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Looking at getting one to replace my tatty pebble and to use for running and MTBing.
They've come down in price by a fiver this week on Wiggle, am I better off getting one this side of new year, or waiting for the sales.
With it being fitnessing equipment I don't know if they're likely to rinse people at 'resolution time'
keep an eye on HDUK and move quick. I paid £168 for mine.
decathlon are doing vivoactive hr for £150 ish. A worthy alternative if you fancied touchscreen and a brick on your wrist I plumped for the Vivoactive and have been very impressed with battery life and functionality.
Yeah I saw that after looking on HDUK after jam bo said. It's pretty tempting, I prefer the look of the fr235, but both would do what I want. Some things the civoactive would even be better at.
235 has the crappy optical HR. I'd choose the 230
[quote=thecaptain ]235 has the crappy optical HR. I'd choose the 230
having actually used the crappy optical HR for > 6 months, i'd choose the 235
I can only comment on the optical HR in my Apple Watch but they seem perfectly capable of being accurate enough for fitness duties.
Ensure the watch is properly snug against the wrist, though. And don't try to use it over a tattoo (apparently)
Rachel
The Vivoactive HR is definitely worth a look. I normally use a Forerunner 220 with a chest strap for running but am finding I often don't bother with the 220 and just use the Vivoactive. The HR results seem close enough to the 220 that it's not an issue for me.
Nearly pulled the trigger on one for £200 yesterday, £215 today.
Arse biscuits.
The non-HR Fenix 3s are under £300 now which is tempting though.
Know it's of little value potentially but I snagged a TomTom music cardio when on sale with Wiggle. Think they're available well below £200, less for the cardio only version.
[quote=prawny ]Nearly pulled the trigger on one for £200 yesterday, £215 today.
Arse biscuits.
The non-HR Fenix 3s are under £300 now which is tempting though.
FR 235 weighs almost nothing, mates Fenix 3 is very heavy
<edit> FR235 42g Fenix 82g
If tomtom sorted out the smartphone notifications they'd definitely be an option, but I've gotten so used to my watch buzzing when I get a text or call I wouldn't want to go back now.
garmin 35 looks like an interesting option.
It doesn't look like the 35 can do Connect IQ and it doesn't have GLONASS which wouldnt be the end of the world but the price difference between that and the 235 is too small at the moment.
No idea about the original question, but my FR235 gets used almost every day. It's a great watch, and they seem to be fixing some of the niggles with fairly frequent firmware updates.
I'm wavering now, the £159 Vivoactive HR is tempting me.
Has anyone used both? I might use the swimming thing once in a blue moon so it could be the better bet, even though its not so good looking.
Just seen that dcrainmaker has picked the vivoctive over the FR235 in the end of year roundup.
How does the screen react to gloves?
On the optical vs strap thing.
I've had both. Only the optical one ever really got used, so long as you're prepared to accept it might not be the best HR option it's an ok choice.
I'd certainly not bother with a strap anymore, used it so infrequently the data was borderline worthless.
Optical heart rate can work well for some people, but not others. Probably depends how fat your arms are, and skin colour etc.
Also, yes, it needs to be fairly tight on your wrist. You might find it works better in some positions than others. As it needs to be directly on your skin, its not so convenient if wearing a long sleeve top or jacket.
Maybe more useful to use a separate device for optical heart rate on the wrist (eg Mio Link).
I'm wavering now, the £159 Vivoactive HR is tempting me.Has anyone used both? I might use the swimming thing once in a blue moon so it could be the better bet, even though its not so good looking.
Just seen that dcrainmaker has picked the vivoctive over the FR235 in the end of year roundup.
How does the screen react to gloves?
Not got a 235 but can compare the Vivoactive HR against a 220 which has been my main running watch for years.
I'm not finding much of a difference between the HR results using a chest strap with the 220 and the optical sensor on the Vivoactive. The chest strap is probably more accurate but not to the extent that it's an issue for me.
There are quite a few benefits of the Vivoactive:
- Multi sports - works well for swimming, running (outdoor and on a treadmill) and cycling (including working with the speed/cadence sensor). Very impressed with the swimming - so far it's always calculated the lengths correctly and is even about 95% accurate figuring out the stroke I'm using each length.
- notifications: pretty notifies of everything that the phone does. Much better than the MS Band I was using before and the Fitbits my wife and daughter use
- very, very fast GPS pickup (nearly instant in fact) - a lot quicker than my Edge 810 or Forerunner 220, both of which are also pretty quick usually
Not tried the touch-screen with gloves on - I don't really switch screens during activities. The only downside compared to the 220 is that the screen isn't as big or as easy to read when running, especially at night.
If I only had one GPS device then I probably would go with the Vivoactive HR.