. The wrist-based heart rate monitor was equally reliable for steady-state runs, providing consistent data that aligned with our perceived effort. For high-intensity interval training (HIIT), it showed the typical slight lag of optical sensors, but for the vast majority of a runner’s training, it’s more than sufficient. The customisable data screens are a runner’s dream; we set ours up to show overall time, current lap pace, heart rate, and cadence—all visible at a quick glance, a testament to the sunlight-readable display’s brilliance.

Your Personal Coach on Your Wrist: Beyond Simple Tracking

This is where the Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch truly separates itself from basic fitness trackers. It’s not just about recording what you did; it’s about telling you what to do next. The “Daily Suggested Workouts” feature is genuinely transformative for runners without a personal coach. Based on our recent training load, sleep quality (yes, it tracks that too), and recovery time, the watch would propose a specific run for the day. One day it might be a gentle 30-minute recovery run in a low heart rate zone. The next, it might suggest a more challenging session of 5 x 800m intervals. This feature removes the mental burden of planning your training, ensuring every run has a purpose and helping to prevent burnout or junk miles. We also explored Garmin Coach, setting up a free adaptive training plan for a 10K. The structured workouts, complete with warm-ups, drills, and cool-downs, sync directly to the watch, guiding you through each step. It’s an incredibly powerful tool that effectively democratises personalised coaching. This intelligent ecosystem is a feature that truly sets it apart and justifies the investment, especially at a renewed price point.

The “Renewed” Promise: Unbeatable Value and Condition

Let’s address the central question: what does buying this watch “renewed” actually mean for the end user? Our experience was overwhelmingly positive. The device was cosmetically flawless and functionally perfect. The battery life matched the specs for a new unit, holding a charge for nearly two weeks with several GPS-tracked runs included. This is the core value proposition: you get access to Garmin’s world-class hardware and software ecosystem for a fraction of the original cost. However, it’s crucial to manage expectations. As one user noted in their feedback, they were disappointed because they expected a brand-new, retail-packaged item. A renewed product is, by definition, pre-owned, even if it has been professionally inspected, cleaned, and tested to work and look like new. The benefit is significant savings; the trade-off is a generic box and the knowledge that it isn’t fresh off the factory line. For budget-conscious runners who prioritize function and features over the unboxing experience, this is an unbeatable deal. It makes a premium, feature-rich GPS watch accessible to a much wider audience, removing the financial barrier to serious training. To us, that’s a massive win.

Living With It: More Than Just a Running Watch

While its heart is on the race course, the Forerunner 55 is a capable 24/7 companion. Its lightweight, unobtrusive design meant we often forgot we were wearing it. It diligently tracked steps, “intensity minutes,” and calories burned throughout the day. The sleep tracking was surprisingly detailed, breaking down our nights into light, deep, and REM sleep stages, providing a nightly score that fed directly into its recovery and workout suggestions. The “Body Battery” feature, a Garmin staple, gives a simple 1-100 score of your energy reserves, which we found correlated remarkably well with our subjective feelings of fatigue or energy. It handles basic smartwatch functions like smartphone notifications with no fuss. While you can’t reply to messages or take calls, seeing incoming alerts on your wrist is convenient for screening what’s important without pulling out your phone. The Connect IQ store allows for some customisation with new watch faces and data fields, adding a layer of personalisation. It strikes a perfect balance: providing essential smart features without the battery-draining complexity of a full-blown smartwatch, reinforcing its focus as a dedicated tool for athletes. You can explore its full feature set, including its extensive health tracking capabilities, online.

What Other Users Are Saying

Our positive experience is echoed in much of the feedback from other users. One runner highlighted its core strengths, stating, “I ordered the garmin s55 for recording my run and cycling tours… The app tracks all and detects your movements even if you didn’t set the watch for an activity. Really great, so pleased.” This speaks directly to the power and reliability of the Garmin ecosystem and the watch’s ‘set it and forget it’ activity tracking, which we also found to be impressively accurate. They also touched on a point we agree with: the initial learning curve. The five-button layout isn’t immediately intuitive if you’re coming from a touchscreen device, but as they noted, “once you get the function, it is easy.”

On the other hand, a critical review pointed out a crucial aspect of this specific product: “Very disappointed because nowhere is indicated that the product is not new but refurbished.” This highlights the importance of understanding the “Renewed” designation. While the product page clearly states it, it’s a detail that can be missed, leading to mismatched expectations. It underscores that while the value is exceptional, buyers must be aware they are purchasing a pre-owned, professionally restored item, not a factory-sealed new one.

How Does It Compare? The Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch vs. The Competition

The Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch occupies a unique and compelling niche, but it’s important to see how it stacks up against other specialised GPS units. Its strength lies in being a dedicated running watch, but different athletes have different needs.

1. CooSpo ANT+ GPS Bike Computer

The CooSpo ANT+ GPS Bike Computer is a purpose-built device for the dedicated cyclist. Unlike the Forerunner 55, which is worn on the wrist, this unit mounts directly to your handlebars, offering a large, easy-to-read 2.4-inch LCD screen. Its primary advantage is its focus on cycling-specific metrics and its ability to connect seamlessly with ANT+ sensors like power meters and cadence sensors, which the Forerunner 55 does not natively support. If your primary sport is cycling and you want a large, dedicated display and advanced sensor compatibility, the CooSpo is a more suitable and highly affordable choice. The Forerunner 55 is for the athlete who primarily runs but also cycles, whereas the CooSpo is for the cyclist, period.

2. Garmin Approach S12 GPS Golf Watch

This comparison highlights the specialisation within Garmin’s own product lines. The Approach S12 is a GPS watch built exclusively for golfers. It comes preloaded with over 42,000 golf courses worldwide and provides precise distances to the front, middle, and back of the green, as well as hazards and doglegs. Its interface and battery life (up to 30 hours in GPS mode) are optimised for a long day on the course. While the Forerunner 55 could track a walk around the course, it offers none of the crucial golf-specific data the S12 provides. If your main form of exercise is walking 18 holes, the Approach S12 is unquestionably the superior tool. The Forerunner 55 is for the runner; the S12 is for the golfer.

3. Garmin fēnix 7 Multisport GPS Watch

The Garmin fēnix 7 represents the pinnacle of multisport GPS watches and is a significant step up in both features and price. It offers everything the Forerunner 55 does but adds premium materials (like stainless steel or titanium bezels), advanced topographical mapping, music storage, contactless payments, and a much more extensive list of sport profiles with advanced metrics for activities like backcountry skiing, surfing, and mountain biking. The fēnix 7 is for the serious adventurer or triathlete who demands the absolute best and is willing to pay for it. The Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch, in this context, stands out as the smarter choice for the budget-conscious athlete who is focused primarily on running and general fitness. It delivers the most critical training features of its more expensive sibling at a fraction of the cost, making it an incredibly high-value proposition which you can find out more about here.

The Final Verdict: Is the Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch a Smart Buy?

After extensive testing, we can say with confidence that the Amazon Renewed Forerunner 55 GPS Running Smartwatch is more than just a good deal; it’s a genuinely intelligent choice for a huge range of runners. It successfully lowers the barrier to entry for Garmin’s powerful training ecosystem, which includes adaptive coaching, recovery analysis, and race prediction features that can genuinely make you a faster, healthier athlete. Its lightweight design, stellar battery life, and pinpoint GPS accuracy make it a reliable partner for every run, from a short jog around the block to a full marathon.

The “renewed” aspect, far from being a drawback, is its greatest strength, provided you set your expectations correctly. You are getting a functionally and cosmetically like-new device that delivers 95% of the features a serious runner needs, all at a significant discount. If you are a runner who is ready to graduate from a smartphone app and wants to train with purpose using data-driven insights, this watch is, without question, one of the best value-for-money performance tools on the market today. It’s the perfect intersection of affordability and capability. We wholeheartedly recommend it. You can check the latest price and secure yours today.