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I like wearing a watch for the traditional reason of knowing what time it is, much prefer it to getting my phone out all the time and then getting distracted looking at the latest whatsapp message. Until last week I had a regular analogue watch that just did time and date, but I managed to lose it. I could just replace that like for like for about £75 (cheaper watches are available but I had a series of £30 watches that broke on me).
I am also slightly curious about having a sports or smart watch. Currently most of my cycling is road biking for which I already have a chest strap HRM and a Garmin head unit. Where I can see myself using a sports watch is the after work MTB ride I do most weeks after work - I usually don't bother bringing my Garmin edge for that as I am too crap at MTB to be able to look at it so I just track on my phone's Strava which is OK but some minor bag faffage.
I also track my 5-a-side football games on Strava to get the total number of games I play each year - quite a few people track HR and distance with a sports watch which is of interest (but probably not very insightful - its not like I'm going to act on any metrics).
Then I also go for a run once every few weeks so the watch would be good for that to save me holding my phone in my hand the whole time.
Outside sport I am not that interested in sleep tracking as I don't think I want to wear it to sleep, but would quite like to see HRV. Not bothered about it being able to play music. Being able to do contactless on watch would also be useful I think. Will probably disable alerts from my phone as I am already on it too much.
Had a look around at Garmins as I already have the connect profile for my head unit. After something with a smallish face as I have slender wrists. For about £80 I can get a 2nd hand Forerunner 55, or for £150 a Venu 2s refurbed which has a nicer screen and does some more of the lifestyle stuff.
Has anyone moved to a sport/smar****ch and regretted the extra faff of charging etc that a big hand/little hand lacks?
i charge my enduro3 about once every three weeks for about an hour. its not small or cheap though. 😉
Why bother? If you have an hrm you can connect it to a smartphone and it will likely give you all the info you want. I have a fenix 7s which is great but if you are only sport tracking you can get 95% of the info with what you already have and a smartphone
I have an Amazfit T-rex (1st gen) cost about £130 i reckon it's 4 years old, gets charged once every 3 weeks (granted i don't use the gps on it very often anymore), the only reason i'd be looking Garmin is so that i was on the same ecosystem as my bike computer.
so yer, id recommend looking at the Amazfit range if shopping on a budget
I've had a Forerunner 55 for a few years now. Not worn daily as I'm a watch whore and like my traditional watches, so I only wear it when doing activity - works well for cycling for swimming, not that I use it for any analysis. Auto uploads to Strava. Charge it probably once a week or so. Links to my cheap CooSpo bike computer on my gravely bike to display HR, not that I pay any attention to that.
If I were buying a sport watch (I'm not, my Garmin 245 is still going strongish) I'd be tempted with the Una Watch. It's modular and repairable, which removes my main annoyance with the Garmin, which is the non-replaceable battery.
I have no idea how good the Una hardware or software is, but I like the idea.
Why bother? If you have an hrm you can connect it to a smartphone and it will likely give you all the info you want. I have a fenix 7s which is great but if you are only sport tracking you can get 95% of the info with what you already have and a smartphone
But then you have to carry your phone everywhere......
I've had a Garmin Forerunner, Vivoactive and now an Epix. All have been ace and I wouldn't be without one now. Battery life on Garmin is generally very good so charging isn't an issue and they charge very quickly so a quick blast is usually enough to last the day if you forgot to full charge it.
Sounds like a basic Forerunner will do the job for you. Before buying second hand check the Garmin sale or other retailers as they are always on offer.
Mrs FD bought a Corus watch. Just stopped working a few weeks out of warranty. They were not intetested
Now she has a Garmin 265 which she much prefers
I was much the same as you about four years ago. Liked my traditional watches and didn't want a smart watch as I'd seen Mrs Beaker charging her iWatch every night. I ended up getting a Garmin Instinct. Depending on how it is configured I can get between five and sixty days per charge. It is brilliant for recording rides and other activities and I'll certainly look at another when it comes to being replaced.
I have had a series of Garmin Vivoactive's (models 2, 3 and 5) and find them ideal for my needs which is a watch, step counter, HRM and fitness activity tracking. The battery on the 5 lasts over a week and it charges quickly so not a big faff.
I did flirt with a Garmin Fenix 7 which is a more advanced beast. The navigation feature was interesting but I have a bike GPS for that. It was just too complex for me and also bulky on the wrist.
I would be a little weary of buying second hand. I retired my Vivoactive 3 after about three years as the battery had gone down from about seven days to just over two.
I have a polar m430 , I only use it for strava and heartrate. I am not sure what other stuff it does
on offer at he moment for £77
https://www.polar.com/uk-en/products/sport/m430-gps-running-watch?sku=90066337&source=webgains&siteid=187205&utm_source=webgains&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21963852959&gbraid=0AAAAA-laB06okK_mxODqM7qHyqzQ7LnTH&wgu=293045_187205_1746704186608_a16bcf5997&wgexpiry=1778240186
My vivoactive 4 is going ok a few years in.
There's some Edinburgh based start up called unawatch if a new brand takes your fancy
Thanks for input.
Why bother? - well I need a new watch anyway.
Unawatch looks cool but is only a kickstarter with August or later delivery and I want something ASAP.
The Polar is a good deal and does everything I want but I want something with a round face for aesthetic reasons.
I bought a used Garmin venu for £50 from eBay. I didn’t know if I would use the info it gave, and was a bit of an experiment. Turns out I’m a bit of a data geek, and can’t imagine not having that info. It needs to be charged twice a week under day to day use, and a full days riding will use 50% battery. It charges so fast it’s not a big deal.
Probably whichever Forerunner suits your budget then, tbh. I can't remember why I opted for the 245 over the 55 but it's been grand for me. I do charge more than once a week, but I use the GPS most if not all days (sometimes 2-3 times a day) so I can live with that.
Farmin Venu here.
By day it looks like a analogue watch with two hands (and a picture of partner and doggo in the background)
Does all the things you want.
Re notifications and phones i actually find i look at my phone less as i see whatsapp on it and can ignore uninteresting stuff.
You'll get a pre-loved Fenix 5 for under £100 on eBay. I'd give that a go first. Pretty much top of the pile when it came out and will do everything you want and more.
Dunno about battery life on a 2nd hand one but when mine was new I got 22 days when just using it as a smart watch with no activity logging.
I have had a Fenix 5 for a few years now. If and when it gives up the ghost I will not be replacing it like for like. Reason being is I probably use about 10% of its' functionality and all I really need it to do is tell the time and track my rides to auto-upload to strava. There are far cheaper and much lighter & thinner watches out there I reckon could serve me better. It is tough though and I rarely seem to think about charging. Often I will check it as I load the van to go biking, realise it is almost flat and then charge it on the drive somewhere. about 20 mins will get it well over 50% charged
Another Garmin Fenix 5 user here - bought used on eBay about 18 months ago. Still charges to 100% and Only needs charging weekly even after doing a few tracked GPS session. Impressed by the durability - I work in a hardware store and it gets knocked about a bit. Don’t mind the big face as I use mine sea kayaking and need to read it at arm’s length.
Long time Samsung smart watch user here. Great as an actual smart watch, not the best as sport watches - one of my 4 Samsung's wouldn't last a three hour ride using GPS and LTE.
Fancied a Garmin for a while and dipped a toe with an H Samuel discounted Epix 2 (£324). Barely wear any of my Samsung's now. The Garmin's aren't QUITE as good as a smart watch, but pretty much does everything I want. As a sports watch it's streets ahead.
Battery life is for days. Fitness metrics are everything you'd want and it obviously integrates with the Edge head unit. Oh and also connects to my ebike for further parameters. They look good too imo. It's been enough for me to decide I'll have a flagship model when the Fenix 8 Pro is released
I've got the instinct 2 solar and charge it about every 3 weeks. It does all you want and more but it's not the prettiest.
If it dies , I'd go for the latest suunto one in a flash.
It looks great, lovely screen, long battery, and I really like their software and ecosystem - just seems to put all the right info in the right place.
But I don't think the instinct will die, it's built life a g-form. Don't think of it as a taster, mines probably like the dog that will outlive me.
The thing with Garmin, especially watches like the older fenix 5 and the like is charging. Once the battery age gets to a certian point, they'll struggle, and mine (and others I've read about will just brick themselves, and aren't always recoverable. I replaced my badly charging Fenix 5 with a Coros Kiprun from Decathalon.
It's light (much more comfortable than the Garmin) and does pretty much everything in your OP. The battery life (in comparison to the Garmin) is pretty impressive as well. The only thing it lacks is the navigation function, which was pretty hard to use effectively on a wris****ch while you're on a bike.
I have a Garmin Forerunner 55 and for what you describe OP, that will be plenty. If II'm not GPS tracking thhe battery will last about a week. I own a 'prroper' watch but simply don''t wear it anymore..
However if I was buying new I'd be very tempted by the Coros Pacer Pro for even more battery life, or the Coros///Deecathlon above
I use my second hand Vivoactive 4 for pretty much exactly what you describe. I like it a lot. I’m not tempted to change to anything more fancy. It’s very good for Strava. Very hassle free.
The thing with Garmin, especially watches like the older fenix 5 and the like is charging. Once the battery age gets to a certian point, they'll struggle, and mine (and others I've read about will just brick themselves, and aren't always recoverable.
Not sure how long you have to wait for this to happen but I've had a fenix 5 for 6 years now and it's still working fine. Charges fine, battery lasts a decent time even when using the GPS a fair bit on runs. I bought it for the multi sport function when I was doing a few tri's, it has lods of functions I don't need but I'd probably replace it something similar when it evetually does die....I wouldn't mind a solar charging one but probably to spendy.
About 6 years...mine started needing charging more frequently, the connection between the charge port and cable started to get a bit wobbly. A new battery (3rd party supplied and fitted) hasn't done much to make it better. I think the thing that put me off buying another is that you have treat them as disposable electronic consumer items, like a phone. It's not a lifetime item like a traditional watch would be at the sorts of prices that Garmin charge. As long as you get into Garmin's framework with that knowledge, it's probs not going to come as much as a shock when it dies, and isn't necessarily readily repairable.
a sport/smar****ch
😀 This site is utterly ridiculous!
The trouble with my lifetime watch is that the GPS is a bit rubbish, and the pulsemeter isn't great either.
6 years is ok
It's worth checking out the Singletrack members discounts if buying a Garmin. The offers change about but a Forerunner 55 is currently £117 on the Garmin site with the discount. You could get a years magazine, a t shirt and watch for less money that the full price!
I got a Venu 2 square a couple of months ago for £90 on the discount although it no longer had members discount on it.
It is quite a nice, not too big watch. Tracks running and cycling fine and does the constant heart rate monitoring thing too. Battery lasts about a week with 3 or 4 hours of ride or run tracking. It looks like a boring grey watch and sort of is but has enough sports features. It will also run the Komoot app for basic directions if you have a Komoot account or have purchased map areas. Works OK but not as good as bike computer mapping.
NB discounts don't always apply!
I killed a couple of Garmins wearing them in the sauna & steam room a few times a week.
Bought a cheap Huawei that I've abused for 3 years, the battery was amazing at first and would last 10 days, now it's down to 3-4 days.
I was very happy with my Garmin Instinct solar... Until last week when a 'glitch' occurred (Garmin Firmware shenanigans).
The conclusion I have to come to over the weekend is that, like you OP, I want a daily wearable watch that I can occasionally use to record runs and evening MTB rides (again I've got an edge for longer rides) and I don't want to charge it every other day... So I'm shaping up for another flavour of Instinct (battery will comfortably last 2.5 weeks, longer with judicious use of power save mode). And I need to just accept that it will inevitably need replacing in another 3 years or so...
My G-Shock, will last untill the end of time, but doesn't have GPS 🤷 ...
If you're willing to get into that cycle of buying life limited devices then crack on.
My advice is to peruse the DC Rainmaker reviews, then get something cheap from the last generation off of eBay to try the concept (acknowledging the battery might not be great) before you commit to more spending...