I'm getting fed up of hauling round a large phone when I'm riding or running. I'm thinking of getting a GPS watch to record rides/runs, it needs to link up with Strava for logging but not nav or segment identification. HRM would be good and cheap would be ideal but not completely necessary and reliable is more important.
Anyone got any recommendations? The Kalenji onmove 500 looks promising on scope but the reviews are mixed, the Garmin forerunners seem fairly well reviewed but Garmin connect, eugh!
Got a Vivoactive 3 for Christmas for the same reasons. Spot on so far for tracking rides. ANT+ so my existing HRM works fine. Battery life is great compared to my previous Sony Smar****ch 3.
Yeah, Garmin Connect, but it's OK and I really only use it as a 'bridge' to get the data onto Strava.
TomTom sport here. Had it 18 months and I like it.
Garmin Instinct. Robust, easy to read display, perfect for outdoors/mtb/walking. Has added bonus of navigation if needed. Links to Strava through Garmin Connect App. Very happy with mine.
Vivoactive HR
Another Tom Tom user here - I also have 2 Garmin GPS devices and find their software awful.
I've gone from a Sony SW3 to a Samsung Gear Fit2 and now an Amazfit Pace.
The Amazfit is brilliant, far faster GPS lock on, oodles of data screens and I've recorded a 10hr ride and still had 45% battery left. The companion app on the phone is also good. It doesn't have all the smar****ch features of the previous two (answering texts, extra apps and so on) but what it does do it does well. I'd rather that that having loads of flakey features.
Garmin Forerunner 235 is nice as a fairly simple watch, for running or cycling. Works fine for recording a track for uploading to Strava etc. And it has some basic smart notification features if you want.
Garmin Instinct is a chunkier, tougher style. It is better for navigation stuff.
They both have the wrist heart rate built in. I find this usually works fine for running, though can be less accurate for cycling. Maybe better with a separate heart rate monitor.
The Garmin Connect app works fine for me, and yes, you can set it to automatically copy to Strava. Or you can plug it into your computer and do a manual upload.
I've had Garmin watches for the last couple of years, since pebble closed. I've just got my first apple watch after Christmas and that's much better day to day, not as good for workouts though imo.
If you want to try a Garmin I'm going to put my old Vivoactive HR in the classifieds at the weekend. Might be worth a look for £50?
I'll throw Suunto into the mix. Solidly built and they've really sorted out their app capabilities recently. Mine is the Spartan Sport Wrist HR
Garmin Instinct here. Never had it off since getting it 🙂 Took week or so to get used to the buttons etc but great otherwise
Vivoactive HR has been OK for me - bought it for the same reasons as you, and to have notifications when riding with phone in bag.
Big disadvantage are the looks, it's more ASBO tag than watch.
Big advantage to Garmins are the third party apps; I've changed watch face and added a better stopwatch and triathlon functions (still struggling with something that lets you build custom interval timings, but I think the higher end Garmins do this natively)
Garmin Connect is ugly, but mostly I don't need to open it. It syncs to Strava in the background.
Alternatives would be the older Suunto or Polar watches - there seemed to be a few good reductions on these a while ago.
And for really more in-depth reviews than pretty much anywhere else, try here https://www.dcrainmaker.com/
Forerunner 35 is all you need. Syncs to Connect on my phone automatically. Connect syncs to Strava automatically. I usually get the Strava notification within 5 mins of finishing my run/ride.
In classic "recommend what you've got" style, Forerunner 35. Easy to use, does what you want and quite small too. I don't find Garmin connect to bad if you use it minimally, IE, you just use it to upload to Strava.
+1 on the Garmin Instinct. It just 'works'. The only think I don't like about it is that with an iphone you have all notifications or none, but that's more of an apple thing. Ideally I could turn off Outlook mail but leave others when not wanting to see work mail.
got the vivioactive 3
its good but sometimes goes flat on a long day out 🙁
Garmin Fenix 5S Plus here - think its great allround.
Without using the GPS, it gives about 4 days battery life. When using GPS, can do a 4 hour ride then get another 1.5 days out of it.
Expensive though - Approx. £500 but worth it.
Vivoactive HR works pretty well for me.
I think the safe answer is to pick whichever garmin fits your budget and needs, their range seems big enough to cater for just about any requirement.
I used to have a fenix 3 which was good (once garmin had worked the bugs out of the firmware), sold that last month as it was becoming very battered, and bought a garmin instinct, which does everything I need, for a very reasonable price.
I’ll throw Suunto into the mix
up until recently, I'd've agreed. But they're moving the older versions onto a new platform, and it's half baked at the moment. Doesn't work properly, half the metrics have gone. Coupled with the fact the watch seems to have a [GPS] mind of it's own quite a lot...
I've been hearing good things about the Huawei Watch GT - apart from (and it's a biggie!) it doesn't link in with strava.
Tom Tom here, too.
Not completely sure which model but does multisports, cardio/HRM and if you need it 3Gb of Bluetooth choonz (not experimented with this but I imagine it works well for runners)
The software is ace and easy to use and no problems in 18 mo.
Tbph, the old Garmin Edge Touring (800) bartop feels ridiculously clunky now. Last time I tried to use it I couldn’t even work out how to set it going.
I imagine there’s limitations to the GPS sample frequency but that’s honestly only going to be of interest to those obsessed with Strava leaderboards. Works well enough for me!
I would stick with Garmin they have so much choice I have upgraded to the Fenix 5x, I only ride, adhoc walk and mainly Gym the Fenix 5x covers it all. I also really like Garmin connect I know there is a lot that dont, I dont bother use Strava anymore. I have been wearing watch since last charge Monday and have had 2 gym sessions currently on 82% will hopefully get a ride in today and Sunday generally without need to charge but always charge Monday as I travel most weeks.
Used to recommend the TomTom watches. However they have quit this market (selling off old stock) which was a shame. Just replaced mine with a suunto spartan trainer wrist HR which is way better than my Tom Tom. The app situation is confusing and not everything has moved over however the new app is better (imo) and is working just fine for the features I use (including the customisation of watch faces). Also you don't have to pay Garmin tax to buy one.
Had no idea tomtom had left the market! Might grab an extra strap...
