Which fitness watch
Discussion
Not quite sure where to post this so plumped for this forum area.
Looking to replace my old garmin watch with a newer version. Have been looking at the garmin venu 3 but was wondering what people suggest. I have a Samsung phone and run one or two 5km a week and also go to the gym 2 times a week. I would like to be able to read messages on my watch and track my sleep etc. Budget is around £400.
Looking to replace my old garmin watch with a newer version. Have been looking at the garmin venu 3 but was wondering what people suggest. I have a Samsung phone and run one or two 5km a week and also go to the gym 2 times a week. I would like to be able to read messages on my watch and track my sleep etc. Budget is around £400.
There are too many to choose from, from smartwatch with some health to hardcore sports watch with some communications and everything in between! Maybe try to think of one killer feature?
Or this comparison table might help
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-comparison-cal...
Or this comparison table might help
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-comparison-cal...
I have a garmin 945 since 2020 which has been great but it's overkill for you most likely. My gf has the 745 which is more modern and was only 200 quid. The interfaces don't seem as modern as I would expect for reading messages and stuff but they definitely do it all and earn their money on the health and fitness side of things. Plus it's well under budget.
I’m on my second Garmin Instinct.
If you like the design they are fab watches, the battery on my current one (the 2x) lasts a month, it has all of the advanced sensors that the fenix ones have and also the torch which is my favourite part of the whole watch.
Sadly I’m going to have to swap it for a different one at some point as it can’t do maps for really long runs (like over 50 miles), but unless you do that I can’t fault it.
If you like the design they are fab watches, the battery on my current one (the 2x) lasts a month, it has all of the advanced sensors that the fenix ones have and also the torch which is my favourite part of the whole watch.
Sadly I’m going to have to swap it for a different one at some point as it can’t do maps for really long runs (like over 50 miles), but unless you do that I can’t fault it.
It's hard to look beyond Garmin though Suunto and others make credible fitness watches.
As said above it's really worth drilling into the feature sets which can be bewildering and overlap between the cheaper and more expensive versions but often don't. Garmin are very clever at specificity in lower priced items and being more comprehensive in the higher priced examples in a series. I recently cocked up as I wanted the large screen and nav function on a bike computer so penny pinched and got an edge explore (as my watch or my basic edge will display power) but it won't pair with wireless shifters that I got on a new bike soon afterwards.
The features fall into essential for the sports you do; health tracking; everyday useful like timer, torch; nice to have; sports you don't do (yet - swimming tracking is amazing); navigation. It's surprising how many things move from 'nice to have' to 'essential'. If you are into snow sports they do a good job of tracking these. Nav is a really useful feature if you can be bothered with plotting a route and transferring to device. This week I am staying in a place I don't normally run and plotted a route for a run which was a doddle to navigate including a detour due to an obstruction getting the phone out in the cold and wind would be a PIA.
There's also the question of whether you are going to wear it all the time and take advantage of sleep tracking, HRV, recovery and other features or just wear it for sport. The top of the Forerunner series and Fenix are quite similarly featured but the form factor of the Fenix makes it nicer as a daily.
I started off with really basic bike computer (sensor on the spoke) then Cardiosport HR stopwatch neither of which recorded/tracked. Early massive Garmin GPS forerunner strapped using pipe insulation as a 'wrist' on my handlebars through various others.
DC Rainmaker reviews are great but he speaks 19 to the dozen and does assume a certain amount of familiarity with the tech and the 'heritage' of the devices he's reviewing. If you have a friend or clubmate that can walk you through their watch that might be better.
My Fenix 5 was terrible for charging and there was a well documented problem with galvanic corrosion of the contacts. It would probably worth searching on charging problems with the device series you choose. Synchronisation with phone is done by witchcraft and usually works brilliantly until it doesn't. On these occasions I miss uploading data by cable but I've never had a problem that wasn't fixable by closing and reopening Garmin Connect or switch device on and off. If you have Garmin connect on all the time and connected to wifi then synching seems very effective.
It's worth noting that in the premium items, the additional cost can be for cosmetic features and solar power which aren't strictly necessary. There are often very good deals on soon to be superceded devices and if it's your first heavily featured watch, you won't miss not having the latest features.
As said above it's really worth drilling into the feature sets which can be bewildering and overlap between the cheaper and more expensive versions but often don't. Garmin are very clever at specificity in lower priced items and being more comprehensive in the higher priced examples in a series. I recently cocked up as I wanted the large screen and nav function on a bike computer so penny pinched and got an edge explore (as my watch or my basic edge will display power) but it won't pair with wireless shifters that I got on a new bike soon afterwards.
The features fall into essential for the sports you do; health tracking; everyday useful like timer, torch; nice to have; sports you don't do (yet - swimming tracking is amazing); navigation. It's surprising how many things move from 'nice to have' to 'essential'. If you are into snow sports they do a good job of tracking these. Nav is a really useful feature if you can be bothered with plotting a route and transferring to device. This week I am staying in a place I don't normally run and plotted a route for a run which was a doddle to navigate including a detour due to an obstruction getting the phone out in the cold and wind would be a PIA.
There's also the question of whether you are going to wear it all the time and take advantage of sleep tracking, HRV, recovery and other features or just wear it for sport. The top of the Forerunner series and Fenix are quite similarly featured but the form factor of the Fenix makes it nicer as a daily.
I started off with really basic bike computer (sensor on the spoke) then Cardiosport HR stopwatch neither of which recorded/tracked. Early massive Garmin GPS forerunner strapped using pipe insulation as a 'wrist' on my handlebars through various others.
DC Rainmaker reviews are great but he speaks 19 to the dozen and does assume a certain amount of familiarity with the tech and the 'heritage' of the devices he's reviewing. If you have a friend or clubmate that can walk you through their watch that might be better.
My Fenix 5 was terrible for charging and there was a well documented problem with galvanic corrosion of the contacts. It would probably worth searching on charging problems with the device series you choose. Synchronisation with phone is done by witchcraft and usually works brilliantly until it doesn't. On these occasions I miss uploading data by cable but I've never had a problem that wasn't fixable by closing and reopening Garmin Connect or switch device on and off. If you have Garmin connect on all the time and connected to wifi then synching seems very effective.
It's worth noting that in the premium items, the additional cost can be for cosmetic features and solar power which aren't strictly necessary. There are often very good deals on soon to be superceded devices and if it's your first heavily featured watch, you won't miss not having the latest features.
I think there is only one for the serious fitness addicts and it's Garmin which is head and shoulders above everyone else.
Which one you pick is down to your personal preference though, plenty of reviews.
The last post mentioned a Fenix 5 which is what I have, probably 5 years old now and still works without any issues remarkably, I cannot justify the upgrade until it fails I guess. There was a mention of corrosion on the contacts, but that's easy to check just make sure the contacts are cleaned after a heavy workout, mine has no pitting/corrosion.
The app is the app, does everything it needs to do and integrates with all of the usual other apps like strava etc. Sometimes you may have to wake BT up but in general it just works.
Which one you pick is down to your personal preference though, plenty of reviews.
The last post mentioned a Fenix 5 which is what I have, probably 5 years old now and still works without any issues remarkably, I cannot justify the upgrade until it fails I guess. There was a mention of corrosion on the contacts, but that's easy to check just make sure the contacts are cleaned after a heavy workout, mine has no pitting/corrosion.
The app is the app, does everything it needs to do and integrates with all of the usual other apps like strava etc. Sometimes you may have to wake BT up but in general it just works.
Shortlist a set of functions you'd really like to have, not all watches do all the things you you want.
For me the main one is Virtual Pacer (Garmin's name, other brands use different terms), where I can put in a target running pace, and it will tell me how far ahead or behind that pace I am. On Garmins it's only on the more sports oriented watches.
I also wanted a Bluetooth music player. Garmin Pay was a feature I didn't think I'd use, but now do use it a lot. Between the music and Garmin pay it means I don't need to carry a phone or cash or anything when running.
Also consider battery life. I have the Fenix 5S which is smaller than than the standard Fenix, meaning a smaller battery. With GPS and music the battery only lasts about 5 hours. Not great if you're in to all day hikes or ultra marathons, but fine if like me you never run more than 10km
For me the main one is Virtual Pacer (Garmin's name, other brands use different terms), where I can put in a target running pace, and it will tell me how far ahead or behind that pace I am. On Garmins it's only on the more sports oriented watches.
I also wanted a Bluetooth music player. Garmin Pay was a feature I didn't think I'd use, but now do use it a lot. Between the music and Garmin pay it means I don't need to carry a phone or cash or anything when running.
Also consider battery life. I have the Fenix 5S which is smaller than than the standard Fenix, meaning a smaller battery. With GPS and music the battery only lasts about 5 hours. Not great if you're in to all day hikes or ultra marathons, but fine if like me you never run more than 10km
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 12th December 09:40
RizzoTheRat said:
Shortlist a set of functions you'd really like to have, not all watches do all the things you you want.
For me the main one is Virtual Pacer (Garmin's name, other brands use different terms), where I can put in a target running pace, and it will tell me how far ahead or behind that pace I am. On Garmins it's only on the more sports oriented watches.
I also wanted a Bluetooth music player. Garmin Pay was a feature I didn't think I'd use, but now do use it a lot. Between the music and Garmin pay it means I don't need to carry a phone or cash or anything when running.
Also consider battery life. I have the Fenix 5S which is smaller than than the standard Fenix, meaning a smaller battery. With GPS and music the battery only lasts about 5 hours. Not great if you're in to all day hikes or ultra marathons, but fine if like me you never run more than 10km
I have a 7S after a 6S and would concur with the above.For me the main one is Virtual Pacer (Garmin's name, other brands use different terms), where I can put in a target running pace, and it will tell me how far ahead or behind that pace I am. On Garmins it's only on the more sports oriented watches.
I also wanted a Bluetooth music player. Garmin Pay was a feature I didn't think I'd use, but now do use it a lot. Between the music and Garmin pay it means I don't need to carry a phone or cash or anything when running.
Also consider battery life. I have the Fenix 5S which is smaller than than the standard Fenix, meaning a smaller battery. With GPS and music the battery only lasts about 5 hours. Not great if you're in to all day hikes or ultra marathons, but fine if like me you never run more than 10km
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 12th December 09:40
If you do not use the Bluetooth Music, the battery live far exceeds other watches, and there are options to extend it further - you can disable sensors etc
I have a "Sailing Expedition" app that claims to give 35 days battery life
In normal use I run 2-3 times a week for 40mins - 90 mins, and a further 2-3 gym sessions (where it very cleverly identifies the excercises / reps automatically) and I probably charge it once every 5-7 days
Another vote for Garmin, I bought a Fenix 6S second hand a few months ago for £200. The apps and software are great, lots of badges and challenges to keep things interesting, very accurate when recording activities, great battery life lasts over a week even with regular use. Also bought a Tacx indoor cycle trainer to go along with it.
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